Louisiana K–6 social studies standards

Daily classroom activities

Significant events in students' lives

Primary sources: letters, diaries, autobiographies, speeches, interviews

Secondary sources: magazine articles, textbooks, encyclopedia entries, biographies

Select and use appropriate evidence from primary and secondary sources to support claims.

Symbols: United States flag, bald eagle, Louisiana State flag, brown pelican

Customs: pledging allegiance to the United States flag, singing "The Star-Spangled Banner"

Individuals: George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

State and nationally designated holidays: New Year's Day, the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., Inauguration Day, Washington's Birthday, Mardi Gras, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day

Music: Cajun, jazz, zydeco

Traditions: king cake, red beans and rice on Mondays

Cuisine: jambalaya, gumbo, etouffee, bread pudding, meat pies, tamales

Identify a cause and effect for a significant event in a school, neighborhood, or parish.

Explain the purpose of local government.

Taking care of personal belongings and respecting the property of others.

Following rules and recognizing consequences of breaking rules.

Taking responsibility for assigned duties.

Describe organizations and individuals within a school or parish that help solve issues, including the school principal, school custodian, volunteers, police officers, and fire and rescue workers.

Describe the importance of rules and how they help protect our liberties.

Explain how people can work together to make decisions.

Identify local business and government leaders and describe their roles.

Goods: food, toys, clothing

Services: medical care, fire protection, law enforcement, library resources

Describe and compare reasons to save and spend money.

Differentiate between wants and needs.

Identify jobs and industries within a school and community.

Describe the concept of scarcity using examples.

Use maps and models to describe relative location. For example: locating objects and places to the right or left, up or down, in or out, above or below.

Identify basic landforms and bodies of water in a variety of visual representations, including mountains, hills, coasts, islands, lakes, and rivers.

Using natural resources

Modifying their environment to create shelter

Identify rural, suburban, and urban areas.

Explain how weather impacts daily life and choices.

Explain why people may move from place to place.

Describe differences between primary and secondary sources.

Select and use appropriate evidence from primary and secondary sources to support claims.

Construct and express claims that are supported with relevant evidence from primary and/or secondary sources, content knowledge, and clear reasoning.

Create a chronological sequence of events using appropriate vocabulary.

Primary sources: letters, diaries, autobiographies, speeches, interviews

Secondary sources: magazine articles, textbooks, encyclopedia entries, biographies

Select and use appropriate evidence from primary and secondary sources to support claims.

Construct and express claims that are supported with relevant evidence from primary and/or secondary sources, content knowledge, and clear reasoning.

Compare life in Louisiana in the past to life today.

Describe how past events can affect the present.

Compare the lives of Louisianans today in urban, suburban, and rural parishes.

State and nationally designated holidays: New Year's Day, the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., Inauguration Day, Washington's Birthday, Mardi Gras, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day

Music: Cajun, jazz, zydeco

Languages: French, Spanish, Native languages (e.g., Atakpan, Caddo, Choctaw)

Architecture: St. Louis Cathedral, The Cabildo, State Capitol, Louisiana Superdome, Strand Theater, Sports Hall of Fame, The National WWII Museum

Traditions: lagniappe, second line parades, king cake, red beans and rice on Mondays

Cuisine: jambalaya, gumbo, etouffee, bread pudding, meat pies, tamales

Symbols: Louisiana State flag, brown pelican, magnolia tree, brown bear

Individuals who have made significant contributions to Louisiana's artistic heritage.

Identify cultural groups that influenced Louisiana, including Acadians, Africans, Canary Islanders, French, Germans, Haitians, Native Americans, Asian Americans, French, and Spanish.

Describe the purpose of the state government of Louisiana.

Identify Louisiana as a unique state among fifty, and as a part of the United States.

Identify each of the branches of the state government of Louisiana.

Describe examples of rules and laws in Louisiana.

Describe civic virtues including voting, running for office, serving on committees, and volunteering.

Taking care of personal belongings and respecting the property of others.

