Brooke 3rd – 8th Social Studies Standards

(2014-2015)

Each year of the social studies curriculum covers a specific topic.

3rd / 4th / 5th / 6th / 7th / 8th
How People Respond to Geography to Meet their Needs / What People Believe: Religion / How Money Impacts People / How People Organize: Comparative Government / Slavery / How America Interacts with World

Notes:

Our social studies standardsreflect several goals:

  • Stickiness: We want our social studies teaching to be powerful enough to stick. We think that connecting social studies to a large concept will help it stick with students because it will fit into a large conceptual framework. Twenty years from now, we want our students to remember the content of each power standards from their 3rd through 8th grade schooling and to know why that information matters to human existence and how it connects to other ideas.
  • Transfer: We want our social studies teaching to develop analytic skills that students can transfer to new contexts. For instance, once scholars learn that land equals money in the American context, they could transfer that thinking to a new situation of the English colonization of India and consider whether England wanted this territory to acquire its natural resources.
  • Competence with primary sources: We want our social studies teaching to build our students’ proficiency in analyzing and learning from primary sources. In elementary grades, this will involve mostly examining primary sources that are unwritten, but as they move through the grades, students will increasingly have to analyze and consider primary texts, thereby developing the close reading skills that advanced nonfiction texts require.

Social studies is not formally taught in the primary grades and therefore there are no formal primary social studies standards. In all primary grades, students should focus on community behavior through character education. Second graders should engage in a preliminary study of world history by engaging in reading about other countries.

GEOGRAPHY:

3rd / 4th / 5th / 6th / 7th / 8th
North America / Identify Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut on a United States map and identify that area as the Wampanoag homeland. / Locate North America and South America, the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the Gulf of Mexico, the Mississippi River, the Rio Grande River, the Great Lakes, the Hudson Bay, the Rocky Mountains, the Appalachian Mountains, and the Andes.
Identify Massachusetts and Rhode Island on a map. / Identify the region in which the Aztecs lived.
Identify Canada, the United States, Mexico, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Cuba, on a world map.
On a map of North America,identify the first 13 colonies
Label and correctly spell all 50 states on a United States map.
On a United States map, correctly identify the area acquired through the Louisiana Purchase and the area conquered in the Mexican-American War. / Label all countries in North and South America on a world map.
South America / Locate the Andes on a map. / Identify the region in which the Inca lived.
Identify Brazil, Chile, and Peru on a world map. / Label all countries in North and South America on a world map.
Africa / Locate the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Identify it as the ancient area of Mesopotamia. Locate Iraq, Iran, and Turkey on a modern map.
Locate the Nile River and identify Egypt on a map. / Locate the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, the Nile River, and Egypt on a map.
Locate Israel on a map. / Locate Nigeria, Angola, Ghana, and Senegal on a world map.
3rd / 4th / 5th / 6th / 7th / 8th
Asia / Locate China on a map.
Identify Japan on a map. / Locate India on a map.
Locate Afghanistan on a world map. / Label Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Vietnam, Cambodia, North Korea, South Korea and Afghanistan on a world map.
Europe / Identify Scandinavia on a world map. / Locate Greece on a map.
Locate Germany and Poland on a world map. / Identify England, Spain, Portugal, and France on a world map. / Identify Greece and Italy on a world map. / Label Germany, Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Poland, USSR on a world map.
General / Locate all continents, oceans, key rivers (Nile, Euphrates, Tigris, Yangtze), and regions of ancient cultures: Egypt, China, Japan, Scandinavia, Mesopotamia (Iran/Iraq/Turkey)
Natural geography / Identify landforms within biomes studied (mountain, plateau, island, peninsula, lake, river, delta, bay, volcano, floodplain, pond, stream, sea, canal)

HISTORY TOPICS OVERVIEW:

