YourStateStandards

Iowa K–6 social studies standards

Iowa writes its own social studies standards. They are published as Iowa Academic Standards for Social Studies, adopted 2026 and are not a version of a national framework. 116 of 196 are matched to a national standard.

State Board adoption 2026-01-15 (Iowa Academic Standards for Social Studies). Ruled operative over the failed HF2286 South Dakota mandate (bill died in committee — see verification block). Iowa's own C3-influenced inquiry+content standards with flat SS.<grade>.<n> codes (grade embedded). Verified full vs media/5527: 196/196 codes present, 196/196 token coverage, 81 PDF-only codes all grades 7-8 (out of scope). Crosswalk to c3-social-studies deferred to the backlog (crosswalk-only row): codes carry no discipline segment, so mapping requires a per-row text-overlap worklist review within discipline+grade band, expect many reviewed-no-match (content-vs-skills).

Framework
Iowa Academic Standards for Social Studies
Adopted
2026
Source last checked
July 24, 2026
Read the official document

196 standards, kindergarten through 6th grade

  • SS.K.1K
    With teacher guidance, ask questions about disciplinary content and discuss ways to learn.
  • SS.K.2K
    With teacher guidance, gather information from different sources and explain what they show about a topic.
  • SS.K.3K
    With teacher guidance, share facts and opinions about topics and support them with evidence from sources.
  • SS.K.4K
    Construct responses to questions using examples.
  • SS.K.5K
    Describe ways people can participate in their community and explain why being involved is important.
  • SS.K.6K
    Describe students’ roles in different groups of which they are members, including their family, school, and community.
  • SS.K.7K
    Describe ways in which students and others are alike and different in a variety of contexts.
  • SS.K.8K
    Create a route to a specific location.
  • SS.K.9K
    Explain why and how people move from place to place.
  • SS.K.10K
    Describe ways in which students and others are alike and different in the past and present.
  • SS.K.11K
    Distinguish between at least two related items or events by sequencing them from the past to the present.
  • SS.K.12K
    Compare life in the past to life today.
  • SS.K.13K
    Name the rules and responsibilities students have for different groups they are members of.
  • SS.K.14K
    Recognize ways people can effectively work together to make decisions to improve their classrooms or communities.
  • SS.K.15K
    Compare and contrast rules from different places.
  • SS.K.16K
    Describe roles of community helpers and leaders.
  • SS.K.17K
    Compare rules and responsibilities in Iowa with other states.
  • SS.K.18K
    Compare and contrast rules and responsibilities in local environments, like towns and counties, to those in other parts of the state of Iowa.
  • SS.K.19K
    Describe some needs and wants.
  • SS.K.20K
    Explain the difference between buying and borrowing.
  • SS.K.21K
    Recognize ways to earn and save money.
  • SS.K.22K
    Identify forms of money.
  • SS.1.11
    Ask questions about disciplinary content and discuss ways to learn.
  • SS.1.21
    With teacher guidance, gather information from different sources and explain what they show about a topic.
  • SS.1.31
    With teacher guidance, share facts and opinions about topics and support them with evidence.
  • SS.1.41
    Construct responses to compelling questions using examples.
  • SS.1.51
    Describe ways people can participate in their community and explain why being involved is important.
  • SS.1.61
    Explain why people have different jobs in the community.
  • SS.1.71
    Locate and explain physical features on a variety of maps.
  • SS.1.81
    Construct a simple map.
  • SS.1.91
    Compare and contrast routes within communities using maps and other geographic models.
  • SS.1.101
    Describe ways people show belonging and citizenship in their community.
  • SS.1.111
    Explain why people choose to live in various communities or regions.
  • SS.1.121
    Identify and locate the local community, county, and state capital on a map.
  • SS.1.131
    Explain that members of a town, city, or community have certain rights and responsibilities.
  • SS.1.141
    Compare how people in different types of communities use goods from local and distant places to meet their daily needs.
  • SS.1.151
    Identify different beliefs, traditions, and customs within a community.
  • SS.1.161
    Describe the ways beliefs, traditions, and customs are passed from previous generations to the present.
  • SS.1.171
    Explain why respecting others’ beliefs, traditions, and customs is part of being a good citizen.
  • SS.1.181
    Describe the historical origins of festivals and celebrations that represent the diverse cultures of the state.
  • SS.1.191
    Explain how different jobs in the community help meet people’s needs through goods and services.
  • SS.1.201
    Identify individual skills and interests that influence education, jobs and career goals.
  • SS.1.211
    Describe spending, saving and borrowing.
  • SS.1.221
    Compare jobs from the past to the present and discuss how tools, technology, or transportation have changed how people work.
