Essential Questions 

• What was Watergate and what were the consequences?

• How did America change socially, economically and politically in the 1970s?

• What were the major characteristics of the Conservative Regan Revolution?

• What were the causes and results of the Persian Gulf War?

• Why did Communism collapse in Europe and the Soviet Union?

• How have technological changes and globalization transform the American economy?

• What role did the United States take on in global politics and economics following the Cold War?

• How did American society change at the turn of the century?

Content 

• Students will identify the causes of the rising distrust of the American Government.

• Students will identify the Conservative platform and how it impacted America in the 1980s.

• Students will understand the causes and outcomes of the Persian Gulf War.

• Students will describe the fall of Communism.

• Students will identify how technology changed the United States and the world.

• Students will analyze the global position of the United States after the Cold War.

• Students will understand the social, economic and political changes that have occurred since the turn of the century.

Skills 

Bloom's Taxonomy

Webb's Depth of Knowledge

Students will compose, analyze, and/or demonstrate the essential questions for the Decades unit.

Lesson Plans

Teach Chapters 31-33

There is no DSPA for this unit

TEXT

WEB SITES

The Social Studies Rubric is a link in Assessments. Teacher use of this rubric will ensure all student essays are graded using the same criteria. This rubric may not be altered.

Decades Project

Formative: Project: Personal

WY: Social Studies (2014)

WY: Grades 9-12

Culture and Cultural Diversity

Students will:

SS12.2.1 Analyze and evaluate the ways various groups (e.g., social, political, and cultural) meet human needs and concerns (e.g., individual needs and common good) and contribute to identity (e.g., group, national, and global), situations, and events.

SS12.2.2 Analyze human experience and cultural expression (e.g., language, literature, arts, traditions, beliefs, spirituality, values, and behavior) and illustrate integrated views of a specific culture.

Production, Distribution, and Consumption

Students will:

SS12.3.3 Analyze and evaluate the impact of current and emerging technologies at the micro and macroeconomic levels (e.g., jobs, education, trade, and infrastructure) and their impact on global economic interdependence.

Time, Continuity, and Change

Students will:

SS12.4.1 Describe patterns of change (cause and effect) and evaluate how past events impacted future events and the modern world.

SS12.4.2 Analyze the development and impact of tools and technology and how it shaped history and influenced the modern world.

SS12.4.4 Describe the historical interactions between and among individuals, groups, and/or institutions (e.g., family, neighborhood, political, economic, religious, social, cultural, and workplace) and their impact on significant historical events.

SS12.4.5 Using primary and secondary sources, apply historical research methods to interpret and evaluate important historical events from multiple perspectives.

People, Places, and Environments

Students will:

Spatial

SS12.5.1 Use geographic tools and reference materials to interpret, analyze, evaluate, and synthesize historical and geographic data to demonstrate an understanding of global patterns and interconnectedness

Physical Place and Region

SS12.5.2 Describe regionalization and analyze how physical characteristics distinguish a place, influence human trends, political and economic development, and solve immediate and long-range problems.

Human Place and Movement

SS12.5.3 Analyze, interpret, and evaluate how conflict, demographics, movement, trade, transportation, communication, and technology affect humans’ sense of place.

Environment and Society

SS12.5.4 Analyze how environmental changes and modifications positively and negatively affect communities and the world both economically and socially.

CCSS: Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, & Technical Subjects 6-12

CCSS: Grades 11-12

Reading: History/Social Studies

Key Ideas and Details 

1. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.

RH.11-12.1. Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, connecting insights gained from specific details to an understanding of the text as a whole.

2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.

RH.11-12.2. Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary that makes clear the relationships among the key details and ideas.

3. Analyze how and why individuals, events, or ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.

RH.11-12.3. Evaluate various explanations for actions or events and determine which explanation best accords with textual evidence, acknowledging where the text leaves matters uncertain.

Craft and Structure

4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.

RH.11-12.4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including analyzing how an author uses and refines the meaning of a key term over the course of a text (e.g., how Madison defines faction in Federalist No. 10).

5. Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole.

RH.11-12.5. Analyze in detail how a complex primary source is structured, including how key sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text contribute to the whole.

6. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.

RH.11-12.6. Evaluate authors’ differing points of view on the same historical event or issue by assessing the authors’ claims, reasoning, and evidence.

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

7. Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse formats and media, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.

RH.11-12.7. Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, as well as in words) in order to address a question or solve a problem.

8. Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.

RH.11-12.8. Evaluate an author’s premises, claims, and evidence by corroborating or challenging them with other information.

9. Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.

RH.11-12.9. Integrate information from diverse sources, both primary and secondary, into a coherent understanding of an idea or event, noting discrepancies among sources.

Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity 

10. Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.

RH.11-12.10. By the end of grade 12, read and comprehend history/social studies texts in the grades 11–12 text complexity band independently and proficiently.

