Source:
Curriculum Standards for Social Studies: Expectations of Excellence Bulletin 89
National Council for the Social Studies,
3501 Newark Street NW
Washington, DC 20016
http://www.ncss.org/

Standard 1: Culture
Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of culture and cultural diversity, so that the learner can:

Performance Expectations

• compare similarities and differences in the ways groups, societies and cultures meet human needs and concerns;
• explain how information and experiences may be interpreted by people from diverse cultural perspectives and frames of reference;
• explain and give examples of how language, literature, the arts, architecture, other artifacts, traditions, beliefs, values and behaviors contribute to the development and transmission of culture;
• articulate the implications of cultural diversity; as well as cohesion, within and across groups.

Standard 2: Time Continuity & Change
Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of the ways human beings view themselves in and over time, so that the learner can:

Performance Expectations

• identify and use key concepts such as chronology, causality, change, conflict and explain, analyze and show connections among patterns of historical change and continuity;
• · identify and describe selected historical periods and patterns of change within and across cultures, such as the rise of civilizations, the development of transportation systems, the growth and breakdown of colonial systems and others;
• · identify and use processes important to reconstructing and reinterpreting the past, such as using a variety of sources, providing, validating and weighing evidence for claims, checking credibility of sources and searching for causality;
• · use knowledge of facts and concepts drawn from history, along with methods of historical inquiry, to inform decision-making about and action-taking on public issues.

Standard 3: People, Places and Environments
Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of people, places and environments, so that the learner can:

Performance Expectations

• elaborate mental maps of locales, regions and the world that demonstrate understanding of relative location, direction, size and shape;
• use appropriate resources, data sources and geographic tools such as aerial photographs, satellite images, geographic systems (GIS), map projections and cartography to generate, manipulate and interpret information such as atlases, data bases, grid systems, charts, graphs and maps;
• estimate distance, calculate scale and distinguish other geographic relationships such as population density and spatial distribution patterns;
• describe how people create places that reflect cultural values and ideals as they build neighborhoods, parks, shopping centers and the like;
• examine, interpret and analyze physical and cultural patterns and their interactions, such as land use, settlement patterns, cultural transmission of customs and ideas and ecosystem changes;
• describe ways that historical events have been influenced by and have influenced, physical and human geographic factors in local, regional, national and global settings;
• observe and speculate about social and economic effects of environmental changes and crises resulting from phenomena such as floods, storms and drought;
• propose, compare and evaluate alternative uses of land and resources in communities, regions, nations and the world.

Standard 4: Individual Development and Identity
Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of individual development and identity so that the learner can:

Performance Expectations

• relate personal changes to social, cultural and historical contexts;
• describe personal connections to place-as associated with community, nation and world;
• describe the ways family gender ethnicity nationality and institutional affiliations contribute to personal identity;
• identify and describe ways regional, ethnic and national cultures influence individuals daily lives
• work independently and cooperatively to accomplish goals.

Standard 5: Individuals, Groups and Institutions
Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of interactions among individuals, groups and institutions so that the learner can:

Performance Expectations

• analyze group and institutional influences on people, events and elements of culture;
• describe the various forms institutions take and the interactions of people with institutions;

Standard 7: Production, Distribution and Consumption
Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of how people organize for the production distribution and consumption of good and services, so that the learner can:

Performance Expectations

• use economic concepts to help explain historical and current developments and issues in local, national or global contexts;
• use economic reasoning to compare different proposals for dealing with a contemporary social issue such as unemployment, acid rain or high quality education.

Standard 8: Science Technology, Society
Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of relationships among science, technology and society, so that the learner can:

Performance Expectations

• examine and describe the influence of culture on scientific and technological choices and advancement, such as in transportation, medicine and warfare;

Standard 10: Civic Ideals and Practices
Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of the ideals, principles and practices of citizenship in a democratic republic so that the learner can:

Performance Expectations

• locate, access, analyze organize and apply information about selected public issues - recognizing and explaining multiple points of view;
• practice forms of civic discussion and participation consistent with the ideals of citizens in a democratic republic;
• explain and analyze various forms of citizen action that influence public policy decisions.