  • SS.2.12
    Generate questions about a topic and plan how to learn more, using sources.
  • SS.2.22
    Gather information from different sources and explain what they show about a topic.
  • SS.2.32
    Claims and Evidence hare facts and opinions about a topic and support them with evidence from sources.
  • SS.2.42
    Construct responses to questions using reasoning, examples, and relevant details.
  • SS.2.52
    Describe ways people make a difference in their community.
  • SS.2.62
    Explain how environmental characteristics shaped the locations and unique cultures of Native Americans in Iowa.
  • SS.2.72
    Compare life in the past to life today within different communities and cultural groups, including Native American communities.
  • SS.2.82
    Analyze the movement of different groups in and out of Iowa, including the removal and return of Native American people.
  • SS.2.92
    Describe the contributions of Native American leaders in their homelands and in their communities today.
  • SS.2.102
    Explain ways that communities within the state of Iowa have changed over time.
  • SS.2.112
    Compare perspectives from the past to the present.
  • SS.2.122
    Describe the perspectives and contributions of individuals associated with the community or state in the past and present.
  • SS.2.132
    Describe significant events in the history of the local community or state.
  • SS.2.142
    Explain the roles of elected local and state officials.
  • SS.2.152
    Describe symbols, places, or landmarks that make Iowa unique.
  • SS.2.162
    Compare and contrast local environmental characteristics to that of other parts of the state of Iowa.
  • SS.2.172
    Describe Iowa’s natural resources and the consequences of using these resources.
  • SS.2.182
    Describe ways people can earn, spend and borrow money.
  • SS.2.192
    Explain why and how people save money.
  • SS.2.202
    Identify different ways to make amounts of money out of coins and bills.
  • SS.3.13
    Generate questions about a topic and plan how to learn more, using sources.
  • SS.3.23
    Gather information from different sources and explain what they show about a topic.
  • SS.3.33
    Share facts and opinions about a topic and support them with evidence from sources.
  • SS.3.43
    Construct responses to questions using reasoning, examples, and relevant details.
  • SS.3.53
    Describe ways people engage in their community to make change or keep things the same.
  • SS.3.63
    Compare and contrast the different cultures of Native Americans, including prior to contact with Europeans.
  • SS.3.73
    Explain how the unique characteristics of a place affect Native American groups.
  • SS.3.83
    Examine different structures of Native American government.
  • SS.3.93
    Analyze why and how Native American groups use natural resources.
  • SS.3.103
    Examine ways geography influences communities and settlements.
  • SS.3.113
    Describe the interactions between Native Americans and Europeans.
  • SS.3.123
    Explain the purpose of the Mayflower Compact and the principle of self-government.
  • SS.3.133
    Describe the routes during the early explorations of the Americas.
  • SS.3.143
    Analyze the regional differences of the geographic features of the Thirteen Colonies.
  • SS.3.153
    Identify how people in the Thirteen Colonies used natural resources, human resources, and physical capital to produce goods and services.
  • SS.3.163
    Evaluate the reasons for the establishment of the Thirteen Colonies.
  • SS.3.173
    Analyze the impact of slavery and how it shaped early American history.
  • SS.3.183
    Identify personal financial goals and explore how different careers help people earn income.
  • SS.3.193
    Identify why and how people save and invest money to meet personal goals and prepare for the future.
  • SS.3.203
    Describe what credit is and how it is used.
  • SS.4.14
    Develop and refine questions to actively shape and advance the investigation of the topic.
  • SS.4.24
    Interpret information about specific perspectives or beliefs from sources.
  • SS.4.34
    Make a claim about a topic and support it with evidence from one or more sources.
  • SS.4.44
    Construct responses to questions using reasoning, examples, and relevant details.
  • SS.4.54
    Identify the strategies people and/or groups use to advocate for a cause, and evaluate the civic virtues reflected by those strategies.
  • SS.4.64
    Explain the causes of the American Revolution.
  • SS.4.74
    Evaluate the impact of the strategies used by Great Britain and the American Colonists to win the Revolutionary War.
  • SS.4.84
    Evaluate whether the outcomes of the Revolutionary War solved key problems of the Pre-Revolutionary period.
  • SS.4.94
    Describe the perspectives and impact of key individuals and groups during the American Revolution.
  • SS.4.104
    Explain how the natural environment impacted decisions made during the American Revolution using geographic representations.
  • SS.4.114
    Summarize key principles of the Declaration of Independence.
  • SS.4.124
    Explain the process by which certain areas of land were added to the United States.
