The study of culture examines the beliefs, values, behaviors, traditions, and ways of life of a group within society. It also encompasses cultural
attributes, such as language, literature, music, arts and artifacts, and food. A cultural anthropologist considers social changes resulting from
modifications and how humans create, learn, share and adapt to culture overtime. Culture anthropologists take a scientific approach to
collecting empirical information and seek to understand what role culture plays in human and societal development, the common
characteristics across cultures, and how culture changes and accommodates various belief systems. Through the lens of culture and by
applying the disciplinary skills of anthropology, students will be able to understand diverse perspectives on the concepts of race, ethnicity,
culture, and nationality. These are especially relevant for North Carolina students as schools seek to address racial and ethnic conflict and
students develop their sense of identity as members of different groups and explore the role of culture in shaping our lives today.
K-12 Social Studies Essential Standards
Culture Strand
Disciplinary Skills of Anthropology
Students are provided the opportunity throughout K-12 Social Studies to understand the role culture plays in human and societal
development, the common characteristics across cultures, and how culture changes and accommodate various belief systems and ideas. This
document contains the standards that support the teaching of culture in grade Kindergarten through Grade 8 and the concepts that support
the reach of culture in American History I, American History II, and World History at the high school level. You may access the entire Standard
Course of Study for K-12 Social Studies. It is our desire that this document serve to help students develop anthropologic ways of thinking and
doing.
Students engaged in studying diverse cultures need to be given
opportunities to formulate, test, and apply cultural knowledge and skills
in order to understand themselves and others in today’s rapidly changing
world. Effective citizens and decision makers for a globally
interdependent society need to act according to an integrated
understanding of the role culture and human behavior plays in society. It
is not enough simply to study aspects of various cultures, but students
need to engage in an understanding of how humans create, learn, share
and adapt to culture and comprehend the impact of human behavior.
Decision makers engaged in anthropologic inquiry are equipped to make
better choices for themselves and help others act accordingly based on
comprehensive study of human behavior overtime. For students, this may
be the opportunity to interview individuals about lived experiences,
observe individuals and groups, examine case studies of cultures, or
conduct fieldwork on everyday behavior. Giving students the
opportunities to inquire and act upon the widespread intricacies of
culture will help prepare them to become global citizens and leaders of
our 21st century.
Division of Curriculum & Instruction | K-12 Social Studies
2|P a g e
Elementary Social Studies
K-2 Standards provide students an understanding of self and diverse cultures in the community.
Kindergarten
K.C.1
Essential Standard
Clarifying Objectives
Understand how individuals are
similar and different.
K.C.1.1
K.C.1.2
Explain similarities in self and others.
Explain the elements of culture (how people speak, how people dress, foods they eat, etc.).
First Grade
1.C.1
Essential Standard
Clarifying Objectives
Understand the diversity of people
in the local community.
1.C.1.1
1.C.1.2
Compare the languages, traditions, and holidays of various cultures.
Use literature to help people understand diverse cultures.
Second Grade
2.C.1
Essential Standard
Clarifying Objectives
Understand how various cultures
influence communities.
2.C.1.1
2.C.1.2
2.C.1.3
Explain how artistic expressions of diverse cultures contribute to the community (stories, art, music, food,
etc.).
Recognize the key historical figures and events that are associated with various cultural traditions.
Exemplify respect and appropriate social skills needed for working with diverse groups.
3-5 Standards expand upon culture in the community learned in K-2 and develop an understanding of culture in North Carolina and
the United States
Third Grade
3.C.1
Essential Standard
Clarifying Objectives
Understand how diverse cultures
are visible in local and regional
communities.
3.C.1.1
Compare languages, foods and traditions of various groups living in local and regional communities.
3.C.1.2
Exemplify how various groups show artistic expression within the local and regional communities.
3.C.1.3
Use non-fiction texts to explore how cultures borrow and share from each other (foods, languages, rules,
traditions and behaviors).
Division of Curriculum & Instruction | K-12 Social Studies
3|P a g e
Fourth Grade
4.C.1
Essential Standard
Clarifying Objectives
Understand the impact of various
cultural groups on North Carolina.
4.C.1.1
Explain how the settlement of people from various cultures affected the development of regions in North
Carolina (languages, foods and traditions).
4.C.1.2
Explain how the artistic expression of various groups represents the cultural heritage of North Carolina.
