5th Grade Science

Physical Science Standards

Learning Progressions, Key Terms, and Crosscutting Concepts

5.P1U1.1

Analyze and interpret data to explain that matter of any type can be subdivided into particles too small to see and, in a closed system, if properties change or chemical reactions occur, the amount of matter stays the same.

Matter of any type can be subdivided into particles that are too small to see, but even then, the matter still exists and can be detected by other means (e.g., by weighing or by its effects on other objects). For example, a model showing that gases are made from matter particles that are too small to see and are moving freely around in space can explain many observations, including the inflation and shape of a balloon; the effects of air on larger particles or objects (e.g., leaves in wind, dust suspended in air); and the appearance of visible scale water droplets in condensation, fog, and, by extension, also in clouds or the contrails of a jet. The amount (weight) of matter is conserved when it changes form, even in transitions in which it seems to vanish (e.g., sugar in solution, evaporation in a closed container). Measurements of a variety of properties (e.g., hardness, reflectivity) can be used to identify particular materials. (Boundary: At this grade level, mass and weight are not distinguished, and no attempt is made to define the unseen particles or explain the atomic-scale mechanism of evaporation and condensation.) 4 (p. 108) When two or more different substances are mixed, a new substance with different properties may be formed; such occurrences depend on the substances and the temperature. No matter what reaction or change in properties occurs, the total weight of the substances does not change. (Boundary: Mass and weight are not distinguished at this grade level.) 4 (pp. 110-111) Other substances simply mix without changing permanently and can often be separated again. At room temperature, some substances are in the solid state, some in the liquid state and some in the gas state. The state of many substances can be changed by heating or cooling them. The amount of matter does not change when a solid melts or a liquid evaporates. 2 (p. 20)

Crosscutting Concepts: patterns; scale, proportion and quantity; energy and matter4

 

5.P1U1.2

Plan and carry out investigations to demonstrate that some substances combine to form new substances with different properties and others can be mixed without taking on new properties.

 

5.P2U1.3

Construct an explanation using evidence to demonstrate that objects can affect other objects even when they are not touching

Gravity is the universal attraction between all objects, however large or small, although it is only apparent when one of the objects is very large. This gravitational attraction keeps the planets in orbit around the Sun, the Moon round the Earth and their moons round other planets. On the Earth it results in everything being pulled down towards the center of the Earth. We call this downward attraction the weight of an object. 2 (p. 21) Objects in contact exert forces on each other (friction, elastic pushes and pulls).  Electric, magnetic, and gravitational forces between a pair of objects do not require that the objects be in contact-for example, magnets push pull at a distance. 4 (117)

Crosscutting Concepts: cause and effect; scale, proportion and quantity; system and system models

 

5.P3U1.4 Obtain, analyze, and communicate evidence of the effects that balanced and unbalanced forces have on the motion of objects.

Each force acts on one particular object and has both a strength and a direction. An object at rest typically has multiple forces acting on it, but they add to give zero net force on the object. Forces that do not sum to zero can cause changes in the object’s speed or direction of motion. (Boundary: Qualitative and conceptual, but not quantitative addition of forces are used at this level.) The patterns of an object’s motion in various situations can be observed and measured; when past motion exhibits a regular pattern, future motion can be predicted from it. (Boundary: Technical terms, such as magnitude, velocity, momentum, and vector quantity, are not introduced at this level, but the concept that some quantities need both size and direction to be described is developed.) 4 (p. 115) How quickly an object’s motion is changed depends on the force acting and the object’s mass. The greater the mass of an object, the longer it takes to speed it up or slow it down, a property of mass described as inertia. 2 (p. 22)

Crosscutting Concepts: cause and effect; energy and matter

 

5.P3U2.5 Define problems and design solutions pertaining to force and motion.

 

5.P4U1.6 Analyze and interpret data to determine how and where energy is transferred when objects move.

The faster a given object is moving, the more energy it possesses. Energy can be moved from place to place by moving objects or through sound, light, or electric currents. (Boundary: At this grade level, no attempt is made to give a precise or complete definition of energy.) 4 (p. 122) Energy is present whenever there are moving objects, sound, light, or heat. When objects collide, energy can be transferred from one object to another, thereby changing their motion. In such collisions, some energy is typically also transferred to the surrounding air; as a result, the air gets heated and sound is produced. Light also transfers energy from place to place. For example, energy radiated from the sun is transferred to Earth by light. When this light is absorbed, it warms Earth’s land, air, and water and facilitates plant growth. Energy can also be transferred from place to place by electric currents, which can then be used locally to produce motion, sound, heat, or light. The currents may have been produced to begin with by transforming the energy of motion into electrical energy (e.g., moving water driving a spinning turbine which generates electric currents). 4 (p. 125)

Crosscutting Concepts: patterns; cause and effect; energy and matter4

Earth and Space Sciences: Students develop an understanding of the how forces (gravity) in space cause observable patterns due to the position of the Earth, Sun, Moon, and stars.

Earth and Space Standards

Learning Progressions, Key Terms, and Crosscutting Concepts

 

5.E2U1.7 Develop, revise, and use models based on evidence to construct explanations about the movement of the Earth and Moon within our solar system.

The Earth moves round the Sun taking about a year for one orbit. The Moon orbits the Earth taking about four weeks to complete an orbit. The Sun, at the center of the solar system, is the only object in the solar system that is a source of visible light. The Moon reflects light from the Sun and as it moves round the Earth only those parts illuminated by the Sun are seen. The Earth rotates about an axis lying north to south and this motion makes it appear that the Sun, Moon and stars are moving round the Earth.

