SOCIAL STUDIES STANDARDS AND GRADE LEVEL BENCHMARKS

MIDDLE SCHOOL: GRADES 6-8

I=INTRODUCE              M=MAJOR EMPHASIS              R=REVIEW AND REINFORCE

 

There are seven goals in the social studies curriculum framework. For each goal a set of standards and benchmarks were introduced to establish expectations for student achievement of that goal. Benchmarks specify what students are expected to know and be able to do to indicate satisfactory progress toward meeting these standards and thereby achieving the goals of the social studies curriculum by a specific time in the student’s educational career. (*MEAP U.S. History Test Context to 1763.)

  

STRAND 1:  HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE



Standard 1.1  Time & Chronology

Canada/Latin America

6

East Europe

7

U.S.


8

Integration

Area

Resources

 

1.1.1 Construct and interpret timelines of people and events from the history of Michigan and the United States through the Era of Reconstruction and from the history of other regions of the world.

I

M

R

Math

 

1.1.2 Describe major factors that characterize the following eras in United States history: the meeting of the three worlds (beginnings to 1620), colonization and settlement (1585-1763), Revolution and the new nation (1754-1815), expansion and reform (1850-1877).

I

I
M

M

Language Arts

 

1.1.3 Select a contemporary condition in Africa , Asia , Canada , Europe , and Latin America and trace some of the major historical origins of each.

 

I

M

Math
Language Arts

 

 Standard 1.2  Comprehending the Past

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.2.1 Use narrative and graphic data to describe the settings of significant events that shaped the development of Michigan as a state and the United States as a nation during the eras prior to Reconstruction.

I

I

 M

Language Arts

 

 1.2.2 Identify and explain how individuals in history demonstrated good character and personal virtue.

I

I

M

Language Arts

 

1.2.3 Select conditions in various parts of the world and describe how they have been shaped by events from the past.

 I

I

I

Language Arts
Math

 

1.2.4 Use historical biographies to explain how events from the past affected the lives of individuals and how some individuals influenced the course of history.

M

M

M

Language Arts

 



Standard 1.3  Analyzing and Interpreting the Past

 

 

 

 

 

1.3.1 Use primary and secondary records to analyze significant events that shaped the development of Michigan as a state and the United States as a nation prior to the end of the Era of Reconstruction.

 

I

I

I

Language Arts

 

1.3.2 Analyze interpretations of major events selected from African, Asian, Canadian, European, and Latin American history to reveal the perspectives of the authors.

 

I

I

M

Language Arts

 

1.3.3 Show that historical knowledge is tentative and subject to change by describing interpretations of the past that have been revised when new information was uncovered.

 

I

M

M
R

Language Arts

 

1.3.4 Compose narratives of events from the history of Michigan and of the United States prior to the Era of Reconstruction.

 

 

 

 

 


Standard 1.4 Judging Decisions from the Past

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.4.1 Identify major decisions in the history of Michigan and the united States prior to the end of the Era of Reconstruction, analyze contemporary factors contributing to the decisions, and consider alternative courses of action.

I

I

M

Language Arts

3rd

4th

5th

1.4.2 Identify major decisions in the history of Africa , Asia , Canada , Europe , and Latin America , analyze contemporary factors contributing to the decisions, and consider alternative courses of action.

 


I


I


M

Language Arts
Science

 

1.4.3 Identify the responses of individuals to historic violations of human dignity involving discrimination, persecution, and crimes against humanity.

 

 

 

 

 

1.4.4 Select historic decisions and evaluate them in light of core democratic values and resulting costs and benefits as viewed from a variety of perspectives.

 

 

 

 

 

 

STRAND 2:
GEOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVE

 

 

 

 

 

Standard 2.1  People, Places and Cultures

 

 

 

 

 

2.1.1 Locate and describe the diverse places, cultures, and communities of major world regions.


I


M


M

Language Arts
S. Studies

 

2.1.2 Describe and compare characteristics of major world cultures including language, religion, belief systems, gender roles, and traditions.


M


M


R

Language Arts
S. Studies

Nystrom

 2.1.3 Explain why people live and work as they do in different regions.

 
I

 
M

 
M

Language Arts
S. Studies
Science

 



Standard 2.2  Human/Environmental Interaction

 

 

 

 

 

2.2.1 Locate, describe, and compare the ecosystems, resources, and human environment interactions of major world regions.

I

I

I

Science

 

2.2.2 Locate major ecosystems, describe their characteristics, and explain the process that created them.

I

M

R

Science

 

2.2.3 Explain the importance of different kinds of ecosystems to people.

I

M

R

Science
S. Studies

 

2.2.4 Explain how humans modify the environment and describe some of the possible consequence of those modifications.

 

 

 

 

 

2.2.5 Describe the consequences of human/environment interactions in several different types of environments.

 

 

 

 

 



Standard 2.3  Location, Movement and Connections

 

 

 

 

 

2.3.1 Locate and describe major economic activities and occupations of major world regions and explain the reasons for their locations.

I

M

R

Math
S. Studies

Virginia Press

2.3.2 Explain how governments have divided land and sea areas into different regions.

I
M

M

M

Language Arts

Language Arts Book

2.3.3 Describe how and why people, goods and services, and information move within world regions and between regions.

I
M

M

R

Language Arts
Writing
Technology

 

2.3.4 Describe the major economic and political connections between the United States and different world regions and explain causes and consequences

I

M

M

Language Arts

 



Standard 2.4  Regions, Patterns and Processes