United States History to 1877

Skills

USI.1

The student will demonstrate responsible citizenship and develop skills for historical and geographical analysis, including the ability to

a) identify and interpret primary and secondary source documents to increase understanding of events and life in United States history to 1877;
b) make connections between the past and the present;
c) sequence events in United States history from pre-Columbian times to 1877;
d) interpret ideas and events from different historical perspectives;
e) evaluate and discuss issues orally and in writing;
f) analyze and interpret maps to explain relationships among landforms, water features, climatic characteristics, and historical events;
g) distinguish between parallels of latitude and meridians of longitude;
h) interpret patriotic slogans and excerpts from notable speeches and documents;
i) identify the costs and benefits of specific choices made, including the intended and unintended consequences of the choices and how people and nations responded to positive and negative incentives.

The Virginia Board of Education adopted the revised 2008 History and Social Science Standards of Learning at the January 10, 2008, meeting. Full implementation of these documents is scheduled for the 2010-2011 school year, as outlined in Superintendent’s Memorandum Informational Number 49.

SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

Guide students to understand that how people organize themselves into political, religious, social, and economic groups is important to an understanding of history of the past and present.
Direct the students to understand that ideas and events can be viewed from different historical perspectives.
Guide the students to understand that a much greater depth of understanding about each group studied in history and the times in which they lived can be seen when they are considered together.
Tell the students that they can learn to identify reoccurring patterns through key events in United States history.
Use the following topics to guide students understanding of historical perspective.
Have the students examine the early exploration of America from the position of the American Indians (First Americans), colonist, and English government. A variety of Graphic Organizers are available for student use at http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/actbank/torganiz.htm.
Have the students examine the growth of America from the positions on new immigrants and Americans who had been in the country more than ten years.
Have the students examine the events leading up to the Civil War from the perspective of the African slave, southerner, northerner, abolitionist, and President Lincoln. A collection of graphic organizers for students use is available at http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/ .
Have the students examine the events during Reconstruction from the perspective of the southerner, former slave, northern carpetbagger, and government official.

WEB SITES

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/
The Library of Congress American Memory Project

http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/
This Web site was designed and developed to support the teaching of American History in K-12 schools and colleges and is supported by the Department of History and the College of Education at the University of Houston.

http://www.gilderlehrman.org/
The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History maintains this Web site: to serve as a portal for American history on the Web; to offer high-quality educational material for teachers, students, historians, and the public; and to provide up-to-the-minute information about the Institute's programs and activities.

http://www.nps.gov/history/
Links to the Past from the National Park Service is rich in American history and culture, which the National Park Service is responsible for preserving and protecting. This Web site contains vast amounts of information on these important topics.

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/lessons/fw.html
Library of Congress Learning Page: Framework for Using Primary Sources with Students

http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi
This Web site is brought to you from the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., the largest library in the world and the nation's library.

http://edsitement.neh.gov/tab_lesson.asp?subjectArea=3
"EDSITEment" is a Web site for humanities education developed for the benefit of parents, students, and teachers by the National Endowment for the Humanities, a federal government agency, in partnership with: WorldCom Foundation, a corporation; The Council of the Great City Schools, a non-profit corporation; and the National Trust for the Humanities, a non-profit corporation (collectively "the sponsors").

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