Following rules and recognizing consequences of breaking rules.

Taking responsibility for assigned duties.

Identify leaders at various levels of Louisiana State government, and explain their roles and responsibilities.

Differentiate between producers and consumers.

Identify examples of an economic cost or benefit of a decision or event.

Public: firefighters keeping people and their property safe

Private: nurses caring for sick or injured people

Explain why and how goods and services are produced and traded.

Describe how scarcity requires people to make choices.

Identify and describe which goods and services are produced in different places and regions in Louisiana.

Describe the importance of natural resources in Louisiana, including timber, seafood, and oil.

Create and use maps or models with cardinal directions, keys, and scale.

Identify where Louisiana is within the United States and on the globe.

Differentiate between the town, parish, state, and country in which the student lives on a political map.

Identify places, regions, and landforms in Louisiana, and describe their relative locations including the cultural regions: North Louisiana, Central Louisiana, Southwest Louisiana, Florida Parishes, Acadiana, Bayou Region, and Greater New Orleans.

Describe the physical characteristics of various regions of Louisiana, including bayous, swamps, floodplains, forests, and farmland.

Describe ways people in Louisiana change their environment to meet their needs, including the construction of bridges and levees.

Explain how Louisianans have successfully met the challenges posed by natural disasters.

Explain how and why people and goods move from place to place.

Explain how the physical landscape of Louisiana affected the settlement of Native Americans and early settlers.

Create and use a chronological sequence of events using appropriate vocabulary.

Primary sources: letters, diaries, autobiographies, speeches, interviews

Secondary sources: magazine articles, textbooks, encyclopedia entries, biographies

Select and use appropriate evidence from primary and secondary sources to support claims.

Construct and express claims that are supported with relevant evidence from primary and secondary sources with clear reasoning.

Compare life in the United States in the past to life today.

Describe the significance of the American Revolution and the founding of the United States.

Identify and describe the Founding Fathers, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Patrick Henry, John Adams, John Hancock, and James Madison.

Identify and describe historical female figures, including Abigail Adams, Anne Hutchinson, Dolley Madison, Betsy Ross, and Phillis Wheatley.

Describe the significance of state and nationally designated holidays, including New Year's Day, the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., Inauguration Day, Washington's Birthday, Mardi Gras, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.

Describe the history of American symbols, including the Liberty Bell, United States flag (etiquette, customs pertaining to the display and use of the flag), bald eagle, national anthem, Uncle Sam, Statue of Liberty, The Pledge of Allegiance, and the national motto "In God We Trust."

Identify and describe man-made American monuments and landmarks including the Gateway Arch, the Golden Gate Bridge, Jefferson Memorial, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington D.C, Lincoln Memorial, Mount Rushmore, Pearl Harbor Museum, September 11 Memorial and Museum, Statue of Liberty, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, U.S. Capitol, Washington Monument, and the White House.

Identify and describe natural American landmarks, including the Grand Canyon, Mississippi River, Monument Valley, Niagara Falls, Rocky Mountains, Smoky Mountains, and Yellowstone National Park.

Interpret legends, stories, and songs that contributed to the development of the cultural history of the United States, including Native American legends, African American history, tall tales, and stories of folk heroes.

Describe the structure and responsibilities of each of the three branches of the U.S. government (legislative, executive, judicial).

Identify reasons for the settlement of the thirteen colonies and the founding of the United States, including the search for freedom and a new life.

Identify and describe basic principles of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States, including equality under the law and fair treatment for all.

Explain the purpose of rules and laws in the United States. ● 2.12 Define governmental systems, including democracy and monarchy.

Describe civic virtues including voting, running for office, serving on committees, and volunteering.

Describe how hard work, good habits, consistent attendance in school, and planning for the future can help you achieve your goals, including attending college, learning a trade, and having a successful career.

