Compiled by Jacqueline DiSanto
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Pages 3-11 and 15-18 in the "New York State K-12 Social Studies Framework: Introduction (2014)" is CC-0 for personal, private and educational uses. Copyright retained for commercial use, but permission granted with terms. For more information see Terms of Use.
Students will be able to participate in the online discussion by responding to this prompt:
After reading pages 15-18 in the NYS K-12 Social-Studies Framework, choose one of the Social-Studies standards you read and pair it with the English-Language Arts (ELA) Standard that you believe it addresses.
You can find the standards from last week's reading on pages 18-26. Be sure to give the letters and the full standard for both. Also include a short (one or two sentences) explanation of why you think the Social-Studies standard addresses the ELA standard.
The five learning standards, adopted by the Board of Regents in 1996, continue to provide the overall foundation for the NYS Framework. Each Key Idea is derived from and/or aligned to one of these standards as the primary standard. In many cases, a Key Idea represents more than one standard.
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.
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.
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 Earth’s surface.
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.
Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the necessity for establishing governments; the governmental systems 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.
Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it, and cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
Determine central ideas or themes of a text, analyze their development, and summarize the key supporting details and ideas.
Analyze how and why individuals, events, or ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.
Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.
Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole.
Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.
Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse formats and media, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.
Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning and the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.
Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.
Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.
Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events, using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.
Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others.
Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.
Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.
Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric.
Present information, findings, and supporting evidence such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning, and the organization, development, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience,
Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understandings of presentations.
Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and communicative tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.
The College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for State Standards in Social Studies was published by the National Council for the Social Studies in September 2013. The C3 Framework has three foundations: the Inquiry Arc, Disciplinary Literacy, and Civic Life. The C3 Framework and NYS Framework both emphasize the foundation of literacy through an integration of the Common Core Learning Standards and through unique disciplinary literacies of Social Studies in civics, economics, geography, and history.The Civic Life foundation is a cornerstone of the NYS Framework beginning in Kindergarten and culminating in the commencement-level course Participation in Government.
The Inquiry Arc is integrated into the NYS Framework. The C3 is built on the foundation of an inquiry arc, “a set of interlocking and mutually reinforcing ideas that feature the four Dimensions of informed inquiry in social studies:
Developing questions and planning inquiries;
Applying disciplinary concepts and tools;
Evaluating sources and using evidence; and
Communicating conclusions and taking informed action” (p17).
Each of these four Dimensions aligns to the priorities of the NYS Framework. The emphasis in Dimensions 2 and 3 mirrors the focus on skills in general and the vertical articulation of Social Studies practices in particular. The C3 framework also can provide guidance related to questioning as a part of the curriculum design. The document notes, “Questioning is key to student learning. The C3 Framework encourages the use of compelling and supporting questions, both teacher- and student-generated, as a central element of the teaching and learning process” (p17).
The following graphic illustrates how the components of the NYS Framework are integrated with the Inquiry Arc.
Grade-level Key Ideas, Conceptual Understandings, and Content Specifications
K-12 Social Studies Practices
K-12 Common Core Literacy Skills
K-12 Unifying Themes
Inquiry Arc
These components work interdependently in both instruction and assessment. Through an inquiry-based approach, students develop thematic and conceptual understanding while applying disciplinary practices and literacy skills in the context of content.
Key Ideas are aligned to the standards and represent enduring understandings that should be the focus of teaching and learning for each grade. Key Ideas are designed to address larger social studies perspectives, trends, and issues. Each grade level consists of eight to twelve Key Ideas, so these statements are intentionally rich and substantial.
Conceptual Understandings are more specific statements that are designed to support each Key Idea. Each Key Idea consists of approximately two to seven Conceptual Understandings that are designed to support the larger Key Idea. Together, the Key Ideas and Conceptual Understandings represent the body of Social Studies concepts that should be the focus of teaching and learning.
Content Specifications, crafted as “Students will...” statements, add further clarity and depth to the Conceptual Understanding by articulating specific content that can be taught to illuminate the Conceptual Understanding. Ultimately, Content Specifications work in tandem with Conceptual Understandings in support of the larger Key Ideas.
The Social Studies Practices represent the social science and historical thinking skills that students should develop throughout their K-12 education in order to be prepared for civic participation, college, and careers. Similar to the Mathematical Practices within the Common Core Learning Standards, the Social Studies Practices should be infused with the Social Studies content contained within the Key Ideas and Conceptual Understandings. The Practices were created based on the existing New York State Social Studies Learning Standards, the National Geography Standards, the historical thinking skills articulated within the new Advanced Placement World History Curriculum Framework, the Disciplinary Tools of Dimension 2 of the C3 Framework, National Council for the Social Studies Standards, and Habits of the Mind published by the National Council for History Education.