NCSS: Social Studies 2010

NCSS: High

CULTURE

Knowledge 

Learners will understand

"Culture" refers to the socially transmitted behaviors, beliefs, values, traditions, institutions, and ways of living together of a group of people;

Concepts such as: beliefs, values, mores, institutions, cohesion, diversity, accommodation, adaptation, assimilation, and dissonance;

That culture is an integrated whole that explains the functions and interactions of language, literature, the arts, traditions, beliefs, values, and behavior patterns;

How culture develops and changes in ways that allow human societies to address their needs and concerns;

That individuals learn the elements of their culture through interpersonal and collective experience.

How people from different cultures develop diverse cultural perspectives and frames of reference;

That behaviors, values, and beliefs of different cultures can lead to cooperation or pose barriers to cross-cultural understanding;

That awareness and knowledge of other cultures is important in a connected society and an interdependent world

That the cultural values and beliefs of societies influence their analysis of challenges, and their responses to these challenges.

Processes

Learners will be able to

Ask questions related to culture and find, select, organize, and interpret data from research to address research questions;

Give examples of the value of cultural unity and cultural diversity, within and across groups;

Compare and analyze behaviors for preserving and transmitting culture even while adapting to environmental or social change;

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

Analyze data from various cultural perspectives and evaluate the consequences of interpretations associated with the world views of different cultures;

Interpret patterns of behavior reflecting values and attitudes that contribute or pose obstacles to cross-cultural understanding;

Construct reasoned judgments about specific cultural responses to persistent human issues;

Analyze historic and current issues to determine the role that culture has played.

Explain and apply ideas, theories, and modes of inquiry from anthropology, sociology, history, geography, and economics in the examination of persistent issues and social problems

TIME, CONTINUITY, AND CHANGE

Knowledge 

Learners will understand

Different interpretations of the history of societies, cultures, and humankind;

Concepts such as: era, chronology, causality, change, continuity, conflict, historiography, historical method, primary and secondary sources, cause and effect, and multiple perspectives;

That knowledge of the past is influenced by the questions investigated, the sources used, and the perspective of the historian;

Different interpretations of key historical periods and patterns of change within and across nations, cultures, and time periods (e.g., the history of democratic principles and institutions, the development of political and economic philosophies; the rise of modern nation-states, and the establishment and breakdown of colonial systems);

The impact across time and place of key historical forces, such as nationalism, imperialism, globalization, leadership, revolution, wars, concepts of rights and responsibilities, and religion;

Different interpretations of the influences of social, geographic, economic, and cultural factors on the history of local areas, states, nations, and the world;

The contributions of philosophies, ideologies, individuals, institutions, and key events and turning points in shaping history;

The importance of knowledge of the past to an understanding of the present and to informed decision-making about the future.

Processes

Learners will be able to

Evaluate the impact of the institutions, values, and beliefs of people in the past on important historical decisions and developments, and compare different interpretations of the causes and consequences of these decisions and developments;

Use historical facts, concepts, and methods to evaluate an issue of importance today, and make informed decisions as responsible citizens to propose policies, and take action on it;

PEOPLE, PLACES, AND ENVIRONMENTS

Knowledge 

Learners will understand

The theme of people, places, and environments involves the study of the relationships between human populations in different locations and regional and global geographic phenomena, such as landforms, soils, climate, vegetation, and natural resources;

Concepts such as: location, physical and human characteristics of national and global regions in the past and present, and the interactions of humans with the environment;

The cultural diffusion of customs and ideas

The social and economic effects of environmental changes and crises resulting from phenomena such as floods, storms, and drought;

Factors that contribute to cooperation and conflict among peoples of the nation and world, including language, religion, and political beliefs.

Processes

Learners will be able to

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

INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT AND IDENTITY

Knowledge 

Learners will understand

That complex and varied interactions among individuals, groups, cultures, and nations contribute to the dynamic nature of personal identity;

That each individual has personal connections to time and place.

INDIVIDUALS, GROUPS, AND INSTITUTIONS

Knowledge 

Learners will understand

This theme helps us use sociological and anthropological theories about how individuals are members of groups and institutions, and how they influence and shape those groups and institutions;

Concepts such as: mores, norms, ritual, status, role, socialization, ethnocentrism, cultural diffusion, competition, cooperation, conflict, assimilation, race, ethnicity, and gender;

The influence of individuals, groups, and institutions on people and events in historical and contemporary settings;

How the various forms of groups and institutions change over time;

The impact of tensions and examples of cooperation between individuals, groups, and institutions, with their different belief systems;

How the beliefs of dominant groups tend to become norms in a society;

How in democratic societies, legal protections are designed to protect the rights and beliefs of minority groups;

How groups and institutions work to meet individual needs, and can promote the common good and address persistent social issues.

