Courses of Study : Social Studies

Social Studies (2010)
Grade(s): 9 - 12
Contemporary World Issues and Civic Engagement
All Resources: 2
Classroom Resources: 2
1 ) Describe current news stories from various perspectives, including geographical, historical, political, social, and cultural.

•  Evaluating the impact of current news stories on the individual and on local, state, national, and international communities (Alabama)
•  Comparing current news stories to related past events
•  Analyzing news stories for implications regarding nations of the world
•  Locating on a map areas affected by events described in news stories
•  Interpreting statistical data related to political, social, and economic issues in current events
Unpacked Content
Strand: Elective
Course Title: Contemporary World Issues and Civic Engagement
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Describe the relevance of major news stories.
  • Explain the information contained within a news story.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • perspective
  • local, state, national, and international communities
  • analyze
  • interpret
  • statistical data
  • compare/contrast
  • news graphic (infographic)
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • News stories can be interpreted through various perspectives.
  • The types of information that can be found within news stories.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Analyze news stories for comparative purposes in their style, format, and audience.
  • Develop connections between current issues and past events.
  • Interpret various forms of data, including statistical and geographical, contained in news stories.
  • Identify cause-effect relationships with current news stories and their world implications.
  • Locate on a map key locations of major world news stories.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • The relevancy of major news stories can be established through analysis of the story and drawing connections.
Social Studies (2010)
Grade(s): 9 - 12
Contemporary World Issues and Civic Engagement
All Resources: 0
2 ) Compare the relationship of governments and economies to events occurring in specific nations.

•  Identifying recurring historical patterns in regions around the world
•  Describing costs and benefits of trade among nations in an interdependent world
•  Comparing ways different countries address individual and national economic and social problems, including child care, tax rates, economic regulations, health care, national debt, and unemployment
Unpacked Content
Strand: Elective
Course Title: Contemporary World Issues and Civic Engagement
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Explain how government actions and economic trends are interrelated.
  • Describe the means by which certain countries address social and economic issues.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • compare/contrast
  • cost/benefit
  • interdependent world
  • economic problem
  • social problem
  • trade
  • historical pattern
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • Economic decisions result in costs and benefits for nations and individuals.
  • Different countries utilize varying means of addressing social and economic problems.
  • World affairs are shaped by the trade patterns of countries.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Identify recurring trends in history revealing existing patterns.
  • Compare and contrast ways in which countries address existing social and economic problems.
  • Identify cause-effect relationships between government actions and their economies.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • There is a relationship between government actions and economic trends as found within news stories of current events.
Social Studies (2010)
Grade(s): 9 - 12
Contemporary World Issues and Civic Engagement
All Resources: 1
Classroom Resources: 1
3 ) Compare civic responsibilities, individual rights, opportunities, and privileges of citizens of the United States to those of citizens of other nations.

Unpacked Content
Strand: Elective
Course Title: Contemporary World Issues and Civic Engagement
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Describe what rights, opportunities, responsibilities, and privileges they have within the United States.
  • Describe how citizenship in the United States differs from that of other countries.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • compare/contrast
  • civic responsibility
  • individuals rights
  • civic/individual opportunity
  • civic/individual privilege
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • The definition of a citizen varies amongst countries, including the rights and responsibilities of such.
  • The rights, opportunities, responsibilities, and privileges American citizens possess.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Compare and contrast the meaning of citizenship in the United States to other countries.
  • Identify examples of and differences between the meanings of a right, privilege, opportunity, and responsibility.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • The role of a citizen differs amongst countries.
Social Studies (2010)
Grade(s): 9 - 12
Contemporary World Issues and Civic Engagement
All Resources: 0
4 ) Analyze scientific and technological changes for their impact on the United States and the world.

Unpacked Content
Strand: Elective
Course Title: Contemporary World Issues and Civic Engagement
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Summarize the effects of scientific and technological change on the United States as well as the world.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • analyze
  • scientific change
  • technological change
  • scientific impact
  • technological impact
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • The important trends in science and technology in relation to current events.
  • How changes in science and technology can shape national and world events.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Identify cause-effect relationships regarding changes in science and technology and their impact.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • There are impacts that changes in science and technology can create on national and international events, trends, and issues.
Social Studies (2010)
Grade(s): 9 - 12
Contemporary World Issues and Civic Engagement
All Resources: 2
Learning Activities: 1
Classroom Resources: 1
5 ) Analyze cultural elements, including language, art, music, literature, and belief systems, to determine how they facilitate global understanding or misunderstanding.

