New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards

for

Social Studies

INTRODUCTION

The Vision     

The vision of the social studies standards is one that fosters, for all students, the ability to understand their world and to have an appreciation for the heritage of America with a high degree of literacy in civics, history, economics and geography.  In achieving this vision, students must:

• Acquire a basic understanding and appreciation of American traditions and values based on knowledge of history and of the development and functioning of the American constitutional system of government;

• Develop critical thinking skills which enable them to function as lifelong learners and to examine and evaluate issues of importance to all Americans;

• Acquire basic literacy in the core disciplines of social studies and have the basic understandings needed to apply this knowledge to their lives as citizens;

• Understand world history as the context for United States history and as a record of the great civilizations and cultures of the past and present; and

• Participate in activities that enhance the common good and increase the general welfare.

In order to assist students to reach this vision, school district programs must:

• Embrace the idea that all students can learn at high levels;

• Promote the teaching of critical thinking but also include appropriate content knowledge;

• Value the needs of students as  key elements in instructional planning;

• Include the full spectrum of social studies including civics, world history, United States and New Jersey history, economics, and geography;

• Provide adequate resources to all classrooms; and

• Connect curriculum and instruction to assessment through the use of both traditional objective tests and performance assessments.

The teaching of the standards and indicators should be approached through the various social science and human perspectives.  This enables students to appreciate the complexities of social and historical issues.

The Revised Standards

The purpose of social studies education is to provide students with the knowledge, skills and attitudes they need to be active, informed, responsible citizens and contributing members of their communities.  The standards define social studies as the four disciplines of history, geography, civics, and economics.  The teaching of social studies should include interdisciplinary connections among these areas.  Social studies instruction can be based on one or more of these core disciplines or on a combination of these in the problem-solving or inquiry mode. This is frequently the basis of social studies activities in the classroom. In addition, these standards identify a common core of skills that are integral to the social studies disciplines. 

The New Jersey standards provide visible structure to social studies education for students in grades kindergarten through twelve.  Educators and practitioners developed the standards to focus on the essential knowledge and skills that all students need to function effectively in American society.  A committee comprised of teachers and administrators, as well as representatives from higher education and the New Jersey Department of Education, endeavored to make the original standards clearer, more relevant to today’s world, and more consistent with current trends in social studies research and instruction.  The standards review committee continued to structure the standards around the four social studies disciplines.  This maintains and fosters the individuality that each subject area brings to classroom teachers and students and recognizes that interdisciplinary connections among the subject disciplines exist and should be encouraged whenever possible.

As part of the department’s extensive standards review process, Achieve, Inc. evaluated the social studies standards in 2004. Many of their recommendations have been included in this document. Additionally, a number of New Jersey commissions, such as the Amistad Commission, the Italian American Heritage Commission, the Holocaust Commission, and the Asian Commission provided feedback and suggestions that enabled the department to develop cumulative progress indicators that are rigorous and specific.

N.J.S.A. 18A-35-1 requires that each district board of education adopt a two-year course of study at the high school level in the history of the United States, including the history of New Jersey and African-American history. The required courses must cover the content of Standard 6.4: United States and New Jersey History.  In addition, the required courses must include the principles of government as outlined in Standard 6.2: Civics.  The required courses must also include the history of the social, economic, and cultural development of the United States, as outlined in Standard 6.5: Economics and Standard 6.6: Geography.   Pursuant to the statute, other historical events that represent the principles and ideals of United States citizens must be included.  Many of these events are delineated in the standards.  In support of these requirements,  N.J.A.C. 6A:8-5, mandates district boards of education to adopt and implement requirements for a State-endorsed diploma that include at least 15 credits in social studies, of which 10 of those credits must address the content outlined above, and cover the content of standards 6.2, 6.4, 6.5, and 6.6.  The remaining five credits must address world history as defined in Standard 6.3.

