New York State Grade 7 Social Studies Framework
Author: New York State Education Department
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Grades 5-8
Common Core Reading Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies
Key Ideas and Details
1. Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.
2. Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.
3. Identify key steps in a text’s description of a process related to history/social studies (e.g., how a bill becomes a law, how interest rates are raised or lowered).
Craft and Structure
4. Determine the meanings of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies.
5. Describe how a text presents information (e.g., sequentially, comparatively, causally).
6. Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author’s point of view or purpose (e.g., loaded language, inclusion or avoidance of particular facts).
Integration of Knowledgeand Ideas
7. Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts.
8. Distinguish between fact, opinion, and reasoned judgment in a text.
9. Analyze the relationship between a primary and secondary source on the same topic.
Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
10. By the end of grade 8, read and comprehend history/social studies texts in the grades 5-8 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
Common Core Writing Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects
Text Types and Purposes
1. Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
a. Introduce claims about a topic or issue, acknowledge and distinguish the claims from alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically.
b. Support claims with logical reasoning and relevant, accurate data and evidence that demonstrate an understanding of the topic or text, using credible sources.
c. Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships between claims, counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
d. Establish and maintain a formal style.
e. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows and supports the argument presented.
2. Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/experiments, or technical processes.
a. Introduce a topic, clearly previewing what is to follow; organize ideas, concepts, and information into broader categories as appropriate to achieving purpose; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
b. Develop the topic with relevant, well-chosen facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples.
c. Use appropriate and varied transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships between ideas and concepts.
d. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic. e. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone.
f. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented.
3. (See note: not applicable as a separate requirement)
Production and Distribution ofWriting
4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
5. With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed.
6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas clearly and efficiently.
Research toBuildandPresent Knowledge
7. Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration.
8. Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.
9. Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
Range of Writing
10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for reflection and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
Note: Students’ narrative skills continue to grow in these grades. The Standards require that students be able to incorporate narrative elements effectively into arguments and informative/explanatory texts. In history/social studies, students must be able to incorporate narrative accounts into their analyses of individuals or events of historical importance.
Common Core Standards for Speaking and Listening
Comprehension and Collaboration
1. 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.
2. Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
3. Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric.
Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas
4. 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.
5. Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding of presentations.
6. Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and communicative tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.
Note onrangeand contentof student speaking and listening:
To becomecollege andcareer ready,studentsmust have ample opportunities to take part in avariety of rich, structuredconversations—aspart of a whole class, insmallgroups, and with a partner—builtaroundimportant contentin various domains. They mustbeable tocontribute appropriately totheseconversations,to make comparisons and contrasts,and toanalyzeand synthesize a multitude ofideas in accordance withthestandardsof evidenceappropriatetoa particular discipline. Whatevertheirintended majororprofession, highschool graduates willdepend heavily on theirability to listenattentivelyto others sothat they are abletobuildon others’meritorious ideas while expressingtheir own clearly and persuasively.
Newtechnologies have broadenedand expanded the rolethat speaking andlistening playin acquiringand sharing knowledge and have tightened their linkto other formsofcommunication.The Internethasacceleratedthe speedat which connectionsbetweenspeaking,listening, reading, andwritingcan be made, requiring that studentsbeready to use these modalitiesnearlysimultaneously. Technology itselfischangingquickly, creatinga new urgency for students tobe adaptableinresponseto change.
From NYS Common Core Learning Standards: http://www.engageny.org/sites/default/files/resource/attachments/nysp12cclsela.pdf
Vertical Articulation and Progression of Social Studies Practices Grades 5-8
Social Studies Practices
Grade 5
Grade 6
Grade 7
Grade 8
Gathering, Interpreting and Using Evidence
Develop questions to help identify evidence about topics related to the historical events occurring in the Western Hemisphere that can be answered by gathering, interpreting, and using evidence.
Develop and frame questions about topics related to historical events occurring in the Eastern Hemisphere that can be answered by gathering, interpreting, and using evidence.
Define and frame questions about the United States that can be answered by gathering, interpreting, and using evidence
Define and frame questions about the United States and answer them by gathering, interpreting, and using evidence.
Recognize and effectively select different forms of evidence used to make meaning in social studies (including primary and secondary sources, such as art and photographs, artifacts, oral histories, maps, and graphs).
Identify, effectively select, and analyze different forms of evidence used to make meaning in social studies (including primary and secondary sources, such as art and photographs, artifacts, oral histories, maps, and graphs).
Identify, select, and evaluate evidence about events from diverse sources (including written documents, works of art, photographs, charts and graphs, artifacts, oral traditions, and other primary and secondary sources).
Identify, describe, and evaluate evidence about events from diverse sources (including written documents, works of art, photographs, charts and graphs, artifacts, oral traditions, and other primary and secondary sources).
Identify evidence and explain content, authorship, purpose, and format; identify bias; explain the role of bias and potential audience, with teacher support.
Identify evidence and explain content, authorship, point of view, purpose, and format; identify bias; explain the role of bias and potential audience.
Analyze evidence in terms of historical context, content, authorship, point of view, purpose, and format; identify bias; explain the role of bias and audience in presenting arguments or evidence.
