PK-7 and High School History Social Science Example Ddms: Core Course Objectives

Pre-K–HS History/Social Science

Core Course Objectives

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (ESE) partnered with WestEd to convene panels of expert educators to review and develop statements of essential curriculum content, Core Course Objectives (CCOs), for approximately 100 different grades/subjects and courses.

In conjunction with the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks, the CCOs were used by a team of WestEd evaluators to ensure content alignment in the identification and evaluation of example assessments suitable for use as District-Determined Measures (DDMs). Districts can utilize the CCOs themselves or the process of developing CCOs in their own work when selecting DDMs.

At each meeting, educators developed high-quality CCOs that met the following criteria:

· Scope: The CCO describes an overarching learning goal.

· Assess-ability: The CCO describes knowledge, skills, or abilities that are readily able to be measured.

· Centrality: The CCO describes a critically important concept, skill, or ability that is central to the subject/grade or course.

· Relevance: The CCO represents knowledge, skills, and abilities that are consistent with Massachusetts’s values and goals.

After public review, WestEd’s content specialists reviewed the comments submitted by educators and other stakeholders. The CCOs that emerged from this process are presented below.

Massachusetts District-Determined Measures
Core Course Objectives (CCOs)

History/Social Science – Grade: Pre-K

# / Objective /
1 / Students identify important American symbols and national holidays, including but not limited to:
· the American flag: its colors and shapes;
· the picture and name of current president; and
· Thanksgiving.
2 / Students identify what a map is and what a globe is, and tell the purposes of each.
3 / Students recognize and describe qualities in family members, community members, and characters in stories that demonstrate good citizenship, such as honesty, kindness, friendship, respect, and cooperation.
4 / Students use words and phrases that indicate location and direction (e.g., up/down, near/far, left/right, straight, back, behind, and in front of) when describing their environment.
5 / Students give examples of different kinds of jobs that people do, including the work they do at home.
6 / Students use words and phrases related to chronology and time (e.g., first, next, last; now, long ago, before, after; morning, afternoon, night; today, tomorrow, yesterday; last or next week, month, year; and past, present, and future tenses of verbs) appropriately in context.

Note: These Core Course Objectives were developed by Massachusetts educators in summer 2013. They are intended to provide districts with information about the content taught in this course. Source document used is as follows: Massachusetts History and Social Science Curriculum Framework (2003).

History/Social Science – Grade: K

# / Objective /
1 / Students identify important American symbols and national holidays, including but not limited to:
· the picture and name of the current president;
· the melody of the national anthem;
· the words of the Pledge of Allegiance;
· the American flag;
· Labor Day;
· Memorial Day;
· Columbus Day;
· Presidents’ Day; and
· Thanksgiving.
2 / Students recognize, demonstrate, and explain qualities in family members, community members, and characters in stories that demonstrate good citizenship, including but not limited to honesty, courage, friendship, responsibility, and respect.
3 / Students describe familiar locations and features of places in their neighborhoods.
4 / Students identify their location, including but not limited to address, school name, city, state, and country.
5 / Students sequence events in their own and their families’ lives.
6 / Students explain why people work, and give examples of the things that people buy with the money they earn.

Note: These Core Course Objectives were developed by Massachusetts educators in summer 2013. They are intended to provide districts with information about the content taught in this course. Source documents used are as follows: Massachusetts History and Social Science Curriculum Framework (2003); Massachusetts English Language Arts and Literacy Curriculum Framework (2011).

History/Social Science – Grade: 1

# / Objective /
1 / Students describe a map as a representation of a space (e.g., classroom, school, neighborhood, town, city, state, country, world) and use cardinal directions in explaining spatial relationships.
2 / Students identify and/or label geographical features on a map, including but not limited to: North Pole and South Pole, equator, continent, mountain, river, lake, and ocean.
3 / Students read or listen to folktales, legends, and stories about famous Americans of different ethnic groups, faiths, and historical periods, and then describe their qualities, distinctive traits, and impact on society.
4 / Students explain that Americans have a variety of different religious, community, and family celebrations and customs, and research and describe celebrations or customs held by members of the class, their families, and/or community.
5 / Students recognize and/or demonstrate that events in time, including national (United States) and state (Massachusetts) holidays and events in a student’s own life, can be organized and sequenced and placed on a calendar or timeline.
6 / Students identify and explain the meaning of the following American national symbols:
· the American flag;
· the words of the Pledge of Allegiance;
· the bald eagle;
· the White House; and
· the Statue of Liberty.
7 / Students identify the current President of the United States, describe what presidents do, and explain that they get their authority from a vote by the people.
8 / Students give examples of products (goods) that people buy and use, services that people do for one another, and why they have to make choices about what they buy.

Note: These Core Course Objectives were developed by Massachusetts educators in summer 2013. They are intended to provide districts with information about the content taught in this course. Source documents used are as follows: Massachusetts History and Social Science Curriculum Framework (2003); Massachusetts English Language Arts and Literacy Curriculum Framework (2011).

History/Social Science – Grade: 2

# / Objective /
1 / Students describe how maps represent geographical information, and locate and label all of the continents and oceans on a map of the world.
2 / Students locate and label, on a map of North America, the United States, Canada, and Mexico, including their boundaries, and explain the difference between a continent and country, giving examples of each.
3 / Students research and present information about a country of background or interest, including physical features, landmarks, and culture (e.g., food, customs, music, sports, and games).
4 / Students define and give examples of some of the rights and responsibilities that they have as citizens in the school or community (e.g., students have a right to vote in a class election, a responsibility to follow school rules, and a responsibility to participate in community recycling programs).
5 / Students give examples of fictional characters or real people in a school or community who are good leaders and/or good citizens, and explain the qualities that make them admirable (e.g., honesty, dependability, modesty, trustworthiness, courage).
6 / Students explain the information that historical timelines convey, and then put in chronological order events in their lives, using words and phrases related to time (now, in the past, in the future) and causation (because, reasons).
7 / Students define and use economic terms (e.g., producers, consumers, buyers, sellers, goods, services), giving examples from their school and/or community.
8 / Students define relevant history and social science terms (e.g., landforms, boundary, landmark, continent, country, rights, responsibilities, etc.) and use them appropriately in context.

