Elementary Education - Multiple Subject Content Standards

Demonstrate knowledge of phonological awareness skills (i.e., rhyming, segmenting sentences into words, segmenting words into syllables).

Recognize and produce phonemes in words (i.e., segment words into phonemes, recognize when words start or end with the same sound).

Understand the need to emphasize segmenting and blending when teaching phonemic awareness.

Establish relation between sounds and letters and use this relationship to further both alphabetic knowledge and phonemic awareness.

Recognize and produce common letter sounds

Apply knowledge of similarities and differences among groups of phonemes (e.g., consonants and vowels, voiced and unvoiced, continuous and noncontinuous) that vary in their placement and manner of articulation.

Recognize that acquiring phonemic awareness is a means (rather than an end) to help learners understand and use the alphabetic system to read and write.

Understand the importance of teaching students the basic meaning of phonemic awareness, i.e., the insight that every word can be conceived as a sequence of phonemes.

Know that the effectiveness of linguistic awareness activities depends on students' ability to repeat and understand the language to which they are applied.

Recognize that children will differ in the ease with which they grasp and refine their phonemic awareness and that some will need more instruction than others (e.g., regional language differences; dialects; articulation difficulties; English as a second language).

Understand how critically word study depends on solid letter knowledge; know how to foster and assess letter knowledge

Know the elements of the alphabetic principle, including letter names, grapheme-phoneme correspondences and spelling patterns, and the relationship of the letters in printed words to spoken language.

Know how to analyze spoken and written words into component phonemes, onsets and rimes, syllables, and morphemes.

Know the terminology of decoding and other word identification strategies (e.g., consonant blends, consonant digraphs, vowel patterns, syllable patterns, orthography, morphology).

Explain the roles and relationships among phonemic awareness, decoding, comprehension, word recognition, and spelling (including the complexities related to the interaction of phonology, the alphabetic principle, morphology, and etymology), in producing good readers.

Understand how morphology and etymology interact with the systematic and explicit development of vocabulary.

Understand how complementing the definitions of words with attention to their usages and shades of meaning across contexts interact with the systematic and explicit development of vocabulary.

Understand difference between sound correspondence and spelling conventions.

Understand how to use spelling to reinforce and extend phonics.

Engage children in using, extending, and generalizing phonics through word study, spelling, and reading activities.

Understand importance of teaching students basic concepts about print.(print moves left-to-right across the page and top-to-bottom, written words are separated by spaces, the difference between individual letters and printed words, spoken words are represented in written language by specific sequences of letters, spoken sentences are composed of individual words).

Understand differences between implicit and explicit phonics, analytic and synthetic phonics, and embedded and non-embedded phonics.

Understand the differences between systematic and non-systematic approaches to phonics instruction.

Recognize that phonics is one component of a complete and comprehensive reading program.

Identify common misconceptions students may develop in reading and describe ways to correct them (e.g., guesses the word from the first letter, looks at picture to guess words, confuses b and d, has trouble with vowels in the middle of words).

Select from among various reading instruction methods the most effective given student performance data.

Select and administer reading assessments to determine students' independent and instructional, levels of reading (e.g., decoding tests, fluency checks, and sight word identification checks).

Understand the importance of student ease in decoding to fluency

Understand the importance of accuracy and ease in word recognition to sentence and passage reading understand the u-shaped relation of subjective passage difficulty to resulting growth.

Know appropriate ranges of fluency levels for each grade level (e.g., in first grade, accurately reads 60 to 80 words per minute in grade appropriate text).

Understand how fluent passage reading is related to reading comprehension and learning of text material.

Understand the importance of providing classroom practice through extensive guided oral reading to build fluency.

Know why and how to monitor and provide corrective feedback during oral reading.

Understand that fluency varies inversely with the difficulty of material.

Know that independent reading is essential for students who have acquired a basic level of fluency to maintain and extend their fluency; know ways to promote independent reading.

Know how to measure fluency (rate and accuracy) to evaluate individual students' reading progress and determine appropriate instruction.

Select materials and activities that are appropriate at different stages of reading development considering variables such as complexity and familiarity of vocabulary, text structures, syntactical structures, and length of text.

Model good reading by reading orally from texts with fluency (accuracy, expression, appropriate phrasing, and attention to capitalization and punctuation).

