Maine State Standards for Social Studies: Grade 7

ME.A. Civics and Government: Rights, Responsibilities, and Participation: Students will understand the rights and responsibilities of civic life and will employ the skills of effective civic participation.

A.1. Identify the characteristics of an effective citizen. 37
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard A.1.

A.2. Evaluate and defend positions on current issues regarding individual rights and judicial protection. 26
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard A.2.

A.3. Describe and analyze the process by which a proposed law is adopted, including the role of governmental and non-governmental influences. 20
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard A.3.

A.4. Identify ways in which citizens in a pluralistic society manage differences of opinion on public policy issues. 20
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard A.4.

A.5. Explain the functions of and relationships among local, state, and national governments. 20
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard A.5.

ME.B. Civics and Government: Purpose and Types of Government: Students will understand the types and purposes of governments, their evolution, and their relationships with the governed.

B.1. Compare leadership and civil rights in our democracy to their status under an authoritarian type government. 30
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard B.1.

B.2. Compare and contrast the structures of local, state, and national government. 23
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard B.2.

B.3. Contrast the roles of local, state, and national governments by investigating, evaluating, and debating a current civic issue. 22
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard B.3.

B.4. Identify key representatives in legislative branches and the heads of executive and judicial branches in Maine and in the United States government. 20
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard B.4.

B.5. Assess competing ideas about the purposes government should serve (e.g., individual rights versus collective rights). 23
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard B.5.

B.6. Explain the history and functions of Maine state government including the Constitution of Maine. 4
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard B.6.

ME.C. Civics and Government: Fundamental Principles of Government and Constitutions: Students will understand the constitutional principles and the democratic foundations of the political institutions of the United States.

C.1. Explain the meaning and importance of fundamental principles of American constitutional democracy (e.g., popular sovereignty, rule of law, three branches of government, representative institutions, shared powers, checks and balances, and separation of church and state). 22
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard C.1.

C.2. Examine civil rights, liberties, and responsibilities established in the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights. 6
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard C.2.

C.3. Take and defend positions on current issues involving the constitutional practice of individual rights (e.g., freedom of speech, separations of church and state). 17
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard C.3.

C.4. Explain the importance, in a pluralistic society, of having certain shared political values and principles. 17
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard C.4.

ME.D. Civics and Government: International Relations: Students will understand the political relationships among the United States and other nations.

D.1. Explain the foreign policy powers which the Constitution gives to the branches of the government. 38
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard D.1.

D.2. Assess the ways in which the United States government has attempted to resolve an international problem (e.g., Vietnam, Northern Ireland, World War II). 41
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard D.2.

D.3. Explain the reasons for alliances with some nations against others (e.g., with France during the American Revolution, with the Allied Powers in World War II, NATO). 50
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard D.3.

ME.A. History: Chronology: Students will use the chronology of history and major eras to demonstrate the relationships of events and people.

A.1. Describe the effects of historical changes on daily life. 8
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard A.1.

A.2. Identify the sequence of major events and people in the history of Maine, the United States, and selected world civilizations. (See suggested list below in 'Secondary Grades'.) 28
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard A.2.

A.3. Trace simultaneous events in various parts of the world during a specific era. 56
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard A.3.

ME.B. History: Historical Knowledge, Concepts, and Patterns: Students will develop historical knowledge of major events, people, and enduring themes in the United States, in Maine, and throughout world history.

B.1. Demonstrate an understanding of the causes and effects of major events in United States history and the connections to Maine history with an emphasis on events up to 1877, including but not limited to: Declaration of Independence; The Constitution; Westward Expansion; Industrialization; Civil War. 37
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard B.1.

B.2. Demonstrate an understanding of selected themes in Maine, United States, and world history (e.g., revolution, technological innovation, migration). 35
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard B.2.

B.3. Demonstrate an understanding of selected turning points in ancient and medieval world history and the continuing influence of major civilizations of the past. 37
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard B.3.

B.4. Demonstrate an understanding of selected twentieth century issues and events in United States and in Maine history including 'modern' Maine history (1945 to present). 49
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard B.4.