Gathering, Interpreting and Using Evidence
Chronological Reasoning and Causation
Comparison and Contextualization
Geographic Reasoning
Economics and Economic Systems
Civic Participation
The Common Core Learning Standards (CCLS) outline standards for literacy with individual grade levels to provide specificity. Grades 6-12 have distinct standards for literacy and writing in history/social studies, using the following grade bands: 6-8, 9-10, and 11-12. In order to match the structure of the NYS Framework, the CCLS and Social Studies Practices required a 5-8, 9-10, and 11-12 articulation of skills, so language was synthesized to match these grade bands (i.e., the addition of grade 5* to the 6-8 band). In this case, teachers are asked to use their best judgment about which CCLS should be applied at grade 5 in order to prepare students for the requirements and demands of grade 6.
These ten unifying Social Studies themes represent different lenses that can be applied to the teaching and learning of the Key Ideas and Conceptual Understandings within the NYS Framework across all grades, K-12.
Individual Development and Cultural Identity
Development, Movement, and Interaction of Cultures
Time, Continuity, and Change
Geography, Humans, and the Environment
Development and Transformation of Social Structures
Power, Authority, and Governance
Civic Ideals and Practices
Creation, Expansion, and Interaction of Economic Systems
Science, Technology, and Innovation
Global Connections
Themes with Context
Individual Development and Cultural Identity
Role of social, political, and cultural interactions in the development of identity
Personal identity as a function of an individual’s culture, time, place, geography, interaction with groups, influences from institutions, and lived experiences
Development, Movement, and Interaction of Cultures
Role of diversity within and among cultures
Aspects of culture such as belief systems, religious faith, or political ideals as influences on other parts of a culture, such as its institutions or literature, music, and art
Cultural diffusion and change over time as facilitating different ideas and beliefs
Time, Continuity, and Change
History as a formal study that applies research methods
Reading, reconstructing, and interpreting events
Analyzing causes and consequences of events and developments
Considering competing interpretations of events
Geography, Humans, and the Environment
Relationship between human populations and the physical world (people, places, and environments)
Effect of human activities on the environment
Interactions between regions, locations, places, people, and environments
Spatial patterns of place and location
Development and Transformation of Social Structures
Role of social class, systems of stratification, social groups, and institutions
Role of gender, race, ethnicity, education, class, age, and religion in defining social structures within a culture
Social and political inequalities
Expansion and access of rights through concepts of justice and human rights
Power, Authority, and Governance
Purposes, characteristics, and functions of various governance systems as they are practiced
Individual rights and responsibilities as protected and challenged within the context of majority rule
Fundamental principles and values of constitutional democracy
Origins, uses, and abuses of power
Conflict, diplomacy, and war
Civic Ideals and Practices
Basic freedoms and rights and responsibilities of citizens in a democratic republic
Role of the citizen in the community and nation and as a member of the global community
Civic participation and engagement
Respect for diversity
Civic ideals and practices in countries other than our democratic republic
Struggle for rights, access to citizenship rights, and universal human rights
|
Social Studies Practices |
Grades K-4 | Grades 5-8 | Grades 9-12 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gathering, Interpreting, and Using Evidence | Recognize arguments and identify evidence. | Recognize an argument and identify evidence that supports the argument; examine arguments that are related to a specific social studies topic from multiple perspectives; deconstruct arguments, recognizing the perspective of the argument and identifying evidence used to support that perspective. | Deconstruct and construct plausible and persuasive arguments using evidence. |
| Create understanding of the past by using and analyzing primary and secondary sources. | Create meaningful and persuasive understandings of the past by fusing disparate and relevant evidence from primary and secondary sources. | Create meaningful and persuasive understandings of the past by synthesizing disparate and relevant evidence from primary and secondary sources and drawing connections to the present. | |
| Chronological Reasoning and Causation |
Explain how events are related chronologically to one another in time. | Articulate how events are related chronologically to one another in time and explain the ways in which earlier ideas and events may influence subsequent ideas and events. | Articulate how events are related chronologically to one another in time and explain the ways in which earlier ideas and events may influence subsequent ideas and events. |
| Employ mathematical skills to measure time in years and centuries. Understand the difference between BCE and CE. Identify the chronological significance of data presented in time lines with teacher support. | Employ mathematical skills to measure time by years, decades, centuries, and millennia; to calculate time from the fixed points of the calendar system (BC or BCE and AD or CE); and to interpret the data presented in time lines. | Employ mathematical skills to measure time by years, decades, centuries, and millennia; to calculate time from the fixed points of the calendar system (BC or BCE and AD or CE); and to interpret the data presented in time lines. | |