Use knowledge of individual words in unknown compound words to predict their meaning

Define common Greek and Latin derived roots and affixes and use this knowledge to determine the meaning of complex words

Know the meaning of prefixes (re, un, pre, bi, mis, dis) and suffixes (er, est, ful, ness, less, ly)

Infer word meanings through identification and analysis of analogies and other word relationships and clues (e.g., restatement, comparison, contrast, cause and effect) to determine the meaning of words

Use knowledge of word order (syntax) and context to confirm word meaning

Understand the importance of ensuring that children attend to and learn about the usage as well as the meaning of words

Distinguish between denotative and connotative word meanings

Understand and explain the figurative and metaphorical use of words in context,

Understand and explain the meaning of common idioms and adages

Explain the meanings of terms such as synonyms, antonyms, homophones, homonyms, and homographs

Understand and explain common antonyms and synonyms

Demonstrate understanding of homophones and homographs

Construct analogies by identifying similarities about two objects, actions, or events from the same class

Use resources such as dictionaries, thesauruses, glossaries to find pronunciations, derivations, and spellings and contextually appropriate meanings of unfamiliar words, synonyms and replacement words

Understand that high frequency and multiple, repeated exposures to vocabulary material through the use of a variety of definitional and contextual approaches distributed over time and across settings (pre-teaching of vocabulary, word classification and semantic mapping; reading in content areas) are important for student learning gains

Understand the particular importance of teaching morphology or the analysis of word roots and affixes to promote generalized use of vocabulary skills

Understand the importance of attending to parts of speech when teaching new words because children's knowledge of word meanings is often context-specific and incomplete

Explain how to assess and instruct for functional vocabulary power

Ask and respond to clarifying questions concerning essential textual elements of exposition (e.g., why, who, what, what-if, where, when, and how)

Know and use different reading strategies (e.g., skimming and scanning; finding information to support particular ideas) and the various functions of language (e.g., to inform, to persuade, to entertain) to comprehend informational text

Identify background knowledge that readers must have in order to understand a text

Make and revise predictions about coming information

Give and follow multiple step directions

Identify and interpret the central ideas (stated or implied) and major or minor facts and details that support the ideas or arguments in text

Summarize events and ideas of text

Interpret information from diagrams, charts and graphs

Identify cause and effect

Understand and provide clear examples of expository text structures (i.e., cause/effect/ comparison/contrast, problem/solution, sequence-time, classifications, generalizations) to gain meaning from text

Distinguish among facts, supported inferences and opinions in text

Compare and contrast the treatment and scope of information on the same topic after reading several passages or articles

Describe how the author's perspective or point of view affects the text

Draw inferences, conclusions or generalizations about text and support them with textual evidence and experience (e.g., explain how writers focus ideas, provide sufficient evidence, persuade an audience to reason with them)

Identify the use of elements of persuasive argument in print, speech, videos, and in other media

Demonstrate ability to recognize spurious information and fallacious arguments in text

Recognize and analyze instances of bias and stereotyping in a text

Evaluate the coherence, logic, internal consistency and organizational patterns of text

Understand how titles, table of contents, chapter headings, glossaries, indexes, graphics, diagrams and illustrations make information accessible and usable

Describe how text features such as format, graphics, sequence, diagrams, illustrations, charts and maps make information accessible and usable

Demonstrate understanding of various reading comprehension strategies (e.g., comprehension monitoring, paired reading, question generation and answering, use of graphic and semantic organizers, story structure, summarization) and which strategies are most effective for different students and types of content, and of how best to explicitly teach and model strategy use

Interpret both literal and figurative meanings in literature, from a range of genres, using textual support for inferences, conclusions, and generalizations they draw from each work.

Identify the literary elements and structural features of narrative texts with special attention to children's literature (plot, theme, characters, setting, mood, point of view).

Comprehend basic plots of classic fairy tales, myths, folktales, legends and fables.

Compare and contrast tales from different cultures by tracing the exploits of one character type and develop theories to account for similar tales in diverse cultures (e.g., trickster tales, fables).

Determine the underlying theme or author's message in fictional and non-fictional works (e.g., meaning of friendship).

Analyze how the qualities and actions of a character affect the plot and resolution of the conflict (e.g., courage or cowardice; ambition or laziness).

Identify the main problems or conflicts of the plot, their causes, how they influence future action, and how they are resolved.

Contrast the qualities, actions, motives, thoughts, and development of characters.

Describe the element of setting (place, historical period, time of day) and how it affects the text.

Describe how the author's perspective or point of view affects the text.

Recognize and define how mood or meaning is conveyed through literary elements and techniques, including figurative language, allusion, diction, dialogue, description, allegory and symbolism.

Define how mood or meaning is conveyed in prose and poetry (e.g., by word choice, rhyme scheme, rhythm, repetition, personification, metaphor, hyperbole, alliteration, and graphic elements).

Identify the characteristics that distinguish common forms of literature such as poetry, drama, fiction and non-fiction.

Describe the structural differences of various imaginative forms of literature, including fantasies, fables, myths, legends and fairy tales.

