United States and World Affairs

US & World Affairs

SLO Study Guide

2015-2016

Houston County Schools

United States and World Affairs

Dear Student,

This U.S. and World Affairs Study/Resource Guide is intended to help you prepare for the U.S. and World Affairs SLO. The U.S. and World Affairs SLO will consist of 50 multiple-choice questions. When taking a multiple-choice test, remember:

There is only one right answer, so read EACH answer choice carefully before making your selection.
Start by eliminating the answers that you know are wrong.
Then look for the answer that is the BEST choice.

(Georgia Department of Education, 2015)

This guide is just one resource available for students and it should not replace materials distributed by teachers. It is to be used in conjunction with notes and resources provided by the teacher throughout the course. It contains sample questions and helpful activities to give you an idea of what test questions look like on the U.S. and World Affairs SLO.

These sample questions are fully explained and will tell you why each answer is either correct or incorrect.

Getting Started:
Get it together!

This guide

Pen or pencil

Highlighter

Paper

Gather materials

Classroom notes

Resources/handouts

Returned quizzes or tests

Study space

Find a comfortable place to sit.

Use good lighting.

Time to focus—no TV, games, or phones!

Study time

Set aside some time after school.

Set a goal—how long are you going to study?

Remember—you cannot do this all at one time.

Study a little at a time, ever da.

Study buddy

Work with a partner—anyone who can help!

Ask questions when you don’t understand!

Test-taking help

Read each question and all of the answer choices carefully.

Check your work!
(Georgia Department of Education 2015)

DEPTH OF KNOWLEDGE

Test questions are designed with a Depth of Knowledge (DOK) level in mind. As you go from Level 1 to Level 4, the questions get more and more challenging. They take more thinking and reasoning to answer. You may have experienced these types of questions in your classroom as your teachers find ways to challenge you each day.

A Level 1 item may not require as much thinking as a Level 4 item—but that does not mean it’s easy.

A Level 4 item may have more than one part or ask you to write something. (You will not have a DOK 4 level items on your SLO.)

Here is some information to help you understand just what a DOK level really is.

Level 1 (Recall of Information)

Identify, list, or define something.

Questions may start with who, what, when, and where.

Recall facts, terms, or identify information.

Level 2 (Basic Reasoning)

Think about things—it is more than just remembering something.

Describe or explain something.

Answer the questions “how” or “why.”

Level 3 (Complex Reasoning)

Go beyond explaining or describing “how and why.”

Explain or justify your answers.

Give reasons and evidence for your response.

Make connections and explain a concept or a “big idea.”

Level 4 (Extended Reasoning)

Complex thinking required!

Plan, investigate, or apply a deeper understanding.

These items will take more time to write.

Connect and relate ideas.

Show evidence by doing a task, creating a product, or writing a response.

(Georgia Department of Education 2015)

Example Items:

The following example questions represent the different DOK levels found on the U.S. and World Affairs SLO. An explanation of the answer will follow each question.

EXAMPLE 1

DOK Level 1: This is a DOK level 1 item because it asks students to recall a fact.

Standard 9: Traces and analyzes selected cultural, economic, political, and historical patterns in World War II Africa (e.g. Independence Movements, Famines and Epidemics (AIDS), Rise of Apartheid, U.S. Sanctions and End of Apartheid in South Africa (Mandela).)

Who was the reformer that began the anti-Apartheid movement in South Africa?

A Martin Luther King, Jr.
B Nelson Mandela
CF.W. de Klerk
D Mahatma Gandhi

Correct Answer: B

Explanation of Correct Answer: The correct answer choice is (B) Nelson Mandela. Choice (A) is incorrect because Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American Civil Rights leader. Choice (C), F.W. de Klerk, is incorrect because although he was an important figure in the fight to end Apartheid, but he was not the reformer that BEGAN the movement. Choice (D) is incorrect because Mahatma Gandhi fought for independence from British rule in India.

EXAMPLE 2

DOK Level 2: This is a DOK level 2 because it involves reasoning and comparing.

Standard 11: Traces and analyzes selected cultural, economic, political and historical patterns in post-World War II Americas (e.g., Civil Rights Movement, Bay of Pigs, Cuban Missile Crisis, Drug Trade, NAFTA, Immigration, 1996 Summer Olympics.)

Read the information in the box.

Which trade agreement is described in the box?
A ASEAN Free Trade Agreement
B G-3 Free Trade Agreement
CNorth American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation
D North American Free Trade Agreement

Correct Answer: D

Explanation of Correct Answer: The correct answer is choice (D). Choices (A) and (B) are free trade agreements, but the agreements are not between the three listed countries. Choice (C) is an agreement between Canada, the United States, and Mexico, but it is on environmental protection rather than free trade.