The orbits of Earth around the sun and of the moon around Earth, together with the rotation of Earth about an axis between its North and South poles, cause observable patterns. Some objects in the solar system can be seen with the naked eye. Planets in the night sky change positions and are not always visible from Earth as they orbit the sun. Stars appear in patterns called constellations, which can be used for navigation and appear to move together across the sky because of Earth’s rotation. 4 (p. 176)

Crosscutting Concepts: patterns; system and system models4

 

5.E2U1.8 Obtain, analyze, and communicate evidence to support an explanation that the gravitational force of Earth on objects is directed toward the planet’s center.

Gravity is the universal attraction between all objects, however large or small, although it is only apparent when one of the objects is very large. On the Earth it results in everything being pulled down towards the center of the Earth. We call this downward attraction the weight of an object. 2 (p. 21)

The gravitational force of Earth acting on an object near Earth’s surface pulls that object toward the planet’s center. 4 (p. 117)

Crosscutting Concepts: cause and effect; scale, proportion, and quantity4

Life Sciences: Students develop an understanding of patterns and how genetic information is passed from generation to generation. They also develop the understanding of how genetic information and environmental features impact the survival of an organism.

Life Science Standards

Learning Progressions, Key Terms, and Crosscutting Concepts

 

5.L3U1.9 Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about patterns between the offspring of plants, and the offspring of animals (including humans); construct an explanation of how genetic information is passed from one generation to the next.

Many characteristics of organisms are inherited from their parents. Other characteristics result from individuals’ interactions with the environment, which can range from diet to learning. Many characteristics involve both inheritance and environment. 4 (p. 158) The environment also affects the traits that an organism develops—differences in where they grow or in the food they consume may cause organisms that are related to end up looking or behaving differently. 4 (p. 158) When the environment changes in ways that affect a place’s physical characteristics, temperature, or availability of resources, some organisms survive and reproduce, others move to new locations, yet others move into the transformed environment, and some die. (p. 155) Offspring acquire a mix of traits from their biological parents. Different organisms vary in how they look and function because they have different inherited information. In each kind of organism there is variation in the traits themselves, and different kinds of organisms may have different versions of the trait. The environment also affects the traits that an organism develops—differences in where they grow or in the food they consume may cause organisms that are related to end up looking or behaving differently. 4 (p. 160)

Crosscutting Concepts: patterns; cause and effect; structure and function; stability and change4

 

5.L3U1.10 Construct an explanation based on evidence that the changes in an environment can affect the development of the traits in a population of organisms.

 

5.L4U3.11 Obtain, evaluate, and communicate evidence about how natural and human-caused changes to habitats or climate can impact populations.

Changes in an organism’s habitat are sometimes beneficial to it and sometimes harmful. For any particular environment, some kinds of organisms survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all. 4(p. 165) Scientists have identified and classified many plants and animals. Populations of organisms live in a variety of habitats and change in those habitats affects the organisms living there. Humans, like all other organisms, obtain living and nonliving resources from their environments. 4 (p. 165)

Crosscutting Concepts: patterns; cause and effect; stability and change4

 

5.L4U3.12 Construct an argument based on evidence that inherited characteristics can be affected by behavior and/or environmental conditions.

Sometimes the differences in characteristics between individuals of the same species provide advantages in surviving, finding mates, and reproducing. Many characteristics of organisms are inherited from their parents. Other characteristics result from individuals’ interactions with the environment, which can range from diet to learning. Many characteristics involve both inheritance and environment. Crosscutting Concepts: patterns; cause and effect; stability and change

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6th Grade Science Standards

Physical Science Standards

Learning Progressions, Key Terms, and Crosscutting Concepts

 

6.P1U1.1 Analyze and interpret data to show that changes in states of matter are caused by different rates of movement of atoms in solids, liquids, and gases (Kinetic Theory).

If a substance could be divided into smaller and smaller pieces it would be found to be made of very, very small particles, smaller than can be seen even with a microscope. These particles are not in a substance; they are the substance. All the particles of a particular substance are the same and different from those of other substances. The particles are not static but move in random directions. The speed at which they move is experienced as the temperature of the material. The differences between substances in the solid, liquid or gas state can be explained in terms of the speed and range of the movement of particles and the separation and strength of the attraction between neighboring particles. All materials, anywhere in the universe, living and non-living, are made of a very large number of basic ‘building blocks’ called atoms, of which there are about 100 different kinds. The properties of different materials can be explained in terms of the behavior of the atoms and groups of atoms of which they are made.  ​Crosscutting Concepts: patterns; cause and effect; scale, proportion, and quantity; system and system models; energy and matter; structure and function; stability and change4

 

6.P1U1.2 Plan and carry out an investigation to demonstrate that variations in temperature and/or pressure affect changes in state of matter.

 

6.P1U1.3 Develop and use models to represent that matter is made up of smaller particles called atoms.

 

6.P2U1.4 Develop and use a model to predict how forces act on objects at a distance.

Gravity is the universal attraction between all objects, however large or small, although it is only apparent when one of the objects is very large. This gravitational attraction keeps the planets in orbit around the Sun, the Moon round the Earth and their moons round other planets. The effect of gravity on an object on the Moon is less than that on Earth because the Moon has less mass than the Earth, so a person on the Moon weighs less than on Earth even though their mass is the same. The pull of the Earth on the Moon keeps it orbiting the Earth while the pull of the Moon on the Earth gives rise to tides. 2 (p. 21)

Crosscutting Concepts: cause and effect; scale, proportion, and quantity; system and system models

 

6.P4U2.5 Analyze how humans use technology to store (potential) and/or use (kinetic) energy.

The chemicals in the cells of a battery store energy which is released when the battery is connected so that an electric current flows, transferring energy to other components in the circuit and on to the environment.2 (p. 23)

Crosscutting Concepts: cause and effect; energy and matter4

Earth and Space Sciences: Students develop an understanding of the scale and properties of objects in the solar system and how forces (gravity) and energy cause observable patterns in the Sun-Earth-Moon system.