Compare local, state, and national elected officials and explain their roles and responsibilities, including the president, governor, mayor, and representatives. ECONOMICS ● 2.16 Describe the United States in economic terms, including free enterprise, private property, producers and consumers, profit and loss, costs and benefits, and imports and exports. a. Describe how people are both producers and consumers. b. Explain why free enterprise and private property are important concepts and how they are beneficial to individuals and to the United States. c. Identify examples of an economic cost or benefit of a decision or event.

Explain why and how people specialize in the production of goods and services.

Explain how scarcity of resources and opportunity costs require people to make choices to satisfy wants and needs.

Identify how people use natural (renewable and non-renewable), human, and capital resources to provide goods and services.

Create and use maps and models with a key, scale, and compass with intermediate directions.

Describe geographic features and physical characteristics of places in the United States and the world, including mountains, hills, plains, deserts, coasts, islands, peninsulas, lakes, oceans, and rivers.

Identify and locate the four hemispheres, equator, and prime meridian.

Describe the relative location of the United States.

Compare and contrast basic land use and economic activities in urban, suburban, and rural environments.

Identify natural disasters such as blizzards, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, and floods and explain their effects on people and the environment.

Explain how and why people, goods, and ideas move from place to place.

Describe how and why people from various cultures immigrate to the United States.

Create and use a chronological sequence of related events to compare developments and describe instances of change and continuity.

Explain connections between ideas, events, and developments in U.S. history.

Analyze social studies content.

Explain claims and evidence.

Compare and contrast multiple sources.

Demonstrate an understanding of social studies content.

Compare and contrast content and viewpoints.

Explain causes and effects.

Describe counterclaims.

Compare life in the United States in the past and present.

Describe the achievements of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, Sacagawea, Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Sitting Bull, George Washington Carver, Susan B. Anthony, Mabel Ping-Hua Lee, Theodore Roosevelt, the Wright Brothers, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Alexander Graham Bell, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Jackie Robinson, Sally Ride, Katherine Johnson, and Mae Jemison.

Describe the significance of state and nationally designated holidays, including New Year's Day, the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., Inauguration Day, Washington's Birthday, Mardi Gras, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day.

Describe the history of American symbols, including the Liberty Bell, U.S. flag (etiquette, customs pertaining to the display and use of the flag), bald eagle, national anthem, Uncle Sam, Statue of Liberty, The Pledge of Allegiance, and the national motto "In God We Trust."

Identify and describe man-made American monuments and landmarks including the Gateway Arch, the Golden Gate Bridge, Jefferson Memorial, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington D.C, Lincoln Memorial, Mount Rushmore, Pearl Harbor Museum, September 11 Memorial and Museum, Statue of liberty, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, U.S. Capitol, Washington Monument, and the White House.

Identify and describe natural American landmarks, including the Grand Canyon, Mississippi River, Monument Valley, Niagara Falls, Rocky Mountains, Smoky Mountains, and Yellowstone National Park.

Describe the significance of major events in the history of the United States, including the American Revolution, Louisiana Purchase, Lewis and Clark Expedition, the abolition of slavery following the Civil War, women's suffrage movement, civil rights movement, and the Space Race.

Describe how voluntary and involuntary migration have affected the United States.

Describe how technological advancements such as the steam engine, railroad, airplane, automobile, electricity, telephone, radio, television, microwave, and digital technologies have affected the lives of people in the United States.

Describe the process by which a bill becomes law.

Describe the responsibilities of the three branches of government.

Explain the relationship between the federal government and state government.

Compare and contrast representative democracy (republic) and monarchy.

Explain how our founding documents protect individuals' rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Identify and describe basic principles of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States.

Explain the significance of the Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment.

Describe civic virtues: voting, running for office, serving on committees, and volunteering.

Describe how and why people become citizens of the United States.

Explain why free enterprise and private property are important concepts and how they are beneficial to individuals and to the United States.

Explain how the interaction between producers and consumers in a free market satisfies economic wants and needs.

Explain how supply and demand can affect the prices of goods and services.

Differentiate between imports and exports.

Explain why and how people specialize in the production of goods and services.

Identify how people use natural (renewable and non-renewable), human, and capital resources to provide goods and services.

