New York State Standards for Social Studies: Grade 12

NY.1. History of the United States and New York: Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and New York.

1.1. The study of New York State and United States history requires an analysis of the development of American culture, its diversity and multicultural context, and the ways people are unified by many values, practices, and traditions.

1.1.1. Students analyze the development of American culture, explaining how ideas, values, beliefs, and traditions have changed over time and how they unite all Americans.

1.1.2. Students describe the evolution of American democratic values and beliefs as expressed in the Declaration of Independence, the New York State Constitution, the United States Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and other important historical documents.

1.2. Important ideas, social and cultural values, beliefs, and traditions from New York State and United States history illustrate the connections and interactions of people and events across time and from a variety of perspectives.

1.2.1. Students discuss several schemes for periodizing the history of New York State and the United States

1.2.2. Students develop and test hypotheses about important events, eras, or issues in New York State and United States history, setting clear and valid criteria for judging the importance and significance of these events, eras, or issues.

1.2.3. Students compare and contrast the experiences of different groups in the United States.

1.2.4. Students examine how the Constitution, United States law, and the rights of citizenship provide a major unifying factor in bringing together Americans from diverse roots and traditions.

1.2.5. Students analyze the United States involvement in foreign affairs and a willingness to engage in international politics, examining the ideas and traditions leading to these foreign policies.

1.2.6. Students compare and contrast the values exhibited and foreign policies implemented by the United States and other nations over time with those expressed in the United Nations Charter and international law.

1.3. Study about the major social, political, economic, cultural, and religious developments in New York State and United States history involves learning about the important roles and contributions of individuals and groups.

1.3.1. Students compare and contrast the experiences of different ethnic, national, and religious groups, including Native American Indians, in the United States, explaining their contributions to American society and culture.

1.3.2. Students research and analyze the major themes and developments in New York State and United States history (e.g., colonization and settlement; Revolution and New National Period; immigration; expansion and reform era; Civil War and Reconstruction; The American labor movement; Great Depression; World Wars; contemporary United States).

1.3.3. Students prepare essays and oral reports about the important social, political, economic, scientific, technological, and cultural developments, issues, and events from New York State and United States history.

1.3.4. Students understand the interrelationships between world events and developments in New York State and the United States (e.g., causes for immigration, economic opportunities, human rights abuses, and tyranny versus freedom).

1.4. The skills of historical analysis include the ability to: explain the significance of historical evidence; weigh the importance, reliability, and validity of evidence; understand the concept of multiple causation; understand the importance of changing and competing interpretations of different historical developments.

1.4.1. Students analyze historical narratives about key events in New York State and United States history to identify the facts and evaluate the authors' perspectives.

1.4.2. Students consider different historians' analyses of the same event or development in United States history to understand how different viewpoints and/or frames of reference influence historical interpretations.

1.4.3. Students evaluate the validity and credibility of historical interpretations of important events or issues in New York State or United States history, revising these interpretations as new information is learned and other interpretations are developed. (Adapted from National Standards for United States History).

NY.2. World History: Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in world history and examine the broad sweep of history from a variety of perspectives.

2.1. The study of world history requires an understanding of world cultures and civilizations, including an analysis of important ideas, social and cultural values, beliefs, and traditions. This study also examines the human condition and the connections and interactions of people across time and space, and the ways different people view the same event or issue from a variety of perspectives.

2.1.1. Students define culture and civilization, explaining how they developed and changed over time. Investigate the various components of cultures and civilizations including social customs, norms, values, and traditions; political systems; economic systems; religions and spiritual beliefs; and socialization or educational practices.

2.1.2. Students understand the development and connectedness of Western civilization and other civilizations and cultures in many areas of the world and over time.

2.1.3. Students analyze historic events from around the world by examining accounts written from different perspectives.

2.1.4. Students understand the broad patterns, relationships, and interactions of cultures and civilizations during particular eras and across eras.

2.1.5. Students analyze changing and competing interpretations of issues, events, and developments throughout world history.

2.2. Establishing timeframes, exploring different periodizations, examining themes across time and within cultures, and focusing on important turning points in world history help organize the study of world cultures and civilizations.

2.2.1. Students distinguish between the past, present, and future by creating multiple-tier timelines that display important events and developments from world history across time and place.

2.2.2. Students evaluate the effectiveness of different models for the periodization of important historic events, identifying the reasons why a particular sequence for these events was chosen.

2.2.3. Students analyze evidence critically and demonstrate an understanding of how circumstances of time and place influence perspective.