| Identify causes and effects,using examples from his/her life and from a current event or history. | Identify causes and effects,using examples from current events, grade-level content, and historical events. | Identify causes and effects,using examples from different time periods and courses of study across several grade levels. | |
| Identify the relationship between multiple causes and multiple effects. | Identify, analyze, and evaluate the relationship between multiple causes and effects. | Identify, analyze, and evaluate the relationship between multiple causes and effects. | |
| Distinguish between long-term and immediate causes and effects of an event from current events or history. | Distinguish between long-term and immediate causes and effects of an event from current events or history. | Distinguish between long-term and immediate causes and multiple effects of an event from current events or history. | |
| Recognize dynamics of historical continuity and change over periods of time. | Recognize,analyze, and evaluate dynamics of historical continuity and change over periods of time. | Recognize, analyze, and evaluate dynamics of historical continuity and change over periods of time and investigate factors that caused those changes over time. | |
| Use periods of time such as decades and centuries to put events into chronological order; organize historical events on a timeline. | Recognize that changing the periodization affects the historical narrative. | Recognize that choice of specific periodizations favors or advantages one narrative, region, or group over another narrative, region, or group. | |
| Recognize and identify patterns of continuity and change. | Relate patterns of continuity and change to larger historical processes and themes. | Relate patterns of continuity and change to larger historical processes and themes. | |
| Identify and describe models of historical periodization that historians use to categorize events. | Describe, analyze, evaluate, and construct models of historical periodization that historians use to categorize events. | ||
| Comparison and Contextualization | Identify a region by describing a feature that characterizes it, and then compare it other regions. | Identify a region by describing multiple characteristics common to places within it, and then identify other similar regions. | Identify a region by describing a characteristic common to places within it. Identify similar and different geographic regions across historical time periods, and relate differences in geography to different historical events and outcomes. |
| Identify multiple perspectives of a historical event. | Identify and compare multiple perspectives of a given historical experience. | Identify, compare, and evaluate multiple perspectives of a given historical experience. | |
| Describe and compare historical developments. | Describe, compare, and evaluate multiple historical developments (within societies; across and between societies; in various chronological and geographical contexts). | Describe, compare, and evaluate multiple historical developments (within societies; across and between societies; in various chronological and geographical contexts). | |
| Recognize the relationship between geography, economics, and history in social studies. | Describe the relationship between geography, economics, and history as a context for events and movements. | Describe the relationship between geography, economics, and history as a context for events and movements and as a matrix of time and place. | |
| Describe historical developments with specific circumstances,including time and place. | Connect historical developments to specific circumstances of time and place and to broader regional, national, or global processes. | Connect historical developments to specific circumstances of time and place and to broader regional, national, or global processes, and draw connections to the present where appropriate. | |
| Analyze case studies in United States history in a comparative framework, while attending to the role of chronology and sequence, as well as categories of comparison or socio-political components. | |||
| Geographic Reasoning | Use location terms and geographic representations, such as maps, photographs, satellite images, and models, to describe where places are in relation to each other, to describe connections betweenplaces, and to evaluate the benefits of particular places for purposeful activities. | Use location terms and geographic representations, such as maps, photographs, satellite images, and models, to describe where places are in relation to each other, and to describe connections betweenplaces; evaluate the benefits of particular places for purposeful activities. | Use maps, photographs, satellite images, and other representations to explain relationships between the locations of places and regions, and their political, cultural, and economic dynamics. |
| Distinguish human activities and human-made features from “environments” (natural events or physical features—land, air, and water—that are not directly made by humans). | Distinguish human activities and human-made features from “environments” (natural events or physical features—land, air, and water—that are not directly made by humans) and describe the relationship between human activities and the environment. | Distinguish human activities and human-made features from “environments” (natural events or physical features—land, air, and water—that are not directly made by humans); describe and evaluate the relationship between human activities and the environment. | |
| Identify how environments affect human activities and how human activities affect physical environments. | Identify and analyze how environments affect human activities and how human activities affect physical environments. | Identify, analyze, and evaluate how environments affect human activities and how human activities affect physical environments. |