NCSS Framework: Middle Grades

Ask and find answers to questions related to culture; 

Find, select, organize, and present information to compare various cultures according to specified aspects of culture, such as institutions, language, religion, and the arts; 

Evaluate how data and experiences may be interpreted differently by people from diverse cultural perspectives and frames of reference; 

Describe and give examples of the value of both cultural unity and diversity, within and across groups; 

Explain how patterns of behavior reflect cultural values and beliefs; 

Illustrate how holding diverse values and beliefs can contribute or pose obstacles to cross-cultural understanding; 

Draw inferences from data about the ways in which given cultures respond to persistent human issues, and how culture influences those responses. 

Formulate questions about topics in history, predict possible answers, and use historical methods of inquiry and literacy skills to locate, organize, analyze, and interpret sources, and present supported findings;  

Identify and use a variety of primary and secondary sources for reconstructing the past, such as documents, letters, diaries, maps, textbooks, photos, and other sources; 

Research and analyze past periods, events, and issues, using a variety of primary sources (e.g., documents, letters, artifacts, and testimony) as well as secondary sources; validate and weigh evidence for claims, and evaluate the usefulness and degree of reliability of sources to develop a supportable interpretation; 

Evaluate the impact of the values, beliefs, and institutions of people in the past on important historical decisions and developments of their times; 

Use methods of historical inquiry to make informed decisions as responsible citizens to propose policies and take action on an issue of importance today. 

Ask and find answers to geographic questions related to regions, nations, and the world in the past and present; 

Research, organize, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information from atlases, data bases, grid systems, charts, graphs, maps, geospatial technologies, and other tools to interpret relationships among geographic factors and historic events; 

Acquire, organize, and analyze information and use geographic tools to draw conclusions about historic or current national and global environmental change; 

Calculate distance, scale, and area, to inform study of historic or current national and global environments; 

Identify and interpret "push" and "pull" factors involved in the migrations of people in this nation and other parts of the world; 

Evaluate the consequences of human actions in environmental terms. 

Ask and find answers to questions about how individual identity forms and changes;  

Examine the relationship between individual identity and social, cultural, and historical contexts; 

Describe ways in which family, gender, ethnicity, nationality, and institutional affiliations contribute to individual development, and personal identity; 

Examine the impact of conformity and altruism on identity; 

Identify biases that can influence a person's perceptions of other individuals, including individuals belonging to groups with different physical, social, or cultural characteristics; 

Describe the influence of perception, attitudes, values, and beliefs on personal identity and the interactions of peoples across time and space; 

Identify the relationship between individual qualities and career or professional choices. 

Ask and find answers to questions about the various forms and roles of individuals, groups, and institutions; 

Analyze the effects of interactions between and among individuals, groups, and institutions; 

Identify and analyze the impact of tensions between and among individuals, groups, and institutions; 

Understand examples of tensions between belief systems and governmental actions and policies; 

Investigate conflicts between expressions of individuality and group conformity; 

Analyze the role of institutions in furthering both continuity and change; 

Evaluate how groups and institutions work to meet individual needs and promote or fail to promote the common good; 

Gather information about groups and institutions, using such tools as surveys and interviews. 

Ask and find answers to questions about power, authority and governance in the region, nation, and world; 

Examine persistent issues involving the rights of individuals and groups in relation to the general welfare; 

Compare and analyze the ways in which groups and nations respond to the richness of unity and diversity, as well as tensions and conflicts associated with unity and diversity; 

Analyze and evaluate conditions, actions, and motivations that contribute to conflict and cooperation among groups and nations; 

Evaluate the role of technology as it contributes to conflict and cooperation among nations and groups, and as it contributes to or detracts from systems of power, authority, and governance 

Ask and find answers to questions about the production and distribution of goods and services in the state and nation, and in a global context; 

Compare their own economic decisions with those of others, and consider the wider consequences of those decisions for groups, communities, the nation, and beyond; 

Analyze various methods for allocating scarce goods and services at the state, national, and global levels, describing the possible impacts of these choices; 

Describe the role that financial institutions play among savers, borrowers, and investors; 

Estimate future earnings and the effects of inflation on these earnings, based on current plans for education, training, and career options; 

Gather and analyze data on economic issues, and use critical thinking in making recommendations on economic policies. 

Ask and find answers to questions about the ways in which science and technology affect peoples' lives today in different places, and have done so in the past; 

Use diverse types of media technology to read, write, create, and review a variety of messages; 

Seek and evaluate varied perspectives when weighing how specific applications of science and technology have impacted individuals and society; 

Review sources to identify the purposes, points of view, biases, and intended audiences of reports and discussions of science and technology; 

Select, organize, evaluate, and communicate information about the impact of science or technology on a society today or in the past; 

Use scientific findings and forms of technology to formulate possible solutions to real-life issues and problems, and predict outcomes. 

Ask and find answers to questions about the ways in which people and societies are connected globally today and were connected in the past; 

Use maps, charts, and databases to explore patterns and predict trends regarding global connections at the community, state, or national level; 

Investigate and explain the ways in which aspects of culture, such as language, beliefs, and traditions, may facilitate understanding, or lead to misunderstanding between cultures; 

Analyze examples of conflict, cooperation, and interdependence among groups, communities, regions, societies, and nations; 

Describe and analyze the effects of changing technologies on global connectivity; 

Explore the causes, consequences, and possible solutions related to persistent, current, and emerging global issues, such as health, resource allocation, economic development, and environmental quality; 

Describe and explain the relationships and tensions between national sovereignty and global interests in such matters as territorial rights, natural resources, trade, the different uses of technology, and the welfare of people. 

Ask and find answers to questions about how to become informed and take civic action; 

Identify and describe the role of citizen in various forms of government, past and present; 

Analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of various forms of civic action influencing public policy decisions that address the realization of civic ideals; 

Build background through research in primary and secondary sources, make decisions, and propose solutions to address problems; 

Identify assumptions, misconceptions, and bias in sources, evidence, and arguments used in presenting issues and positions; 

Identify, seek, describe, and evaluate multiple points of view about selected issues, noting the strengths, weaknesses, and consequences associated with holding each position; 

Develop a position on a public policy issue, and defend it with evidence; 

Evaluate the significance of public opinion and positions of policymakers in influencing public policy development and decision-making; 

Evaluate the degree to which public policies and citizen behaviors reflect or foster their stated democratic ideals; 

Participate in the process of persuading, compromising, debating, and negotiating in the resolution of conflicts and differences.