Earth and Space Standards

Learning Progressions, Key Terms, and Crosscutting Concepts

 

6.E1U1.6 Investigate and construct an explanation demonstrating that radiation from the Sun provides energy and is absorbed to warm the Earth’s surface and atmosphere.

The layer of air at the Earth’s surface is transparent to most of the radiation coming from the Sun, which passes through. The radiation that is absorbed at its surface is the Earth’s external source of energy. The radiation from the Sun absorbed by the Earth warms the surface which then emits radiation of longer wavelength (infrared) that does not pass through the atmosphere but is absorbed by it, keeping the Earth warm. This is called the greenhouse effect because it is similar to the way the inside of a greenhouse is heated by the Sun.

Crosscutting Concepts: patterns; cause and effect; system and system models; energy and matter; structure and function

 

6.E2U1.7 Use ratios and proportions to analyze and interpret data related to scale, properties, and relationships among objects in our solar system. 

The Earth rotates about an axis lying north to south and this motion makes it appear that the Sun, Moon and stars are moving round the Earth. This rotation causes day and night as parts of the Earth’s surface turn to face towards or away from the Sun. It takes a year for the Earth to pass round the Sun. The Earth’s axis is tilted relative to the plane of its orbit around the Sun so that the length of day varies with position on the Earth’s surface and time of the year, giving rise to the seasons. The Earth is one of eight (so far known) planets in our solar system which, along with many other smaller bodies, orbit the Sun, in roughly circular paths, at different distances from the Sun and taking different times to complete an orbit. The distances between these bodies are huge – Neptune is 4.5 billion km from the Sun, 30 times further than Earth. As seen from Earth, planets move in relation to the positions of the stars which appear fixed relative to each other. 2 (p. 25) The solar system consists of the sun and a collection of objects, including planets, their moons, and asteroids that are held in orbit around the sun by its gravitational pull on them. This model of the solar system can explain tides, eclipses of the sun and the moon, and the motion of the planets in the sky relative to the stars. Earth’s spin axis is fixed in direction over the short term but tilted relative to its orbit around the sun. The seasons are a result of that tilt and are caused by the differential intensity of sunlight on different areas of Earth across the year. 4 (p. 176)

Crosscutting Concepts: patterns; cause and effect; scale, proportion and quantity; system and system models; stability and change4

 

6.E2U1.8 Develop and use models to explain how constellations and other night sky patterns appear to move due to Earth’s rotation and revolution.

 

6.E2U1.9 Develop and use models to construct an explanation of how eclipses, moon phases, and tides occur within the Sun-Earth-Moon system.

 

6.E2U1.10 Use a model to show how the tilt of Earth’s axis causes variations in the length of the day and gives rise to seasons.

Life Sciences: Students develop an understanding of how energy from the Sun is transferred through ecosystems.

Life Science Standards

Learning Progressions, Key Terms, and Crosscutting Concepts

 

6.L2U3.11 Use evidence to construct an argument regarding the impact of human activities on the environment and how they positively and negatively affect the competition for energy and resources in ecosystems.

Interdependent organisms living together in particular environmental conditions form an ecosystem. In a stable ecosystem there are producers of food (plants), consumers (animals) and decomposers, (bacteria and fungi which feed on waste products and dead organisms). The decomposers produce materials that help plants to grow, so the molecules in the organisms are constantly re-used. At the same time, energy resources pass through the ecosystem. When food is used by organisms for life processes some energy is dissipated as heat but is replaced in the ecosystem by radiation from the Sun being used to produce plant food. In any given ecosystem there is competition among species for the energy resources and the materials they need to live. The persistence of an ecosystem depends on the continued availability in the environment of these energy resources and materials. Plant species have adaptations to obtain the water, light, minerals and space they need to grow and reproduce in particular locations characterized by climatic, geological and hydrological conditions. 2 (p. 27) Organisms and populations of organisms are dependent on their environmental interactions both with other living things and with nonliving factors. Growth of organisms and population increases are limited by access to resources. In any ecosystem, organisms and populations with similar requirements for food, water, oxygen, or other resources may compete with each other for limited resources, access to which consequently constrains their growth and reproduction. Similarly, predatory interactions may reduce the number of organisms or eliminate whole populations of organisms. Mutually beneficial interactions, in contrast, may become so interdependent that each organism requires the other for survival.4  A healthy ecosystem is one in which multiple species of different types are each able to meet their needs in a relatively stable web of life. Newly introduced species can damage the balance of an ecosystem.4 (p. 152) Human activities have significantly altered the biosphere, sometimes damaging or destroying natural habitats and causing the extinction of many other species. But changes to Earth’s environments can have different impacts (negative and positive) for different living things. Typically, as human populations and per-capita consumption of natural resources increase, so do the negative impacts on Earth unless the activities and technologies involved are engineered otherwise.4 (p. 196)

Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns; Cause and effect; Systems and System Models; Energy and Matter; Stability and change

 

6.L2U3.12Engage in argument from evidence to support a claim about the factors that cause species to change and how humans can impact those factors.

6.L2U1.13 Develop and use models to demonstrate the interdependence of organisms and their environment including biotic and abiotic factors.

6.L2U1.14 Construct a model that shows the cycling of matter and flow of energy in ecosystems.

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7th Grade Science Standards

Physical Science Standards

Learning Progressions, Key Terms, and Crosscutting Concepts

 

7.P2U1.1

Collect and analyze data demonstrating how electromagnetic forces can be attractive or repulsive and can vary in strength.