Identify parts of speech (e.g., nouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, pronouns), and their functions, as well as the morphology contributing to their classification.

Write simple and complex sentences with correct subject-verb and noun-pronoun agreement, correct tenses, correct word order, and appropriate ending punctuation.

Combine short, related sentences with appositives, participial phrases, and prepositional phrases avoiding problematic comma splices, run-on sentences, and sentence fragments.

Write compound and compound-complex sentences with effective coordination and subordination of ideas to express complete thoughts (parallel structures, major phrasal clausal constituents, modifiers).

Identify and use correct grammar and usage, including

1. present, past and future perfect and perfect progressive verb tenses

2. regular and irregular verbs in various tenses

3. consistent verb tense

4. correct subject-verb and noun-pronoun agreement

5. correct word order

6. verbals (participles, gerunds, infinitives)

7. adjectives (comparative and superlative forms) and adverbs

8. prepositional phrases

9. nominative, objective, possessive, reflexive and relative pronouns

10. pronoun/antecedent agreement and clear pronoun reference

11. irregular plurals (e.g., sheep)

12. contractions with pronouns and verbs

Use correct punctuation, including

1. Appropriate ending punctuation
2. Commas in a series, greetings and closures
3. Correct internal punctuation, including commas, colons, semi-colons, and hyphens
4. Apostrophes in contractions and possessives
5. Quotation marks when appropriate

Capitalize proper nouns, geographical names, dates/holidays, historical periods, special events, magazines, newspapers, names of organizations, titles, first word in quotations, first word in a sentence, the pronoun "I".

Create paragraphs that

1. establish and support a central idea with a topic sentence at or near the beginning of the paragraph

2. include supporting sentences with simple facts, details and explanations

3. include a concluding statement that summarizes the points are indented properly

Know the logical significance of different words (e.g., because, if-then, unless, only, if, including, but, and) and syntactic structures (e.g., main versus subordinate or modifying clauses).

Know the importance of expecting children to spell studied words and patterns correctly in their written compositions

Spell correctly:

1. words using regularly spelled phonogram patterns, orthographic rules, and

2. spelling patterns ("i" before "e" except after "c")

3. contractions, compounds, and homonyms (hair-hare; bear-bare; council-counsel)

4. inflectional endings, including plurals and past tense and words that drop

5. the final e when such endings as or -ableare added words that do not follow traditional phonological patterns (e.g., ought, thought, their)

Identify and demonstrate an understanding of the development and fundamental components of human language, including phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics.

Understand the importance of students' ability to repeat words, syntactic structures and complex sentences for language competence.

Understand how early language interactions affect subsequent language development (e.g., Hart and Risley).

Understand that classroom instruction can increase language competencies and verbal proficiency of students (e.g., asking students to speak in full sentences, construct complete questions).

Understand the major types of structural and lexical differences between oral and literary registers.

Understand the importance of teaching instructional language to students explicitly and early such as and/or, from/to, left/right, true/false, before/ after, first/last, then/now, if/then, here/there, near/far, inside/outside, top/bottom, above/below, front/back, over/under, in front of/behind, next to/away from, in/on, up/down.

Paraphrase information shared orally by others

Summarize major ideas and supporting evidence presented in spoken messages and formal presentations

Identify how oral language (sayings, usages) reflects regions and cultures

Give precise directions and instructions such as in games and tasks

Identify the speaker's point of view and attitude about a subject

Distinguish between a speaker's opinions or assertions of fact and verifiable facts or logical, informational substantiation of a position

Demonstrate ability to discern topic-relevant comments from digressions during discussions

Evaluate the credibility of the speaker (e.g., hidden agendas, slanted or biased material)

Deliver focused oral presentations with a point of view, using details, examples, anecdotes or experiences to explain or clarify information

Demonstrate ability to prompt for topic-relevant clarifications, expansions, refinements, or implications

Demonstrate understanding of the rules of the English language in oral work, and select the structures and features of language appropriate to purpose, audience, and context of the work

Understand the purpose of various prewriting strategies (e.g., outlining, webbing, note-taking).

Describe the stages of the writing process (to generate and develop ideas, organize information, connect ideas and paragraphs so that intended messages are received, develop and revise drafts, and edit for grammar, spelling and punctuation).

Develop graphic or other organizers to clarify ideas for writing assignments (e.g., mapping, developing rough outlines from brainstorming notes).

Structure, set up, and delimit writing assignments to provide appropriate level of challenge with particular attention to practice for newly acquired skills.

Understand the acquisition and development of writing skills (i.e., from writing words to writing single sentences, writing more complex sentences, writing paragraphs, and writing multi-paragraph essays).