Describe the relationship between scarcity and opportunity cost in economic decision-making.

Describe the importance of personal financial decision-making such as budgeting and saving.

Create and use maps and models with a key, scale, and compass with intermediate directions.

Describe the geographic features of places in the United States.

Interpret geographic features of the United States using a variety of tools such as different types of maps and photos.

Identify and locate the four hemispheres, equator, and prime meridian.

Locate and describe the seven continents and five oceans.

Describe the relative location of the United States.

Describe why and how people in the United States have modified their environment.

Compare and contrast basic land use and economic activities in urban, suburban, and rural environments.

Describe the importance of conservation and preservation.

Describe how the regions of the United States vary culturally and economically.

Examine sources in order to distinguish between primary, secondary, and tertiary sources

Examine sources in order to determine the origin, author's point of view, and intended audience

Examine sources in order to understand and use content-specific vocabulary and phrases

Use a variety of primary and secondary sources to analyze social studies content

Use a variety of primary and secondary sources to explain claims and evidence

Use a variety of primary and secondary sources to compare and contrast multiple sources

Construct and express claims that are supported with relevant evidence from primary and/or secondary sources, content knowledge, and clear reasoning in order to demonstrate an understanding of social studies content

Construct and express claims that are supported with relevant evidence from primary and/or secondary sources, content knowledge, and clear reasoning in order to compare and contrast content and viewpoints

Construct and express claims that are supported with relevant evidence from primary and/or secondary sources, content knowledge, and clear reasoning in order to explain causes and effects

Construct and express claims that are supported with relevant evidence from primary and/or secondary sources, content knowledge, and clear reasoning in order to describe counterclaims

Create and use a chronological sequence of related events to compare developments and describe instances of change and continuity.

Analyze social studies content.

Explain claims and evidence.

Compare and contrast multiple sources.

Explain connections between ideas, events, and developments in world history.

Compare and contrast events and developments in world history.

Demonstrate an understanding of social studies content.

Compare and contrast content and viewpoints.

Explain causes and effects.

Describe counterclaims.

Create and use geographic representations to locate and describe places and geographic characteristics, including hemispheres; landforms such as continents, oceans, rivers, mountains, and deserts; cardinal and intermediate directions; climate and environment.

Use geographic representations and historical information to explain how physical geography influenced the development of ancient civilizations and empires.

Describe the origin and spread of major world religions as they developed throughout history.

Describe the characteristics of nomadic hunter-gatherer societies, including their use of hunting weapons, fire, shelter and tools.

Describe early human migration out of Africa, first to Europe and Asia, then to the Americas and Australia.

Explain the effects of the Agricultural Revolution, including the barter economy, food surpluses, domestication of plants and animals, specialization, and the growth of permanent settlements.

Identify and explain the importance of the following key characteristics of civilizations: culture, specialization, infrastructure, stable food supply, government, technology, belief systems, writing, and social structure.

Identify and locate geographic features of the ancient Near East, including the Black Sea, Persian Gulf, Euphrates River, Tigris River, Mediterranean Sea, and Zagros Mountains.

Explain how geographic and climatic features led to the region being known as the Fertile Crescent.

Explain how irrigation, silt, metallurgy, production of tools, use of animals and inventions, such as the wheel and plow, led to advancements in agriculture.

Describe how changes in agriculture in Sumer led to economic growth, expansion of trade and transportation, and the growth of independent city-states.

Identify important achievements of the Mesopotamian civilization, including cuneiform, clay tablets, ziggurats, and the Epic of Gilgamesh as the oldest written epic.

Describe the significance of the written law in the Code of Hammurabi, and explain the meaning of the phrase "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth."

Describe the achievements of the ancient Israelites.

Identify and locate geographic features of ancient Egypt, including the Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, Nile River and Delta, and the Sahara Desert.

Explain the structure of ancient Egyptian society, including the relationships between groups of people and the role played by the pharaoh and enslaved people.