  • SS.4.134
    Clarify how westward expansion changed the landscape and how the landscape affected migration.
  • SS.4.144
    Describe how the population of Iowa has changed, from a predominantly Native American population to one composed largely of European and American settlers.
  • SS.4.154
    Describe the effects, opportunities, and conflicts that happened when people from different groups came into contact with each other.
  • SS.4.164
    Analyze the effects of government policies intended to promote westward settlement on diverse groups of people.
  • SS.4.174
    Analyze the costs and benefits of migration and resettlement for various groups.
  • SS.4.184
    Identify patterns and trends in the locations where immigrant groups settled in the United States.
  • SS.4.194
    Analyze the push and pull factors that led to new immigrant groups coming to the United States.
  • SS.4.204
    Compare and contrast the experiences of different immigrant groups to the United States.
  • SS.4.214
    Describe the diverse cultural makeup of Iowa’s past and present in the local community, including Native American and agricultural communities.
  • SS.4.224
    Explain why the United States made policies intended to encourage, restrict, and/or document populations of people entering the nation.
  • SS.4.234
    Evaluate civic virtues displayed by immigrants and immigrant groups coming to and settling in the United States.
  • SS.4.244
    Identify factors that can influence people’s different spending and saving choices.
  • SS.4.254
    Create a simple budget to plan how to spend and save money to meet financial goals.
  • SS.4.264
    Identify why it is important and ways to protect personal financial information.
  • SS.4.274
    Explore how people and the government work together to meet community needs.
  • SS.5.15
    Develop and refine questions to actively shape and advance the investigation of the topic.
  • SS.5.25
    Interpret information about specific perspectives or beliefs from sources.
  • SS.5.35
    Make a claim about a topic and support it with evidence from one or more sources.
  • SS.5.45
    Construct responses to questions using reasoning, examples, and relevant details.
  • SS.5.55
    Identify the strategies people and/or groups use to advocate for a cause, and evaluate the civic virtues reflected by those strategies.
  • SS.5.65
    Describe the origin, purpose, and impact of the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
  • SS.5.75
    Explain the processes by which laws are created, changed, limited, upheld, and removed.
  • SS.5.85
    Describe how the Constitution ensures federalism, including examples of how power is shared between federal and state government.
  • SS.5.95
    Explain the protections provided under the Bill of Rights and the responsibilities that accompany exercising these rights.
  • SS.5.105
    Analyze the multiple economic, political, and social changes and divisions that brought about and affected the Civil War.
  • SS.5.115
    Generate geographic representations to illustrate how cultural and physical characteristics of U.S. regions affected the Civil War.
  • SS.5.125
    Examine legislative efforts, court decisions, and social movements intended to promote peace before, during and after the Civil War.
  • SS.5.135
    Examine the impact that railroad transportation had on the movement of populations in the United States.
  • SS.5.145
    Analyze the impacts of significant inventions of the Industrial Revolution.
  • SS.5.155
    Identify how the Industrial Revolution changed living conditions for people in both rural areas and growing cities.
  • SS.5.165
    Explain how the Industrial Revolution caused significant population shifts and analyze the effects of these shifts on cities and rural populations, labor, and society.
  • SS.5.175
    Analyze key events, individuals, and campaigns that have been driven by a desire to create positive social change.
  • SS.5.185
    Examine various laws and their impact on the equal rights of American citizens.
  • SS.5.195
    Evaluate the progression of key events of the Civil Rights Movement.
  • SS.5.205
    Investigate how youth played a role in the Civil Rights Movement by engaging in various forms of activism in Iowa and around the nation.
  • SS.5.215
    Describe reasons and considerations for financial borrowing
  • SS.5.225
    Compare different ways to save and invest money.
  • SS.5.235
    Determine aspects of long-term financial goals.
  • SS.5.245
    Describe different types of taxes, including how they are collected and the public benefits they fund.
  • SS.6.16
    Develop or refine compelling or supporting questions about a disciplinary issue.
  • SS.6.26
    Gather relevant information from primary or secondary sources by evaluating the source’s origin.
  • SS.6.36
    Evaluate the credibility of primary or secondary sources by determining their relevance and intended purpose.
  • SS.6.46
    Identify evidence from multiple sources and perspectives to support a claim.
  • SS.6.56
    Construct responses to a compelling or supporting question using reasoning and evidence.
  • SS.6.66