Understand the relationship between oral language skills and writing skills (e.g., given a spoken sentence, students are asked who, what, how much questions to assist them in beginning to understand parts of speech).

Know the importance of explicitly teaching students handwriting, sentence structure, paragraph structure, and categories of vocabulary from which students can draw to elaborate their writing (e.g., descriptive words, transitional words, joining words).

Identify the components that make up each genre of writing (i.e., narrative, expository, persuasive, interpretive, descriptive).

Demonstrate knowledge of principles of composition, such as paragraphing, transitional phrases, appropriate vocabulary, and context.

Compose clear, coherent, and focused writing that exhibits awareness of audience and purpose according to conventions in different genre (narrative, interpretive, descriptive, persuasive and expository writing, as well as summaries, letters, and research reports) that

1. develop a recognizable beginning that conveys a clearly stated topic

2. contain an organizing structure that is appropriate to the purpose and the specified audience

3. group related ideas and maintain a consistent focus

4. include variety in sentence structure to enhance interest, flow, rhythm and meaning

5. include well-chosen detail to develop impressions, support judgments and convey concrete images to the mind of the reader

6. employ word choices that are consistent with the document's purpose and persona

7. move through a logical sequence of steps or events, when appropriate

8. supports an interpretation through references to text, authors, experts or personal knowledge

9. use expository structures for conveying information, when appropriate (e.g., cause and effect, similarity and difference, problem and solution, posing and answering a question)

10. use narrative strategies when appropriate, including establishing a context or point of view, plot, setting, mood, dialogue and description to develop characters or relate ideas, memories, or observations

11. use descriptive strategies, including concrete details

12. use persuasive strategies when appropriate, including establishing a clear position in support of a proposition or proposal with organized and relevant evidence and specific rhetorical devices to back up assertions (e.g., via an appeal to logic through reasoning; via an appeal to emotion or ethical belief; or by personal anecdote, case study or analogy)

13. provide a sense of closure to the writing

Formulate open-ended research questions suitable for inquiry and investigation and adjust questions as necessary while research is conducted.

Narrow the focus of a research question and develop a plan for conducting research.

Demonstrate ability to use a variety of research sources, both print and electronic (e.g., reference books, almanacs, atlases, encyclopedias, dictionaries, electronic card catalogs and databases, websites, magazines, newspapers, and the Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature).

Skim materials to develop a general overview of content or to locate specific information.

Use text organizers, including table of contents, chapter titles, headings, graphic features, guide words and indices to locate information.

Gather and synthesize information from observations, surveys, and interviews.

Summarize and organize information from multiple sources by taking notes, outlining ideas, paraphrasing information, and making charts, conceptual maps, learning logs, and timelines.

Interpret and use graphic sources of information such as maps, charts, graphs, timelines, tables and diagrams.

Understand the importance of citing research sources, using recognizable and accepted conventions for doing so.

Understand the importance of instructing students in the learning and study skill strategy of rehearsal (repeating material to remember it more effectively); elaboration (putting material into one's own words and relating it to prior knowledge), and outlining material to highlight its structure and remember it.

Understand the importance of instructing students in how to keep track of the strategies used to construct understandings, the degree of success achieved with them, and how to adjust strategies accordingly (meta-cognition).

Identify the importance of river valleys to the development of the early civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, and China (the Nile, Tigris and Euphrates, the Huang Rivers)

Describe the forms of government they created, including the theocracies in Egypt and the dynasties in China

Identify the intellectual contributions, artistic forms, codes of ethics and justice, and traditions, including the religious beliefs of these civilizations

Identify the sources of the ethical teachings and central beliefs of Judaism and how the ideas of the Hebrew traditions are reflected in the moral and ethical traditions of Western civilization

Describe the characteristics of the Ancient Greek and Roman civilizations and their enduring impact on later civilizations (basic concepts of government and citizenship; scientific and cultural advances)

Know the major figures who helped to establish these early societies and their codes of ethics and justice and their rule of law (Hammurabi, Abraham, Moses, David, Pericles, Asoka); those who extended these early empires and carried their influence into much of the ancient world (Alexander the Great, Cleopatra, Julius Caesar, Augustus Caesar); those whose ideas and teachings became enduring influences in Western and non-Western thought (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Jesus, Buddha, Confucius)

Identify patterns of trade and commerce that influenced these civilizations

Describe the characteristics of the Meso-American civilizations and their contributions to later civilizations (forms of government, religious traditions, system of writing, knowledge of astronomy and mathematics, patterns of trade and commerce, system of roads and other accomplishments as architects and artisans)

Trace the decline of the Western Roman Empire and the development of feudalism as a social and economic system in Europe (growth of towns, the Norman Conquest, Magna Carta, beginnings of representative government and trial by jury, the Crusades, the Black Plague, spread of Islam and the "Holy Wars")

Describe the role of Christianity in medieval and early modern Europe, its expansion beyond Europe

Describe the role of Islam and its impact on Arabia, Africa, Europe and Asia

Describe the Golden Age of cooperation between Jews and Muslims in medieval Spain that promoted creativity in art, literature, and science, including how the cooperation was terminated by the religious persecution of individuals and groups during the Spanish Inquisition and the expulsion of Jews and Muslims from Spain in 1492.

