Iowa K–6 social studies standards

With teacher guidance, ask questions about disciplinary content and discuss ways to learn.

With teacher guidance, gather information from different sources and explain what they show about a topic.

With teacher guidance, share facts and opinions about topics and support them with evidence from sources.

Construct responses to questions using examples.

Describe ways people can participate in their community and explain why being involved is important.

Describe students’ roles in different groups of which they are members, including their family, school, and community.

Describe ways in which students and others are alike and different in a variety of contexts.

Create a route to a specific location.

Explain why and how people move from place to place.

Describe ways in which students and others are alike and different in the past and present.

Distinguish between at least two related items or events by sequencing them from the past to the present.

Compare life in the past to life today.

Name the rules and responsibilities students have for different groups they are members of.

Recognize ways people can effectively work together to make decisions to improve their classrooms or communities.

Compare and contrast rules from different places.

Describe roles of community helpers and leaders.

Compare rules and responsibilities in Iowa with other states.

Compare and contrast rules and responsibilities in local environments, like towns and counties, to those in other parts of the state of Iowa.

Describe some needs and wants.

Explain the difference between buying and borrowing.

Recognize ways to earn and save money.

Identify forms of money.

Ask questions about disciplinary content and discuss ways to learn.

With teacher guidance, gather information from different sources and explain what they show about a topic.

With teacher guidance, share facts and opinions about topics and support them with evidence.

Construct responses to compelling questions using examples.

Describe ways people can participate in their community and explain why being involved is important.

Explain why people have different jobs in the community.

Locate and explain physical features on a variety of maps.

Construct a simple map.

Compare and contrast routes within communities using maps and other geographic models.

Describe ways people show belonging and citizenship in their community.

Explain why people choose to live in various communities or regions.

Identify and locate the local community, county, and state capital on a map.

Explain that members of a town, city, or community have certain rights and responsibilities.

Compare how people in different types of communities use goods from local and distant places to meet their daily needs.

Identify different beliefs, traditions, and customs within a community.

Describe the ways beliefs, traditions, and customs are passed from previous generations to the present.

Explain why respecting others’ beliefs, traditions, and customs is part of being a good citizen.

Describe the historical origins of festivals and celebrations that represent the diverse cultures of the state.

Explain how different jobs in the community help meet people’s needs through goods and services.

Identify individual skills and interests that influence education, jobs and career goals.

Describe spending, saving and borrowing.

Compare jobs from the past to the present and discuss how tools, technology, or transportation have changed how people work.

Generate questions about a topic and plan how to learn more, using sources.

Gather information from different sources and explain what they show about a topic.

Claims and Evidence hare facts and opinions about a topic and support them with evidence from sources.

Construct responses to questions using reasoning, examples, and relevant details.

Describe ways people make a difference in their community.

Explain how environmental characteristics shaped the locations and unique cultures of Native Americans in Iowa.

Compare life in the past to life today within different communities and cultural groups, including Native American communities.

Analyze the movement of different groups in and out of Iowa, including the removal and return of Native American people.

Describe the contributions of Native American leaders in their homelands and in their communities today.

Explain ways that communities within the state of Iowa have changed over time.

Compare perspectives from the past to the present.

Describe the perspectives and contributions of individuals associated with the community or state in the past and present.

Describe significant events in the history of the local community or state.

Explain the roles of elected local and state officials.

Describe symbols, places, or landmarks that make Iowa unique.

Compare and contrast local environmental characteristics to that of other parts of the state of Iowa.

Describe Iowa’s natural resources and the consequences of using these resources.

Describe ways people can earn, spend and borrow money.

Explain why and how people save money.

Identify different ways to make amounts of money out of coins and bills.

Generate questions about a topic and plan how to learn more, using sources.

Gather information from different sources and explain what they show about a topic.

Share facts and opinions about a topic and support them with evidence from sources.

Construct responses to questions using reasoning, examples, and relevant details.

Describe ways people engage in their community to make change or keep things the same.

Compare and contrast the different cultures of Native Americans, including prior to contact with Europeans.