Analyze evidence in terms of historical and/or social context, content, authorship, point of view, purpose, and format; identify bias; explain the role of bias, context, and audience in presenting arguments or evidence.
Identify arguments of others.
Describe arguments of others.
Describe and analyze arguments of others with support.
Describe and analyze arguments of others, considering historical context.
Identify implicit ideas to draw inferences, with support.
Identify implicit ideas and draw inferences, with support.
Make inferences and draw general conclusions from evidence.
Make inferences and draw conclusions from evidence.
Social Studies Practices
Grade 5
Grade 6
Grade 7
Grade 8
Gathering, Interpreting and Using Evidence
Recognize arguments on specific social studies topics and identify evidence supporting the argument.
Recognize arguments on specific social studies topics and identify evidence supporting the argument.
Examine arguments related to a specific social studies topic from multiple perspectives.
Recognize an argument and identify supporting evidence related to a specific social studies topic.
Examine arguments related to a specific social studies topic from multiple perspectives; recognize that the perspective of the argument’s author shapes the selection of evidence used to support it.
Recognize an argument and identify supporting evidence related to a specific social studies topic.
Examine arguments 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.
Chronological Reasoning
Explain how events are related chronologically to one another in time.
Identify ways that events are related chronologically to one another in time.
Identify 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 B.C.E. and C.E. Identify the chronological significance of 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 (B.C.E. and C.E.); and to interpret the 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 (B.C.E. and C.E.); 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 (B.C.E. and C.E.); and to interpret the data presented in time lines.
Identify causes and effects, using examples from current events or grade-level content and historical events
Identify causes and effects from current events or grade-level content and historical events
Identify causes and effects, using examples from current events, grade-level content, and historical events.
Identify causes and effects, using examples from current events, grade-level content, and historical events.
Identify and classify the relationship between multiple causes and multiple effects.
Identify and classify the relationship between multiple causes and multiple effects.
Identify and analyze the relationship between multiple causes and multiple effects.
Identify, analyze, and evaluate the relationship between multiple causes and multiple 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 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.
Social Studies Practices
Grade 5
Grade 6
Grade 7
Grade 8
Chronological Reasoning
Recognize the dynamics of historical continuity and change over periods of time.
Identify important turning points in history.
Recognize and analyze the dynamics of historical continuity and change over periods of time.
Identify the role of turning points as an important dynamic in historical change.
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.
Use periods of time, such as decades and centuries to organize a historical narrative; compare histories in different places in the Western Hemisphere, utilizing time lines.
Compare histories in different places in the Eastern Hemisphere, utilizing time lines.
Identify ways that changing periodization affects the historical narrative.
Recognize that changing the periodization affects the historical narrative.
Recognize that changing the periodization affects the historical narrative.
Recognize and identify patterns of continuity and change in history.
Identify the relationships between patterns of continuity and change to larger historical processes and themes.
Identify patterns of continuity and change as they relate to larger historical process and themes.
Relate patterns of continuity and change to larger historical processes and themes.
Understand the role of periodization as a practice in history and social studies.
Understand that historians use periodization to categorize events.
Describe general models of periodization in history.
Identify models of historical periodization that historians use to categorize events.
Identify and describe models of historical periodization that historians use to categorize events.
Comparison and Contextualization
Identify a region in the Western Hemisphere by describing a characteristic that places within it have in common, and then compare it to other regions.
Understand how regions can be defined as sharing common characteristics in contrast with other regions.
Identify a region in the Eastern Hemisphere by describing a characteristic that places within it have in common, and then compare it to other regions.
Identify a region of colonial North America or the early United States by describing multiple characteristics common to places within it, and then identify other, similar regions (inside or outside the continental United States) with similar characteristics.
Identify a region of the United States by describing multiple characteristics common to places within it, and then identify other, similar regions inside the United States.
Categorize divergent perspectives of an individual historical event.
Categorize and evaluate divergent perspectives of an individual historical event.
Identify and categorize multiple perspectives on a given historical experience.
Identify and compare multiple perspectives on a given historical experience.
Describe and compare events in the history of the Western Hemisphere in societies in similar chronological contexts and in various geographical contexts.
Describe and compare multiple events in the history of the Eastern Hemisphere in societies in similar chronological contexts and in various geographical contexts.
Describe, compare, and evaluate multiple historical developments in the United States in various chronological and geographical contexts.
Describe, compare, and evaluate multiple historical developments in societies, and across and between societies, in various chronological and geographical contexts.
Social Studies Practices
Grade 5
Grade 6
Grade 7
Grade 8
Comparison and Contextualization
Identify how the relationship between geography, economics, and history helps to define a context for events in the study of the Western Hemisphere.
Identify how the relationship between geography, economics, and history helps to define a context for events in the study of the Eastern Hemisphere.
Identify how the relationship between geography, economics, and history helps to define a context for events in the study of United States.
Describe the relationship between geography, economics, and history as a context for events and movements in the United States.
Describe historical developments in the history of the Western Hemisphere, with specific references to circumstances of time and place and to connections to broader regional or global processes, with teacher support.