Electric and magnetic (electromagnetic) forces can be attractive or repulsive, and their sizes depend on the magnitudes of the charges, currents, or magnetic strengths involved and on the distances between the interacting objects. Gravitational forces are always attractive. There is a gravitational force between any two masses, but it is very small except when one or both of the objects have large mass—for example, Earth and the sun. Long-range gravitational interactions govern the evolution and maintenance of large-scale systems in space, such as galaxies or the solar system, and determine the patterns of motion within those structures. Forces that act at a distance (gravitational, electric, and magnetic) can be explained by force fields that extend through space and can be mapped by their effect on a test object (a ball, a charged object, or a magnet, respectively).4 (pp. 117-118) On Earth, it [gravity] results in everything being pulled down towards the center of the Earth. We call this downward attraction the weight of an object. The object pulls the Earth as much as the Earth pulls the object, but because the Earth’s mass is much bigger, we observe the resulting motion of the object, not of the Earth.

Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns; Cause and effect; Scale, Proportion, and Quantity; Systems and System Models; Stability and change; Structure and function 4

7.P2U1.2

Develop and use a model to predict how forces act on objects at a distance.

7.P3U1.3

Plan and carry out an investigation that can support an evidence-based explanation of how objects on Earth are affected by gravitational force.

7.P3U1.4

Use non-algebraic mathematics and computational thinking to explain Newton’s laws of motion.

For any pair of interacting objects, the force exerted by the first object on the second object is equal in strength to the force that the second object exerts on the first but in the opposite direction. The motion of an object is determined by the sum of the forces acting on it; if the total force on the object is not zero, its motion will change. The greater the mass of the object, the greater the force needed to achieve the same change in motion. For any given object, a larger force causes a larger change in motion. Forces on an object can also change its shape or orientation.

Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns; Cause and effect; Scale, Proportion and Quantity; Systems and System Models; Energy and Matter; Stability and change; Structure and function 4

Earth and Space Sciences: Students develop an understanding of the patterns of energy flowing along with matter cycling within and among the Earth’s systems.

Earth and Space Standards

Learning Progressions, Key Terms, and Crosscutting Concepts

7.E1U1.5Construct a model that shows the cycling of matter and flow of energy in the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere.

Earth processes are the result of energy flowing and matter cycling within and among the planet’s systems. This energy is derived from the sun and Earth’s hot interior. The energy that flows and matter that cycles produce chemical and physical changes in Earth’s materials and living organisms.4(p.181) Radioactive decay of material inside the Earth since it was formed is its internal source of energy. Radiation from the Sun provides the energy that enables plants containing chlorophyll to make glucose through the process of photosynthesis [Boundary: Not expected to teach photosynthesis in Earth, left in to show big picture]. 2 (p. 24)

Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns; Cause and effect; Systems and System Models; Energy and Matter; Structure and function 4

7.E1U1.6

Construct a model to explain how the distribution of fossils and rocks, continental shapes, and seafloor structures provides evidence of the past plate motions.

Plate tectonics is the unifying theory that explains the past and current movements of the rocks at Earth’s surface and provides a framework for understanding its geological history. Plate movements are responsible for most continental and ocean floor features and for the distribution of most rocks and minerals within Earth’s crust. Maps of ancient land and water patterns, based on investigations of rocks and fossils, make clear how Earth’s plates have moved great distances, collided, and spread apart.

Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns; Cause and effect; Scale, Proportion and Quantity; Systems and System Models; Energy and Matter; Stability and change; Structure and function

7.E1U2.7

Analyze and interpret data to construct an explanation for how advances in technology has improved weather prediction.

Weather and climate are influenced by interactions involving sunlight, the ocean, the atmosphere, ice, landforms, and living things. These interactions vary with latitude, altitude, and local and regional geography, all of which can affect oceanic and atmospheric flow patterns. Because these patterns are so complex, weather can be predicted only probabilistically. The ocean exerts a major influence on weather and climate by absorbing energy from the sun, releasing it over time, and globally redistributing it through ocean currents. Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere absorb and retain the energy radiated from land and ocean surfaces, thereby regulating Earth’s average surface temperature and keeping it habitable.

Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns; Cause and effect; Scale, Proportion and Quantity; Systems and System Models; Energy and Matter; Stability and change; Structure and function 4

Life Sciences: Students develop an understanding of the structure and function of cells.

Life Science Standards

Learning Progressions, Key Terms, and Crosscutting Concepts

7.L1U1.8Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to provide evidence that all living things are made of cells, cells come from existing cells, and cells are the basic structural and functional unit of all living things.

 

All living organisms are made of one or more cells, which can be seen only through a microscope. All the basic processes of life are the results of what happens inside cells. Cells divide to replace aging cells and to make more cells in growth and in reproduction. Food is the energy source they need in order to carry out these and other functions. Some cells in multicellular organisms, as well as carrying out the functions that all cells do, are specialized; for example, muscle, blood and nerve cells carry out specific functions within the organism.  Cells are often aggregated into tissues, tissues into organs, and organs into organ systems. In the human body, systems carry out such key functions as respiration, digestion, elimination of waste and temperature control. The circulatory system takes material needed by cells to all parts of the body and removes soluble waste to the urinary system. Stem cells, which are not specialized, are capable of repairing tissues by being programmed for different functions. Cells function best in certain conditions. Both single cell and multi-cellular organisms have mechanisms to maintain temperature and acidity within certain limits that enable the organism to survive.

Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns; Cause and effect; Scale, Proportion and Quantity; Systems and System Models; Stability and change; Structure and function 4

7.L1U1.9Construct an explanation to demonstrate the relationship between major cell structures and cell functions (plant and animal).

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7.L1U1.10 Develop and use a model to explain how cells, tissues, and organ systems maintain life (animals).