In addition, N.J.S.A. 18A:35-3 requires each board of education to adopt a course of study in the civics, geography, and history of New Jersey for all pupils in public elementary schools.  In addition, every board of education shall include instruction on the Holocaust and genocide in an appropriate place in the curriculum for all elementary and secondary students (N.J.S.A. 18A:35-28).  These requirements must be considered as districts and schools develop curricular programs to meet these standards.

Standards and Strands

There are six social studies standards, each of which has a number of lettered strands.  Strands are subtopics that help teachers and curriculum developers identify the chronology of the standards as well as specific content and skills.  Each strand is further subdivided into cumulative progress indicators (CPIs) that provide the level of specificity necessary to develop local curriculum objectives within specific grade level clusters (e.g., K-2, 3-4, 5-8, 9-12).  The CPIs are cumulative; that is, teachers should not reteach concepts and skills in previous grade levels.  However, some students may require review and reinforcement in order to achieve the higher grade-level CPIs. 

The CPIs include the essential core of social studies.  Topics that are listed following the word “including” must be addressed in the local curriculum and taught.  Many CPIs provide examples of topics that could be covered in the curriculum preceded by “e.g.” These examples illustrate what is meant by the indicator.  They are not meant to be a complete list of topics to be covered and should be further explored and expanded in local curriculum.

These standards and their associated strands are:

6.1              Social Studies Skills

6.2              Civics

A.     Civic Life, Politics, and Government

B.     American Values and Principles

C.     The Constitution and American Democracy

D.     Citizenship

E.      International Education: Global Challenges, Cultures, and Connections

6.3              World History

A. The Birth of Civilization to 1000 BCE (BC)

B. Early Human Societies to 500 CE (AD)

C.  Expanding Zones of Exchange and Interaction to 1400 CE (AD)

D.  The Age of Global Encounters (1400-1750)

E.  The Age of Revolutionary Change (1750-1914)

F.  The Era of the Great Wars (1914-1945)

G.  The Modern World (1945-1979)

H.     Looking to the Future (1980-present)

6.4              United States/New Jersey History

A.     Family and Community Life

B.     State and Nation

C.     Many Worlds Meet (to 1620)

D.     Colonization and Settlement (1585-1763)

E.      Revolution and the New Nation (1754-1820)

F.      Expansion and Reform (1801-1861)

G.     Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)

H.     The Industrial Revolution (1870-1900)

I.        The Emergence of Modern America (1890-1930)

J.       The Great Depression and World War II (1929-1945)

K.    Postwar Years (1945-1970)

L.  Contemporary America (1968-present)

6.5              Economics

A.     Economic Literacy

B.     Economics and Society

6.6              Geography

A.     The World in Spatial Terms

B.     Places and Regions

C.     Physical Systems

D.     Human Systems

E.      Environment and Society

References

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California State Board of Education. (1987). History-social science framework for California public schools kindergarten through grade 12. Sacramento, CA: Author.

California State Board of Education. (1998). History-social science content standards for California public schools kindergarten through grade 12. Sacramento, CA: Author.

Center for Civic Education. (1994). National standards for civics and government. Calabasa,

California: The Center.

Geography Education Standards Project. (1994). Geography for life: National geography standards. Washington, DC: National Geographic Society.

Indiana Department of Education. (2001). Indiana’s academic standards: social studies. Indianapolis, IN. Author.

Jenness, D. (1990). Making sense of social studies. New York. Macmillan Publishing Co.

Kendall, J.S. and Marzano, R.J. (2000). Content knowledge. A project of the Mid-continent regional educational laboratory (McREL). Arlington, VA: ASCD.

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National Council for the Social Studies. (1994). Expectations of excellence. Curriculum standards for the social studies. Washington, DC: Author.

National Council on Economic Education. (2000). National content standards in economics. New York: Author.

O’Brien, P.K.  (Ed.). (2000). Encyclopedia of world history. New York: Facts-on-File.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Education. (1997). History and social science curriculum framework. Malden, MA: Author.