Describe historical developments in the history of the Eastern Hemisphere, with specific references to circumstances of time and place and to connections to broader regional or global processes.
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.
Understand the roles that periodization and region play in developing the comparison of historical civilizations.
Identify general characteristics that can be employed to conduct comparative analyses of case studies in the Eastern Hemisphere in the same historical period, with teacher support.
Understand the roles that periodization and region play in developing comparisons.
Identify general characteristics that can be employed to conduct comparative analyses of case studies in the early history of the United States.
Analyze case studies in United States history in a comparative framework, 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 in the Western Hemisphere are in relation to each other, to describe connections between places, 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 in the Eastern Hemisphere are in relation to each other, to describe connections between places, 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 in early United States history were in relation to each other, to describe connections between places, and to evaluate effectively 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, to describe connections between places, and to evaluate the benefits of particular places for purposeful activities.
Social Studies Practices
Grade 5
Grade 6
Grade 7
Grade 8
Geographic Reasoning (cont.)
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) in the Western Hemisphere.
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) in the Eastern Hemisphere and identify 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) 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) and describe the relationship between human activities and the environment.
Identify and describe how environments affect human activities and how human activities affect physical environments through the study of cases in the Western Hemisphere.
Identify and describe how environments affect human activities and how human activities affect physical environments through the study of cases in the Eastern Hemisphere.
Identify and analyze how environments affect human activities and how human activities affect physical environments in the United States.
Identify and analyze how environments affect human activities and how human activities affect physical environments in the United States.
Recognize and explain how characteristics (cultural, economic, and physical-environmental) of regions affect the history of societies in the Western Hemisphere.
Recognize and explain how characteristics (cultural, economic, and physical-environmental) of regions affect the history of societies in the Eastern Hemisphere.
Recognize and analyze how characteristics (cultural, economic, and physical-environmental) of regions affect the history of the United States.
Recognize and analyze how characteristics (cultural, economic, and physical-environmental) of regions affect the history of the United States.
Describe how human activities alter places and regions in the Western Hemisphere.
Describe how human activities alter places and regions in the Eastern Hemisphere.
Characterize and analyze changing connections between places and regions.
Characterize and analyze changing connections between places and regions.
Recognize that boundaries and definition of location are historically constructed.
Describe the spatial organization of place considering the historical, social, political, and economic implication of that organization.
Recognize that boundaries and definition of location are historically constructed.
Describe the spatial organization of place considering the historical, social, political, and economic implication of that organization.
Describe how boundaries and definition of location are historically constructed.
Describe the spatial organization of place considering the historical, social, political, and economic implication of that organization.
Identify and describe examples of how boundaries and definition of location are historically constructed.
Social Studies Practices
Grade 5
Grade 6
Grade 7
Grade 8
Economics and Economic Systems
Explain how scarcity necessitates decision making; employ examples from the Western Hemisphere to illustrate the role of scarcity historically and in current events.
Explain how scarcity necessitates decision making; employ examples from the Eastern Hemisphere to illustrate the role of scarcity historically and in current events, as well; compare through historical examples the costs and benefits of economic decisions.
Explain how economic decisions affect the well-being of individuals, businesses, and society; evaluate alternative approaches or solutions to economic issues in terms of benefits and costs for different groups of people.
Explain how economic decisions affect the well-being of individuals, businesses, and society; evaluate alternative approaches or solutions to economic issues in terms of benefits and costs for different groups of people.
Show examples of various types of resources (human capital, physical capital, and natural resources) required to provide goods and services.
Examine the roles that various types of resources (human capital, physical capital, and natural resources) have in providing goods and services.
Identify examples of buyers and sellers in product, labor, and financial markets.
Explain the roles of buyers and sellers in product, labor, and financial markets.
Provide examples of how currency makes exchange easier by comparing a barter economy to a currency-based economy; examine why corporations and labor unions have a role in a market economy.
Compare market economies to other economic systems in the Eastern Hemisphere.
Describe the role that competition had in the determination of prices and wages in the United States; identify other factors that helped to determine prices.
Describe the role of competition in the determination of prices and wages in a market economy.
Examine the role of job specialization and trade historically and during contemporary times in the Western Hemisphere.
Examine the role of job specialization and trade historically and during contemporary times in the Eastern Hemisphere.
Examine the role of institutions such as joint stock companies, banks, and the government in the development of the United States economy.
Examine the role of institutions such as corporations, non-profit organizations, and labor unions in a market.
Explain the meaning of unemployment, inflation, income, and economic growth in the economy.
Provide examples of unemployment, inflation, total production, income, and economic growth in economies in the Eastern Hemisphere
Examine data on the state of employment, unemployment, inflation, total production, income, and economic growth in the economy.
Use appropriate data to evaluate the state of employment, unemployment, inflation, total production, income, and economic growth in the economy.
Describe government decisions that affect economies in case studies from the Western Hemisphere.
Describe government decisions that affect economies in case studies from the Eastern Hemisphere.
Explain how government policies affected the economies of colonial North America and the early United States.
Explain how government policies affect the economy.
Civic Participation
Demonstrate respect for the rights of others in discussion and classroom debates, regardless of whether one agrees with the other viewpoint.