Explain how the unique characteristics of a place affect Native American groups.

Examine different structures of Native American government.

Analyze why and how Native American groups use natural resources.

Examine ways geography influences communities and settlements.

Describe the interactions between Native Americans and Europeans.

Explain the purpose of the Mayflower Compact and the principle of self-government.

Describe the routes during the early explorations of the Americas.

Analyze the regional differences of the geographic features of the Thirteen Colonies.

Identify how people in the Thirteen Colonies used natural resources, human resources, and physical capital to produce goods and services.

Evaluate the reasons for the establishment of the Thirteen Colonies.

Analyze the impact of slavery and how it shaped early American history.

Identify personal financial goals and explore how different careers help people earn income.

Identify why and how people save and invest money to meet personal goals and prepare for the future.

Describe what credit is and how it is used.

Develop and refine questions to actively shape and advance the investigation of the topic.

Interpret information about specific perspectives or beliefs from sources.

Make a claim about a topic and support it with evidence from one or more sources.

Construct responses to questions using reasoning, examples, and relevant details.

Identify the strategies people and/or groups use to advocate for a cause, and evaluate the civic virtues reflected by those strategies.

Explain the causes of the American Revolution.

Evaluate the impact of the strategies used by Great Britain and the American Colonists to win the Revolutionary War.

Evaluate whether the outcomes of the Revolutionary War solved key problems of the Pre-Revolutionary period.

Describe the perspectives and impact of key individuals and groups during the American Revolution.

Explain how the natural environment impacted decisions made during the American Revolution using geographic representations.

Summarize key principles of the Declaration of Independence.

Explain the process by which certain areas of land were added to the United States.

Clarify how westward expansion changed the landscape and how the landscape affected migration.

Describe how the population of Iowa has changed, from a predominantly Native American population to one composed largely of European and American settlers.

Describe the effects, opportunities, and conflicts that happened when people from different groups came into contact with each other.

Analyze the effects of government policies intended to promote westward settlement on diverse groups of people.

Analyze the costs and benefits of migration and resettlement for various groups.

Identify patterns and trends in the locations where immigrant groups settled in the United States.

Analyze the push and pull factors that led to new immigrant groups coming to the United States.

Compare and contrast the experiences of different immigrant groups to the United States.

Describe the diverse cultural makeup of Iowa’s past and present in the local community, including Native American and agricultural communities.

Explain why the United States made policies intended to encourage, restrict, and/or document populations of people entering the nation.

Evaluate civic virtues displayed by immigrants and immigrant groups coming to and settling in the United States.

Identify factors that can influence people’s different spending and saving choices.

Create a simple budget to plan how to spend and save money to meet financial goals.

Identify why it is important and ways to protect personal financial information.

Explore how people and the government work together to meet community needs.

Develop and refine questions to actively shape and advance the investigation of the topic.

Interpret information about specific perspectives or beliefs from sources.

Make a claim about a topic and support it with evidence from one or more sources.

Construct responses to questions using reasoning, examples, and relevant details.

Identify the strategies people and/or groups use to advocate for a cause, and evaluate the civic virtues reflected by those strategies.

Describe the origin, purpose, and impact of the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Explain the processes by which laws are created, changed, limited, upheld, and removed.

Describe how the Constitution ensures federalism, including examples of how power is shared between federal and state government.

Explain the protections provided under the Bill of Rights and the responsibilities that accompany exercising these rights.

Analyze the multiple economic, political, and social changes and divisions that brought about and affected the Civil War.

Generate geographic representations to illustrate how cultural and physical characteristics of U.S. regions affected the Civil War.

Examine legislative efforts, court decisions, and social movements intended to promote peace before, during and after the Civil War.

Examine the impact that railroad transportation had on the movement of populations in the United States.

Analyze the impacts of significant inventions of the Industrial Revolution.

Identify how the Industrial Revolution changed living conditions for people in both rural areas and growing cities.

Explain how the Industrial Revolution caused significant population shifts and analyze the effects of these shifts on cities and rural populations, labor, and society.

