Enduring Understandings - important ideas that students should carry with them years beyond the instruction received this year.

• People and events are organized chronologically to increase understanding of historical relationships.
• Societies are diverse and change over time.
• Political institutions and theories develop and changeover time.
• Physical processes shape the earth's surface.
• Physical and human characteristics of places define regions.
• Migration and immigration affect the location and distribution of human activity.
• Resources impact interactions between human and their environment.
• Resources impact the production and distribution of goods and services.
• Different forms of government have been developed, practiced, and changed throughout history.
• Decisions must be made about the use of scarce resources.

Essential Questions - most important “big picture” questions students should be able to answer after completing learning activities.

• How can the culture of the people of Caribbean be compared to that of other cultures?
• What types of governments were developed on each Caribbean island?
• What are the physical and human characteristics of South America?
• How were the different Caribbean islands formed?
• What are the physical and human features of the different Caribbean islands?
• Why do the people migrate from place to place?
• What are the social, economic, and environmental issues associated with immigration and migration?
• What are the resources of Central America?
• What are the main resources found on the various Caribbean islands?
• How, and for whom, are the resources distributed?
• How have the governments changed from early history to the present?
• What, how and for whom are goods and services produced and distributed?

Standards and Benchmarks

History 1: Students understand the chronological organization of history and know how to organize events and people into major eras to identify and explain historical relationships.
Benchmark A: Students know the general chronological order of events and people in history.
History 3: Students understand that societies are diverse and change over time.
Benchmark A: Students know how various societies were affected by contacts and exchanges among diverse people.
History 5: Students understand political institutions and theories that developed and changed over time.
Benchmark B: Students know how various systems of government have developed and functioned throughout history.
Benchmark B: Students understand that economic incentives influence the use of scarce human, capital, and natural resources.
Geography 4:  Students understand how economic, political, cultural and social processes interact to shape patterns of human populations, interdependence, cooperation and conflict.
Benchmark A:  Students know the characteristics, location, distribution, and migration of human populations.
Geography 5:  Students understand the effects of interactions between human and physical systems and changes in meaning, use, distribution, and importance of resources.
Benchmark A:  Students know how human actions modify the physical environment.
STANDARD Economics 1: Students understand that because of the condition of scarcity, decisions must be made about the use of scarce resources.
Benchmark A: Students know that economic choices are made because resources are scarce and that the act of making economic choices imposes opportunity costs.
STANDARD Economics 3: Students understand the results of trade, exchange, and interdependence among individuals, households, business, governments, and societies.
Benchmark A: Students understand that the exchange of goods and services creates economic interdependence and change.

District 11 Diamond Units/Lessons Overview - includes information about the purpose, goals and structure of these sample instructional units:

Unit 4: Central America 
Lesson 1: Lesson 1 Title
Duration: @ 1 class period

Integrated Reading and Writing:

Parent Resources