Consider alternate views in discussion with teacher support.
Demonstrate respect for the rights of others in discussion and classroom debates, regardless of whether one agrees with the other viewpoint.
Consider alternate views in discussion.
Demonstrate respect for the rights of others in discussions and classroom debates; respectfully disagree with other viewpoints.
Use techniques and strategies to be an active and engaged member of class discussions of fellow classmates’ views and statements, with teacher support.
Demonstrate respect for the rights of others in discussions and classroom debates; respectfully disagree with other viewpoints.
Use techniques and strategies to be an active and engaged member of class discussions of fellow classmates’ views and statements.
Social Studies Practices
Grade 5
Grade 6
Grade 7
Grade 8
Civic Participation
Participate in activities that focus on a localized issue or problem in a country other than the United States in the Western Hemisphere.
Participate in activities that focus on a local issue or problem in a country in the Eastern Hemisphere.
Participate in activities that focus on a classroom, school, community, state, or national issue or problem.
Participate in activities that focus on a classroom, school, community, state, or national issue or problem.
Identify different types of political systems and ideologies used at various times and in various locations in the Western Hemisphere, and identify the roles of individuals and key groups in those political and social systems.
Identify and explore different types of political systems and ideologies used at various times and in various locations in the Eastern Hemisphere and identify the roles of individuals and key groups in those political and social systems.
Identify and explain different types of political systems and ideologies used at various times in colonial and early United States history and explain the roles of individuals and key groups in those political and social systems.
Identify and explain different types of political systems and ideologies used at various times in United States history and explain the roles of individuals and key groups in those political and social systems.
Identify opportunities for and the role of the individual in social and political participation at various times and in various locations in the Western Hemisphere outside the United States.
Identify and describe opportunities for and the roles of the individual in social and political participation at various times and in various locations in the Western Hemisphere.
Identify, describe, and compare the role of the individual in social and political participation and as an agent of historical change at various times and in various locations in colonial North America and in the early history of the United States.
Identify, describe, and contrast the role of the individual in for social and political participation as an agent of historical change in different societies and communities, as well as at different times, in the United States.
Participate in negotiating and compromising in the resolution of differences and conflict.
Participate in negotiating and compromising in the resolution of differences and conflict; introduce and examine the role of conflict resolution.
Participate in negotiating and compromising in the resolution of differences and conflict; introduce and examine the role of conflict resolution.
Participate in persuading, negotiating, and compromising in the resolution of differences and conflict; introduce and examine the elements of debate.
Identify situations with a global focus in which social actions are required and suggest actions.
Identify situations with a global focus in which social actions are required and suggest actions.
Identify situations in which social actions are required and determine an appropriate course of action.
Identify situations in which social actions are required and determine an appropriate course of action.
Describe the roles of people in power in the Western Hemisphere, both historically and currently.
Identify ways that current figures can influence people’s rights and freedom.
Describe the roles of people in power in the Eastern Hemisphere, both historically and currently.
Identify ways that current figures can influence people’s rights and freedom.
Identify how people in power have acted to extend the concept of freedom, the practice of social justice, and the protection of human rights in United States history.
Work to influence those in positions of power to strive for extensions of freedom, social justice, and human rights.
Identify rights and responsibilities of citizens within societies in the Western Hemisphere.
Identify rights and responsibilities of citizens within societies in the Eastern Hemisphere.
Identify how social and political responsibilities developed in American society.
Fulfill social and political responsibilities associated with citizenship in a democratic society.
Social Studies Practices
Grade 5
Grade 6
Grade 7
Grade 8
Civic Participation
Develop an understanding of the interdependence of individuals and groups in communities in the Western Hemisphere
Develop an understanding of an interdependent global community by developing awareness of and/or engaging in the political process as it relates to a global context.
Develop the connections of an interdependent community by engaging in the political process as it relates to a local context.
Develop the connections of an interdependent global community by engaging in the political process as it relates to a global context.
Grades 7 and 8: History of the United States and New York State
In Grades 7 and 8, students will examine the United States and New York State through a historical lens. The two-year sequence is arranged chronologically, beginning with the settlement of North America by Native Americans∗ and ending with an examination of the United States in the 21st century. Although the courses emphasize the skill of chronological reasoning and causation, the courses also integrate the skills and content from geography, politics, economy, and culture into the study of history.
Teachers are encouraged to incorporate local features of state history in the course, such as the Dutch in the Hudson Valley, the Germans in the Schoharie Valley, the French in the Champlain Valley, Fort Niagara, the Brooklyn Naval Yard, the Seneca Falls Convention, Underground Railroad locations, war memorials, and other features in their community.
∗ For this document, the term “Native Americans” is used with the understanding that it could say “American Indians.”
Grade 7
Grade7: Social Studies Practices
A. Gathering, Interpreting and Using Evidence
1. Define and frame questions about the United States that can be answered by gathering, interpreting, and using evidence.
2. Identify, select, and evaluate evidence about events from diverse sources (including written documents, works of art, photographs, charts and graphs, artifacts, oral traditions, and other primary and secondary sources).
3. Analyze evidence in terms of historical context, content, authorship, point of view, purpose, and format; identify bias; explain the role of bias and audience in presenting arguments or evidence.