Fifth Grade
5.C.1
Essential Standard
Clarifying Objectives
Understand how increased diversity
resulted from migration, settlement
patterns and economic development
in the United States.
5.C.1.1
5.C.1.2
5.C.1.3
5.C.1.4
Analyze the change in leadership, cultures and everyday life of American Indian groups before and after
European exploration.
Exemplify how the interactions of various groups have resulted in the borrowing and sharing of traditions and
technology.
Explain how the movement of goods, ideas and various cultural groups influenced the development of regions
in the United States.
Understand how cultural narratives (legends, songs, ballads, games, folk tales and art forms) reflect the
lifestyles, beliefs and struggles of diverse ethnic groups.
Middle Grades Social Studies
6-8 Standards expand upon culture in North Carolina and the United States and examine how values and beliefs influence societies,
civilizations, and regions around world.
Sixth Grade
6.C.1
Essential Standard
Clarifying Objectives
Explain how the behaviors and
practices of individuals and groups
influenced societies, civilizations
and regions.
6.C.1.1
6.C.1.2
6.C.1.3
Analyze how cultural expressions reflected the values of civilizations, societies and regions (e.g., oral
traditions, art, dance, music, literature, and architecture).
Explain how religion transformed various societies, civilizations and regions (e.g., beliefs, practices and
spread of Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism).
Summarize systems of social structure within various civilizations and societies over time (e.g., Roman
class structure, Indian caste system and feudal, matrilineal and patrilineal societies).
Division of Curriculum & Instruction | K-12 Social Studies
4|P a g e
Seventh Grade
7.C.1
Essential Standard
Understand how cultural values
influence relationships between
individuals, groups and political
entities in modern societies and
regions.
Clarifying Objectives
7.C.1.1
Explain how culture unites and divides modern societies and regions (e.g. enslavement of various
peoples, caste system, religious conflict and Social Darwinism).
7.C.1.2
Explain how cultural expressions (e.g. art, literature, architecture and music) influence modern society.
Eighth Grade
8.C.1
Essential Standard
Clarifying Objectives
Understand how different cultures
influenced North Carolina and the
United States.
8.C.1.1
8.C.1.2
8.C.1.3
Explain how influences from Africa, Europe, and the Americas impacted North Carolina and the United
States (e.g. Columbian Exchange, slavery, and the decline of the American Indian populations).
Summarize the origin of beliefs, practices, and traditions that represent various groups within North
Carolina and the United States (e.g. Moravians, Scots-Irish, Highland Scots, Latinos, Hmong, Africans, and
American Indians)
Summarize the contributions of particular groups to the development of North Carolina and the United
States (e.g. women, religious groups, and ethnic sectors such as American Indians, African Americans, and
European immigrants).
High School Social Studies
(Required courses in which culture is embedded through other strands)
American History: The Founding Principles, Civics, and Economics
While the emphasis in this course is focused on understanding the basic tenets of American government and government, the students will be able to uniquely
apply cultural reasoning from elementary and middle grades to apply how culture and human behavior influences political and economic decisions overtime.
Students will be able to understand:
 How the Enlightenment and other contributing theories impacted the writing of the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution and the Bill of
Rights to promote liberty, justice and equality and America’s national identity (CE.C&G.1.2 and CE.C&G.4.2)
 The principles and ideals underlying American democracy in terms of how they promote freedom and maintain constitutional democracy in the United
States (CE.C&G.1.3, CE.C&G.1.4 and CE.C&G.1.5)
 Contemporary issues and governmental responses at the local, state, and national levels (CE.C&G.2.7)
 Ways laws have been influenced by political parties, constituents, interest groups, lobbyists, the media and public opinion (CE.C&G.3.6)
 The roles and obligations of citizens of N.C, and the U.S in terms of responsibilities, participation, civic life (CE.C&G.4.3 and CE.C&G.4.4)
Division of Curriculum & Instruction | K-12 Social Studies
5|P a g e
American History I and II
The emphasis for both courses is examining the political, economic, social and cultural development of the United States, students will be able to uniquely apply
geographic reasoning from elementary and middle grades to now understand how geography and geographic decisions have influenced economic, social, cultural,
and political characteristics and spatial patterns overtime. Students will be able to apply anthropological concepts and theories to the study of historical social
change, conflict, and other important local, national, and international problems. Students will be able to understand:
American History I







