Oklahoma Administrative Code › Title 210 - State Department of Education › Chapter 15 - Curriculum and Instruction › Subchapter 3 - Oklahoma Academic Standards › Part 11 - SOCIAL STUDIES › Section 210:15-3-104.5 - Social Studies Standards: Overview

Current through Vol. 41, No. 20, July 1, 2024
(a)
Purpose.
Having a literate
				  citizenry rests on a commitment to democratic values and practicing them. It
				  requires the ability to use knowledge about one's community, nation, and world.
				  It also requires the ability to apply inquiry processes, as well as to employ
				  skills of data collection and analysis, collaboration, decision-making, and
				  problem-solving. Young people who are knowledgeable, skillful, and committed to
				  democracy are necessary to sustaining and improving the democratic way of life.
				  This will also enable our students to become participating members of a global
				  community. A well-rounded, vigorous social studies education encourages and
				  enables each student to acquire a core of basic knowledge, an arsenal of useful
				  skills, and a way of thinking drawn from many academic disciplines. Thus
				  equipped, students are prepared to become informed, contributing, and
				  participating citizens in this democratic republic - the United States of
				  America.
(b)
Structure.
The standards are comprised of two primary components,
				  content standards and social studies practices. The content standards designate
				  specific learning targets at each grade level or course. These content
				  standards are derived from the major disciplines of the social sciences:
				  history, geography, civics, and economics. The social studies practices define
				  basic skills and disciplinary tools to prepare students for college, career,
				  and civic life. These practices are meant to be integrated with the instruction
				  of content standards.
(c)
Social Studies Content Strands.
Social studies is a systematic and
				  coordinated discipline designed to promote civic competence by drawing upon
				  four content strands: history, geography, civics, and economics. These strands
				  draw from all fields of study related to the social sciences to provide a
				  framework used in the development of the content standards for social studies
				  and are to be threaded through an integrated program, from grades pre-K through
				  twelve (12), as appropriate at each level. While at some grades and for some
				  courses, specific strands will be more dominant than others, all strands are
				  represented and interrelated in the standards for each grade and course.
(1)
Strand 1: History.
History
				  focuses on the written record of human experience revealing how individuals and
				  societies developed institutions, philosophies, ideals, and cultural values,
				  and resolved their problems. A balanced study of history helps students
				  understand the "how and why" of past societies' successes and the consequences
				  of their choices. By studying the choices and decisions of the past, students
				  can confront today's problems with a deeper awareness of their alternatives and
				  likely consequences.
(2)
Strand 2: Geography.
Geography has more to do with asking
				  questions and solving problems than with rote memorization of isolated facts.
				  It is the study of the earth's surface and the processes that shape it, the
				  relationships between the relationships between people and environments, and
				  the connections between people and places. As a discipline, geography provides
				  the skills to help students answer questions about where things are, how they
				  got there, and how they interact with other things - in the past, now, and in
				  the future.
(3)
Strand 3:
				  Civics.
"Civics" is defined to mean the study of the rights and duties
				  of Oklahoma and United States citizens and of how those governments work. This
				  strand helps students understand the essential principles and workings of their
				  political system and those of others, as well as the relationship of American
				  politics and government to world affairs. The goal of civics is to develop
				  literate, informed, competent, and responsible citizens who are politically
				  aware, active and committed to the fundamental values and principles of
				  American constitutional democracy.
(4)
Strand 4: Economics.
Economics provides students with an understanding of how individuals,
				  communities, states, and nations allocate both scarce and abundant resources. A
				  clear understanding of economics enables students to comprehend the various
				  competing economic philosophies, ideas, and forces that affect them every day,
				  to measure the effectiveness of each, and to identify and evaluate the
				  consequences of personal decisions and public policies. Students then will
				  understand how a market economy effectively functions, preparing them to be
				  producers, consumers, and citizens.