4. Describe and analyze arguments of others, with support.
5. Make inferences and draw general conclusions from evidence.
6. Recognize an argument and identify supporting evidence related to a specific social studies topic. Examine arguments related to a specific social studies topic from multiple perspectives. Recognize that the perspective of the argument’s author shapes the selection of evidence used to support it.
B. Chronological Reasoning
1. Identify 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.
2. Employ mathematical skills to measure time by years, decades, centuries, and millennia; to calculate time from the fixed points of the calendar system (B.C.E. and C.E.); and to interpret the data presented in time lines.
3. Identify causes and effects, using examples from current events, grade-level content, and historical events. 4. Identify and analyze the relationship between multiple causes and multiple effects.
5. Distinguish between long-term and immediate causes and effects of an event from current events or history. 6. Recognize, analyze, and evaluate dynamics of historical continuity and change over periods of time.
7. Recognize that changing the periodization affects the historical narrative.
8. Identify patterns of continuity and change as they relate to larger historical process and themes. 9. Identify models of historical periodization that historians use to categorize events.
C.Comparison and Contextualization
1. Identify a region of colonial North America or the early United States by describing multiple characteristics common to places within it, and then identify other similar regions (inside or outside the continental United States) with similar characteristics.
2. Identify and categorize multiple perspectives on a given historical experience.
3. Describe, compare, and evaluate multiple historical developments within the United States in various chronological and geographical contexts.
4. Identify how the relationship between geography, economics, and history helps to define a context for events in the study of the United States.
5. Connect historical developments to specific circumstances of time and place and to broader regional, national, or global processes.
6. Understand the roles that periodization and region play in developing the comparison of colonial settlements in North America. Identify general characteristics that can be employed to conduct comparative analyses of case studies in the early history of the United States.
D. Geographic Reasoning
1. Use location terms and geographic representations, such as maps, photographs, satellite images, and models to describe where places in early United States history were in relation to each other, to describe connections among places, and to evaluate effectively the benefits of particular places for purposeful activities.
2. 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.
3. Identify and analyze how environments affect human activities and how human activities affect physical environments in the United States.
4. Recognize and analyze how characteristics (cultural, economic, and physical-environmental) of regions affect the history of the United States.
5. Characterize and analyze changing interconnections between places and regions.
6. Describe the spatial organization of place, considering the historical, social, political, and economic implication of that organization. Describe how boundaries and definition of location are historically constructed.
E.Economic and EconomicSystems
1. Explain how economic decisions affect the well-being of individuals, businesses, and society; evaluate alternative approaches or solutions to economic issues in terms of benefits and costs for different groups of people.
2. Identify examples of buyers and sellers in product, labor, and financial markets.
3. Describe the role that competition has in the determination of prices and wages; identify other factors that help to determine prices.
4. Examine the roles of institutions, such as joint stock companies, banks, and the government in the development of the United States economy before the Civil War.
5. Examine data on the state of employment, unemployment, inflation, total production, income, and economic growth in the economy.
6. Explain how government policies affected the economies in colonial and early United States history.
F. Civic Participation
1. Demonstrate respect for the rights of others in discussions and classroom debates; respectfully disagree with other viewpoints. Use techniques and strategies to be an active and engaged member of class discussions of fellow classmates’ views and statements, with teacher support.
2. Participate in activities that focus on a classroom, school, community, state, or national issue or problem.
3. Identify and explain different types of political systems and ideologies used at various times in colonial history and the early history of the United States and explain the role of individuals and key groups in those political and social systems.
4. Identify, describe, and compare the role of the individual in social and political participation in, and as an agent of, historical change at various times and in various locations in colonial North America and in the early history of the United States.
5. Participate in negotiating and compromising in the resolution of differences and conflict; introduce and examine the role of conflict resolution.
6. Identify situations in which social actions are required and determine an appropriate course of action.
7. Identify how people in power have acted to extend the concept of freedom, the practice of social justice, and the protection of human rights in United States history.
8. Identify how social and political responsibilities developed in American society.
9. Develop the connections of an interdependent community by engaging in the political process as it relates to a local context.
Grade 7 History of the United States and New York State I
Grade 7 Social Studies is arranged chronologically and incorporates geography as well as economic, social, and political trends. The course content is divided into eight Key Ideas, tracing the human experience in the United States from pre-Columbian times until the Civil War, with a focus on the people, events, and places in New York State as applicable. (NOTE: If a school/district has a 7th grade program that incorporates Reconstruction, this document is not intended to prohibit that inclusion.) Throughout the course, teachers should help students see connections across time. For example, when examining indentured servitude and slavery, teachers could examine human trafficking, experiences of immigrants and informed action that citizens might take.
Teachers should note that some Key Ideas and Concepts may require extra time or attention. In the grade 7 course, these include Key Ideas 7.2 Colonial Development, 7.4 Historical Development of the Constitution, and 7.8 A Nation Divided.
7.1 NATIVE AMERICANS∗: The physical environment and natural resources of North America influenced the development of the first human settlements andtheculture ofNative Americans. Native American societies varied across North America.
