History Social Science Framework For California Public Schools Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve

This framework, centered in the chronological study of history, proposes an integrated and correlated approach to the teaching of history and the social sciences. The framework is structured around three major goals, each comprising several curriculum strands which are to be developed from kindergarten through grade 12. The three goals are: (1) knowledge and cultural understanding; (2) democratic understanding and cultural values; and (3) skills attainment and social participation. The programs for kindergarten through the third grade are: (1) "Learning and Working Now and Long Age"; (2) "A Child's Place in Time and Space"; (3) "People Who Make a Difference"; and (4) "Continuity and Change." State history is taught in the fourth grade. Fifth graders study U.S. history from the pre-Columbian period through 1850. The sixth-grade program is developed around the ancient world to A.D. 500. The medieval and early modern world through 1789 are presented in grade 7, setting the context for the study of U.S. history from 1783 to 1914 in grade 8. The modern world from 1789 to the present is studied in grade 10. Eleventh grade provides an in-depth study of the United States from 1900 to the present. Students choose electives in grade 9 from a variety of courses. The culminating courses are principles of U.S. democracy and economics in grade 12. Criteria for evaluating instructional materials are provided. (SM)