    Explain the opportunities and challenges people face when trying to address issues in a community.
  • SS.6.76
    Identify physical features of Mesopotamia.
  • SS.6.86
    Identify how geography affected daily life in Mesopotamia.
  • SS.6.96
    Compare Iowa's geography, natural resources and climate to other regions of the world.
  • SS.6.106
    Identify the meaning of time labels and abbreviations used by historians.
  • SS.6.116
    Define the characteristics of a civilization.
  • SS.6.126
    Summarize the lasting achievements of Mesopotamia.
  • SS.6.136
    Identify physical features of present-day Egypt.
  • SS.6.146
    Identify how geography affected daily life in Ancient Egypt.
  • SS.6.156
    Identify what characterized each major era in Egyptian history.
  • SS.6.166
    Describe the characteristics of Ancient Egypt that make it a civilization.
  • SS.6.176
    Explain how migration and key figures impacted the origins and expansion of Judaism to the geographic area of modern day Israel.
  • SS.6.186
    Identify the central beliefs of Judaism.
  • SS.6.196
    Identify physical features of present-day Greece.
  • SS.6.206
    Identify how geography affected daily life in Ancient Greece.
  • SS.6.216
    Identify characteristics of major periods in Ancient Greek history.
  • SS.6.226
    Explain the various forms of government in Ancient Greece.
  • SS.6.236
    Compare and contrast life in Athens and Sparta.
  • SS.6.246
    Summarize the lasting achievements of Ancient Greece.
  • SS.6.256
    Analyze the causes and effects of key wars in Ancient Greece.
  • SS.6.266
    Identify the physical features of present-day Rome and Italy.
  • SS.6.276
    Identify how geography affected daily life in Ancient Rome.
  • SS.6.286
    Analyze how Roman laws and government influenced Roman society.
  • SS.6.296
    Analyze the causes and effects of Rome’s transition from a republic to an empire.
  • SS.6.306
    Investigate the beginning and growth of the Christianity and its impact on the Roman Empire.
  • SS.6.316
    Determine the political, economic, and social factors that led to the fall of the Western Roman Empire.
  • SS.6.326
    Identify the physical features of present-day China.
  • SS.6.336
    Identify how geography affected life in Ancient China.
  • SS.6.346
    Compare Iowa’s geography, natural resources and climate to other regions of the world.
  • SS.6.356
    Explain how the Silk Road connected people through trade, ideas, or beliefs.
  • SS.6.366
    Explain what a dynasty is and how rule by a succession of families demonstrated how power was passed down.
  • SS.6.376
    Describe the relationship among social classes in China.
  • SS.6.386
    Identify the main tenets of major Chinese philosophies regarding political and social organization.
  • SS.6.396
    Identify the physical features of present-day Central and South America.
  • SS.6.406
    Describe how geography affected life in the Maya, Aztec, and Inca civilizations.
  • SS.6.416
    Examine the relationships among social classes in the Maya, Aztec, and Inca civilizations.
  • SS.6.426
    Describe the role of religion in the Maya, Aztec, and Inca civilizations.
  • SS.6.436
    Analyze the reasons behind the decline of the Maya, Aztec, and Inca civilizations.
  • SS.6.446
    Identify the physical features of present-day Europe.
  • SS.6.456
    Describe the importance of the Roman Catholic Church as a political, intellectual, and spiritual institution.
  • SS.6.466
    Describe how new laws and government changes in medieval England helped shape the rules and freedoms we have today.
  • SS.6.476
    Outline the causes and course of the religious Crusades and their impact on the Christian, Muslim, and Jewish populations in Europe and the Middle East.
  • SS.6.486
    Describe the significance of the 100 Years War.
  • SS.6.496
    Describe cultural and economic developments in Italy and Northern Europe that allowed for the start of the Renaissance.
  • SS.6.506
    Summarize major technological innovations of the Renaissance and their impacts on society
  • SS.6.516
    Analyze the historical development of the Protestant Reformation.
  • SS.6.526
    Discuss the response to the Protestant Reformation among political and religious institutions.
  • SS.6.536
    Analyze why European countries were motivated to explore the world.
  • SS.6.546
    Analyze the role of individual leaders and explorers in influencing the events and consequences of European exploration.
  • SS.6.556
    Explain how European exploration impacted indigenous populations.
  • SS.6.566
    Describe how major events like the Renaissance, Reformation, and Age of Exploration happened around the same time and how they influenced each other and changed the world.
  • SS.6.576
    Identify influences to a personal budget.
  • SS.6.586
    Identify personal strengths and interests related to career and financial planning.
  • SS.6.596
    Identify the type of economic system in the United States.
  • SS.6.606
    Describe how jobs contribute to the community and economy.
  • SS.6.616
    Explain how debit cards differ from credit cards, gift cards, and savings accounts.

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