(Standards: 1, 2;Themes: ID, MOV, GEO)
7.1a Geography and climate influenced the migration and cultural development of Native Americans. Native Americans in North America settled into different regions and developed distinct cultures.
➢ Students will examine theories of human settlement of the Americas.
➢ Students will compare and contrast different Native American culture groups of North America, with a focus on the influence geographic factors had on their development.
➢ Students will examine various groups of Native Americans located within what became New York State and the influence geographic factors had on their development.
Note: Teachers may identify different culture groups, noting the role of geography, and utilizing local history.
7.2 COLONIAL DEVELOPMENTS:European exploration of the New World resulted in various interactions with Native Americans and in colonization.The American colonies were established for a variety of reasons and developed differently based on economic,social,and geographic factors. Colonial America had a variety of social structures under which not all people were treated equally.
(Standards:1, 2, 3,4;Themes: MOV, GEO, ECO, TECH, EXCH)
7.2a Social, economic, and scientific improvements helped European nations launch an Age of Exploration.
➢ Students will explain the significance of the technological developments and scientific understandings that improved European exploration such as the caravel, magnetic compass, astrolabe, and Mercator projection.
➢ Students will examine the voyage of Columbus, leading to the Columbian Exchange and the voyages of other explorers such as Champlain, Hudson, and Verrazano.
7.2b Different European groups had varied interactions and relationships with the Native American societies they encountered. Native American societies suffered from loss of life due to disease and conflict and loss of land due to encroachment of European settlers and differing conceptions of property and land ownership.
➢ Students will compare and contrast British interactions with southern New England Algonquians, Dutch and French interactions with the Algonquians and Iroquoians, and Spanish interactions with Muscogee.
∗ For this document, the term “Native Americans” is used with the understanding that it could say “American Indians.”
Grades K-8 Page 92➢ Students will investigate other Native American societies found in their locality and their interactions with European groups.
➢ Students will examine the major reasons why Native American societies declined in population and lost land to the Europeans.
7.2c European nations established colonies in North America for economic, religious, and political reasons. Differences in climate, physical features, access to water, and sources of labor contributed to the development of different economies in the New England, Middle, and Southern Colonies.
➢ Students will investigate the reasons for colonization and the role of geography in the development of each colonial region.
➢ Students will examine the economic, social, and political characteristics of each colonial region.
7.2d In New York, the Dutch established settlements along the Hudson River and the French established settlements in the Champlain Valley. Dutch contributions to American society were long-lasting.
➢ Students will compare and contrast the early Dutch settlements with French settlements and with those in the subsequent British colony of New York in terms of political, economic, and social characteristics, including an examination of the patroon system.
➢ Students will examine the changing status and role of African Americans under the Dutch and English colonial systems.
➢ Student will examine Dutch contributions to American society, including acceptance of a diverse population, a degree of religious toleration and right to petition. Students will examine Dutch relations with Native Americans.
7.2e Over the course of the 17th and 18th centuries, slavery grew in the colonies. Enslaved Africans utilized a variety of strategies to both survive and resist their conditions.
➢ Students will describe the conditions of the Middle Passage.
➢ Students will explain why and where slavery grew over time in the United States and students will examine the living conditions of slaves, including those in New York State.
➢ Students will investigate different methods enslaved Africans used to survive and resist their conditions, including slave revolts in New York State.
➢ Within the context of New York State history, students will distinguish between indentured servitude and slavery.
7.3 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE: Growing tensions over political power and economic issues sparked a movement for independence from Great Britain. New York played a critical role in the course and outcome of the American Revolution.
(Standards:1, 4, 5;Themes:TCC, GOV, ECO)
7.3a Conflicts between France and Great Britain in the 17th and 18th centuries in North America altered the relationship between the colonies and Great Britain.
➢ Students will locate battles fought between France and Great Britain during the 17th and 18th centuries, and how this led to the importance of British troops in the area of New York.
➢ Students will examine how Native Americans attempted to maintain a diplomatic balance between themselves and the French and the English settlers.
➢ Students will examine the changing economic relationship between the colonies and Great Britain, including mercantilism and the practice of salutary neglect.
➢ Students will identify the issues stemming from the Zenger Trial that affected the development of individual rights in colonial America.
Grades K-8 Page 937.3b Stemming from the French and Indian War, the British government enacted and attempted to enforce new political and economic policies in the colonies. These policies triggered varied colonial responses, including protests and dissent.
➢ Students will investigate the Albany Congress and the Albany Plan of Union as a plan for colonial unification.
➢ Students will examine actions taken by the British, including the Proclamation of 1763, the Quartering Act, the Stamp Act, the Tea Act, and the Coercive Acts, and colonial responses to those actions.
➢ Students will compare British and colonial patriot portrayals of the Boston Massacre, using historical evidence.
➢ Students will compare the proportions of loyalists and patriots in different regions of the New York colony.
➢ Students will examine the events at Lexington and Concord as the triggering events for the Revolutionary War.
7.3c Influenced by Enlightenment ideas and their rights as Englishmen, American colonial leaders outlined their grievances against British policies and actions in the Declaration of Independence.