All living things are made of cells.  Life is the quality that distinguishes living things - composed of living cells - from nonliving objects or those that have died.  While a simple definition of life can be difficult to capture, all living things -that is to say all organisms-can be characterized by common aspects of their structure and functioning. Organisms are complex, organized and built on a hierarchical foundation of elements and atoms, to cells and systems of individual organisms to species and populations living and interacting in complex ecosystems. Organisms range in composition from a single cell (unicellular microorganisms) to multicellular organisms, in which different groups of large number of cells work together to form systems of tissues and organs (e.g. circulatory, respiratory, nervous, musculoskeletal), that are specialized for particular functions. Organisms respond to stimuli from their environment and actively maintain their internal environment through homeostasis.   4 (p. 143) In most cases, the energy needed for life is ultimately derived from the sun through photosynthesis (although in some ecologically important cases, energy is derived from reactions involving inorganic chemicals in the absence of sunlight - e.g. chemosynthesis).  Plants, algae (including phytoplankton), and other energy-fixing microorganisms use sunlight, water and carbon dioxide to facilitate photosynthesis, which stores energy, forms plant matter, releases oxygen, and maintains plants’ activities. 4 (p. 147)

Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns; Cause and effect; Scale, Proportion and Quantity; Systems and System Models; Energy and Matter; Stability and change; Structure and function 4

7.L1U1.11Explain how organisms maintain internal stability and evaluate the effect of the external factors on organisms’ internal stability.

 

7.L2U1.12Construct an explanation for how some plant cells convert light energy into food energy.

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5th Grade Social Studies Standards​ 

Chronological reasoning requires understanding processes of change and continuity over time, which means assessing similarities and differences between historical periods and between the past and present.

• 5.SP1.1  Create and use a chronological sequence of related events to compare developments that happened at the same time.

• 5.SP1.2  Explain how events of the past affect students’ lives and society.

• 5.SP1.3  Generate questions about individuals and groups who have shaped significant historical changes and continuities.

  • Key individuals or groups should represent the time- period being studied and be inclusive of the diversity represented in the history of the United States

Thinking within the discipline involves the ability to identify, compare, and evaluate multiple perspectives about a given event to draw conclusions since there are multiple points of view about events and issues.

• 5.SP2.1  Explain why individuals and groups during the same historical period differed in their perspectives

  • Key individuals and groups can include but are not limited to a loyalist and patriots, federalist and anti-federalist, Hamilton and Jefferson, abolitionists and slave owners, Abraham Lincoln and John C. Calhoun, southerners and northerners, labor and business, nativists and immigrants, and American Indians and settlers

  • Key issues and events can include but are not limited to federalism, constitutional interpretation, individual liberties, slavery, Jim Crow Laws and segregation, secession, westward expansion, Indian boarding schools, immigration, Manifest Destiny, worker’s rights, and women’s rights

Historians and Social Scientist gather, interpret, and use evidence to develop claims and answer historical, economic, geographical, and political

questions and communicate their conclusions.

• 5.SP3.1  Develop compelling and supporting questions about the United States that are open to different interpretations.

• 5.SP3.2  Use distinctions among fact and opinion to determine the credibility of multiple sources.

  • 5.SP3.3  Compare information provided by multiple sources about events and developments in the United States.

• 5.SP3.4  Infer the intended audience and purpose of a source from information within the source itself.

• 5.SP3.5  Use information about a historical source including the author, date, place of origin, intended audience, and purpose to judge the extent to

which the source is useful for studying a topic and evaluate the credibility of the source.

• 5.SP3.6  Construct and present arguments using claims and evidence from multiple sources.

• 5.SP3.7  Construct and present explanations using reasoning, correct sequence, examples and details with relevant information and data.

Thinking within the discipline involves the ability to analyze relationships among causes and effects and to create and support arguments using relevant evidence.

• 5.SP4.1  Explain probable causes and effects of events and developments in United States history from the revolutionary period to the rise of industry

and urbanization.

• Events include but are not limited to the American Revolution, Constitutional Convention, Civil War, Reconstruction, westward expansion, industrialism, and urbanization

• 5.SP4.2  Use evidence to develop a claim about the past.

• 5.SP4.3  Summarize the central claim in a secondary source.

CIVICS

Citizens have individual rights, roles, and responsibilities.

• 5.C2.1    Explain how a republic relies on people’s responsible participation within the      context of key historical events pre-American Revolution to

Industrialization.

• Key concepts include but are not limited to volunteerism, joining associations and groups, joining political parties, using the First Amendment (free speech, religion, press, assembly, petition), censorship, voting in elections, running for office, working on campaigns, bringing cases to court, civil disobedience, protest movements, and serving in the military

An understanding of civic and political institutions in society and the principles these institutions are intended to reflect including knowledge about law, politics, and government are essential to effective citizenship.

• 5.C3.1    Describe the origins, functions, and structure of the United States Constitution and the three branches of government.

  • Key origins include historical and philosophical influences like the government structures of Ancient Greece and Rome, Enlightenment thinkers like John Locke, British documents like the Magna Carta, colonial governments, the Articles of Confederation, and the compromises and ratification debates of the Constitutional Convention Key functions of the United States government as outlined in the Preamble

  • Key structures include distributing, sharing, and limiting powers of the national government through separation of powers, checks and balances, and federalism

  • Key organization of the Constitution include the Preamble, seven Articles, and Amendments (including the Bill of Rights)

Process, rules, and laws direct how individuals are governed and how society addresses problems.

• 5.C4.1    Using primary and secondary sources to examine historical and contemporary means of a changing society through laws and policies in order

to address public problems.

• Key concepts can include but are not limited to the purpose of the Declaration of Independence, the creation of the Constitution, the formation and development of social and reform movements, and responses to industrialism and poverty at the turn of the century

• 5.C4.2    Use a range of deliberative and democratic procedures to make decisions about and act on issues and civic problems in their classrooms and

schools.

ECONOMICS

A financially literate individual understands how to manage income, spending, and investment.

• 5.E1.1    Give examples of financial risks that individuals and households face within the context of the time period studied.