U.S. HISTORY: / 3rd / 4th / 5th / 6th / 7th / 8th
Pre-Columbian / 
Wampanoag / 
Religions
Colonial / 
Puritans / 
Economies of colonies / 
Slave trade
American Revolution Era / 
Role of taxation / 
Role of slaves and slavery in Revolution
Nation Formation / 
Articles of Confederation and the Constitution / 
Compromises around slavery
Early National Era -
Westward Expansion
(1789 – 1845) / 
LA Purchase, Mexican American War, Settlement / 
Expansion of slavery / 
Immigration
Civil War era
(1849 – 1865) / 
All of it
Reconstruction / 
All of it
Early 20th century / 
Jim Crow and limits on freedom / 
Immigration
World War I
Great Depression / 
World War II / 
Holocaust / 
Impact on Civil Rights / 
Entry into war
1946 through present / 
Current war in Afghanistan / 
Communism and Cold War / 
Civil Rights Movement
& modern slavery / 
Cold War, Vietnam War, and current wars
WORLD HISTORY / 3rd / 4th / 5th / 6th / 7th / 8th
ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS
Prehistoric / 
Pan-American Pre-Columbian / 
Andean cultures / 
Meso-American and other tribal religions
Mesopotamia / 
Agriculture & urbanization / 
Ancient Slavery
Egypt / 
Agriculture & urbanization / 
religion / 
Ancient Slavery
Greece / 
religion / 
democracy / 
Ancient Slavery
Rome / 
democracy / 
Ancient Slavery
China / 
Agriculture / 
Ancient Slavery
MEDIEVAL PERIOD

Crusades / 
Feudalism
EXPLORATION
European explorers / 
Vikings / 
Motivation for land
MODERN COUNTRIES:
Japan / 
India / 
Global / 
Modern Slavery / 

Brooke Charter Schools 2014 – 2015Social Studies Standards

STANDARDS BY GRADE LEVEL, ORGANIZED BY UNIT

3rd grade: HOW HUMANS RESPOND TO GEOGRAPHY TO MEET THEIR NEEDS

Year-long standards:

-Locate all continents, oceans, key rivers (Nile, Euphrates, Tigris, Yangtze), and regions of ancient cultures: Egypt, China, Japan, Scandinavia, Mesopotamia (Iran/Iraq/Turkey)

-Identify landforms within biomes studied (mountain, plateau, island, peninsula, lake, river, delta, bay, volcano, floodplain, pond, stream, sea, canal)

-Explain the difference between natural resources and manmade resources/human innovations. Sort different manmade resources and natural resources into separate groups

Unit 1: Biomes and Natural Resources
  • Identify that all animals, including humans, need food, water, protection from predators, and protection from the elements.
  • Define a natural resource and give examples of natural and non-natural resources.
  • Name at least four different biomes (desert, grasslands, deciduous forest, and tropical rain forest) and explain how the natural resources in that biome help animals survive there.
  • Use climate maps to identify biomes. Read a key on a map.

Unit 2: Meeting your need for food by hunting and herding
  • Explain how objects or artifacts of everyday life in the past tell us how ordinary people lived and how everyday life has changed. Give several examples of artifacts and what they tell about life for prehistoric humans.
  • When given an artifact, make inferences about how it was used and what that might tell us about prehistoric human life.
  • Explain how early humans met their needs through hunting and gathering food. Explain the advantages and disadvantages of hunting-and-gathering.
  • Define metallurgy and describe how its invention better allowed people to meet their need for food and protection from predators.
  • Explain that metal is a natural resources, but that tools made from it are manmade.
  • Explain how prehistoric people hunted for mammoths and other large game.
  • Explain how Apache and other plains Native Americans hunted for buffalo.
  • Explain why sometimes people cannot rely on hunting to meet their need for food.
  • Explain why people eat different meat in different places in the world and give examples to support the explanation.
  • Define herding and explain its role in helping humans meet their needs.
  • Explain why humans domesticated animals and give an example and use of a domesticated animal for each studied region.