➢ Students will examine the influence Enlightenment ideas such as natural rights and social contract and ideas expressed in Thomas Paine’s Common Sensehad on colonial leaders in their debates on independence.
➢ Students will examine the Declaration of Independence and the arguments for independence stated within it.
7.3d The outcome of the American Revolution was influenced by military strategies, geographic considerations, the involvement of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) and other Native American groups in the war, and aid from other nations. The Treaty of Paris (1783) established the terms of peace.
➢ Students will explore the different military strategies used by the Americans and their allies, including various Native American groups, during the American Revolution.
➢ Students will examine the strategic importance of the New York colony. Students will examine the American victory at the Battle of Saratoga in terms of its effects on American and British morale and on European views on American prospects for victory in the Revolution.
➢ Students will examine the terms of the Treaty of Paris, determine what boundary was set for the United States, and illustrate this on a map.
7.4 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION: The newly independent states faced political and economic struggles under the Articles ofConfederation.These challenges resulted ina Constitutional Convention, a debate over ratification, and the eventual adoption of the Bill ofRights.
(Standards:1, 5;Themes: GOV, CIV)
7.4a Throughout the American Revolution, the colonies struggled to address their differing social, political, and economic interests and to establish unity. The Articles of Confederation created a form of government that loosely united the states, but allowed states to maintain a large degree of sovereignty.
7.4b The lack of a strong central government under the Articles of Confederation presented numerous challenges. A convention was held to revise the Articles, the result of which was the Constitution. The Constitution established a democratic republic with a stronger central government.
➢ Students will investigate the successes and failures of the Articles of Confederation, determine why many felt a new plan of government was needed, and explain how the United States Constitution attempted to address the weaknesses of the Articles.
➢ Students will examine the New York State Constitution, its main ideas and provisions, and its influence on the formation of the United States Constitution.
Grades K-8 Page 947.4c Advocates for and against a strong central government were divided on issues of States rights, role/limits of federal power, and guarantees of individual freedoms. Compromises were needed between the states in order to ratify the Constitution.
➢ Students will examine from multiple perspectives arguments regarding the balance of power between the federal and state governments, the power of government, and the rights of individuals.
➢ Students will examine how key issues were resolved during the Constitutional Convention, including: ▪ state representation in Congress (Great Compromise or bicameral legislature)
▪ the balance of power between the federal and state governments (establishment of the system of federalism)
▪ the prevention of parts of government becoming too powerful (the establishment of the three branches)
▪ the counting of the enslaved African American community for purposes of congressional representation and taxation (the Three-Fifths Compromise)
➢ Students will examine the role of New York State residents Alexander Hamilton and John Jay as leading advocates for the new Constitution.
7.5THE CONSTITUTION IN PRACTICE: The United States Constitution serves as the foundation of the United States government and outlines the rights of citizens. The Constitution is considered a living document that can respond to political and social changes.The New York State Constitution also has been changed over time.
(Standards:1, 5;Themes: TCC, GOV, CIV)
7.5a The Constitution outlined a federalist system of government that shares powers between the federal, state, and local governments.
➢ Students will identify powers granted to the federal government and examine the language used to grant powers to the states.
7.5b The Constitution established three branches of government as well as a system of checks and balances that guides the relationship between the branches. Individual rights of citizens are addressed in the Bill of Rights.
➢ Students will compare and contrast the powers granted to Congress, the president, and the Supreme Court by the Constitution.
➢ Students will examine how checks and balances work by tracing how a bill becomes a law. ➢ Students will identify the individual rights of citizens that are protected by the Bill of Rights.
7.5c While the Constitution provides a formal process for change through amendments, the Constitution can respond to change in other ways. The New York State Constitution changed over time, with changes in the early 19th century that made it more democratic.
➢ Students will examine the process for amending the constitution.
➢ Students will examine the evolution of the unwritten constitution, such as Washington’s creation of the presidential cabinet and the development of political parties.
➢ Students will examine the changes to the New York State Constitution and how they were made during the 19th century.
7.5d Foreign and domestic disputes tested the strength of the Constitution, particularly the separation of powers, the system of checks and balances, and the issue of States rights. The United States sought to implement isolationism while protecting the Western Hemisphere from European interference.
➢ Students will examine events of the early nation including Hamilton’s economic plan, the Louisiana Purchase, the Supreme Court decision in Marbury v. Madison, and the War of 1812 in terms of testing the strength of the Constitution.
➢ Students will examine the Monroe Doctrine and its effects on foreign policy.
7.6 WESTWARD EXPANSION: Driven by political and economic motives,the United States expanded its physical boundaries to the Pacific Ocean between 1800 and 1860.This settlement displaced Native Americans as the frontier was pushed westward.
(Standards:1, 3;Themes: ID, MOV, TCC, GEO)
7.6a Some Native Americans who aligned with the British during the American Revolution lost land and were forced to move.
7.6b Conflict and compromise with foreign nations occurred regarding the physical expansion of the United States during the 19th century. American values and beliefs, such as Manifest Destiny and the need for resources, increased westward expansion and settlement.
➢ Students will compare and evaluate the ways in which Florida, Texas, and territories from the Mexican Cession were acquired by the United States.