By applying economic reasoning, individuals seek to understand the decisions of people, groups, and societies.

• 5.E2.1    Compare the benefits and costs of individual choices within the context of key historical events.

  • Key concepts can include but are not limited to smuggling during the American Revolution, separating from England, economic powers outlined in the Constitution, slavery, secession, territorial expansion, and unregulated industry

Individuals and institutions are interdependent within market systems.

• 5.E3.1    Develop an understanding of the characteristics of entrepreneurship within a market economy and apply these characteristics to individuals

during the time-period studied.

• Characteristics include but are not limited to risk taking, innovation, and problem solving

The domestic economy is shaped by interactions between government, institutions, and the private sector.

• 5.E4.1    Describe how government decisions on taxation, spending, protections, and regulation affected the national economy during the time-period

being studied

• 5.E4.2    Analyze how agriculture, new industries, innovative technologies, changes in transportation, and labor impacted the national economy including

productivity, supply and demand, and price during the time-period being studied

The interconnected global economy impacts all individuals and groups in significant and varied ways.

• 5.E5.1    Generate questions to explain how trade leads to increasing economic interdependence on different nations.

  • Key concepts include but are not limited to products that are imported into markets within the United States and products that are exported to other markets in the world

GEOGRAPHY

The use of geographic representations and tools help individuals understand their world.

• 5.G1.1    Use and construct maps and graphs to represent changes in the United States.

  • Key concepts include but are not limited to physical and human features of the United States, the regions of the United States and their characteristics, geographic location of major events, the growth of the United States through territorial expansion, demographic changes, and the states and their capitals

Human-environment interactions are essential aspects of human life in all societies.

• 5.G2.1    Describe how natural and human-caused changes to habitats or climate can impact our world.

Examining human population and movement helps individuals understand past, present, and future conditions on Earth’s surface.

• 5.G3.1    Use key historical events with geographic tools to analyze the causes and effects of environmental and technological events on human        settlements and migration. 

  • Key concepts include but are not limited to consequences of territorial expansion on American Indians, the institution of slavery, the positive and negative impact of new technologies on the environment and the growth of cities, and the impact of transportation and infrastructure on settlement and migration

Global interconnections and spatial patterns are a necessary part of geographic reasoning.

• 5G4.1     Describe how economic activities, natural phenomena, and human-made events in one place or region are impacted by interactions with

nearby and distant places or regions. 

HISTORY

Cycles of conflict and cooperation have shaped relations among people, places, and environments.

• 5.H2.1    Use primary and secondary sources to summarize the causes and effects of conflicts, resolutions, and social movements throughout the    historical timeframe.

  • Key conflicts can include but are not limited to cultural conflicts, political conflicts, economic conflicts, military conflicts, and conflicts related to resource use and availability

Patterns of social and political interactions have shaped people, places, and events throughout history and continue to shape the modern world.

• 5.H4.1    Use primary and secondary sources to describe how diverse groups (racial, ethnic, class, gender, regional, immigrant/migrant) shaped the

United States’ multicultural society within the historical timeframe.

​

 

6th Grade Social Studies Standards

Chronological reasoning requires understanding processes of change and continuity over time, which means assessing similarities and differences between historical periods and between the past and present.

• 6.SP1.1  Examine ways that historians and social scientist know about the past.

• 6.SP1.2  Analyze connections among events and developments in various geographic and cultural contexts.

• 6.SP1.3  Classify a series of historical events and developments as examples of change and/or continuity.

• 6.SP1.4  Evaluate the significance of past events and their effect on students’ lives and society.

Thinking within the discipline involves the ability to identify, compare, and evaluate multiple perspectives about a given event to draw conclusions about that event since there are multiple points of view about events and issues.

• 6.SP2.1  Explain how and why perspectives of people have changed throughout different historical eras.

• 6.SP2.2  Analyze how people’s perspective influenced what information is available in the historical sources they created.

Historians and Social Scientist gather, interpret, and use evidence to develop claims and answer historical, economic, geographical, and political questions and communicate their conclusions.

• 6.SP3.1  Define and frame compelling and supporting questions about issues and events in the time-period and region studied.

  • 6.SP3.2  Use evidence to develop claims and counterclaims in response to compelling questions in the time period and region studied.

• 6.SP3.3  Classify the kinds of historical sources used in secondary interpretations.

• 6.SP3.4  Use information about a historical source including the author, date, place of origin, intended audience, and purpose to judge the extent

to which the source is useful for studying a topic and evaluate the credibility of the source.

• 6.SP3.5  Use questions generated about multiple sources to identify further areas of inquiry and additional sources.

  • 6.SP3.6  Construct and present arguments using claims and evidence from multiple sources.

  • 6.SP3.7  Construct and present explanations using reasoning, correct sequence, examples and details with relevant information and data.

Thinking within the discipline involves the ability to analyze relationships among causes and effects and to create and support arguments using relevant evidence.

• 6.SP4.1  Explain the multiple causes and effects of events and developments in the past.

• 6.SP4.2  Organize applicable evidence into a coherent argument about the past.

CIVICS 

Citizens have individual rights, roles, and responsibilities

• 6.C2.1    Analyze the beliefs, experiences, perspectives, and values that underlie points of view regarding civic issues in the time period and regions

studied.

 Process, rules, and laws direct how individuals are governed and how society addresses problems.

• 6.C4.1    Explain challenges and opportunities people and groups face when solving local, regional, and/or global problems.

• 6.C4.2    Describe and apply civic virtues including deliberative processes that contribute to the common good and democratic principles in school,       community, and government.

  • Key concepts include but are not limited to civility, respect for the rights of others, individual responsibility, respect for law, open mindedness, critical examination of issues, negotiation and compromise, civic mindedness, compassion, patriotism, conciliation, and consensus building

 

ECONOMICS

 A financially literate individual understands how to manage income, spending, and investment.

