PRAXIS Social Studies (5581)

I. United States History

A. United States History to 1877

1. Understands Native American peoples, the regions they occupied, and their cultural practices before the arrival of Europeans.
2. Understands the origins of European colonies in North America, what set them apart from one another, and how interactions—both conflict and collaboration—among European, African, and Native American peoples influenced the region’s development during the colonial era.
3. Understands how slavery’s economic, social, and cultural repercussions affected both European and African communities in North America.
4. Understands the causes, key events, and consequences of the American Revolution and its influence on the young nation’s economy, politics, culture, and society, including the participation and roles of different groups (men, women, African Americans, Native Americans, and international allies).
5. Understands the circumstances that gave rise to and facilitated the drafting and ratification of the United States Constitution and other foundational documents.
6. Understands the principles enshrined in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and their influence on early U.S. political development.
7. Understands the drivers and outcomes of early industrial growth in the United States and its economic, social, cultural, political, and religious effects before the Civil War.
8. Understands the concerns surrounding United States foreign policy and western expansion from 1797 to 1861, including the Monroe Doctrine and Manifest Destiny, and their impacts on Native American communities, immigrant populations, and the U.S. government.
9. Understands the causes and effects of 19th-century sectional tensions over slavery and how they shaped political, economic, and social divisions in the lead-up to the Civil War.
10. Understands the key events, achievements, and shortcomings of Reconstruction and the ensuing post-Reconstruction period in the United States, including the constitutional amendments and the ways in which individuals, groups, and governments established barriers to African American rights and equality.

B. United States History from 1877 to the Present

1. Understands the characteristics and effects of United States territorial imperialism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries
2. Understands concepts of industrialization, urbanization, and immigration and the relationships among them in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries
3. Understands the regional developments in the United States during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, including Jim Crow laws, migration patterns, Populism, and Native American policies
4. Understands the economic and political causes and effects of the Gilded Age, the goals and accomplishments of reformers and resistors of the Progressive Era, and contemporary social issues concerning labor, gender, race, and poverty
5. Understands the causes and effects of the Great Depression and how the policies and programs of the New Deal affected the United States and the federal government
6. Understands the causes of United States participation in the First and Second World Wars and the impact of the wars at home and abroad, including the contributions of women, African Americans, and other groups
7. Understands the causes and effects of Cold War developments on foreign and domestic policy, including the Korean War, Vietnam War, McCarthyism, containment, and the nuclear arms race
8. Understands the major causes of civil rights and social movements concerning African Americans, Hispanics, women, Native Americans, and LGBTQ+ and how the impacts of these movements affected policy, society, and the law

II. World History

A. World History to 1750 C.E.

1. Understands the development, key features, and interactions of early and classical civilizations from 4,000 B.C.E. to 500 C.E., including Greece, Rome, Persia, India, China, African kingdoms, and Mesoamerica.
2. Understands the causes and results of expansion, contact, and decline among civilizations in Asia and the Islamic empires from 300 to 1400 C.E.
3. Understands the principal drivers and outcomes of increasing global connections—trade, exploration, religion, and colonization—during 1200 to 1750 C.E.
4. Understands the origins, key figures, and enduring social and cultural impacts of the Renaissance, Reformation, Scientific Revolution, and Enlightenment in Europe and beyond, between 1400 and 1750 C.E.

B. World History from 1750 C.E. to the Present

1. Knows the principal causes and effects of revolutions, nationalism, imperialism, and social reform in 1750–1914 C.E.
2. Knows the major ideological, economic, and political drivers and outcomes of the First and Second World Wars in 1914–1945 C.E.
3. Knows the causes, consequences, and intersections of the rise of totalitarian regimes, political and social rights movements, and capitalism in 1900–1945 C.E.
4. Knows the central ideological, economic, and political drivers and outcomes of Cold War–era conflicts, alliances, decolonization, and globalization in 1945–1990 C.E.
5. Understands the causes and consequences of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the development of international alliances.
6. Understands the causes and effects of global economic and technological developments in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
7. Understands the causes and effects of conflicts, interventions, and terrorism in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

III. Geography

 A. Geographic Literacy and Human Environment Interaction

1. Understands map types, projections, and their applications
2. Understands concepts of regions, absolute and relative locations, place characteristics, and scale
3. Understands how data sources (e.g., Census Bureau), geographic tools (e.g., GIS, GPS, and other digital tools), and geospatial technologies (e.g., aerial photos, satellite imagery) are used to identify patterns
4. Understands the short-term and long-term impacts of human activities on physical systems
5. Understands how Earth's physical features, patterns, and systems shape human decisions regarding settlement, movement, agriculture, and industry

B. Human Geography

1. Knows how to identify, interpret, and infer from spatial and demographic patterns (such as population density, literacy rates, and infant mortality) shown at multiple scales from local to global.
2. Understands how culture shapes, influences, and evolves the traits and viewpoints of people, places, and regions over time.
3. Understands the different types and patterns of migration, including their causes, effects, and geographic scope.
4. Understands the factors used to assess human development, including standard of living, access to education, and access to health care.
5. Understands the geographic consequences of economic development, industrialization, and globalization.
6. Understands the features that define a modern state and the diverse forces that drive cooperation and conflict.

IV. Civics

A. Fundamental Principles and Practice of Government

1. Understands the structures, roles, and aims of government.
2. Understands the core tenets of American constitutional democracy, including government power, federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances, individual rights and civil liberties, civil rights and liberties, the boundary between church and state, and popular sovereignty.

B. United States Government

1. Understands the development and interpretation of foundational documents that shaped the Constitution, such as the Articles of Confederation and the Declaration of Independence.
2. Understands the core concepts of the United States Constitution, the outcomes of the Constitutional Convention, and the aims of the preamble, the Bill of Rights, and the subsequent amendments.
3. Understands the key events and landmark Supreme Court decisions that have influenced constitutional interpretation, including cases on federalism and judicial review.
4. Understands the structure and operation of the United States government, including the electoral and legislative processes and the impact of economics and money on political processes.

C. Participation and Citizenship

1. Understands the rights and duties of citizens and the development and political impact of civil rights and civil liberties in the United States
2. Understands how groups and individuals influenced and brought about change through direct and collective action
3. Understands conflict and cooperation among citizens, institutions, and groups to elevate and act on issues within the democratic process
4. Understands the ideologies, political cultures, structures, institutions, and processes of political systems in both foreign democratic and nondemocratic societies

V. Economics

A. Microeconomics

1. Understands concepts in fundamental economics such as scarcity, supply and demand, choice, opportunity cost, and economic systems (e.g., command, market, traditional).
2. Understands the ideas of perfect competition, monopoly, oligopoly, and monopolistic competition, along with the advantages and drawbacks of specialization.
3. Understands the factors of production and how they shape economic decisions and outcomes.
4. Understands the role of institutions and government in economics.

B. Macroeconomics

1. Understands and analyzes measures of economic performance (e.g., gross domestic product, unemployment, inflation) to address economic issues.
2. Understands the basic functions of money, how people interact with financial institutions, and the motivations and consequences of personal financial decisions.
3. Understands socioeconomic differences, inequalities, and mobility, including their causes, effects, and historical and current solutions.
4. Understands how trade, global interdependence, and the specialization of services and production impact the United States.