Unit 3: Meeting your need for food: Agriculture
  • Define agriculture and describe how its invention changed daily life for prehistoric peoples.
  • Explain the emergence of agriculture in Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, and the Andes.
  • Explain that different agricultural regions grow different crops and give examples to support the explanation.
  • Locate the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Identify it as the ancient area of Mesopotamia. Locate Iraq, Iran, and Turkey on a modern map.
  • Locate the Nile River and identify Egypt on a map.
  • Locate China on a map.
  • Locate the Andes on a map.
  • Explain why people sometimes cannot rely on agriculture to meet their need for food.
  • Explain several causes of modern world hunger.

Unit 4: Meeting your need for water
  • Explain why settlement and civilizations emerge near bodies of fresh water.
  • List at least four major rivers and label those rivers on a world map.
  • Define and identify ocean, sea, lake, pond, river, stream, delta, flood plain, canal, and bay.
  • Define irrigation and explain the role of water storage and irrigation in helping humans meet their needs.
  • Explain how agriculture in Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt resulted from the development of water storage and irrigation systems.
  • Explain why people build dams.
  • Explain the importance of drinkable water now and identify a lack of clean water as a modern problem. Give several reasons for this problem.

Unit 5: Meeting all your needs through urbanization and specialization
  • Define specialization and explain how people living in communities can meet their needs through specialization.
  • Explain how agriculture led to urbanization and specialization.
  • Bigger communities can specialize more so often people move to cities so that they can more easily meet their needs.
  • Explain how people in Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt and the Andes met their needs through urbanization and specialization.

Unit 6: Meeting your need for shelter: An examination of housing and clothing
  • Identify types of houses used in Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt and explain how these houses helped people meet their needs.
  • Identify at least four types of houses used by Andean tribes and other Native Americans and explain how those houses helped those tribes meet their needs.[1]
  • Identify elements of modern house design that enable people to adapt to their environment (for instance, houses on stilts, slanted roofs, adobe tiles, etc.).
  • Identify how clothing helps people protect themselves from the elements and how clothing is affected by climate.

Unit 7: Case study: The Vikings
  • Identify the foods that Vikings ate, their access to water, and how they protected themselves from the elements.
  • Identify Scandinavia on a world map.
  • Identify that Vikings lived in a climate that made agriculture difficult and therefore did not farm much. Explain how this made the Vikings travel to meet their needs.
  • Explain how Vikings lived by water and this is why Vikings used boats to meet their needs.

Unit 8: Case study: The Wampanoag
  • Identify the foods that Wampanoag ate, their access to water, and how they protected themselves from the elements.
  • Identify Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut on a United States map and identify that area as the Wampanoag homeland.
  • Describe the Wampanoag way of life (before Europeans arrived).

Unit 9: Case study: Japan
  • Identify the foods the Japanese eat, their access to water, and how they protected themselves from the elements.
  • Identify Japan on a map.

Brooke Charter Schools 2014 – 2015Social Studies Standards

STANDARDS BY GRADE LEVEL, ORGANIZED BY UNIT

4th grade: WHAT PEOPLE BELIEVE: Religions

Unit 1: Polytheism in Ancient Civilizations (Egypt and Greece)
  • Locate the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, the Nile River, and Egypt on a map.
  • Define polytheism.
  • Describe the polytheistic religion of ancient Egypt with respect to beliefs about death, the afterlife, mummification, and the roles of different deities.
  • Locate Greece on a map.
  • Describe the polytheistic religion of ancient Greece with respect to beliefs about creation, death / the afterlife, heroes, and the roles of different deities.

Unit 2: Polytheism in Native American Civilizations
  • Locate North America and South America, the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the Gulf of Mexico, the Mississippi River, the Rio Grande River, the Great Lakes, the Hudson Bay, the Rocky Mountains, the Appalachian Mountains, and the Andes.
  • Describe the polytheistic religion of several Native American tribes with respect to beliefs about animal souls, spirits, sacrifice, and creation.[2]
  • Identify the geographic location of the tribes studied.

Unit 3: Polytheism in Hinduism
  • Locate India on a map.
  • Describe Hinduism as a polytheistic religion that includes gods such as Vishnu, Krishna, Shiva, and Ganesha.
  • Identify Hinduism as the predominant religion of South Asia and currently the third largest religion.

