North Carolina
Social Studies
Essential Standards
Professional Development
2012
What
do
you
know
about
the new Social Studies
Essential Standards?
KWL
Adoption of Essential Standards
+
Legislative Changes
A State Led Effort to Develop
Common Standards in Social Studies
January, 2010
NCSS and the Civic Mission of Schools (CMS) convened a
meeting to discuss working together on Common State
Standards for Social Studies.
Summer, 2010
Professional organizations began to confer with Social
Studies Assessment Curriculum and Instruction, a
collaborative of the Council of Chief State School Officers
October, 2010
through
May, 2011
Three meetings
There is now a shared framework focused on ways of
of thinking about civics, economics, geography, and
history. The ultimate goal is to produce a set of fewer,
higher, clearer standards that prepare all students for
college, career, and citizenship.
Professional Organizations
Involved in Developing
a National Common Core in Social Studies
American Association of Geographers
American Bar Association
American Historical Association
Center for Civic Education
Civic Mission of Schools Campaign
National History Day
Constitutional Rights Foundation/USA
Street Law, Inc.
Constitutional Rights Foundation/Chicago
World History Association
Council for Economic Education
National Geographic Society
National Council for Geographic Education
National Council for the Social Studies
National Council for History Education
Legislation
Impacting
K-12
Social Studies
Session Law 2009-504:
An Act Requiring “Credit Education” For All Students
http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/Sessions/2009/Bills/House/PDF/H1474v5.pdf
Public schools shall provide instruction in personal financial
literacy for all students. This instruction shall include:
• The true cost of credit
• Choosing and managing a credit card
• Borrowing money for an automobile or other large purchase
• Home mortgages
• Credit scoring and credit reports
• Other relevant financial literacy issues
The State Board requires that personal financial literacy be included in the Civics
and Economics Course. The new Civics and Economics Essential Standards
include standards for Personal Financial Literacy.
NCDPI Personal Financial Literacy site:
http://www.ncpublicschools.org/pfl/educators/
Session Law 2009-236 House Bill 1032:
Act Modifying The History And Geography
Curricula In The Public Schools
http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/Sessions/2009/Bills/House/PDF/H1032v6.pdf
The standard course of study shall include the
requirement that the public schools provide to all students
one yearlong course of instruction on North Carolina
history and geography in elementary school and one
yearlong course of instruction in middle school on
North Carolina history with United States history
integrated into this instruction.
Session Law 2011-273 House Bill 588:
The Founding Principles Act
http://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2011/Bills/House/PDF/H588v6.pdf

Requires students to take a semester/year-long course
called American History I – The Founding Principles
and receive a passing grade as a requirement for
graduation. The United States History I course meets the
requirements of the legislation. Consequently, the US History I
course has been renamed to American History I:The Founding
Principles.
Session Law 2011-8 House Bill 48:
No Standardized Testing Unless
Required by Federal Government
http://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2011/Bills/House/PDF/H48v4.pdf

Eliminated statewide standardized testing in
the public schools, except as required by
federal law or as a condition of a federal grant.
This effectively eliminated both the Civics and
Economics and the United States History End-ofCourse tests beginning with the 2011-12 school
year.
Given the legislative constraints,
What
do
we
truly want
students to learn
in social studies?
Discuss
Let’s see what’s included in the new Essentials.
Let’s
look
at
the new
Social Studies Essential Standards
from kindergarten
through
high school.
Use 2010 Social Studies Essential Standards:
Meeting the Needs of All Students in the 21st Century to see the content K-12.
How are the
K-12 Social Studies Essential Standards
different from the Standard Course of Study?
•Use of five strands
•Conceptual focus
•Use of Revised Bloom’s
Taxonomy
How are the Social Studies Essential Standards different from the Standard Course of Study?
st
1
Major shift-
Use of five strands
Strands
 H–
 G–
 E–
 C&G–
 C–
History
Geography and
Environmental Literacy
Economics and
Financial Literacy
Civics and Government
Culture
What grade is this?
Which strand is this?
What grade is this?
Which strand is this?
7th
Geography and
Environmental Literacy
What grade is each of these?
Which strand is each of these?
3.C&G.2.2
Exemplify how citizens contribute to the well-being of
the community’s natural environment.
8.E.1.1
Explain how conflict, cooperation, and competition
influenced periods of economic growth and decline
(e.g. economic depressions and recessions).
AH.H.8.1
Analyze the relationship between innovation, economic
development, progress and various perceptions of the
“American Dream” through Reconstruction.
What grade is each of these?
Which strand is each of these?
3.C&G.2.2 3rd grade Civics and Government
Exemplify how citizens contribute to the well-being of
the community’s natural environment.
8.E.1.1 8th grade Economics
Explain how conflict, cooperation, and competition
influenced periods of economic growth and decline
(e.g. economic depressions and recessions).
AH.H.8.1
American History, History strand
Analyze the relationship between innovation, economic
development, progress and various perceptions of the
“American Dream” through Reconstruction.
st
2
Major ShiftA curriculum that is based
on
concepts and generalizations,
North Carolina
Essential Standards
Concepts are
 Timeless