• 6.E1.1    Analyze the relationship between education, income, and job opportunities within the context of the time period and region studied.

• 6.E1.2    Give examples of financial risks that individuals and households face within the context of the time period and region studied.

 

Individuals and institutions are interdependent within market systems.

• 6.E3.1    Describe the relationship between various costs and benefits of economic production.

• 6.E1.2    Explain the influence the factors of production have on the manufacture of goods and services within different cultures, regions, and

communities.

• Key concepts include traditional economic systems, manorialism, guilds, taxation systems, and coerced labor

• 6.E3.3    Analyze the influence of specialization and trade within diverse cultures and communities in regions studied.

 

The interconnected global economy impacts all individuals and groups in significant and varied ways.

• 6.E5.1    Describe the factors that influence trade between countries or cultures.

• 6.E5.2    Explain the effects of increasing economic interdependence within distinct groups.

 

GEOGRAPHY

 

The use of geographic representations and tools helps individuals understand their world.

• 6.G1.1    Use and construct maps, graphs, and other representations to explain relationships between locations of places and regions.

  • Key concepts include major landforms and water bodies, countries, cities, ecosystems, climate, languages, religion, economic systems, governmental systems, population patterns, disease, trade routes, and settlement patterns

 

Human-environment interactions are essential aspects of human life in all societies.

• 6.G2.1    Compare diverse ways people or groups of people have impacted, modified, or adapted to the environment of the Eastern Hemisphere.

  • Key concepts include but are not limited to hunter-gatherer communities, human settlement, Neolithic Revolution, irrigation and farming, domestication of animals, and influence of climate and seasons

 

Examining human population and movement helps individuals understand past, present, and future conditions on Earth’s surface.

• 6.G3.1    Analyze how cultural and environmental characteristics affect the distribution and movement of people, goods, and ideas.                

  • Key concepts include but are not limited to language, land and sea transportation and trade routes

• 6.G3.2    Analyze the influence of location, use of natural resources, catastrophic environmental events, and technological developments on human           settlement and migration.

  • Key concepts include but are not limited to development of early river civilization, pastoral societies, rise of cities, innovations in transportation, and collapse of empires

 

Global interconnections and spatial patterns are a necessary part of geographic reasoning.

• 6.G4.1    Explain why environmental characteristics vary among different world regions.

  • Key concepts include but are not limited to latitude, elevation, landforms, location, and human factors

• 6.G4.2    Describe how natural and human-made catastrophic events and economic activities in one place affect people living in nearby and distant places.

  • Key concepts include but are not limited to disease, war, items exchanged, ideas spread along trade routes, and natural disasters

HISTORY

The development of civilizations, societies, cultures, and innovations have influenced history and continue to impact the modern world.

• 6.H1.1    Compare the development and characteristics of historical cultures and civilizations from different global regions within designated time         periods.

 

• 6.H1.2    Explain the causes and effects of interactions between cultures and civilizations.

  • Key concepts include but are not limited to trade, competition, warfare, slavery, serfdom, innovations, and contributions.                                      

Cycles of conflict and cooperation have shaped relations among people, places, and environments.

• 6.H2.1    Evaluate the causes and effects of conflict and resolution among different societies and cultures.

  • Key factors such as control and use of natural resources, political power, religious rivalry, acquisition of wealth, cultural diversity, and economic rivalry

 

Economic, political, and religious ideas and institutions have influenced history and continue to shape the modern world.

• 6.H3.1    Analyze the impact of religious, government, and civic groups over time.

• 6.H3.2    Generate questions to examine the similarities and differences between major world religions and the role of religion in the formation of

regions and their cultural, political, economic, and social identity.

• Key world religions such as Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Shintoism, Sikhism, and Taoism

• 6.H3.3    Explain why communities, states, and nations have different motivations for their choices including individual rights, freedoms, and       responsibilities.

Patterns of social and political interactions have shaped people, places, and events throughout history and continue to shape the modern world.

• 6.H4.1    Describe how different group identities such as racial, ethnic, class, gender, regional, and immigrant/migration status emerged and contributed

to societal and regional development, characteristics, and interactions over time.

​

7th Grade Social Studies Standards

Chronological reasoning requires understanding processes of change and continuity over time, which means assessing similarities and differences between historical periods and between the past and present.

• 7.SP1.1  Analyze connections among events and developments in broader historical contexts.

• 7.SP1.2  Classify a series of historical events and developments as examples of change and/or continuity.

• 7.SP1.3  Evaluate the significance of past events and their effect on students’ lives and global society.

• 7.SP1.4  Use questions generated about individuals and groups to analyze why they, and the developments they shaped, are historically significant.

 

Thinking within the discipline involves the ability to identify, compare, and evaluate multiple perspectives about a given event to draw conclusions about that event since there are multiple points of view about events and issues.

• 7.SP2.1  Analyze multiple factors that influence the perspectives of people during different historical eras.

• 7.SP2.2  Explain how and why perspectives of people have changed over time.

• 7.SP2.3  Analyze how people’s perspectives influenced what information is available in the historical sources they created.

 

Historians and Social Scientist gather, interpret, and use evidence to develop claims and answer historical, economic, geographical, and political questions and communicate their conclusions.

• 7.SP3.1  Create compelling questions and supporting questions that reflect enduring issues about the world, past and present.

• 7.SP3.2  Use evidence drawn from multiple sources to develop and support claims and counterclaims in response to compelling questions.

• 7.SP3.3  Detect possible limitations in the historical record based on evidence collected from various kinds of historical sources.

• 7.SP3.4  Use questions generated about multiple sources, including international sources, to identify further areas of inquiry and additional sources.

• 7.SP3.5  Evaluate the relevance and utility of sources based on information such as author, date, origin, intended audience, and purpose.