Describe how the Renaissance, Reformation, and Scientific Revolution influenced education, art, religion and government (e.g., role of Islamic scholars; new trade; Renaissance ideals and values; conflicts between science and the church; works of Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and Shakespeare; impact of Martin Luther and John Calvin)

Analyze the political and economic changes during the Age of Exploration, the Enlightenment (great voyages of discovery; origins of modern capitalism; Copernican view of the universe; Newton's natural law, scientific method advanced by Bacon and Descartes; Enlightenment thinkers John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Charles-Louis Montesquieu; development of parliamentary government and the Glorious Revolution; spread of the ideas of the American Revolution; the French Revolution; codification of law)

Describe the link between the rise of industrial economies and their quest for natural resources and 19th century imperialism and colonialism (e.g., in Africa, Southeast Asia, China, India, Latin America, and the Philippines)

Trace the causes, course and effects of World War I (rise of nationalism; rise of ethnic and ideological conflicts; major turning points and the importance of geographic factors in military outcomes; human costs of the mechanization of war; the effects of the Russian Revolution and the implementation of communist rule)

Trace the causes, course and effects of World War II (failures of the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations; rise of totalitarianism; Nazi Germany's policies including its transformation into the Final Solution and the Holocaust; influence of other world conflicts; Stalin-Hitler Pact of 1939 and the invasion of Poland; major turning points, including Pearl Harbor, D-Day invasion; use of the atomic bomb; role of key figures, including Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt, Hirohito, Hitler, Mussolini, Patton, and Rommel)

Analyze the causes of the Cold War, with the free world on one side and Soviet Client states on the other, including competition for influence in such places as Egypt, the Congo, Vietnam , and Chile and the reasons for the collapse of the Soviet Union and end of communism in Europe

Analyze the international developments after World War II (Nuremburg Trials; economic and military power shifts, including Soviet control over Eastern European nations and the economic recoveries of Germany and Japan; establishment of the state of Israel; Truman Doctrine; Marshall Plan; Mao and the Chinese Civil War, the Cold War and the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union, establishment of the United Nations)

Analyze the Chinese Civil War, the rise of Mao Zedong, and the subsequent political and economic upheavals in China (the Cultural Revolution and the Tiananmen Square uprising)

Identify causes for the decline and collapse of the Soviet Union and Communist regimes of Eastern Europe (the uprisings in Poland (1952), Hungary (1956), and Czechoslovakia (1968) and those countries' resurgence in the 1970s and 1980s as people in Soviet satellites sought freedom from Soviet control; the role of various leaders including Mikhail Gorbachev, Vaclav Havel, Andrei Sakharov, Aleksander Sozhenitsyn, Lech Walesa)

Understand the consequences of the Soviet Union's breakup (development of market economies, political and social instability, danger of the spread of nuclear technology to rogue states and terrorist organizations)

Evaluate the ideologies and outcomes of independence movements in the developing world (Gandhi and India; Mandela and South Africa; struggle for democracy in Latin America; Mexican Revolution, including land and labor reforms)

Analyze instances of nation-building in the contemporary world, including the recent history, challenges, and important trends in the regions and connections among political systems, economic development, and individual rights (e.g., Middle East, Africa, Mexico and other parts of Latin America, and China)

Describe the challenges and major forces and events in the Middle East region over the last several decades, including the rise of terrorism, disorder and dangers in the region, and its effects on world instability (weakness and fragility of oil-rich Persian Gulf states, Iranian Revolution, Persian Gulf War, terrorist attacks against Israel and the United States, War in Afghanistan) major sources of ethnic and religious conflicts (the Balkans, Sudan, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, fight over Kashmir, Northern Ireland)

Analyze the integration of countries into the world economy and the information, technological, and communications revolutions (e.g., television, satellites, computers)

Identify the art, architecture, and science of major Pre-Columbian American settlements

Identify and describe European exploration and settlement, and the struggle for control of North America during the Colonial Era, including cooperation and conflict among American Indians and new settlers.