Unpacked Content
Strand: Elective
Course Title: Contemporary World Issues and Civic Engagement
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Analyze elements of cultures from countries around the world including various languages, pieces of art; music; literature, and differing beliefs systems.
  • Provide an argument with strong evidence for or against how cultural elements can facilitate a better global understanding or cause a misunderstanding between nations and cultures.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • global understanding
  • cultural elements
  • evidence
  • analyze
  • belief system
  • globalization
  • perspective
  • diversity
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • The elements that form a culture.
  • Differing cultures around the world.
  • Culture conflicts throughout history.
  • The meaning of globalization as well as how globalization has provided a need and an avenue for global/cultural understanding.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Analyze elements of culture using a variety of techniques.
  • Support analysis with global perspective of culture.
  • Identify cultures throughout the world through locating.
  • Form an argument with evidence to determine if cultural elements facilitate global understanding or misunderstanding.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • Cultural elements facilitate global understanding or misunderstanding for any given culture.
Social Studies (2010)
Grade(s): 9 - 12
Contemporary World Issues and Civic Engagement
All Resources: 4
Classroom Resources: 4
6 ) Compare information presented through various media, including television, newspapers, magazines, journals, and the Internet.

•  Explaining the reliability of news stories and their sources
•  Describing the use, misuse, and meaning of different media materials, including photographs, artwork, and film clips
•  Critiquing viewpoints presented in editorial writing and political cartoons, including the use of symbols that represent viewpoints
•  Describing the role of intentional and unintentional bias and flawed samplings
Unpacked Content
Strand: Elective
Course Title: Contemporary World Issues and Civic Engagement
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Compare and contrast information from various media outlets.
  • Explain the reliability of news stories and their sources from the television, newspapers, magazines, journals, and the internet.
  • Analyze and describe the meaning of different media materials and how the materials are used and misused.
  • Critique viewpoints used in editorials and political cartoons; Analyze symbolism used in media.
  • Analyze and describe the role of bias and flawed sampling used in media.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • media bias
  • analyze
  • criticism
  • viewpoints
  • perspective
  • political carton
  • symbolism
  • flawed sampling
  • editorial
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • A variety of techniques for analyzing media outlets including television, internet, magazines, newspapers, and journals.
  • A variety of techniques for analyzing the meaning, sources, viewpoints, bias, and sampling involved in media.
  • Media is biased.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Analyze and compare information from various media sources.
  • Support analysis with evidence from various sources.
  • Determine reliability of news and their sources.
  • Identify bias and viewpoints including symbolism.
  • Apply strategies for media analysis to a variety of media outlets.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • It is important to analyze media in all forms to determine the reliability, source, meaning, perspective, bias, and sampling when listening to media outlets.
Social Studies (2010)
Grade(s): 9 - 12
Contemporary World Issues and Civic Engagement
All Resources: 2
Classroom Resources: 2
7 ) Identify strategies that facilitate public discussion on societal issues, including debating various positions, using a deliberative process, blogging, and presenting public forums.

Unpacked Content
Strand: Elective
Course Title: Contemporary World Issues and Civic Engagement
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Identify various strategies for public discussion of societal issues.
  • Analyze debating techniques, the use of deliberating, blogging, and public forums.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • public discussion
  • societal issues
  • debate
  • blogging
  • deliberation
  • public forum
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • Strategies for public discussion.
  • Important controversial issues facing society today.
  • A variety of techniques for analyzing methods of public discussion and when each method is appropriate.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Analyze strategies for public discussion.
  • Debate, deliberate, blog, and hold public forums on various societal issues.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • Public discussion is important in regards to societal issues and how each method is appropriate at various times depending on the discussion.
Social Studies (2010)
Grade(s): 9 - 12
Contemporary World Issues and Civic Engagement
All Resources: 0
8 ) Organize a service-learning project, including research and implementation, that addresses an identified community or global issue having an impact on the quality of life of individuals and groups.

Unpacked Content
Strand: Elective
Course Title: Contemporary World Issues and Civic Engagement
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Identify a community or global issue that has an impact on the quality of life of individuals and groups.
  • Research the issue and organize a project that addresses the issue in the community or the world.
  • Implement the service-learning project during the course.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • service learning
  • community service
  • community issue
  • global issue
  • quality of life
  • implementation
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • There are issues of importance to the quality of life in their community and the world.
  • Various types of service-learning projects and activities exist. and new ones can be created.
  • The organizational skills necessary for a successful for a service-learning project.
  • Research and implementation methods for service-learning projects.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Identify and research an issue of importance to their community and the world that is impacting the quality of life for individuals and groups.
  • Organize and implement a service learning project in their community or the world that addresses the issue that has been identified.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • Civic involvement is important as is the ability to serve the community and the world by addressing issues that impact quality of life on a daily basis.