Note: These Core Course Objectives were developed by Massachusetts educators in summer 2013. They are intended to provide districts with information about the content taught in this course. Source documents used are as follows: Massachusetts History and Social Science Curriculum Framework (2003); Massachusetts English Language Arts and Literacy Curriculum Framework (2011).

History/Social Science – Grade: 3

# / Objective /
1 / Students locate and label the New England states and the Atlantic Ocean by examining a map of the United States. Discuss their locations and how the geographical features influence the people’s lives. Using a map of the United States, students locate and label the New England states and major geographic features, and explain how their locations and geographic features influence people living there.
2 / Students locate and identify the class’s hometown or city by examining a map of Massachusetts. Students identify major cities and towns of Massachusetts and understand how the geographical features impacted people’s lives.
On a map of Massachusetts, students locate the class’s hometown or city and its geographic features and landmarks. Students explain how its location and geographic features affect people living there.
3 / Students identify the Wampanoag and describe their way of life.
4 / Students explain who the Pilgrims were and why they left Europe to seek religious freedom and describe their journey and their early years in the Plymouth Colony.
5 / Students explain how the Puritans and Pilgrims differed and describe the daily life, education, and work of the Puritans in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
6 / Students explain how objects or artifacts of everyday life in the past tell us how ordinary people lived and how everyday life has changed.
7 / Students define what a tax is, the purposes for taxes, and give examples of tax-supported facilities and services provided by their local government.
8 / Students give examples of goods and services provided by their local businesses and industries.

History/Social Science – Grade: 4

# / Objective /
1 / Students locate North America on a map of the world and locate the United States, the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the Gulf of Mexico, the Mississippi and RioGrande Rivers, the GreatLakes, Hudson Bay, and the Rocky and Appalachian Mountain ranges. Students differentiate the regions of the United States, including New England, MiddleAtlantic, Atlantic Coast/Appalachian, Southeast/Gulf, SouthCentral, Great Lakes, Plains, Southwest Desert, and Pacific States, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
2 / Using a map key, students locate the states, state capitals, and major cities in each region of the United States.
3 / Students identify and describe the climate, major physical features, natural resources, and unique landmarks in each region of the United States (e.g., the Everglades, the Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore, the Redwood Forest, Yellowstone National Park, and Yosemite National Park).
4 / Students identify and explain the significance of major monuments and historical sites in and around Washington, D.C. (e.g., the Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials, the Smithsonian Museums, the Library of Congress, the White House, the Capitol, the Washington Monument, the National Archives, Arlington National Cemetery, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Iwo Jima Memorial, and Mount Vernon).
5 / Students describe the diverse nature of the American people by explaining the impact of the distinctive contributions to American culture of indigenous peoples and immigrants, past and present.
6 / Students define the different ways immigrants can become United States citizens and give examples of the major rights they acquire as citizens.
7 / Using a map, students identify Mexico and Canada, their major cities, and political boundaries.
8 / Students describe the climate, major physical characteristics, and major natural resources of Canada, and explain their relationship to settlement, trade, and the Canadian economy.
9 / Students describe the climate, major physical characteristics, and major natural resources of Mexico, and explain their relationship to the Mexican economy.

History/Social Science – Grade: 5

# / Objective /
1 / Students interpret timelines of events studied and identify details in cartoons, photographs, charts, and graphs relating to an historical narrative.
2 / Students explain why trade routes to Asia had been closed in the 15thcentury and trace the voyages of at least four of the explorers listed below. Describe what each explorer sought when he began his journey, what he found, and how his discoveries changed the image of the world, especially the maps used by explorers. (H, G, E)
· Vasco Nuñez de Balboa;
· John and Sebastian Cabot;
· Jacques Cartier;
· Samuel de Champlain;
· Christopher Columbus;
· Henry Hudson;
· Ferdinand Magellan; and
· Juan Ponce de Leon.
3 / Students describe the goals and extent of the Dutch settlement in New York, the French settlements in Canada, and the Spanish settlements in Florida, the Southwest, and California.
4 / On a map of North America, students identify the first 13colonies, and describe how regional differences in climate, types of farming, populations, and sources of labor shaped their economies and societies through the 18thcentury.
5 / Students explain the causes of the establishment of slavery in North America. Describe the harsh conditions of the Middle Passage and slave life, and the responses of slaves to their condition. Describe the life of free African Americans in the colonies.
6 / Students explain the reasons for the French and Indian War, how it led to an overhaul of British imperial policy, and the colonial response to these policies.
7 / Students explain the meaning of the key ideas on equality, natural rights, the rule of law, and the purpose of government contained in the Declaration of Independence.
8 / Students discuss the major battles of the Revolution and explain the factors leading to American victory and British defeat (Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, Saratoga, Valley Forge, Yorktown).
9 / Students describe the life and achievements of important leaders during the Revolution and the early years of the United States.
10 / Students identify the three branches of the United States government as outlined by the Constitution, describe their functions and relationships, and identify what features of the Constitution were unique at the time.
11 / Students describe the basic political principles of American democracy and explain how the Constitution and the Bill of Rights reflect and preserve these principles. (C)
individual rights and responsibilities;
· equality;
· the rule of law;
· limited government; and
· representative democracy.