Identify the leaders (William Penn, Lord Baltimore, and Roger Williams)and discuss their religious, economic and political reasons for colonization of North America.

Describe the development and institutionalization of African slavery in the western hemisphere and its consequences in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Describe the causes of the War for Independence, elements of political and military leadership, the impact of the war on Americans, the role of France, and the key people associated with the development of and ideas embodied within the Declaration of Independence.

Define the Articles of Confederation and the factors leading to the development of the U.S. Constitution, including the Bill of Rights

Know the essential provisions of the US Constitution (see Domain 3 Civics for further treatment of the Constitution)

Describe the people and events associated with the development of the United States Constitution, including the contributions and roles of major individuals (George Washington, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Jay)

Trace the evolution of political parties, describe their differing visions for the country, and analyze their impact on economic development policies

Identify historical, cultural, economic and geographic factors that led to the formation of distinct regional identities

Describe the successes and failures of policy and reform during the Age of Jacksonian Democracy (Indian removal, abolition movement, suffrage for women, poorhouses, public schooling, hospitals, prisons)

Describe westward exploration and expansion (early explorers such as Daniel Boone, and Lewis and Clark; pioneers; Indian resistance; Manifest Destiny; Homestead Act; railroads and immigrant labor; cowboys; Buffalo Soldiers; the closing of the American frontier)

Trace major trends in the foreign policy of the early Republic (George Washington's Farewell Address, the War of 1812, the Monroe Doctrine, and involvement in the Mexican-American War

Analyze the significance of the States' Rights Doctrine, the Missouri Compromise (1820), the Wilmot Proviso (1846), the Compromise of 1850, Henry Clay's role in the Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850, the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854), the Dred Scott v. Sandford decision (1857), and the Lincoln-Douglas debates (1858)

Identify the roles of Blacks (both slave and free), American Indians, the Irish and other immigrants, women and children in the political, cultural and economic life of the new country

Recognize the origin and the evolution of the anti-slavery movement, including the roles of free Blacks and women, and the response of those who defended slavery

Describe evidence for the economic, social and political causes of the Civil War, including the constitutional debates over the doctrine of nullification and secession

Compare the conflicting interpretations of state and federal authority as emphasized in the speeches and writings of statesmen such as Daniel Webster and John C. Calhoun

Describe the unique nature of the Civil War (impact of Americans fighting Americans, high casualties, widespread destruction of American property)

Identify the major battles of the Civil War and the comparative strengths and weaknesses of the Union and the Confederacy

Identify the contributions and significance of key individuals (Abraham Lincoln, Robert E. Lee, William Tecumseh Sherman, Ulysses Grant, Frederick Douglass)

Describe the purpose and effect of the Emancipation Proclamation

Describe the character of Reconstruction, factors leading to its abandonment, and the rise of Jim Crow practices

Describe the transformation of the American Economy (agricultural and industrial development; development of federal Indian policy; government encouraged business expansion; rise of the labor movement; role of entrepreneurs, industrialists, and bankers in politics and commerce)

Recognize the pattern of urban growth in the United States, the impact and assimilation of successive waves of immigration in the nineteenth century, and the response of renewed nativism.

Understand the impact of major inventions on the Industrial Revolution and the quality of life (Edison, Bell, Wright brothers)

Trace the rise of the United States to its role as a world power in the twentieth century (US Open Door policy, Panama Canal, Roosevelt's Big Stick diplomacy, Taft's Dollar Diplomacy, Wilson's Moral Diplomacy, US roles in World War I and II)

Analyze the major political, cultural and economic developments of the 1920s (attacks on civil liberties and the responses of organizations such as the ACLU, NAACP, ADL to those attacks; passage of the 18th and 19th Amendments and Prohibition; Harlem Renaissance; role of radio, movies, and mass production techniques)

Describe the causes and effects of the Great Depression and how the New Deal fundamentally changed the role of the federal government (investment, capital, restrictive monetary policies, unemployment and inflation, over production and under consumption and the credit structure)

Analyze the economic boom and social transformation of post-World War II America (growth of service sector, white collar, and professional sector jobs; increased powers of the Presidency; computer and technological revolution, scientific and medical advances changes in communication; forms of popular culture, including popular music and professional sports; increase in education levels, development of mass media and consumerism; mayor immigration and demographic changes)

Describe US foreign policy since World War II with emphasis on the Cold War and the containment policy (McCarthyism, role of military alliances, Truman Doctrine, Berlin Blockade, Korean War, Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam War, Berlin Wall)

Analyze the origins, goals, and key events of the Civil Rights movement (Rosa Parks, Thurgood Marshall, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Robert Kennedy, NAACP, Brown v. Board of Education, Little Rock School Crisis, 1963 March on Washington, civil rights protests in Birmingham and Selma, assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act, growth of the black middle class and increased political power)

