Three Village Central School District
ESSENTIALS OF LEARNING
S OC I A L S T U D I E S 7- 12
United States History
Grades 7 & 8
U.S. History
& Government
Grade 11
Global History
& Geography
Grades 9&10
Participation in
Government
& Economics
The mission of the Three Village Central School District, in concert
with its families and community, is to provide an educational
environment, which will enable each student to achieve a high level of
academic proficiency and to become a well-rounded individual who is
an involved, responsible citizen.
Students entering secondary school continue their social
studies education with a two-year program in Grades Seven and
Eight that focuses on American social history. A New York State
assessment of student proficiency will be administered at the end
of GRADE EIGHT.
New York State requires that students continue history in
Grades Nine and Ten with a general study of global history and
geography. At the end of grade ten, students must pass the New
York State Regents exam covering the content of both years of
study.
In Grade Eleven, students focus their attention on a study of American History and
Government, which culminates with a Regents Exam at the end of the academic year.
A fourth year of social studies must be successfully completed in Grade Twelve with course
work in Economics and Participation in Government.
The following chart explains the Three Village Central School District’s Social Studies Curriculum:
GRADE
7&8
9
10
11
12
Course title
U.S. History
Global History &
Geography
Global History &
Geography
U.S. History &
Economics**
Course I
Course II
Government
Modern Economic
Problems
11R
Participation in
7R
8R
9R
10R
7H
8H
9H
10
Government ***
*AP European
*AP American
1. You and the Law
History
History
2. Great Moral Issues
3. Vietnam
Exams
8th Grade
Electives
Electives
NYS Regents
NYS Regents
Electives
NYS Assessment
R = Regents Level
H = Honors Level AP = Advanced Placement
* Indicates AP course
** AP course also available in Micro Economics & Modern Economic Problems
*** AP course also available in Comparative Government & Politics (fulfills both Grade 12
requirements.)
This document reflects the departments’ commitment to overall excellence in the
teaching and learning of social studies. Our curriculum asks students to inquire, question,
examine and evaluate many different issues. The direct products of this program we
believe are, in the short term, success on all assessments, but more importantly, the
development of engaged, lifelong learners.
Essentials of Learning
United States History
Social Studies – Grade 7
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
Social:
• Understand the various cultural
aspects of the Iroquois and
other Eastern Woodlands
groups, as well as Native
Americans of North, Central,
and South America.
Includes the study of human
culture and settlement within
the Americas.
• Understand that through
European exploration and
colonization, a new form of
cultural interaction occurred
between Native Americans,
Africans, and Europeans.
Economic:
• Examine the importance of
wealth in the development of
emerging nation states and
how the quest for gold led to
exploration and discovery.
• Explore
the
relationship
between land and wealth in the
New World.
• Understand the interaction
between the American colonies
and
the
mother
country
(mercantilism,
triangle trade,
taxation, and revolution).
• Contrast the impact of the
Industrial revolution on the
North and the South.
Historic:
• Study the chronology of
America from pre-Columbian
times through the events
leading to the Civil War.
Political:
• Become familiar with the structure of
the U.S. government and the threebranch system.
• Recognize that the concepts of civic
life, politics and government are
supported by legal, political, and
historical documents such as the
Mayflower Compact, the
Declaration of Independence, the
Articles of Confederation, the U.S.
Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.
• Understand that the establishment of
colonial governments led to the
development of representative
democracy for the nation.
• Become familiar with the New York
State Constitution.
• Examine the development of political
parties in the context of the
development of the new U.S.
government.
Geographic:
• Understand geographical factors that
led to settlement patterns and future
movements of peoples living in the
Americas.
• Identify geographic features that
contributed to the development of
various
lifestyles in the New
England, Middle, and Southern
colonies.
• Use maps and current technologies
to understand basic map skills for
the world and the United States
(place, movement, Interaction with
people, location, and climate).
• Examine the changes of the physical
boundaries of the U.S. as a result of
Manifest Destiny and the impact of
territorial expansion on the issue of
slavery.
Essentials of Learning
United States History
Social studies – Grade 8
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
Social:
• Discover the importance of
cultural diffusion through
immigration within American
history.
• Examine the rising expectations
of minorities in 20th century
American society.
• Understand the relationship
between social problems and
reform movements in the
Industrial Age.