7.6c Westward expansion provided opportunities for some groups while harming others.
➢ Students will examine the Erie Canal as a gateway to westward expansion that resulted in economic growth for New York State, economic opportunities for Irish immigrants working on its construction, and its use by religious groups, such as the Mormons, to move westward.
➢ Students will examine the growth of suffrage for white men during Andrew Jackson’s administration. ➢ Students will examine the conditions faced on the Trail of Tears by the Cherokee and the effect that the
removal had on their people and culture.
➢ Students will examine examples of Native American resistance to western encroachment, including the Seminole Wars and Cherokee judicial efforts.
➢ Students will examine the ways westward movement affected the lives of women and African Americans.
➢ Students will examine the policies of New York State toward Native Americans at this time, and its efforts to take tribal lands, particularly those of the Oneidas, and exercise jurisdiction over those communities.
7.7 REFORMM OVEMENTS:Social, political, and economic inequalities sparked various reform movements and resistance efforts.Influenced by the Second GreatAwakening, NewYork State played a key role in major reform efforts.
(Standards: 1, 5; Themes:SOC, CIV, GOV)
7.7a The Second Great Awakening, which had a strong showing in New York State, inspired reform movements.
➢ Students will investigate examples of early 19th-century reform movements, such as education, prisons, temperance, and mental health care, and examine the circumstances that led to the need for reform.
7.7b Enslaved African Americans resisted slavery in various ways in the 19th century. The abolitionist movement also worked to raise awareness of and generate resistance to the institution of slavery.
➢ Students will examine ways in which enslaved Africans organized and resisted their conditions.
➢ Students will explore the efforts of William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass, and Harriet Tubman to abolish slavery.
➢ Students will examine the effects of Uncle Tom’sCabin on the public perception of slavery.
➢ Students will investigate New York State and its role in the abolition movement, including the locations of Underground Railroad stations.
➢ Students will examine the seizure of the ship, La Amistad, carrying enslaved Africans, off the coast of
Long Island and the resulting Supreme Court decision in UnitedStatesv. The Amistad (1841).
Grades K-8 Page 967.7c Women joined the movements for abolition and temperance and organized to advocate for women’s property rights, fair wages, education, and political equality.
➢ Students will examine the efforts of women to acquire more rights. These women include Sojourner Truth, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Matilda Joslyn Gage, and Susan B. Anthony.
➢ Students will explain the significance of the Seneca Falls Convention and the Declaration of Sentiments.
7.7d The Anti-Rent movement in New York State was an attempt by tenant farmers to protest the landownership system.
➢ Students will trace the Anti-Rent movement in New York State.
7.8 A NATION DIVIDED:Westward expansion,the industrialization of the North, and the increase of slavery in the South contributed to the growth of sectionalism. Constitutional conflicts between advocates of states’ rights and supporters of federal power increased tensions in the nation;attempts to compromise ultimately failed to keep the nation together, leading to the Civil War.
(Standards:1, 3, 4;Themes:TCC, GEO,GOV, ECO)
7.8a Early United States industrialization affected different parts of the country in different ways. Regional economic differences and values, as well as different conceptions of the Constitution, laid the basis for tensions between states’ rights advocates and supporters of a strong federal government.
➢ Students will examine regional economic differences as they related to industrialization.
7.8b As the nation expanded geographically, the question of slavery in new territories and states led to increased sectional tensions. Attempts at compromise ended in failure.
➢ Students will examine attempts at resolving conflicts over whether new territories would permit slavery, including the Missouri Compromise, the Compromise of 1850, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
➢ Students will examine growing sectional tensions, including the decision in DredScott v. Sanford (1857) and the founding of the Republican Party.
7.8c Perspectives on the causes of the Civil War varied based on geographic region, but the election of a Republican president was one of the immediate causes for the secession of the Southern states.
➢ Students will examine both long- and short-term causes of the Civil War.
➢ Students will identify which states seceded to form the Confederate States of America and will explore the reasons presented for secession. Students will also identify the states that remained in the Union.
➢ Students will examine the role of New York State in the Civil War, including its contributions to the war effort and the controversy over the draft.
7.8d The course and outcome of the Civil War were influenced by strategic leaders from both the North and South, decisive battles, and military strategy and technology that utilized the region’s geography.
➢ Students will compare the advantages and disadvantages of the North and the South at the outset of the Civil War.
➢ Students will examine the goals and content of Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.
➢ Students will examine how the use of various technologies affected the conduct and outcome of the Civil War.
➢ Students will examine the enlistment of freed slaves and how this helped to change the course of the Civil War.
➢ Students will examine the topography and geographic conditions at Gettysburg and Antietam, and analyze the military strategies employed by the North and the South at Gettysburg or Antietam.
Grades K-8 Page 977.8e The Civil War affected human lives, physical infrastructure, economic capacity, and governance of the United States.
➢ Students will examine the roles of women, civilians, and free African Americans during the Civil War. ➢ Students will examine the aftermath of the war in terms of destruction, effect on population, and
economic capacity by comparing effects of the war on New York State and Georgia.
➢ Students will explain how events of the Civil War led to the establishment of federal supremacy.
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