Standards Main Page Executive Summary Preface Introduction Thematic Strands Show
NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR THE SOCIAL STUDIES (NCSS) first published national curriculum standards in 1994. Since then, the social studies standards have been widely and successfully used as a framework for teachers, schools, districts, states, and other nations as a tool for curriculum alignment and development. However, much has changed in the world and in education since these curriculum standards were published. This revision aims to provide a framework for teaching, learning, and assessment in social studies that includes a sharper articulation of curriculum objectives, and reflects greater consistency across the different sections of the document. It incorporates current research and suggestions for improvement from many experienced practitioners. These revised standards reflect a desire to continue and build upon the expectations established in the original standards for effective social studies in the grades from pre-K through 12.
What Is Social Studies and Why Is It Important? …the integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence. Within the school program, social studies provides coordinated, systematic study drawing upon such disciplines as anthropology, archaeology, economics, geography, history, law, philosophy, political science, psychology, religion, and sociology, as well as appropriate content from the humanities, mathematics, and natural sciences. The primary purpose of social studies is to help young people make informed and reasoned decisions for the public good as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world.1 The aim of social studies is the promotion of civic competence—the knowledge, intellectual processes, and democratic dispositions required of students to be active and engaged participants in public life. Although civic competence is not the only responsibility of social studies nor is it exclusive to the field, it is more central to social studies than to any other subject area in schools. By making civic competence a central aim, NCSS has long recognized the importance of educating students who are committed to the ideas and values of democracy. Civic competence rests on this commitment to democratic values, and requires the abilities to use knowledge about one’s community, nation, and world; apply inquiry processes; and employ skills of data collection and analysis, collaboration, decision-making, and problem-solving. Young people who are knowledgeable, skillful, and committed to democracy are necessary to sustaining and improving our democratic way of life, and participating as members of a global community.
What is the Purpose of the National Curriculum
Standards?
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CULTURE The themes represent strands that should thread through a social studies program, from grades pre-K through 12, as appropriate at each level. While at some grades and for some courses, specific themes will be more dominant than others, all the themes are highly interrelated. To understand culture (Theme 1), for example, students also need to understand the theme of time, continuity, and change (Theme 2); the relationships between people, places, and environments (Theme 3); and the role of civic ideals and practices (Theme 10). To understand power, authority, and governance (Theme 6), students need to understand different cultures (Theme 1); the relationships between people, places, and environments (Theme 3); and the interconnections among individuals, groups, and institutions (Theme 5). History is not confined to TIME, CONTINUITY, AND CHANGE (Theme 2) because historical knowledge contributes to the understanding of all the other themes; similarly, geographic skills and knowledge can be found in more than(Theme 3).
The Learning Expectations provide illustrations of what students learn at each level in the social studies curriculum. The language of the Learning Expectations is aimed at teachers and seeks to capture the expectations of over-arching, long-range outcomes. At each level (early years, middle, and high school), the Learning Expectations present key questions for exploration related to each theme.* The Learning Expectations also provide illustrations of the types of purposes, knowledge, and intellectual processes that students should demonstrate in student products. The purposes identify the reasons why it is important to study each theme. Learners build knowledge as they work to integrate new information into existing cognitive constructs, and engage in processes that develop their abilities to think, reason, conduct research and attain understanding as they encounter new concepts, principles, and issues. An appendix highlights Essential Social Studies Skills and Strategies (see pages 163-166) for learners. Students represent what they learn in products that demonstrate their ability to use information accurately, and that reflect the thinking and research skills acquired in the process of learning. Students should learn both to conceive and implement self-directed projects and to participate in group projects. The development of the writing skills of students is an important objective of the products, which also include visual presentations. As a whole, the standards are a framework for education for citizenship in a democracy, and provide students with the democratic dispositions, values, and attitudes needed for civic engagement.
Who Can Use the Social Studies Standards?
Guide standards-based education by clarifying long-range goals and expectations; and Develop a state curriculum framework that focuses both on short-range content goals and long-range social studies goals. School districts and schools can use the standards to: Provide a framework for pre-K-12 curriculum development;
Serve as the basis for professional development experiences. Individual teachers can use the standards to: Provide learning expectations for units and courses that are consistent with long-range social studies goals within and across grade levels; and Acquire ideas and examples for alignment of learning expectations, instruction, and assessment. Teacher
educators can use the standards to: Provide professional support for the advocacy of social studies; Introduce pre-service and in-service teachers to the nature and purpose of social studies; Enable pre-service and in-service teachers to plan instruction consistent with long-range purposes of social studies; and Assess instructional planning and supervise the teaching of pre-service and in-service teachers. Parents and community members can use the standards to: Advocate for social studies teaching and learning in grades from pre-K through 12; Assess the quality of social studies education in local school districts; and Assess children’s development as social studies learners. The publications of National Council for the Social Studies, including its journals Social Education and Social Studies and the Young Learner (for grades K-6), as well as books, regularly include lesson plans and other guidelines for implementing the social studies standards. A video library providing snapshots of the social studies standards in actual classrooms and linked to standards themes, which was produced by WGBH Educational Foundation, can be accessed at the Annenberg Media website at https://www.learner.org/resources/series166.html How Do Content Standards Differ from Curriculum Standards? What is the Relationship Between Them? Since standards have been developed both in social studies and in many of the individual disciplines that are integral to social studies, one might ask: What is the relationship among these various sets of standards? The answer is that the social studies standards address overall curriculum design and comprehensive student learning expectations, while state standards and the national content standards for individual disciplines (e.g., history, civics and government, geography, economics, and psychology)4 provide a range of specific content through which student learning expectations can be accomplished. For example, the use of the NCSS standards might support a plan to teach about the topic of the U.S. Civil War by drawing on three different themes: Theme 2 TIME, CONTINUITY, AND CHANGE; Theme 3 PEOPLE, PLACES, AND ENVIRONMENTS; and Theme 10 CIVIC IDEALS AND PRACTICES. National history standards and state standards could be used to identify specific content related to the topic of the U.S. Civil War. The civic mission of social studies requires more than the acquisition of content. Since social studies has as its primary goal the development of a democratic citizenry, the experiences students have in their social studies classrooms should enable learners to engage in civic discourse and problem-solving, and to take informed civic action. The national curriculum standards for social studies present purposes worth caring about, processes worth engaging in, and knowledge worth learning. They provide the essential framework needed to educate young people for the challenges of citizenship. Notes
Which of the following terms best describes a cognitive process that uses indirect and creative approaches to solve problems?'Lateral thinking is solving problems through an indirect and creative approach, using reasoning that is not immediately obvious and involving ideas that may not be obtainable by using only traditional step-by-step logic.
What is a teachable moment quizlet?Teachable Moment. an unexpected event that occurs and the teacher uses it as a learning opportunity to improve his/her teaching instruction.
Which of the following best identifies an observable and measurable instructional objective for a unit of study on Hispanic cultures?Which of the following best identifies an observable and measurable instructional objective for a unit of study on Hispanic cultures? Students will compare and contrast holidays celebrated in Hispanic cultures with holidays celebrated in other cultures.
Which of the following is a characteristic most often associated with gifted students?Strong sense of curiosity. Enthusiastic about unique interests and topics. Quirky or mature sense of humor. Creative problem solving and imaginative expression.
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