Explain the constitutional crisis originating from the Watergate scandal and its impact on attitudes about government

Describe Middle East policy, including the Persian Gulf War, September 11th attack on the US, the war on terrorism, new world disorder and dangers, and varied American responses in the new century

Recognize and describe the significance of prominent national symbols, songs, and traditions (White House, Capitol Building, Statue of Liberty, bald eagle, the American Flag, Liberty Bell, Pledge of Allegiance, songs such as the National Anthem and America the Beautiful; national holidays)

Describe the evolution of the idea of representative democracy that serve as the foundation for the US government (principle of democracy developed by the Greeks, principle of a republican form of government developed by the Romans; Magna Carta, English Bill of Rights, concept of courts and justice from Henry II in England, Mayflower Compact, Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation)

Describe Anti-Federalists and Federalist arguments for and against the new Constitution, including those expressed in The Federalists Papers

Describe the political system of the United States and the ways that citizens participate in it through executive, legislative and judicial processes

Explain the major principles of government and political philosophy contained within the Constitution, especially separation of powers, checks and balances, and federalism

Describe a citizen's fundamental constitutional rights and obligations

Describe the structure, powers and roles of the Executive, Legislative and Judicial Branches of the United States Government

Describe the struggle to extend equal rights to all Americans, including passage of the 13th, 14th, 15th, and 24th Amendments to the Constitution

Describe the role of key leaders (Susan B. Anthony, Eleanor Roosevelt, Jackie Robinson, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr., Cesar Chavez)

Describe the tensions within our constitutional democracy (e.g., majority role/individual rights; state/national authority; civil disobedience/rule of law; freedom of press/right to a fair trial; religion/government)

Explain concepts related to power and authority and the roles and responsibilities of citizenship as they relate to monarchy, totalitarianism, republicanism, democracy, and limited government

Trace the impact of physical geography on the development of ancient civilizations (Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Kush, Hebrew, Greek, Indian, Chinese, and Roman civilizations)

Describe the influence of physical geography on the development of medieval and early modern civilizations (Chinese, Japanese, African, Arabian, Meso-American, Andean Highland, and European civilizations)

Locate places based on ordinal directions, latitude and longitude, the equator, prime meridian, the tropics, the hemispheres, time zones and the international dateline

Identify the location of the fifty states in the nation

Identify the major countries and cities of the world

Identify the major physical features of the United States, including mountain ranges, regions; major rivers and other bodies of water; and major cities

Identify major geographical features of the Earth's surface including continents ; other large landmasses; major mountain ranges, forested areas, grasslands, deserts and bodies of water and rivers

Interpret information from a variety of maps, including contour, population, natural resource, historical, and map projections

Describe the cultural, historical, economic, political, and natural resource characteristics of major world regions (e.g., North America, South America, Asia, Africa, Europe, Australia, Antarctica), including human features of the regions such as population, land use patterns and settlement patterns

Explain the effects of interactions between human and natural systems, including the changes in the meaning, use, and distribution of natural resources and connections among economic development, urbanization, population growth and environmental change

Explain how weather patterns, natural resources, seasonal patterns, and natural hazards affect activities and settlement patterns of plant and animal life within a physical system

Explain basic concepts of demography including factors associated with human migration and settlement with particular emphasis on current events (refugee camps, world population growth and shifts, major patterns of immigration/emigration)

Describe the spread of cultural traits that lead to cultural convergence and divergence, including the widespread use of English and the role of the global media

Relate current events to the physical and human characteristics of places and regions

Describe the characteristics of production and exchange in an economy (use of money and barter; interdependence of consumers and producers; the manufacture, transport and marketing of goods and services)

Explain how the economic concepts of scarcity, opportunity costs, and trade-offs influence decision-making of governments, businesses, and individuals

Describe the costs and benefits of personal spending, saving, investing, and credit choices

Apply the concepts of supply and demand to factors of production and determination of wages

Describe the economic benefits of specialization and exchange

Describe the functions of the major institutions in the US economy (role of private business, banks, stock market, government agencies, labor unions)

Explain the effects of monetary and fiscal policies on inflation, unemployment, and economic growth

Demonstrate understanding of the basic tools for measuring macroeconomic performance, including gross domestic product, price indexes, and unemployment rates

Describe the operation of a market economy (Adam Smith's ideas; interaction between buyers and sellers; affect of competition)

Describe the role of domestic and international competition in a market economy in terms of resource availability, goods and services produced, and the quality, quantity, and price of those products