Unit 4: Monotheism in Judaism
  • Locate Israel on a map.
  • Identify the ancient Israelites, or Hebrews, and trace their migrations from Mesopotamia to the land called Canaan, and explain the role of Abraham and Moses in their history. (H, G)
  • Describe Judaism as the monotheistic religion of the Israelites.
  1. the belief that there is one God
  2. the Ten Commandments
  3. the emphasis on individual worth and personal responsibility
  4. the belief that all people must adhere to the same moral obligations, whether ruler or ruled
  5. the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) as part of the history of early Israel.

Unit 5: Monotheism in Christianity
  • Describe the origins of Christianity and its central features.
A. monotheism
B. the belief in Jesus as the Messiah and God’s son who redeemed humans from sin
C. the concept of salvation
D. belief in the Old and New Testament
E. the lives and teachings of Jesus
Unit 6: Monotheism in Islam
  • Describe the origins of Islam and its central features.
A. monotheism
B. the belief that the purpose of humanity it to serve Allah
C. the concept of final judgment and salvation
D. belief in the Koran
E. the life and teaching of Muhammad
F. the five pillars of faith
Unit 7: CONFLICTS OVER RELIGION: The Crusades
  • Explain the meaning of time periods or dates in historical narratives (decade, century, 1600s, 1776) and use them correctly in speaking and writing.
  • Describe the Crusades as a conflict over religion. Identify the religions involved, the cause of the Crusades, the effects of the Crusades, and the time period and geographic region involved.

Unit 8: CONFLICTS OVER RELIGION: The Puritan Settlement of America
  • Describe why the Pilgrims left Europe to seek religious freedom; describe their journey and their early years in the Plymouth Colony.
  • Explain why Roger Williams founded Rhode Island.
  • Identify Massachusetts and Rhode Island on a map.

Unit 9: CONFLICTS OVER RELIGION: The Holocaust
  • Explain the meaning of time periods or dates in historical narratives (decade, century, 1600s, 1776) and use them correctly in speaking and writing. (H)
  • Locate Germany and Poland on a world map.
  • Describe the Holocaust as the intentional and systematic killing of Jews and select other populations by the Nazis in the 1930s and 1940s. Explain the impact of the Holocaust (the death of 6,000,000 Jews and the resettlement of Jews away from Eastern Europe).

Unit 10: CONFLICTS OVER RELIGION: The Taliban and the Afghan War
  • Explain the meaning of time periods or dates in historical narratives (decade, century, 1600s, 1776) and use them correctly in speaking and writing.
  • Locate Afghanistan on a world map.
  • Describe several of the main beliefs held by the Taliban. Explain the reaction of other Muslims to the Taliban.

Brooke Charter Schools 2014 – 2015Social Studies Standards

STANDARDS BY GRADE LEVEL, ORGANIZED BY UNIT

5th grade: How Money Impacts People

Unit 1 or 7: Saving and Spending (setting up a bank account and saving for college)
  • Give examples of the ways people save their money and explain the advantages and disadvantages of each.
  • Define the role of a bank and what banks do with money.
  • Define interest, and explain the benefits of saving money in a bank account.

Unit 2: Trading, Bartering, and the Development of Currency
Standards:
  • Explain the benefits and limitation of using currency.
  • Define barter, give examples of bartering (e.g., trading baseball cards with each other), and explain how money makes it easier for people to get things they want. Barter is the direct exchange of goods and services between people without using money. Trade is the exchange of goods and services between people (bartering is a kind of trade, but so is trading goods for money).
  • Provide examples of currencies from several countries and explain why international trade requires a system for exchanging currency between nations.
  • Give examples of products that are traded among nations, and examples of barriers to trade in these or other products.
  • Give examples of limited and unlimited resources and explain how scarcity compels people and communities to make choices about goods and services, giving up some things to get other things.
  • Explain how changes in supply and demand affect prices of specific products.
  • Define specialization in jobs and businesses and give examples of specialized businesses in the community.
  • Identify the key elements of a market economy. In a market economy, the major decisions about production and distribution are made in a decentralized manner by individual households and business firms following their own self- interest.