Ky Social Studies Standards

The focus of kindergarten is to provide students with rich explorations of topics that affect them and their personal environment. They engage in learning about themselves, their school, city and local communities. Students also have opportunities to compare how life in the past is different from today, with respect to their own experiences.

The focus of grade 1 is the continuation of developing students’ citizenship skills by expanding their studies from a personal to a local level, to include the state. They explore the interplay between people of the past and modern communities. Students also engage in thinking and conversing about how their community impacts them.

The focus of grade 2 continues to be the development of students’ understandings of the concept of community by extending their studies from their local and state community to communities found in North America (Canada, Mexico and the U.S.). They engage in learning the motivations of diverse groups in the past and today. Students also study the influence of settlement on people and places.

The focus of grade 3 is the extension of students’ understandings of the concept of community to include global communities. Students explore interactions between groups of people in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania (Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia). Students also investigate how cultures work together, while acknowledging the different perspectives of diverse groups.

The focus of grade 4 builds on students’ knowledge of local, national and world social studies to discover how and why people move from one place to another. Through the lens of European Exploration to the Thirteen Colonies, students engage in the study of geographic, political, economic and cultural reasons people move, as well as what they experience during the transition.

The focus of grade 5 constitutes a series of explorations about the people, places and ideas that make up the story of the nation, the United States. Students examine the founding of the United States to understand why the founding documents were developed and how they guided decisions in the past. Students also engage in deeper learning about our government and how it is structured.

The focus of grade 6 is the emergence and development of civilizations in River Valley Civilizations (Ancient Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, Ancient India and Ancient China) and Classical Empires around the world between 3500 BCE-600 CE. Students examine the rise of social, cultural and government structures that become the foundations of the modern world. Students evaluate how individuals and groups addressed local, regional and global problems throughout the development of civilizations.

The focus of grade 7 is the examination of how movement and migration impacted the interactions between expanding civilizations through conquest and trade in Afro-Eurasia (North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and Europe) and the Americas from 600-1600. Students evaluate the impact of growth and expansion on civilizations, driving societies to look beyond their borders. Students analyze the political, geographic and social impact of the expansion of empires to understand how the interactions of the early modern world establish the foundations of modern society. Students evaluate how individuals and groups addressed local, regional and global problems throughout the growth and expansion of civilizations.

The focus of grade 8 is the investigation of how conflict and compromise impacted the founding and development of the United States. By considering multiple perspectives, students will recognize the impact of diversity in the United States, forging a deep understanding of the Founding Generation, the independent American spirit and uniquely American traditions. Students explore the interconnections of politics, geography and economics in the United States from the Colonial Era, Revolutionary Period, Early Republic, Westward Expansion, Civil War and Reconstruction. Students evaluate how individuals and groups addressed local, regional and global problems concerning the development of the United States.

Effective social studies education in the high school classroom challenges students to be prepared for responsible civic engagement in the future. The founders of the United States emphasized that the vitality and security of a democracy depends upon the education and willingness of its citizens to participate actively in society. Life in the American democratic republic is constantly changing; as a result, students must transition to life beyond high school with the content knowledge, skills and dispositions to adapt to the challenges and complexities of the ever-changing modern world in order to sustain democratic traditions. In social studies education in the high school classroom, students are compelled to revisit and develop further understanding of fundamental beliefs about society and the institutions of the United States to construct new social contexts and relationships. By developing discipline specific inquiry skills in high school, students apply their conceptual knowledge through questioning, investigating, using evidence and communicating conclusions so they are equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to be civically, economically, geographically and historically informed, engaged citizens.