Appendix in Implementing District, State and National Standards
In 1994, the National Standards for History (NCHS) published a list of national history standards at the University of California with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the U.S. Department of Education. These standards immediately came under fire as being too liberal. Some criticisms included: 1) The standards were excessively multicultural, politicized, and focused too much on the lives of “ordinary people”; 2) Major historical figures and events were shortchanged; 3) The study of people who had been victimized or exploited throughout history was excessive.86
Today, I think the nation needs to revisit the NCHS history standards as a better model than the State Standards and the National Councils for the Social Studies (NCSS C3) Framework. Gary Nash, author of Reflections on the National History Standards, defended the NCHS approach stating: “...it is not possible to recover the history of women, African Americans, religious minorities, Native Americans, laboring Americans, Latino Americans, and Asian Americans without addressing issues of conflict, exploitation, and the compromising of the national ideals set forth by the Revolutionary generation.”89 The NCHS standards are divided into three sections: U.S. History (grades 5-12), World History (grades 5-12), and National Standards (grades K-4). I have decided to highlight the NCHS History Content and History Thinking Standards for grades K-4.
NCHS History Content Standards (K to 4th):
Standard 2: History of students’ communities and how communities in America varied long ago.
Standard 5: The causes and nature of various movements of large groups of people into and within the United States, now and long ago.
NCHS History Thinking Standards (K to 4th):
Standard 1: The student thinks chronologically: Therefore, the student is able to: Interpret data presented in time lines and create timelines by designating appropriate equidistant intervals of time and recording events according to the temporal order in which they occurred.
Standard 2: The student comprehends a variety of historical sources: Therefore, the student is able to: Differentiate between historical facts and historical interpretations but acknowledge that the two are related; that the facts the historian reports are selected and reflect therefore the historian’s judgement of what is most significant about the past. Draw upon the visual, literary, and musical sources including: (a) photographs, paintings, cartoons, and architectural drawings; (b) novels, poetry, and plays; and, (c) folk, popular and classical music, to clarify, illustrate, or elaborate upon information presented in the historical narrative.
Standard 3: The student engages in historical analysis and interpretation: Therefore, the student is able to: Compare and contrast differing sets of ideas, values, personalities, behaviors, and institutions by identifying likenesses and differences. Hold interpretations of history as tentative, subject to changes.
Standard 4: The student conducts historical research: Therefore, the student is able to: Formulate historical questions from encounters with historical documents, eyewitness accounts, letters, diaries, artifacts, photos, historical sites, art, architecture, and other records from the past.
The School District of Philadelphia follows the Pennsylvania Social Studies Standards and the National Councils for the Social Studies (NCSS C3) Framework. I have chosen standards from the Pennsylvania and NCSS C3 Framework that are similar to those of the NCHS to highlight the difference in term of rigor and depth.
PA Social Studies 4th Grade Standards:
History Standards: 8.1.4.B Distinguish between fact and opinion from multiple points of view and primary sources related to historical events. 8.1.4.C Identify specific research topics and develop questions relating to the research topic. 8.3.4.B Locate historical documents, artifacts, and places critical to United States history.
Civics & Government Standards: 5.2.4.A Identify needs and rights in the classroom, school, and community. 5.2.4.B Describe the sources of conflict and disagreement and different ways conflict can be resolved. 5.3.4.F Explain how different perspectives can lead to conflict.
National Councils for the Social Studies and College, Career and Civic Life Framework:
I have selected “BY THE END OF GRADE 5” NCSS C# History Standards (pp. 45 to 51). Most of these standards require the use of timelines, differences of perspectives, and primary sources.
D2. His.1.3-5 Create and use a chronological sequence of related events to compare developments that happened at the same time. D2. His.2.3-5 Compare life in specific historical time periods to life today. D2. His.3.3-5 Generate questions about individuals and groups who have shaped significant historical changes and continuities. D2. His.6.3-5 Describe how people’s perspectives shaped the historical sources they created. D2. His.10.3-5 Compare information provided by different historical sources about the past. D2. His.13.3-5 Use information about a historical source, including the maker, date, place of origin, intended audience, and purpose to judge the extent to which the source is useful for studying a particular topic.
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