ME.C. History: Historical Inquiry, Analysis, and Interpretation: Students will learn to evaluate resource material such as documents, artifacts, maps, artworks, and literature, and to make judgments about the perspectives of the authors and their credibility when interpreting current historical events.

C.1. Judge the accuracy of historical fiction by comparing the characters and events described with descriptions in multiple primary sources. 22
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard C.1.

C.2. Explain why historical accounts of the same event sometimes differ and relate this explanation to the evidence presented by the author or the point of view of the author. 52
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard C.2.

C.3. Use information from a variety of primary and secondary sources to identify and support a point of view on a controversial historical topic. 23
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard C.3.

C.4. Identify ethnic and cultural perspectives missing from an historical account and describe these points of view. 54
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard C.4.

C.5. Formulate historical questions based on examination of primary and secondary sources including documents, eyewitness accounts, letters and diaries, artifacts, real or simulated historical sites, charts, graphs, diagrams, and written texts. 31
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard C.5.

ME.A. Geography: Skills and Tools: Students will know how to construct and interpret maps and use globes and other geographic tools to locate and derive information about people, places, regions, and environments.

A.1. Visualize the globe and construct maps of the world and its sub-regions to identify patterns of human settlement, major physical features, and political divisions. 21
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard A.1.

A.2. Develop maps, globes, charts, models, and databases to analyze geographical patterns on the earth. 26
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard A.2.

A.3. Understand United States social, political, and economic divisions and the more significant social and political divisions in world geography. 12
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard A.3.

ME.B. Geography: Human Interaction with Environments: Students will understand and analyze the relationships among people and their physical environment.

B.1. Analyze how technology shapes the physical and human characteristics of places and regions, including Maine. 6
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard B.1.

B.2. Explain patterns of migration throughout the world. 6
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard B.2.

B.3. Explain how cultures differ in their use of similar environments and resources. 7
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard B.3.

B.4. Demonstrate an understanding of how society changes as a consequence of concentrated settlement. 26
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard B.4.

ME.A. Economics: Personal and Consumer Economics: Students will understand that economic decisions are based on the availability of resources and the costs and benefits of choices.

A.1. Analyze how scarcity affects individuals' decisions about production and consumption of goods and services. 4
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard A.1.

A.2. Identify and analyze the factors that contribute to personal spending and savings decisions. 8
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard A.2.

A.3. Use an example to show how incentives affect economic decisions (e.g., tax deferred savings plans, a fast food restaurant's discount promotion). 6
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard A.3.

ME.B. Economics: Economic Systems of the United States: Students will understand the economic system of the United States, including its principles, development, and institutions.

B.1. Demonstrate knowledge of economic concepts of supply, demand, price, the role of money, and profit and loss. 9
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard B.1.

B.2. Analyze how prices act as signals to producers and customers to answer the three basic economic questions: What to produce? How? And for whom? 32
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard B.2.

B.3. Identify how the fundamental characteristics of the United States economic system (e.g., private property, profits, competition, and price system) influence economic decision making. 32
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard B.3.

B.4. Explain the impact that major events and technological advancements have had on the Maine economy and predict future economic trends and career opportunities. 1
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard B.4.

B.5. Describe the roles and contributions of the principal contributors to the economy (e.g., laborers, investors, entrepreneurs, managers). 36
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard B.5.

ME.C. Economics: Comparative Systems: Students will analyze how different economic systems function and change over time.

C.1. Describe the characteristics of traditional, command, market, and mixed economic systems. 12
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard C.1.

C.2. Compare how different economies meet basic wants and needs over time. 13
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard C.2.

ME.D. Economics: International Trade and Global Interdependence: Students will understand the patterns and results of international trade.

D.1. Describe how changes in transportation and communication technologies have affected trade over time. 17
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard D.1.

D.2. Evaluate how world trade issues can affect a nation's economy and how trade can influence and transform societies. 7
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard D.2.

D.3. Explain why trade allows specialization and identify specific examples of how nations specialize (e.g., Japan's focus on consumer electronics). 14
Suggested Titles for Maine Social Studies State Standard D.3.