2.2.4. Students explain the importance of analyzing narratives drawn from different times and places to understand historical events.

2.2.5. Students investigate key events and developments and major turning points in world history to identify the factors that brought about change and the long-term effects of these changes.

2.3. Study of the major social, political, cultural, and religious developments in world history involves learning about the important roles and contributions of individuals and groups.

2.3.1. Students analyze the roles and contributions of individuals and groups to social, political, economic, cultural, and religious practices and activities.

2.3.2. Students explain the dynamics of cultural change and how interactions between and among cultures has affected various cultural groups throughout the world.

2.3.3. Students examine the social/cultural, political, economic, and religious norms and values of Western and other world cultures.

2.4. The skills of historical analysis include the ability to investigate differing and competing interpretations of the theories of history, hypothesize about why interpretations change over time, explain the importance of historical evidence, and understand the concepts of change and continuity over time.

2.4.1. Students identify historical problems, pose analytical questions or hypotheses, research analytical questions or test hypotheses, formulate conclusions or generalizations, raise new questions or issues for further investigation.

2.4.2. Students interpret and analyze documents and artifacts related to significant developments and events in world history.

2.4.3. Students plan and organize historical research projects related to regional or global interdependence.

2.4.4. Students analyze different interpretations of important events, issues, or developments in world history by studying the social, political, and economic context in which they were developed; by testing the data source for reliability and validity, credibility, authority, authenticity, and completeness; and by detecting bias, distortion of the facts, and propaganda by omission, suppression, or invention of facts. (Taken from National Standards for World History).

NY.3. Geography: Students will 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.

3.2. Geography requires the development and application of the skills of asking and answering geographic questions; analyzing theories of geography; and acquiring, organizing, and analyzing geographic information. (Adapted from The National Geography Standards, 1994 Geography for Life).

3.2.2. Students locate and gather geographic information from a variety of primary and secondary sources (Taken from National Geography Standards, 1994).

3.2.1. Students plan, organize, and present geographic research projects.

3.2.3. Students select and design maps, graphs, tables, charts, diagrams, and other graphic representations to present geographic information.

3.2.4. Students analyze geographic information by developing and testing inferences and hypotheses, and formulating conclusions from maps, photographs, computer models, and other geographic representations (Adapted from National Geography Standards, 1994).

3.2.5. Students develop and test generalizations and conclusions and pose analytical questions based on the results of geographic inquiry.

3.1. Geography can be divided into six essential elements which can be used to analyze important historic, geographic, economic, and environmental questions and issues. These six elements include: the world in spatial terms, places and regions, physical settings (including natural resources), human systems, environment and society, and the use of geography. (Adapted from The National Geography Standards, 1994: Geography for Life).

3.1.1. Students understand how to develop and use maps and other graphic representations to display geographic issues, problems, and questions.

3.1.2. Students describe the physical characteristics of the Earth's surface and investigate the continual reshaping of the surface by physical processes and human activities.

3.1.3. Students investigate the characteristics, distribution, and migration of human populations on the Earth's surface (Taken from National Geography Standards, 1994).

3.1.4. Students understand the development and interactions of social/cultural, political, economic, and religious systems in different regions of the world.

3.1.5. Students analyze how the forces of cooperation and conflict among people influence the division and control of the Earth's surface (Taken from National Geography Standards, 1994).

3.1.6. Students explain how technological change affects people, places, and regions.

NY.4. Economics: Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of how the United States and other societies develop economic systems and associated institutions to allocate scarce resources, how major decision-making units function in the United States and other national economies, and how an economy solves the scarcity problem through market and nonmarket mechanisms.

4.1. The study of economics requires an understanding of major economic concepts and systems, the principles of economic decision making, and the interdependence of economies and economic systems throughout the world.

4.1.1. Students analyze the effectiveness of varying ways societies, nations, and regions of the world attempt to satisfy their basic needs and wants by utilizing scarce resources.

4.1.2. Students define and apply basic economic concepts such as scarcity, supply/demand, opportunity costs, production, resources, money and banking, economic growth, markets, costs, competition, and world economic systems.

4.1.3. Students understand the nature of scarcity and how nations of the world make choices which involve economic and social costs and benefits.

4.1.4. Students describe the ideals, principles, structure, practices, accomplishments, and problems related to the United States economic system.

4.1.5. Students compare and contrast the United States economic system with other national economic systems, focusing on the three fundamental economic questions.