How social and religious factors influenced European exploration and
American colonial settlement (AH1.H.3.1)
How environmental and cultural factors influenced the patterns of
migration and settlement within the United States before the Civil War
(AH1.H.3.2)
The roles of various racial and ethnic groups in settlement and expansion
through Reconstruction and the consequences for those groups
(AH1.H.3.3)
Voluntary and involuntary immigration trends through Reconstruction in
terms of causes, regions of origin and destination, cultural contributions,
and public and governmental response (AH1.H.3.4)
Social and religious conflicts, movements and reforms that affected the
United States from colonization through Reconstruction in terms of
participants, strategies, opposition, and results (AH1.H.4.3)
Cultural conflicts that impacted the United States through Reconstruction
and the compromises that resulted (AH1.H.4.4)
The impact of wars on American society and culture through
Reconstruction (AH1.H.7.3)
Division of Curriculum & Instruction | K-12 Social Studies
American History II







How social and religious factors influenced United States imperialism
(AH2.H.3.1)
How environmental and cultural factors influenced the patterns of
migration and settlement within the United States since the end of
Reconstruction (AH2.H.3.2)
The roles of various racial and ethnic groups in settlement and
expansion since Reconstruction and the consequences for those
groups (AH2.H.3.3)
Voluntary and involuntary immigration trends since Reconstruction in
terms of causes, regions of origin and destination, cultural
contributions, and public and governmental response (AH2.H.3.4)
Social and religious conflicts, movements and reforms that impacted
the United States since Reconstruction in terms of participants,
strategies, opposition, and results (AH2.H.4.3)
Cultural conflicts that impacted the United States since Reconstruction
and the compromises that resulted (AH2.H.4.4)
The impact of wars on American society and culture since
Reconstruction (AH2.H.7.3
6|P a g e
World History
The desired outcome of this course is to develop relevant understandings of current world issues
and relate them to their historical, political, economic, geographical and cultural contexts. As students
apply cultural inquiry to significant events, ideas, movements, and patterns of civilizations they will broaden
their appreciation of cultural differences and how human diversity is shaped by local, national,
regional, and global patterns. Students will be able to understand:












The conditions, racial composition, and status of social classes, castes, and slaves in ancient
societies (WH.H.2.8)
How religion influenced political power, secular struggles for authority and cultural unity in various
regions of Europe, Asia and Africa (WH.H.3.1, WH.H.3.2)
How innovations in agriculture, trade and business impacted the social development of medieval
societies (WH.H.3.3)
How interest in classical learning and religious reform contributed to increased global interaction
(WH.H.4.1)
The social reasons for the rise of powerful centralized nation-states and empires (WH.H.4.2)
How agricultural and technological improvements transformed daily social life socially (WH.H.4.3)
How the desire for access to resources and markets creates conflict as well as the consequences on
indigenous cultures, population, and environment (WH.H.3.4, 5.3)
How new ideas, theories, and political thought affects social conditions (WH.H.6.1)
How ethnic and regional conflicts can be underlying causes of war (WH.H.7.3)
How social and economic conditions of colonial rule contributed to the rise of nationalistic
movements (WH.H.7.4)
How liberal democracy and human rights movements have reshaped social life in Africa, Asia, Latin
America, Europe, the Soviet Union and the United States (WH.H.8.6)
How terrorist groups and movements impact politics and society (WH.H.8.7)
Division of Curriculum & Instruction | K-12 Social Studies
7|P a g e
Implications for Teaching and Learning:
Compelling Questions focused on Cultural Inquiry
Who was and is an “American citizen” and why have the answers
changed over time?
How well have we lived up to the values and beliefs of our
Founders? How well did our Founders live up to their own ideals?
How have different groups of people in the United States
experienced the recession?
Are modern civilizations more ‘civilized’ than ancient ones?
Is the “Great Recession” an event unique to the United States? How do
groups of people outside the U.S. name what is happening and explain it?
Does a close relationship between church and state lead to a more moral
society?
Has Puritanism shaped American values?
How and why do beliefs change over time?
Resources
 American Anthropological Association
 Teaching Tolerance
 World View
 NC Center for International Understanding
 Asia Society
Tools and Data Students Can Use to Think Like an Anthropologist
 Ethnographic Archives
 Culture Grams
 NC Global Heat Map
Research
 Why Should Anthropology Be Integrated In Schools
Division of Curriculum & Instruction | K-12 Social Studies
8|P a g e