Political:
• Recognize the changes in
government philosophy from
lassiez-faire to an evolvement of
government regulation.
• Gain an appreciation of the
suffrage movements that have
occurred throughout American
history.
• Examine the change in the role of
responsibilities of citizens.
Economic:
• Understand the contributing factors to the Great
Depression.
• Examine the impact of technology on the economic
development of the United States.
• Recognize the shift from agricultural to an industrial
economy
Geographic:
• Discover the political boundaries of
the United States and the world
abroad
• Understand the relationship and
economic impact of geography on
economic development of the
United States.
Historic:
• Understand the threats to
democracy and the
consequent responses.
• Examine Foreign Policy
choices of the United States.
• Examine the post-war world
role of the United States as a
global superpower
Essentials of Learning
Global History &Geography I & II
Social Studies Grades 9 & 10
Grade 9: Prehistory to 1750
Grade 10: 1750 to the Present
Upon completion of this two-year course, students will be able to:
Historic
Understand key themes in world
history including the following:
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•
•
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•
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•
•
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Belief Systems
Change
Choice
Conflict
Cultural and intellectual life
Diversity
Empathy
Identity
Imperialism
Interdependence
Cultural Diffusion
Urbanization
Turning Points
Economic
Use a variety of intellectual skills to
demonstrate their understanding of
how the world develops economic
systems and associated institutions
to allocate scarce resources, how
major
decision-making units
function in world economies, and
how an economy solves the
scarcity problem through market
and non-market economies.
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Economic systems
Factors of production
Needs and wants
Scarcity
Science and technology
Geographic
Use a variety of intellectual skills
to demonstrate their
understanding of the geography of
the interdependent world in which
we live—local, national, and
global - including the distribution
of people, places, and
environments over the Earth's
surface.
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The world in spatial terms
Places and regions
Physical systems
Human systems
Environmental and society
Uses of geography
Political
Use a variety of intellectual skills
to demonstrate their
understanding of the following:
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•
•
Examination and
comparison of basic
political institutions and
their origins.
Analyze how nations
guarantee human rights
and provide for human
needs.
Identify and analyze the
advantages and
disadvantages of various
governmental institutions.
Essentials of Learning
United States History &
Government
Social Studies – Grade 11
Upon completion of this course, students
will be able to:
Historic
Identify the key themes in United States History as well as analyze their effects on the social
atmosphere of the country.
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Immigration
Race relations
Multiculturalism
Religious diversity
Foreign Policy: Isolationism to a World Power
Sectionalism v. Nationalism
Reform Movement
Urban growth
Industrial growth
Political
Understand the creation and evolvement of the
United States Government and its relationship with
its people.
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Constitution: Federalism v. States
Rights
Rise of Political Parties
Civic Values and Citizenship
Civil Liberties v. The Needs of
Society
Geographic
Analyze how society adapts to its
geographic location.
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Regional differences and
their role and influence on
historical development
Demographics
Physical Knowledge
Current Issues
Economic
Develop a greater understanding of the influence and significance of
economic developments to specific periods in history. The student will
compare and contrast how economic trends influence a society.
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Development of Capitalism
Trace the Rise of Mercantilism to Industrial
Agrarianism to Industrialism and Post-Industrialism Eras
Global Markets: Interdependence
Development and Impact of the Infrastructure of the
United States
Essentials of Learning
Participation in
Government & Economics
Grade 12
Upon completion of these courses students will be able to:
Participation in Government:
•
Students will be able to identify the
protections of individual rights that
have been institutionalized in the
Bill of Rights and state law.
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Economic and Economic
Decision Making:
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Students will be able to discuss
current government policies and
the moral implications of such
policies.
Students will be able to
function as informed and
economically literate
citizens in our society and
the world.
•
Students will be able to draw from
areas beyond the defined social
studies curriculum to include life
experiences beyond the classroom
and school.
•
Students will become wiser
consumers as well as better
citizens. The course is
designed to emphasize
rational decision making in
the marketplace.
Students will be able to
explain the meaning of
scarcity, opportunity cost,
benefit/cost analysis,
economic systems and
supply and demand.
Students will be able to develop
alternative outcomes as well as
new policies that should be
created for future governments.
Students will be able to use multidimensional social studies or social
science skills to develop criteria for
assessing the success or failures of
governmental policies.
•
Students will study graph
and model analysis, as well
as the role of government in
economics.