Analyze key events, individuals, and campaigns that have been driven by a desire to create positive social change.

Examine various laws and their impact on the equal rights of American citizens.

Evaluate the progression of key events of the Civil Rights Movement.

Investigate how youth played a role in the Civil Rights Movement by engaging in various forms of activism in Iowa and around the nation.

Describe reasons and considerations for financial borrowing

Compare different ways to save and invest money.

Determine aspects of long-term financial goals.

Describe different types of taxes, including how they are collected and the public benefits they fund.

Develop or refine compelling or supporting questions about a disciplinary issue.

Gather relevant information from primary or secondary sources by evaluating the source’s origin.

Evaluate the credibility of primary or secondary sources by determining their relevance and intended purpose.

Identify evidence from multiple sources and perspectives to support a claim.

Construct responses to a compelling or supporting question using reasoning and evidence.

Explain the opportunities and challenges people face when trying to address issues in a community.

Identify physical features of Mesopotamia.

Identify how geography affected daily life in Mesopotamia.

Compare Iowa's geography, natural resources and climate to other regions of the world.

Identify the meaning of time labels and abbreviations used by historians.

Define the characteristics of a civilization.

Summarize the lasting achievements of Mesopotamia.

Identify physical features of present-day Egypt.

Identify how geography affected daily life in Ancient Egypt.

Identify what characterized each major era in Egyptian history.

Describe the characteristics of Ancient Egypt that make it a civilization.

Explain how migration and key figures impacted the origins and expansion of Judaism to the geographic area of modern day Israel.

Identify the central beliefs of Judaism.

Identify physical features of present-day Greece.

Identify how geography affected daily life in Ancient Greece.

Identify characteristics of major periods in Ancient Greek history.

Explain the various forms of government in Ancient Greece.

Compare and contrast life in Athens and Sparta.

Summarize the lasting achievements of Ancient Greece.

Analyze the causes and effects of key wars in Ancient Greece.

Identify the physical features of present-day Rome and Italy.

Identify how geography affected daily life in Ancient Rome.

Analyze how Roman laws and government influenced Roman society.

Analyze the causes and effects of Rome’s transition from a republic to an empire.

Investigate the beginning and growth of the Christianity and its impact on the Roman Empire.

Determine the political, economic, and social factors that led to the fall of the Western Roman Empire.

Identify the physical features of present-day China.

Identify how geography affected life in Ancient China.

Compare Iowa’s geography, natural resources and climate to other regions of the world.

Explain how the Silk Road connected people through trade, ideas, or beliefs.

Explain what a dynasty is and how rule by a succession of families demonstrated how power was passed down.

Describe the relationship among social classes in China.

Identify the main tenets of major Chinese philosophies regarding political and social organization.

Identify the physical features of present-day Central and South America.

Describe how geography affected life in the Maya, Aztec, and Inca civilizations.

Examine the relationships among social classes in the Maya, Aztec, and Inca civilizations.

Describe the role of religion in the Maya, Aztec, and Inca civilizations.

Analyze the reasons behind the decline of the Maya, Aztec, and Inca civilizations.

Identify the physical features of present-day Europe.

Describe the importance of the Roman Catholic Church as a political, intellectual, and spiritual institution.

Describe how new laws and government changes in medieval England helped shape the rules and freedoms we have today.

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.

Describe the significance of the 100 Years War.

Describe cultural and economic developments in Italy and Northern Europe that allowed for the start of the Renaissance.

Summarize major technological innovations of the Renaissance and their impacts on society

Analyze the historical development of the Protestant Reformation.

Discuss the response to the Protestant Reformation among political and religious institutions.

Analyze why European countries were motivated to explore the world.

Analyze the role of individual leaders and explorers in influencing the events and consequences of European exploration.

Explain how European exploration impacted indigenous populations.

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.

Identify influences to a personal budget.

Identify personal strengths and interests related to career and financial planning.

Identify the type of economic system in the United States.

Describe how jobs contribute to the community and economy.

Explain how debit cards differ from credit cards, gift cards, and savings accounts.