Processes

Learners will be able to

Ask and find answers to questions about the various forms that institutions take, their impact, the role of individuals within them, and how they change over time;

Evaluate different interpretations of the influence of groups and institutions on people and events in historical and contemporary settings;

Analyze instances of tensions between individual expression and group conformity;

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

Understand the role of institutions in furthering both continuity and change

Products

Learners demonstrate understanding by

Discussing real-world problems and the implications of solutions for individuals, groups, and institutions;

Using data and defining criteria to present findings about bias and stereotypes in a visual form;

POWER, AUTHORITY, AND GOVERNANCE

Knowledge 

Learners will understand

The need for respect for the rule of law, as well as a recognition of times when civil disobedience has been justified;

Fundamental principles of American constitutional democracy (including those of the U.S. Constitution, popular sovereignty, the rule of law, separation of powers, checks and balances, minority rights, the separation of church and state, and Federalism);

Fundamental values of constitutional democracy (e.g., the common good, liberty, justice, equality, and individual dignity);

The ideologies, political cultures, structures, institutions, and processes of political systems that differ from those of the United States, and compare these with the political system of the United States;

Mechanisms by which governments meet the needs and wants of citizens, regulate territory, manage conflict, establish order and security, and balance competing conceptions of a just society;

Ideas, theories, and modes of inquiry drawn from political science.

Processes

Learners will be able to

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

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

PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION, AND CONSUMPTION

Knowledge 

Learners will understand

Scarcity and the uneven distribution of resources result in economic decisions, and foster consequences that may support cooperation or conflict;

How markets fail, and the government response to these failures;

Processes

Learners will be able to

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;

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY

Knowledge 

Learners will understand

Science and technology have had beth positive and negative impacts upon individuals, societies, and the environment in the past and present;

That the world is media saturated and technologically dependent;

Consequences of science and technology for individuals and societies;

Decisions regarding the uses and consequences of science and technology are often complex because of the need to choose between or reconcile different viewpoints;

Prediction, modeling, and planning are used to focus advances in science and technology for positive ends;

Findings in science and advances in technology sometimes create ethical issues that test our standards and values;

The importance of the cultural contexts in which media are created and received;

Science, technology, and their consequences are unevenly available across the globe;

Science and technology have contributed to making the world increasingly interdependent;

That achievements in science and technology are increasing at a rapid pace and can have both planned and unanticipated consequences;

Developments in science and technology may help to address global issues.

Processes

Learners will be able to

Ask and find answers to questions about the impact of science and technology in the past and present, and in different places and societies;

Identify the purposes, points of view, biases, and intended audience of reports and discussions related to issues involving science and technology;

GLOBAL CONNECTIONS

Knowledge 

Learners will understand

Global connections are rapidly accelerating across cultures and nations, and can have both positive and negative effects on nations and individuals;

The solutions to global issues may involve individual decisions and actions, but also require national and international approaches (e.g., agreements, negotiations, policies, or laws);

Conflict and cooperation among the peoples of the earth influence the division and control of the earth's surface;

The actions of people, communities, and nations have both short- and long-term effects on the biosphere and its ability to sustain life;

The causes and consequences of various types of global connections;

Technological advances can both improve and detract from the quality of life;

Individuals, organizations, nations, and international entities can work to increase the positive effects of global connections, and address the negative impacts of global issues.

Processes

Learners will be able to

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

Explain how language, belief systems, and other cultural elements can facilitate global understanding or cause misunderstanding;

Describe and explain conditions and motivations that contribute to conflict, cooperation, and interdependence among groups, societies, and nations;

Analyze the causes and consequences of persistent, contemporary, and emerging global issues, and evaluate possible solutions;

Analyze the relationships and tensions between national sovereignty and global interests, in matters such as territorial rights, economic development, the use of natural resources, and human rights;

Describe and evaluate the role of international and multinational organizations in the global arena;

Illustrate how individual behaviors and decisions connect with global systems;

Identify concerns, issues, conflicts, and possible resolutions related to issues involving universal human rights;

Identify the roles of international and multinational organizations.

CIVIC IDEALS AND PRACTICES

Knowledge 

Learners will understand

The theme of civic ideals and practices helps us recognize where gaps between ideals and practices exist, and prepares us to work for social justice;

Concepts and ideals such as: human dignity, social justice, liberty, equality, inalienable rights, responsibilities, civil dissent, citizenship, majority and minority rights, the common good, and the rule of law;

Key practices involving the rights and responsibilities of citizenship and the exercise of citizenship (e.g., respecting the rule of law and due process, voting, serving on a jury, researching issues, making informed judgments, expressing views on issues, and collaborating with others to take civic action);

Scholarly interpretations of key documents that define and support democratic ideals and practices (e.g., the U.S. Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constrtution, the Declaration of Sentiments in Seneca Falls, New York, the Gettysburg Address, the Letter from Birmingham Jail; and international Documents such as the Declaration of the Rights of Man, and the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Children);

The origins, functions, evolution, and outcomes of major institutions and practices designed to sustain and more fully realize democratic ideals

That seeking multiple perspectives is required in order effectively to grasp the complexity of issues involving civic ideals and practices;

The importance of becoming informed as the basis for thoughtful and positive contributions through civic action

Processes

Learners will be able to

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

Identify examples of civic ideals and practices throughout history and in a variety of cultural sellings;

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

Evaluate the effectiveness and importance of public opinion in influencing and shaping public policy development and decision-making;

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