4.1.6. Students explain how economic decision making has become global as a result of an interdependent world economy.

4.1.7. Students understand the roles in the economic system of consumers, producers, workers, investors, and voters.

4.2. Economics requires the development and application of the skills needed to make informed and well-reasoned economic decisions in daily and national life.

4.2.1. Students identify, locate, and evaluate economic information from standard reference works, newspapers, periodicals, computer databases, monographs, textbooks, government publications, and other primary and secondary sources.

4.2.2. Students use economic information by identifying similarities and differences in trends; inferring relationships between various elements of an economy: organizing and arranging information in charts, tables, and graphs; extrapolating and making conclusions about economic questions, issues, and problems.

4.2.3. Students apply a problem-solving model to identify economic problems or issues, generate hypotheses, test hypotheses, investigate and analyze selected data, consider alternative solutions or positions, and make decisions about the best solution or position.

4.2.4. Students present economic information and conclusions in different formats, including graphic representations, computer models, research reports, and oral presentations.

NY.5. Civics, Citizenship, and Government: Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the necessity for establishing governments; the governmental system of the United States and other nations; the United States Constitution; the basic civic values of American constitutional democracy; and the roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship, including avenues of participation.

5.1. The study of civics, citizenship, and government involves learning about political systems; the purposes of government and civic life; and the differing assumptions held by people across time and place regarding power, authority, governance, and law. (Adapted from The National Standards for Civics and Government, 1994).

5.1.1. Students analyze how the values of a nation and international organizations affect the guarantee of human rights and make provisions for human needs.

5.1.2. Students consider the nature and evolution of constitutional democracies throughout the world.

5.1.3. Students compare various political systems with that of the United States in terms of ideology, structure, function, institutions, decision-making processes, citizenship roles, and political culture.

5.1.4. Students identify and analyze advantages and disadvantages of various governmental systems.

5.2. The state and federal governments established by the Constitutions of the United States and the State of New York embody basic civic values (such as justice, honesty, self-discipline, due process, equality, majority rule with respect for minority rights, and respect for self, others, and property), principles, and practices and establish a system of shared and limited government. (Adapted from The National Standards for Civics and Government, 1994).

5.2.1. Students trace the evolution of American values, beliefs, and institutions.

5.2.2. Students analyze the disparities between civic values expressed in the United States Constitution and the United Nation Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the realities as evidenced in the political, social, and economic life in the United States and throughout the world.

5.2.3. Students identify, respect, and model those core civic values inherent in our founding documents that have been forces for unity in American society.

5.2.4. Students compare and contrast the Constitutions of the United States and New York State.

5.2.5. Students understand the dynamic relationship between federalism and state's rights.

5.3. Central to civics and citizenship is an understanding of the roles of the citizen within American constitutional democracy and the scope of a citizen's rights and responsibilities.

5.3.1. Students understand how citizenship includes the exercise of certain personal responsibilities, including voting, considering the rights and interests of others, behaving in a civil manner, and accepting responsibility for the consequences of one's actions (Adapted from The National Standards for Civics and Government, 1994).

5.3.2. Students analyze issues at the local, state, and national levels and prescribe responses that promote the public interest or general welfare, such as planning and carrying out a voter registration campaign.

5.3.3. Students describe how citizenship is defined by the Constitution and important laws.

5.3.4. Students explore how citizens influence public policy in a representative democracy.

5.4. The study of civics and citizenship requires the ability to probe ideas and assumptions, ask and answer analytical questions, take a skeptical attitude toward questionable arguments, evaluate evidence, formulate rational conclusions, and develop and refine participatory skills.

5.4.1. Students participate as informed citizens in the political justice system and processes of the United States, including voting.

5.4.2. Students evaluate, take, and defend positions on what the fundamental values and principles of American political life are and their importance to the maintenance of constitutional democracy (Adapted from The National Standards for Civics and Government, 1994).

5.4.3. Students take, defend, and evaluate positions about attitudes that facilitate thoughtful and effective participation in public affairs.

5.4.4. Students consider the need to respect the rights of others, to respect others' points of view (Adapted from The National Standards for Civics and Government, 1996).

5.4.5. Students participate in school/classroom/community activities that focus on an issue or problem.

5.4.6. Students prepare a plan of action that defines an issue or problem, suggests alternative solutions or courses of action, evaluates the consequences for each alternative solution or course of action, prioritizes the solutions based on established criteria, and proposes an action plan to address the issue or to resolve the problem.

5.4.7. Students explain how democratic principles have been used in resolving an issue or problem.