Civic Literacy: Grades 9, 10, 11, 12

Inquiry

Behavioral Sciences

Civics and Government

Economics

Geography

History

Apply the inquiry models to analyze and evaluate social studies topics and issues in order to communicate conclusions and take informed actions.

Understand how values, beliefs, and norms influence the American system of government.

Understand the impact of the founding principles of the United States on federal and state government.

Analyze the roles of the branches of government at the federal, state, and local levels.

Analyze the various responsibilities of individuals living in the United States in terms of citizenship, civic participation, and the political process.

Analyze how the judicial, legal, and political systems of the United States and North Carolina embody the founding principles of government.

Understand the role of government in both federal and state economies.

Understand the role geography plays in civic participation, legislation, and public policy.

Understand how individual rights and the American system of government have evolved over time.

Identify issues and problems in social studies.

Formulate questions based upon disciplinary concepts.

Identify related issues and problems related to the compelling question.

Formulate supporting questions.

Locate credible primary and secondary sources.

Identify a variety of primary and secondary sources in support of compelling and supporting questions.

Summarize the central ideas and meaning of primary and secondary sources through the use of literacy strategies.

Determine the origin, context, and bias of primary and secondary sources.

Differentiate between facts and interpretation of sources.

Evaluate competing historical narratives and debates among historians.

Analyze data from charts, graphs, timelines, and maps.

Analyze visual, literary, and musical sources.

Examine change and continuity over time.

Analyze causes, effects, and correlations.

Determine the relevance of a source in relation to the compelling and supporting questions.

Construct written, oral, and multimedia arguments.

Support arguments with evidence and reasoning while considering counterclaims.

Use proper formatting in citing sources for arguments.

Develop new understandings of complex historical and current issues through rigorous academic discussions.

Participate in rigorous academic discussions emphasizing multiple viewpoints in which claims and evidence are acknowledged, critiqued, and built upon in order to create new understandings of complex historical or current issues.

Generate ideas through which the inquiry facilitates change.

Devise a plan to enact change based on the results of the inquiry.

Organize and take individual or collaborative action in order to effect change and inform others.

Explain how values and beliefs influence the creation and implementation of public policy and laws.

Explain how legislation, policy, and judicial rulings reflect changing norms and values in the United States.

Explain how the values and beliefs regarding freedom, equality, and justice have helped transform the American system of government.

Explain how individual values and societal norms contribute to institutional discrimination and the marginalization of minority groups living under the American system of government.

Explain the influence of the founding principles on state and federal decisions using primary and secondary source documents.

Critique the consistency with which federal policies, state policies, and Supreme Court decisions have upheld the founding principles.

Compare how national, state, and local governments maintain order, security, and protect individual rights.

Explain how the principle of federalism impacts the actions of state and local government.

Differentiate between the types of local governments in order to understand the role, powers, and functions each plays within an intergovernmental system.

Compare the federal government of the United States to various types of government around the world in terms of balancing security and the protection of rights.

Differentiate citizenship and civic participation in terms of responsibilities, duties, and privileges of citizens.

Compare strategies used by individuals to address discrimination, segregation, disenfranchisement, reconcentration, and other discriminatory practices that have existed in the United States.

Summarize the changes in process, perception, and the interpretation of United States citizenship and naturalization.

Compare citizenship in the American constitutional democracy to membership in other types of governments.

Explain how the two-party system has shaped the political landscape of the United States.

Distinguish the relationship between the media and government in terms of the responsibility to inform the American public.

Assess the effectiveness of the election process at the national, state, and local levels.

Differentiate the judicial systems of the United States and North Carolina in terms of structure, jurisdiction, and how each provides for equal protection.

Differentiate the structure and function of state and federal courts in order to understand the adversarial nature of each.

Exemplify how the constitutions of the United States and North Carolina have been interpreted and applied since ratification.

Assess how effective the American system of government has been in ensuring freedom, equality, and justice for all.

Summarize the importance of both the right to due process of law and the individual rights established in the Bill of Rights in the American legal system.

Critique the extent to which women, indigenous, religious, racial, ability, and identity groups have had access to justice as established in the founding principles of government.

Explain how the role federal and state governments play in economic decision-making impacts economic mobility, status, and quality of life of individuals living in America.

Summarize the role of the United States and North Carolina in the world economy.

Explain how views on freedom and equality influence legislation and public policy on issues of immigration, migration, and the environment.

Explain geopolitical and environmental factors which affect civic participation and voting in various regions of the United States.

Exemplify how the United States interacts with international governments to navigate global environmental issues.

Explain how the tensions over power and authority led the founding fathers to develop a democratic republic.

Compare competing narratives of the historical development of the United States and North Carolina in terms of how each depicts race, women, tribes, identity, ability, and religious groups.

Interpret historical and current perspectives on the evolution of individual rights in America over time, including women, tribal, racial, religious, identity, and ability.

Explain the impact of social movements and reform efforts on governmental change, both current and in the past.

Explain how the experiences and achievements of minorities and marginalized peoples have contributed to the protection of individual rights and "equality and justice for all" over time.

Exemplify ways individuals have demonstrated resistance and resilience to inequities, injustice, and discrimination within the American system of government over time.