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

• History - Using historical data, events in history can be analyzed from multiple perspectives.
• Culture - Societies are diverse and change over time.
• Impact - Economic, scientific and technological developments impact human interactions.
• Power - Political power has been acquired, maintained, used and/or lost among various cultures throughout history
• Ideas - Religious and philosophical ideas have been powerful societal forces.
• Geography - Maps, charts, and graphs are used to acquire, process and report information about people, places and environments. Human and physical characteristics define regions, interact and impact one another.

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

• What impacts the rise and fall of a nation, and how have governments changed over time?
• How did scientific and technological developments impacted society?
• How have religious and philosophical ideas impacted societies?
• What are the major events of the Reformation and how can they be organized chronologically? What cause/effect relationships exist among these events?
• Interdependence - How were Africans, American Indians, Asians, and Europeans impacted by contacts/ migration during the era of exploration and colonization?

• How have the philosophical ideas of the Enlightenment affected our societies today?

• Research - how can one determine the reliability of history resources, identify points of view or biases?
• Analysis - what strategies are useful in analyzing conflicting interpretations of history?

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 B: Students use chronology to organize historical events and people.
History  2: Students know how to use the processes and resources of historical inquiry.
Benchmark 2ormation (e.g., letters, diaries, literature, text, newspaper, art, music, technology, oral history, interviews).
History 3: Students understand that societies are diverse and change over time.
Benchmark  B: Students understand the history of social organization in various societies.
History 4: Students understand how science, technology, and economic activity have developed, changed, and affected societies throughout history.
Benchmark  A: Students understand the impact of scientific and technological developments on individuals and societies.
History  5: Students understand political institutions and theories that developed and changed over time.
Benchmark C: Students know how political power has been acquired, maintained, used and/or lost throughout history.
History 6: Students know that religious and philosophical ideas have been powerful forces throughout history.
Benchmark  C: Students know how various forms of expression reflect religious beliefs and philosophical ideas.
Geography 1: Students know how to use and construct maps, globes, and other geographic tools to locate and derive information about people, places, and environments.
Benchmark  A: Students know how to use maps, globes, and other geographic tools to acquire, process and report information from a spatial perspective.
Geography  2:  Students know the physical and human characteristics of places, and used knowledge to
Benchmark B:  Students know how and why people define regions.
Geography  4:  Students understand how economic, political cultural, and social processes interact to shape patterns of human populations, interdependence, cooperation and conflict.
Benchmark E: Students know how cooperation and conflict among people influence the division and control of the earth's surface.
Geography 5: Students understand the effects of interactions between human and physical systems and changes in meaning, use, distribution, and importance of resources.
Benchmark  B: Students know how physical systems affect human systems.

D-11 Social Studies Indicators - Colorado Standards are very general. To more clearly define learning expectations for all students, District 11 has added these indicators of success to the required curriculum.

History

1. Chronology/Cause & Effect: Determine cause and effect relationships based on organizing major historical and/or current events chronologically.

2. Historical Inquiry: Utilizing multiple perspectives, analyze and question historical data from primary and secondary sources during major historical eras.

3. Diverse and Changing Societies: Evaluate the impact of interactions and contributions of diverse peoples and cultures on past and current societies.

4. Science, Technology, and Economic Activity:  Evaluate the impact of economic, scientific and technological developments on human interactions.

5. Political Institutions and Theories: Analyze how political power has been acquired, maintained, used and/or lost among various cultures throughout history. 

6. Religious and Philosophical Ideas: Determine how societies have been affected by religious and philosophical ideas.

Geography

7. Use and Construction of Geographic Tools: Analyze maps, globes, charts, graphs, and databases to acquire, process and report information about people, places and environments. [G1]

8. Characteristics of Place and Region: Use physical and human characteristics to define regions important in human history.[G2]

9. Patterns of Human Population and Interaction: Analyze the physical and cultural impact of human migration.[G4]

10. Human and Physical Systems:  Evaluate how human and physical systems interact and impact one another.[G5]

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

Lesson 1:  
     
Duration: 
Standard:  
District Indicator: 
Enduring Understanding:  
Essential Questions: 
Assessment: 

Parent Resources