Describe foreign exchange, how exchange rates are determined, and the effects of the dollar gaining (or losing) value relative to other currencies

Place key events in chronological sequence

Interpret timelines, tables, graphs, maps and charts

Know and use common terminology of history, geography, civics, and economics

Interpret primary and secondary sources, including written documents, narratives, photographs, art and artifacts revealed through archeology

Assess sources in the context of confirmed research and contrast differing points of view on historic and current events, including hypothesizing reasons for differences and similarities, authors' use of evidence, and author's philosophical assumptions, beliefs, or biases about a subject

Identify multiple causes and effects of historical events

Recognize the different ramifications of historical and current events for people of varying ethnic, racial, and cultural backgrounds (e.g. legacy of genocide from totalitarian regimes, including Stalin, Hitler, Mao, and Pol Pot; how cultural norms influence different economic activities and rights of men and women in different regions; the varied immediate and long-term responses by people under colonial rule; the effect of WWII on bringing women and minorities into the US workforce)

Describe connections between historical events and current events

Know how to organize history/social science curriculum around a limited number of powerful ideas (basic understandings, key principles and core concepts) and emphasize the relationship or connections between these ideas

Understand the structure of the real number system (including whole numbers, integers, rational and irrationals) and be able to perform operations within the Real Number system.

Understand base ten place value and identify the place value for each digit in whole numbers and decimals

Compare and order real numbers, (including irrationals and rationals, in fraction and decimal form) using the appropriate symbols, =, <, >.

Identify and represent on a number line whole numbers, fractions, decimals, mixed numbers, and positive and negative integers.

Understand the difference between rote and rational counting (one-to-one correspondence).

Understand the relationship between number lines, counting and measurement.

Round off whole numbers to the nearest ten, hundred, or thousand, ten thousand, or hundred thousand and round off decimals to the nearest tenth, hundredth, or thousandth.

Make reasonable estimates when comparing larger or smaller numbers e.g., by working with orders of magnitude.

Estimate and round very large (e.g., millions) and very small (e.g., thousandths) numbers.

Understand number theory concepts of primes, factors, multiples, and divisibility rules and understand relationships among the concepts (e.g., perform a prime factorization on a number less than 100.)

Recognize, name, and compare unit fractions.

Reduce fractions.

Convert mixed number and improper fractions.

Know and understand that fractions and decimals are two different representations of the same number and know common fraction and decimal equivalents, be able to convert from fractions to the decimal equivalent, and vice-versa.

Interpret percents as a part of a hundred, find decimal and percent equivalents for common fractions and explain why they represent the same value.

Represent equivalent forms of the same number through the use of physical models, diagrams and number expressions.

Know the elements of the exponent laws. (e.g.., use such operations as finding the reciprocal, taking a root, and raising to a fractional power).

Understand how addition, subtraction, multiplication and division relate to each other and to counting.

Know how to use repeated addition, arrays, and counting by multiples to do multiplication.

Know how to use repeated subtraction, equal sharing, and forming equal groups with remainders to do division.

Understand the relationship of counting on, counting back, and skip counting (by 2s, 5s, 10s) to mathematical operations.

Read price lists and menus and understand how unit pricing works.

Represent numbers in exponential and scientific notation (a shorthand way of writing very large or very small numbers, e.g., 7000 = 7 x10 to the power of 3; .0000019 = 1.9 x 10-6;; note that scientific notation is a way of indicating orders of magnitude.)

Describe the relationships between the algorithms for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

Understand properties of number systems and their relationship to the algorithms [e.g., 1 is the multiplicative identity; 37 + 24 = 3 X 10 + 7 + 2 X 10 + 4 = (3 + 2) X 10 + (7 + 4)].

Use properties of the number system to judge the validity of results, to justify each step of a procedure, and to prove or disprove mathematical statements.

Apply the mathematical concepts and skills listed above (and use the relationships among them) to solve problem situations of varying types and complexities.

Show the meaning of addition (putting together, increasing) and subtraction (taking away, finding the difference).

Demonstrate fluency in basic math facts (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division).

Solve addition and subtraction problems by using data from simple charts, picture graphs, and number sentences.

Demonstrate fluency in standard algorithms for computation with multi-digit numbers.

Understand that fluency of math facts plays an important role in problem solving and specify ways to promote fluency in students.

Demonstrate proficiency with division including division with positive decimals and long division with multi-digit divisors.

Use the inverse relationship between addition and subtraction to solve problems and check solutions.

Use the relationship between multiplication and division to simplify computations and to check results.

Add with negative integers; subtract positive integers from negative integers.

Add, subtract, multiply and divide fractions and mixed numbers (like and unlike denominators) and express answers in the simplest form.