The Eastern Hemisphere

Grade 6 Social Studies is based on the geography and history of the Eastern Hemisphere, including the development of cultures, civilizations, and empires; interactions between societies; and the comparison of trends in government and economics. It also incorporates some elements of other social sciences.

The course begins with an examination of the Eastern Hemisphere today, using geographic skills. This provides the foundation for making connections between the past and the present throughout the course. The remainder of the course is divided into seven Key Ideas that cover a time span from pre-history into the 1300s. Students are provided the opportunity to explore belief systems across time and to examine the foundations of democracy.

Units of Study:
Neolithic Revolution
Early River Valley Civilizations
Classical Mediterranean Civilizations
Middle Ages in Western Europe
Eastern Hemisphere Trade Networks

Themes:

1. Individual Development and Cultural Identity
2. Development, Movement, and Interaction of Cultures
3. Time, Continuity, and Change
4. Geography, Humans, and the Environment
5. Development and Transformation of Social Structures
6. Power, Authority, and Governance
7. Civic Ideals and Practices
8. Creation, Expansion, and Interaction of Economic Systems
9. Science, Technology, and Innovation
10. Global Connections and Exchange

6th Grade Social Studies Practices:

A. Gathering, Interpreting and Using Evidence

1. 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.
2. 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).
3. Identify evidence and explain content, authorship, point of view, purpose, and format; identify bias; explain the role of bias and potential audience.
4. Describe the arguments of others.
5. Identify implicit ideas and draw inferences, with support.
6. Recognize arguments on specific social studies topics and identify evidence to support the arguments. Examine arguments related to a specific social studies topic from multiple perspectives.

B. Chronological Reasoning

1. Identify ways that events are related chronologically to one another in time.
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, with teacher support.
3. Identify causes and effects from current events, grade-level content, and historical events.
4. Identify and classify 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 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.
7. Compare histories in different places in the Eastern Hemisphere, utilizing time lines. Identify ways that changing periodization affects the historical narrative.
8. Identify the relationships of patterns of continuity and change to larger historical processes and themes.
9. Understand that historians use periodization to categorize events. Describe general models of periodization in history.

C. Comparison and Contextualization

1. 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.
2. Categorize and evaluate divergent perspectives on an individual historical event.
3. Describe and compare multiple events in the history of the Eastern Hemisphere in societies in similar chronological contexts and in various geographical contexts.
4. Identify how the relationship between geography, economics, and history helps to define a context for events in the study of the Eastern Hemisphere.
5. 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.
6. 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 analysis of case studies in the Eastern Hemisphere in the same historical period, with teacher support.

D. Geographic Reasoning

1. 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.
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) in the Eastern Hemisphere; identify the relationship between human activities and the environment.
3. Identify and describe how environments affect human activities and how human activities affect physical environments through the study of cases in the Eastern Hemisphere.
4. Recognize and explain how characteristics (cultural, economic, and physical-environmental) of regions affect the history of societies in the Eastern Hemisphere.
5. Describe how human activities alter places and regions in the Eastern Hemisphere.
6. Describe the spatial organization of place, considering the historical, social, political, and economic implication of that organization. Recognize that boundaries and definitions of location are historically constructed.

E. Economics and Economic Systems

1. Explain how scarcity necessitates decision making; employ examples from the Eastern Hemisphere to illustrate the role of scarcity historically and in current events; compare through historical examples the costs and benefits of economic decisions.
2. Examine the role that various types of resources (human capital, physical capital, and natural resources) have in providing goods and services.
3. Compare market economies to other economic systems in the Eastern Hemisphere.
4. Examine the role of job specialization and trade historically and during contemporary times in the Eastern Hemisphere.
5. Provide examples of unemployment, inflation, total production, income, and economic growth in economies in the Eastern Hemisphere.
6. Describe government decisions that affect economies in case studies from the Eastern Hemisphere.

F. Civic Participation

1. 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.
2. Participate in activities that focus on a local issue or problem in a country in the Eastern Hemisphere.
3. 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 role of individuals and key groups in those political and social systems.
4. Identify and describe opportunities for and the role of the individual in social and political participation at various times and in various locations in the Eastern Hemisphere.
5. Participate in negotiating and compromising in the resolution of differences and conflict; introduce and examine the role of conflict resolution.
6. Identify situations with a global focus in which social actions are required and suggest solutions.
7. 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.
8. Identify rights and responsibilities of citizens within societies in the Eastern Hemisphere.
9. Develop an understanding of an interdependent global community by developing awareness and/or engaging in the political process as it relates to a global context.

Curriculum – American History

The course content traces the human experience in the United States from pre-Columbian times until the Civil War, with a focus on significant people, events, and locations. Grade 7 Social Studies is arranged chronologically and incorporates geography as well as economic, social, and political trends.

Units of Study
Social Sciences and Geography
Native American Cultures
Exploration
Colonial America
American Independence
U.S. Constitution
Federalist Era
Jefferson Era
Industrial Revolution
Age of Jackson
Westward Expansion (mid-1800s)
Reform Movements (mid-1800s)
Civil War

Civil WarThemes:

Curriculum – American History

Grade 8 Social Studies is arranged chronologically, beginning with Reconstruction and ending at the present, and incorporates geography as well as economic, social and political trends. The course content is divided into nine Key Ideas; the first seven trace the human experience in the United States from Reconstruction to the end of World War II. Students will examine different themes in United States and New York State history from the post-War period up to the present day, which provides the opportunity to explore contemporary issues.

Units of Study

Themes:

1. Individual Development and Cultural Identity
2. Development, Movement, and Interaction of Cultures
3. Time, Continuity, and Change
4. Geography, Humans, and the Environment
5. Development and Transformation of Social Structures
6. Power, Authority, and Governance
7. Civic Ideals and Practices
8. Creation, Expansion, and Interaction of Economic Systems
9. Science, Technology, and Innovation
10. Global Connections and Exchange

A. Gathering, Interpreting and Using Evidence

1. Define and frame questions about the United States and answer them by gathering, interpreting, and using evidence.

2. 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).

3. 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.

4. Describe and analyze arguments of others, considering historical context.

5. Make inferences and draw conclusions from evidence.

6. Recognize an argument and identify evidence that supports the argument; 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.

B. Chronological Reasoning

1. 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.

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. or B.C.E. and A.D. or 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, analyze, and evaluate the relationship between multiple causes and 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. Relate patterns of continuity and change to larger historical processes and themes.

9. Identify and describe models of historical periodization that historians use to categorize events.

C. Comparison and Contextualization

1. 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.

2. Identify and compare multiple perspectives on a given historical experience.

3. Describe, compare, and evaluate multiple historical developments (within societies; across and between societies; in various chronological and geographical contexts).

4. Describe the relationship between geography, economics, and history as a context for events and movements in the United States.

5. Connect historical developments to specific circumstances of time and place and to broader regional, national, or global processes.

6. 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.

D. Geographic Reasoning

1. Use location terms and geographic representations, such as maps, photographs, satellite images, and models to describe where places are in relation to each other and connections between places; evaluate 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