American History
| American History | 11th Grade |
| Themes | Essential Questions | Content | Resources |
| INDIVIDUAL & SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT & RESPONSIBILITY | What are the roles of individuals, groups, and institutions in furthering better societal continuity and change over time? What are the influence of groups and institutions on people and events in historical and contemporary settings? | Recognize how the decisions of WWI affected WWII. Polarization Spanish American War 20th Century Conflicts Roosevelt Corollary Big Stick Open Door Marshall Plan Panama Canal Cold War Nuclear Proliferation Movements of oppression (e.g., A.I.M., Holocaust, Japanese Internment, etc.) Civil War Apply critical thinking to examine historical theory. | |
| TIME, CONTINUITY & CHANGE | How have the actions, movements, and priorities of citizens changed this nation in the 20th century? What are various interpretations of what happened in the past and how are they supported? Why is the past important to us today? | Understand that there is a chronological framework for organizing the 20th century people, events, and ideas. Analyze events, issues, or problems social, political, economic, scientific/technological, and cultural positions. Analyze the international and domestic events, interests, and philosophies, and interpretation of evidence, which is subject to change. Differentiate between historical interpretation and historical fiction.
| (e.g., Pottsdam Treaty, Yalta Treaty, Civil Liberties Act, Great Society, Dred Scott v. Sandford, Plessy v. Ferguson, Brown v. Board of Education, Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, development of NAACP) discussion/repression of civil liberties recognize that human experience is recorded in different voices representing different perspectives. |
| PEOPLE, PLACES, & ENVIRONMENT | How do people and physical environment interact? What are the benefits and problems with peoples’ interaction with the environment? How do changes in the meaning, use and distribution of resources in this nation and others affect the quality of peoples’ lives? | Understand and identify the effect of natural resources on people. Migration Westward Movement Urbanization Emergence of a national identity Creation of public lands Environmental movement | |
| CULTURAL CONNECTIONS | How does culture change to accommodate different ideas and beliefs? How is unity developed within and among culture? How do belief systems, such as, religion or political ideals influence other parts of a culture? | Identification and recognition of cultural diversity. Original cultures Immigrants (current and past waves) Women Civil Rights Movement | |
| GLOBAL ECONOMICS | How has the American economy changed to interact with a more globally connected world? How do institutions and groups deal with market failures? How do markets work? | Agrarian to post-industrial Technology Industrialization Progressivism Trust busting Labor Movement Labor Practices Consumerism Capitalism Market | |
| POWER, AUTHORITY, GOVERNANCE | What is the relationship and obligation of the government and its citizens? What conflicts exist among fundamental principles and values of constitutional democracy? What is the proper scope and limits of authority? | Isolationism Depression leads to New Deal Growth of government Partisanship Abuse of Power The passage of various amendments and their effects on the country Impact of various presidents had during their terms of office Major eras in American politics | League of Nations, United Nations (e.g., Bill of Rights, 18th, 19th, Civil War Amendments, 21st) (e.g., Open Door Policy, Big Stick diplomacy, Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, Great Depression and New Deal, Civil War and Reconstruction, Marshall Plan, Cold War, and World Wars) |