• 7.SP3.6  Construct and present arguments based on claims and counterclaims while pointing out the strengths and limitations of those arguments.

• 7.SP3.7  Construct and present explanations using reasoning, correct sequence, examples and details, while acknowledging the strengths and

weaknesses of the explanations.

 

Thinking within the discipline involves the ability to analyze relationships among causes and effects and to create and support arguments using relevant evidence.

• 7.SP4.1  Explain the multiple causes and effects of events and developments in the past and present.

• 7.SP4.2  Evaluate the influence of various causes of events and developments in the past and present.

• 7.SP4.3  Organize applicable evidence into a coherent argument.

• 7.SP4.4  Compare the central arguments in multiple secondary sources on a related topic using multiple types of sources.

 

CIVICS

 

Citizens have individual rights, roles, and responsibilities.

• 7.C2.1    Explain how revolutions and other changes in government impact citizens’ rights.

 

Process, rules, and laws direct how individuals are governed and how society addresses problems.

• 7.C4.1    Compare historical and contemporary means of changing societies to promote the common good.

• 7.C4.2    Assess specific rules and laws (both actual and proposed) as a means of addressing public problems.

• 7.C4.3    Analyze the purpose, process, implementation, and consequences of decision making and public policies in multiple settings.

  • 7.C4.4    Explain challenges people face and opportunities they create in addressing local, regional, and global problems at various times and places.

Apply a range of deliberative and democratic procedures to make decisions and act in local, regional, and global communities.

 

ECONOMICS

 

By applying economic reasoning, individuals seek to understand the decisions of people, groups, and societies.

• 7.E2.1    Explain how economic decisions affect the well-being of individuals, businesses, and society.

• 7.E2.2    Evaluate current economic issues in terms of benefits and costs for distinct groups in society.

 

 

Individuals and institutions are interdependent within market systems.

• 7.E3.1    Explain the roles of buyers, sellers, and profits in product, labor, and financial markets.

• 7.E3.2    Analyze the relationship between supply, demand, and competition with emphasis on how they influence prices, wages, and production.

• 7.E3.3    Analyze the influence of institutions such as corporations, non-profits, and labor unions on the economy in a market system.

• 7.E3.4    Explain ways in which money facilitates exchange.

 

The interconnected global economy impacts all individuals and groups in significant and varied ways.

• 7.E5.1    Explain the interdependence of trade and how trade barriers influence trade among nations.

• 7.E5.2    Compare the various economic systems.

• 7.E5.3    Explain the benefits and the costs of trade policies to individuals, businesses, and society.

 

GEOGRAPHY

 

The use of geographic representations and tools helps individuals understand their world.

• 7.G1.1    Use and construct maps and other geographic representations to explain the spatial patterns of cultural and environmental characteristics.

  • Key tools and representations such as maps, globes, aerial and other photos, remotely sensed images, tables, graphs, and geospatial technology

• 7.G1.2    Analyze various geographic representations and use geographic tools to explain relationships between the location of places and their         environments.

 

Human-environment interactions are essential aspects of human life in all societies.

• 7.G2.1    Explain how cultural demographic patterns, economic decisions, and human adaptations shape the identity of nearby and distant places.

• 7.G2.2    Analyze cultural and environmental characteristics that make places both similar and different.

 

Examining human population and movement helps individuals understand past, present, and future conditions on Earth’s surface.

• 7.G3.1    Explain how changes in transportation, communication, and technology influence the spatial connections among human settlements and affect              the diffusion of ideas and cultural practices.

• 7.G3.2    Analyze how relationships between humans and environments extend or contract patterns of settlement and movement.

• 7.G3.3    Evaluate the influences of long-term, human-induced environmental change on spatial patterns and how it may cause conflict and promote

cooperation.

                                7.G3.4    Evaluate human population and movement may cause conflict or promote cooperation.

 

Global interconnections and spatial patterns are a necessary part of geographic reasoning.

• 7.G4.1    Analyze cultural and environmental characteristics among various places and regions of the world.

• 7.G4.2    Explain how the relationship between the human and physical characteristics of places and production of goods influences patterns of world

trade.

• 7.G4.3    Analyze how changes in population distribution patterns affect changes in land use in places and regions

• 7.G4.4    Explain an issue in terms of its scale (local, regional, state, national, or global)

 

HISTORY

 

The development of civilizations, societies, cultures, and innovations have influenced history and continue to impact the modern world.

• 7.H1.1    Analyze the rise and decline, interactions between, and blending of cultures and societies.

• 7.H1.2    Trace the development and impact of scientific, technological, and educational innovations within historical time periods.

 

 

Cycles of conflict and cooperation have shaped relations among people, places, and environments.

• 7.H2.1    Investigate how conflict can be both unifying and divisive throughout communities, societies, nations, and the world.

• 7.H2.2    Compare the multiple causes and effects of conflict and approaches to peacemaking.

 

Economic, political, and religious ideas and institutions have influenced history and continue to shape the modern world.

• 7.H3.1    Compare the origins and spread of influential ideologies and both religious and non-religious worldviews.

• 7.H3.2    Analyze how economic and political motivations impact people and events.

• 7.H3.3    Trace how individual rights, freedoms, and responsibilities have evolved over time.

• 7.H3.4    Explain the influence of individuals, groups, and institutions on people and events in historical and contemporary settings. 

  • 7.H3.5    Investigate a significant historical topic from global history that has significance to an issue or topic today.

 

Patterns of social and political interactions have shaped people, places, and events throughout history and continue to shape the modern world.

• 7.H4.1    Evaluate how the diversity of a society impacts its social and political norms.

7.H4.2    Evaluate the changing patterns of class, ethnic, racial, and gender structures and relations; consider immigration, migration, and social mobility.