Universal

Transferable

Abstract and broad

Represented by 1-2 words
Examples share common attributes
Some Concepts:
Rules/Laws
Values
Conflict
Interdependence
Fairness
Diversity
Power
Rights
Adaptation
Movement
Diffusion
Democracy
Region
Self Interest
Government
Cooperation
Compromise
Aggression
Innovation
Leadership
Understanding concepts is ultimately what enables students to
transfer understandings learned in one time/place setting to a new
time and place – even a setting with which they have no previous
acquaintance. When we teach concepts we allow our students to
transcend the settings that we have taught.
-John Hergesheimer
Principles
and
Generalizations
Concept
Concept
Topic
F
A
C
T
F
A
C
T
F
A
C
T
F
A
C
T
F
A
C
T
F
A
C
T
Principles and
Generalizations
Concepts
Topic
Facts
People
migrate to
meet a variety
of needs.
Migrate
Needs
U.S. movement west
8th grade or American History
Manifest
Destiny
Trail
Of
Tears
Gold,
furs, and
farming
Railroad
People
migrate to
meet a variety
of needs.
Principles and
Generalizations
Concepts
Topic
Facts
Migrate
Needs
Libyan Conflict 2011
7th grade or World History
Gaddafi
Human
Rights
violations
Civil War
Egypt
and U.K.
Principles and
Generalizations
Concepts
Topic
Facts
People
migrate to
meet a variety
of needs.
Migrate
Needs
Age of Exploration
6th grade, 7th grade,
World History or American History
Sir
Walter
Raleigh
Lost
Colony
freedom
money
Concept or Topic?

environment

Manifest Destiny

culture

Great Depression

Computer Age

movement

Economic System

civil war
Discuss and categorize
each word/phrase as a
concept or a topic.
Answers to Activity
CONCEPTS
 environment
 culture
 movement
 civil war
TOPICS
Manifest Destiny
Computer Age
Great
Depression
Economic System
time specific,
not universal
3nd Major Change
RBT
Revised Bloom’s
Taxonomy
Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy

Provides the cognitive framework used
for all of the North Carolina Essential
Standards

Provides common language for all
curriculum areas

Use of one verb
Revised Bloom’s

Not hierarchical

2 dimensionsknowledge is a dimension

Nouns to verb
Review
How are the Social Studies Essential Standards
different from the current North Carolina
Standard Course of Study?
•Use
of five strands
•Conceptual focus
•Use of Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy
Unpacking
the
New
Essential Standards
Vertical Alignment
In your grade level groups, organize the items
in the order you think they occur in the
Essential Standards.
Begin with the kindergarten level and move
through 8th grade.
The high school courses may be grouped
together and labeled with course names;
World, Civics and Economics,
American History I and Founding Principles
and American History II.
Let’s
Look Closer
at the
New Essential Standards
Concepts/
Transferable Generalizations /
Enduring Understandings
1. Students will understand that…
Examples:
“Systems are interdependent.”
“People adapt to changing environments.”
2. Students will know…
 Factual knowledge, memorized
knowledge
•
Critical factual knowledge for
understanding the unit
generalizations.
•
Critical factual knowledge for
competency with the unit topics.
•
Non-transferable—locked in time, place
or situation
Examples:
•
key vocabulary specific to the topic
•
the causes of the American Revolution
•
dates and places
•
the names and contributions of specific
historical figures in our community
3. Students will be able to do…(skills)
• Taken (often verbatim) from the State Skill
Standards
•
Transfer across applications
•
Not tied to a specific topic (attaching a skill
to a specific topic makes it an activity or a
performance.)
•
New literacy skills in social studies
Examples:
Create tables, graphs and charts to display
geographic data.
Analyze primary and secondary source
documents to evaluate historical
information.
Use context clues in reading to determine
meaning.
Complete New Essential Standards
documents
http://www.ncpublicschools.org/acre/standa
rds/new-standards/

Unpacking the Standards documents
http://www.ncpublicschools.org/acre/standa
rds/support-tools/

Looking
Deeper…
Annotating the Standards
1. Draw a line to separate each
strand in your grade level.
2. Underline the verb(s) in
each objective.
3. Place a star next to the
most challenging
objective in each strand.
Discussion
and
Questions
Literacy Standards
in
History/Social Studies,
Science and
the Technical Arts
http://www.corestandards.org/assets/CCSSI_ELA%20Standards.pdf

http://www.corestandards.org/assets/Appendix_B.pdf
Examples
of
Information Text
for
Grades 6-8
Comments?
Text Complexity
Grade
Old Lexile
New CCR Lexile
2–3
450–725
450–790
4–5
645–845
770–980
6–8
860–1010
955–1155
9–10
960–1115
1080–1305
11–CCR
1070–1220
1215–1355
Lexile Scores
There are two kinds of Lexile measures: the
Lexile reader measure and the Lexile text
measure.
Students receive a Lexile reader measure as
a score from a reading test - it describes
his or her reading ability.
Books and other texts receive a Lexile text
measure from a software tool called the
Lexile Analyzer - it describes the book's
reading demand or difficulty.
http://www.lexile.com/
3-2-1
What are three things you learned today?
 What two questions do you still have?
 What one topic do you need more time
to address?
