INTRODUCTION The History and Social Science Standards of Learning Curriculum Framework 2015, approved by the Board of Education on January 28, 2016, is a companion document to the 2015 History and Social Science Standards of Learning for Virginia Public Schools. The Curriculum Framework amplifies the Standards of Learning by defining the content understandings, knowledge, and skills that are measured by the Standards of Learning assessments. The standards and Curriculum Framework are not intended to encompass the entire curriculum for a given grade level or course, nor to prescribe how the content should be taught. School divisions are encouraged to incorporate the standards and Curriculum Framework into a broader, locally designed curriculum. The Curriculum Framework delineates in greater specificity the minimum content that all teachers should teach and all students should learn. Teachers are encouraged to go beyond the standards and select instructional strategies and assessment methods appropriate for their students. Additional details such as the names of historical figures whose study further enriches the standards and clarifies the concepts under investigation will be found in the Curriculum Framework. The Curriculum Framework facilitates teacher planning by identifying essential understandings, knowledge, and skills. Together, these key elements provide the focus of instruction for each standard. The purpose of each section is explained below: Standard of Learning Statement Each page begins with a Standard of Learning statement as a focus for teaching and learning. Students will apply social science skills to understand the interrelationships between the history, geography, economics, and civics content, as well as become actively engaged in their learning. Essential Skills (Standard 1) The essential history and social science skills are outlined in Standard 1 for each grade level or course. Students use these skills to increase understanding of the history and social sciences content, including historical, geographic, political, and economic events or trends. The development of these skills is important in order for students to become better-informed citizens. The first column for Standard 1 contains “Essential Understandings,” which are described below. The second column contains examples of how the skill may be applied in the classroom. Note: The skills will not be assessed in isolation; rather, they will be assessed as part of the content in the History and Social Science Standards of Learning. Essential Understandings This column includes the fundamental background information necessary to acquire and apply the essential knowledge. The understandings should help students develop a sense of context, including why the essential knowledge is relevant to the standard; thus, teachers should use these understandings as a basis for lesson planning.
STANDARD VUS.6f The student will apply social science skills to understand major events in Virginia and United States history during the first half of the nineteenth century by f) explaining how Manifest Destiny and President James K. Polk’s policies impacted the nation; Essential Understandings Essential Knowledge America’s desire to gain land from the Atlantic to the Pacific ultimately led to a resurgence of regional interests. The popular belief that it was America’s Manifest Destiny to stretch across the continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific provided political support for territorial expansion. President James K. Polk, a Democrat, was elected on a Manifest Destiny platform. During Polk’s presidency, the United States acquired the Oregon Territory from Great Britain the Mexican Cession from Mexico. This acquisition of land led to renewed controversy concerning the expansion of slavery into new territories. This controversy led to the Compromise of 1850, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and the rise of the Republican Party.
STANDARD VUS.10c The student will apply social science skills to understand key events during the 1920s and 1930s by c) explaining the causes of the Great Depression and its impact on the American people; Essential Understandings Essential Knowledge The Great Depression was caused by severe weaknesses in the nation’s agricultural, financial, and industrial sectors, resulting in widespread hardships. Causes of the Great Depression Overproduction of industrial and agricultural products Purchasing items on credit, placing Americans in an unstable financial position Unequal distribution of wealth, making it difficult for many Americans to make purchases An agricultural depression that had plagued farmers throughout the 1920s Federal Reserve’s failure to prevent widespread collapse of the nation’s banking system in the late 1920s and early 1930s, leading to severe contraction in the nation’s supply of money in circulation High protective tariffs produced retaliatory tariffs in other countries, restricting world trade Impact of the Great Depression Unemployment and homelessness Collapse of the financial system (bank closings) Decline in demand for goods Political unrest (growing militancy of labor unions) Farm foreclosures and migration
STANDARD VUS.13b The student will apply social science skills to understand the social, political, and cultural movements and changes in the United States during the second half of the twentieth century by b) evaluating and explaining the impact of the Brown v. Board of Education decision, the roles of Thurgood Marshall and Oliver W. Hill, Sr., and how Virginia responded to the decision; Essential Understandings Essential Knowledge By interpreting its powers broadly, the United States Supreme Court can reshape American society. The Brown v. Board of Education decision had intended and unintended consequences for Virginia and the entire nation. Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision that segregated schools are unequal and must desegregate Included Virginia case Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward Key people Barbara Johns: Student leader in Prince Edward County Thurgood Marshall: NAACP legal defense team Oliver W. Hill, Sr.: NAACP legal defense team in Virginia Earl Warren: Supreme Court chief justice Virginia’s response Massive Resistance: Closing some schools Establishment of private academies White flight from urban school systems to suburbs