Curriculum Project Garred Kirk

EARL 1: Civics The student understands and applies knowledge of government, law, politics, and the nation’s fundamental documents to make decisions about local, national, and international issues and to demonstrate thoughtful, participatory citizenship. Component 1.1: Understands key ideals and principles of the United States, including those in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and other fundamental documents. Component 1.2: Understands the purposes, organization, and function of governments, laws, and political systems. Component 1.3: Understands the purposes and organization of international relationships and U.S. foreign policy. Component 1.4: Understands civic involvement.

EALR 2: ECONOMICS The student applies understanding of economic concepts and systems to analyze decision-making and the interactions between individuals, households, businesses, governments, and societies. Component 2.1: Understands that people have to make choices between wants and needs and evaluate the outcomes of those choices. Component 2.2: Understands how economic systems function. Component 2.3: Understands the government’s role in the economy. Component 2.4: Understands the economic issues and problems that all societies face.

EALR 3: GEOGRAPHY The student uses a spatial perspective to make reasoned decisions by applying the concepts of location, region, and movement and demonstrating knowledge of how geographic features and human cultures impact environments. Component 3.1: Understands the physical characteristics, cultural characteristics, and location of places, regions, and spatial patterns on the Earth’s surface. Component 3.2: Understands human interaction with the environment. Component 3.3: Understands the geographic context of global issues and events.

EALR 4: HISTORY The student understands and applies knowledge of historical thinking, chronology, eras, turning points, major ideas, individuals, and themes on local, Washington State, tribal, United States, and world history in order to evaluate how history shapes the present and future. Component 4.1: Understands historical chronology. Component 4.2: Understands and analyzes causal factors that have shaped major events in history. Component 4.3: Understands that there are multiple perspectives and interpretations of historical events. Component 4.4: Uses history to understand the present and plan for the future.

EALR 5: SOCIAL STUDIES SKILLS The student understands and applies reasoning skills to conduct research, deliberate, form, and evaluate positions through the processes of reading, writing, and communicating. Component 5.1: Uses critical reasoning skills to analyze and evaluate positions. Component 5.2: Uses inquiry-based research. Component 5.3: Deliberates public issues. Component 5.4: Creates a product that uses social studies content to support a thesis and presents the product in an appropriate manner to a meaningful audience.

GLEs 7 th Grade In seventh grade, students become more proficient with the core concepts in social studies (EALR 5.) There are two recommended contexts in which students can demonstrate this proficiency in the seventh grade. The first part of the year is focused on a continuation of world history from sixth grade as students look at the geography, civics, and economics of major societies up through 1450 C.E. (EALR 1-4). The second part of the year asks students to bring their understanding to their world today as they examine Washington State from 1889 to the present. The study of Washington State includes an examination of the state constitution and key treaties (EALR 1, 4). While these two contexts may be very different, the purpose of studying these different regions and eras is the same: to develop enduring understandings of the core concepts and ideas in civics, economics, geography, and history (EALR 1-5). In the 7 th grade students are still receiving background information in each of the curriculum areas and are beginning to be introduced to the concept of historical analysis. 12 th Grade In twelfth grade, students use the conceptual understandings they have developed in civics, economics, geography, and history to explore pressing issues in our world today (EALR 5). The recommended context for this exploration, therefore, focuses on contemporary world issues. By applying their learning from previous years to current topics, students situate current world issues in their historical, geographic, political, economic, and cultural contexts (EALR 1-5). The cognitive demand of the GLEs is primarily evaluation in an effort to leave these graduating students ready to become the next decision makers and leaders of their communities, the nation, and the world (EALR 5). Students have been introduced to all the core concepts of each EALR and are expected to use this knowledge in order to discuss and analyze current world events while being able to apply the information learned in the earlier grades.

NCSS Standards v Washington State Standards NCSS Standards 1. Culture: Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of culture and cultural diversity. 2. Time, Continuity, and Change: Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of the past and its legacy. 3. People, Places, and Environments: Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of people, places, and environments. 4. Individual, Development and Identity: Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of individual development and identity. 5. Individuals, Groups, and Institutions: Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of interactions among individuals, groups, and institutions. 6. Power, Authority, and Governance: Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of how people create, interact with, and change structures of power, authority, and governance. 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 goods and services. 8. Science, Technology, and Society: Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of relationships among science, technology, and society. 9. Global Connections: Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of global connections and interdependence. 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. Both curricula present the idea of students being able to apply what they have learned in a modern context. Both curricula call for students to be introduced to concepts of the roles they place as a citizen of the US and as a global citizen. The curriculum for Washington State has more of a focus on the history of the state at some grade levels and the curriculum is more specific in how to achieve the EALRs at each individual grade level.

National Core Standards The National Core standards are more focus on the development of effective literacy rather than a focus on the subject matter of Social Studies, whereas the state and NCSS standards are much more focus on how to make students more effective in their analysis and understanding of Social Studies. It is interesting to see that at the national level the focus is more on developing students as readers and effective writers rather than developing their knowledge of history, civics, and the other major areas of Social Studies, but this makes sense as the national focus has been put upon improving student performance in literacy and math.