SOCIAL STUDIES
First Semester:
Enduring Understandings for First Semester:
There are multiple perspectives on history.
Applying the skills and thought processes of a historian is vital to understanding the past.
The study of the past requires specialized reading, writing, and analytical skills.
The physical environment affects the settlement and population patterns of a region.
The physical environment affects the development of societies.
People modify their natural environment to meet their needs.
Culture is a way of life for a group of people who share similar beliefs and customs.
The movement of people, ideas, and goods have a profound influence on society.
Maryland and the United States evolved into a society consisting of diverse cultures, customs, and traditions.
Geography and the environment shape the development of communities.
Standards:
Maryland Geography. Students can use physical and thematic maps to explore Maryland diverse geography.
Compare physical characteristics of different places and regions of Maryland and the United States, including natural/physical features, weather and climate, soil, vegetation, minerals, and animal life.
Identify and locate natural/physical features and human-made features of Maryland, such as the Appalachian Mountains, Piedmont Plateau, and the Atlantic Coastal Plain.
Use photographs, maps, charts, graphs, and atlases to describe geographic characteristics of Maryland/United States.
Explain how available resources determine which are more common in one region such as waterman on Eastern Shore and Southern Maryland.
Describe how specialization results in the interdependence of people.
Native Americans and the Environment. Students will cite specific textual and visual evidence to describe how Native Americans developed unique cultures and interacted with the environment.
1. Examine and describe the unique and diverse cultures of early Native American societies.
2. Identify the development of indigenous societies from the Pale-Native Americans to the Woodland Native Americans.
3. Compare ways Native American societies in Maryland used the natural environment for food, clothing, and shelter.
Early Settlements. Students will cite specific textual and visual evidence to analyze the political, religious, social, and economic institutions that evolved in colonial Maryland.
Explain how geographic characteristics influenced settlement patterns in Maryland.
Compare the development of places and regions, such as St. Mary’s City, Western Maryland, Kent Island, and Annapolis.
Identify the reasons for the movement of peoples to, from, and within Maryland and the United States.
Explain how and why the Maryland colony was established, including political and economic motives for coming to the New World.
Describe how scarcity and availability of economic resources determine what is produced and the effects on consumers/colonists.
Give examples of the kinds of goods and services produced in Maryland during the different historical periods.
Describe how the colony of Maryland was established and governed including the establishment of rule of law and power with authority, such as Proprietorships, Royal Governor, and early General Assembly.
Analyze how colonial law influenced individuals in Maryland and other colonies, such as indentured servants contracts, Tolerance Acts of 1649, Maryland Charter of 1632.
Colonial Life. Students will cite specific textual and visual evidence to describe colonial economic life and examine the diverse origins of the people living in the colony.
1. Describe the establishment of slavery and how it shaped life in Maryland.
2. Explain the difference between slavery and indentured servitude.
3. Explain how and why family and community life differed in various regions of colonial Maryland.
