Themes for this History and Social Science Curriculum Framework

Teachers reading this document for the first time cannot help but be struck by the sheer breadth of the content and material covered. It is crucial, therefore, to avoid making the systematic study of history and social science “just another, and perhaps longer, parade of facts.”  History as nothing more than facts and dates is simply barren chronicle, devoid of its larger significance–the great discoveries, conflicts, and ideas of the human past that have shaped who we are and what is happening today. The ironies and surprises of history, the great tragedies and achievements of human experience, cannot be captured through mindless or simple regurgitation of dates and names. To illuminate the drama of history requires an examination of the larger themes and ideas of history.

Each year, history and social science teachers should help their students grasp these overarching themes and vital concepts that link in different ways the standards and concepts at each grade level with those at earlier and subsequent grade levels. Genuine historical knowledge will develop from a deepening understanding of the relationship between the basic facts of history and these larger themes and concepts. This deepening understanding will be facilitated by a coordinated approach to curriculum development at the elementary, middle, and high school levels.

Listed below are several useful themes and the grade level of the standards that can address them. These themes reflect the broad themes identified in the 1988 Bradley Commission Report and in the 1992 document, “Lessons from History,” produced by the National Center for History in the Schools.2 The   themes relate to both U.S. and world history and can be used as the basis of essay questions on the history and social science assessments.  They are also intended to stimulate discussion and thinking about how best to organize an entire history and social science curriculum from pre-K-12.

The evolution of the concepts of personal freedom, individual responsibility, and respect for human dignity. Many standards in grades 3 and 5 point students to the central ideas and institutions of American democracy. Some grade 7 standards address the origins of democratic principles and institutions in Ancient Greece and Rome. Standards in World History I and II address the evolution of those principles and institutions in England, throughout Europe, and then throughout much of the rest of the world. Examples are the 19^th century independence movements in Latin America, Gandhi’s efforts on behalf of Indian independence in the 20^th century, the establishment of democracies in Israel and Japan after World War II, the Tiananmen Square demonstration in China, and the destruction of apartheid in South AfricA.

Many world history standards, such as the worldwide struggle to abolish slavery, World War II, and the efforts to defeat communism during the Cold War, also address the revolutions, wars, and political battles that were fought to preserve or expand the principles of freedom. The standards in U.S. history I and II require more in-depth learning about the growth of American liberal constitutional democracy from the founding of our nation to the expansion of male and female suffrage, the abolition of slavery, and the fight for civil rights in the 19^th and 20^th centuries.

The growth and impact of centralized state power. The grades 3 and 5 standards address the growth and purposes of American government. The grade 7 standards and the World History I and II standards address the growth of civilizations and nations with increasingly stronger central governments, as well as many of the conflicts and effects associated with these developments, including the rise of communism. Finally, many of the standards in U.S. History I and II revolve around the steady development and increasing importance of the federal government in the Civil War, during the Progressive and New Deal eras, and in the 1960s under President Johnson’s Great Society.

The influence of economic, political, religious, and cultural ideas as human societies move beyond regional, national, or geographic boundaries. The standards for grades 2, 3, and 4, as well as standards for U.S. History I and II address the topic of immigration and its important role in American history. The standards for grade 7, World History I, and World History II address the encounters and conflicts between groups of people as in modern Africa or Ireland, the Balkans, and Southeast Asia, and between different civilizations, such as Islam and Christianity. The World History I and II standards also address the growth of trade among nations and regions as well as diplomatic, religious, and cultural interaction among civilizations and nations.

The effects of geography on the history of civilizations and nations. The concepts and skills sections in the elementary grades address the basic terms of geography. The standards in the early grades address some of the basic geography of the world and of the United States. The grade 6 standards on world geography systematically address world geography, including the relationship between geography and national economies. The standards, concepts, and skills for Ancient History, World History I and II, and for U.S. History I and II, address the relationship between geography and the rise and central characteristics of civilizations and nations.

The growth and spread of free markets and industrial economies. The concepts and skills sections for each grade point to the basic terms, principles, and institutions of capitalist economies. Many standards for grade 7, World History I and II, and U.S. History I and II, address the role of economic trade in spreading ideas, customs, and practices, as well as sparking new ones, and the origins and dramatic consequences of the Industrial Revolution.

The development of scientific reasoning, technology, and formal education over time and their effects on people’s health, standards of living, economic growth, government, religious beliefs, communal life, and the environment. Many grade 7 standards address the development of varied writing systems and scientific thought in the ancient world. Standards for World and U.S. History I and II address advances in scientific and mathematical thought in the Islamic world, India, and Europe. These standards also address major technological innovations in the 19^th century, such as the steam engine, and their contribution to economic growth. Finally, these standards address several major 20^th century scientific theories as well as the computer and its contribution to economic growth, science, medicine, and communication in the late 20^th century.

The birth, growth, and decline of civilizations. Grade 5 standards address the pre-Columbian civilizations that existed in Central and South America before 1500. Grade 7 standards address the rise of early civilizations in the Mediterranean area, the characteristics of these civilizations, and their decline and legacy to later civilizations. Standards in World History I and World History II address the growth and decline of Islamic civilization and the rebirth and dramatic growth of European civilization after 1500, as well as the establishment of the European colonies as independent nations after World War II.