EXAMPLE 3

DOK Level 3: This is a DOK Level 3 item because students must analyze the political cartoon in order to draw a conclusion about the intent of U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War.

Use the political cartoon and your knowledge of Social Studies to answer the question.

From the end of World War II until the 1980’s, the United States carried out its foreign policy mainly by

A giving in to foreign demands.
B avoiding any situation that might involve the U.S. in a war against the U.S.S.R.
C acting forcefully to obtain and control colonies.
D taking a variety of actions to prevent the spread of communism.
(question adapted from NY Regents Exam)

Correct Answer: D

Explanation of Correct Answer: The correct answer choice is (D) because the United States fought the Vietnam War and Korean War in an attempt to prevent the spread of communism throughout Asia. The political cartoon references the Domino Theory which led the U.S. to believe that it must adopt a policy of containment at all cost during the Cold War. Choice (A) is incorrect because the U.S. response to the above cartoon was not to give in to foreign demands. Choice (B) is incorrect because the U.S. came close to war with the Soviet Union in an attempt to prevent the spread of communism. Choice (C) is incorrect because the U.S. did not obtain colonies as a result of Soviet domination in the countries in the political cartoon.

United States and World Affairs Content Description

In this section, you will find information about the content that you need to study for the US and World Affairs Student Learning Objective assessment. Priority Standards are in this section along with key terms from each unit that you should know in order to have an adequate understanding of the curriculum.

Priority Standards

Identifies the major continents, nations, and regions of the world.

Classifies the major regions of the world according to climate, politics, economics, religion, language, land areas, location, population (total).

Examines the relationship of interdependence to independence in the world.

Traces and analyzes selected cultural, economic, political and historical patterns in post-World II Europe (e.g. Marshall Plan, NATO, Fall of Berlin Wall and Re-unification of Germany, Break-up of the Soviet Union, European Union, Balkan Break-up, End of Cold War, European Union).

Traces and analyzes selected cultural, economic, political and historical patterns in post- World War II Middle East (e.g. Palestinian and Israeli Conflict, Camp David Accords, Iranian Revolution, Iranian Hostage Situation, Desert Storm, Invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan).

Traces and analyzes selected cultural, economic, political and historical patterns in post-World War II Africa (e.g., Independence Movements, Famines and Epidemics (HIV/AIDS), Rise of Apartheid, U.S. Sanctions and End of Apartheid in South Africa (Mandela), Ethnic Conflicts.

Traces and analyzesselected cultural, economic, political and historical patterns in post-World II Asia and Oceania (e.g., Korean War, Vietnam, Containment of Communism)

Traces and analyzes selected cultural, economic, political and historical patterns in post-World War II Americas (e.g., Bay of Pigs, Cuban Missile Crisis, Drug Trade, NAFTA, Immigration,).

Traces the nature of cooperation and conflict among major nations after the Cold War.

Analyzes the world balance of power with respect to economic and politicalcompetition among nations since the end of the Cold War.

Describes the origin and nature of terrorism (e.g., 9/11, Osama bin Laden, Al-Qaeda, Taliban-Afghanistan, terrorism in Iraq)

Analyzes the emergence of a global economy.

Describes examples of the multi-national organizations which promote international development and unity and stability (e.g. World Trade Organization, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, WHO, NATO, OPEC, United Nations, EU).

Describes the impact of competition for food and resources.

Analyzes the difficulty of developing and enforcing international standards of human rights.

Key Terms

In each unit, key terms have been identified as having particular importance to the content and standards of that unit.

United States and World Affairs

UNIT 1 – GEOGRAPHY
Continent
Country
UNIT 2 -MIDDLE EAST/SW ASIA
Ayatollah Khomeini
OPEC
Palestinian/Israeli conflict
Importance of scarce resources
UNIT 3 – EUROPE
Weapons of mass destruction
Marshall Plan
European Union

UNIT 4 – SOUTH AND EAST ASIA
OPEC
Domino Theory
UNIT 5 – AMERICAS
Bay of Pigs
OPEC
NAFTA
Cuban Missile Crisis
arms (as in “weapons”)
Camp David Accords
UNIT 6 – SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
F.W. deKlerk
Human rights violations
Sub-Saharan
Apartheid
Ethnic conflicts
Nelson Mandela
HIV
De-colonization

GENERAL CONTENT VOCABULARY
Economic diversification
Globalization/Interdependence
Industrialized nation
Testing Vocabulary
Sequence
Borders (as in “The Atlantic Ocean borders France to the west.”)
Eliminate
Indicated
Negotiate
Factor
Labor (as an economic term)
Contributions
Exile
Reluctant
Concept

Skills
Maps
Diagrams
Secondary documents (newspaper articles)
Primary documents (Quotes, Speeches)
Political Cartoons