Explain Egyptian beliefs about the afterlife, the reasons for mummification, and the use of pyramids.

Describe the significance of key figures from ancient Egypt, including Queen Hatshepsut, Ramses the Great, and the significance of the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb on the modern understanding of ancient Egypt.

Describe the achievements of ancient Egyptian civilization, including hieroglyphics, papyrus, and the pyramids and Sphinx at Giza.

Describe the cultural diffusion of ancient Egypt with surrounding civilizations through trade and conflict.

Identify and locate geographic features of ancient India, including the Ganges River, Indus River, Himalayan Mountains, Indian Ocean, and the subcontinent of India.

Explain the emergence of civilization in the Indus River Valley as an early agricultural civilization and describe its achievements, including architecture built with bricks, roads arranged into a series of grid systems, and sewer systems.

Identify the long-lasting intellectual traditions that emerged during the late empire of ancient India, including advances in medicine and Hindu-Arabic numerals.

Identify and locate geographic features of ancient Greece, including the Mediterranean Sea, Athens, the Peloponnesian peninsula, and Sparta.

Describe how the geographic features of ancient Greece, including its mountainous terrain and access to the Mediterranean Sea contributed to its organization into city-states and the development of maritime trade.

Describe the concept of the polis in Greek city-states, including the ideas of citizenship, civic participation, and the rule of law.

Explain the basic concepts of direct democracy and oligarchy.

Explain the characteristics of the major Greek city-states of Athens and Sparta, including status of women, approaches to education, type of government, and the practice of slavery.

Describe the causes and consequences of the Persian Wars, including the role of Athens and its cooperation with Sparta.

Describe the polytheistic religion of ancient Greece.

Identify Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle as great philosophers of ancient Greece and explain how ideas can spread through writing and teaching.

Identify examples of ancient Greek architecture, including the Parthenon and the Acropolis.

Identify Alexander the Great and explain how his conquests spread Hellenistic (Greek) culture.

Identify and locate the geographic features of ancient Rome, including the Mediterranean Sea, Italian Alps, Rome, Italian Peninsula, and the Tiber River.

Explain how the geographic location of ancient Rome contributed to its political and economic growth in the Mediterranean region and beyond.

Describe the class system of ancient Rome, including the roles and rights of patricians, plebeians, and enslaved people in Roman society.

Describe the polytheistic religion of ancient Rome and its connection to ancient Greek beliefs.

Describe the characteristics of Julius Caesar's rule, including his role as dictator for life.

Explain the influence of Augustus Caesar, including the establishment of the Roman Empire and its expansion during the Pax Romana.

Describe how innovations in engineering and architecture contributed to Roman expansion, including the role of: aqueducts, domes, arches, roads, bridges, and sanitation.

Describe the fall of the Western Roman Empire, including difficulty governing its large territory and political, military, and economic problems.

Identify and locate geographic features of ancient China, including the Gobi Desert, Plateau of Tibet, Himalayan Mountains, Yangtze River, Pacific Ocean, and the Yellow River.

Describe the influence of geographic features on the origins of ancient Chinese civilization in the Yellow River Valley, and explain how China's geography helped create a unique cultural identity.

Describe problems prevalent in the time of Confucius and explain the concepts of filial piety (dutiful respect) and the Mandate of Heaven.

Explain the significance of the unification of ancient China into the first Chinese empire by Qin Shi Huangdi.

Describe how the size of ancient China made governing difficult and how early dynasties attempted to solve this problem, including the construction of the Grand Canal and the Great Wall.

Explain the major accomplishments of the Han Dynasty, including the magnetic compass, paper making, porcelain, silk, and woodblock printing.

Describe how the desire for Chinese goods influenced the creation of The Silk Road and began a process of cultural diffusion throughout Eurasia.

Identify and locate geographic features in the Americas, including Mississippi River and Delta, Amazon River, the Pacific Ocean, Appalachian Mountains, Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic Ocean, South America, and the Yucatan Peninsula.

Describe the cultural elements among Indigenous communities in the Americas, including housing, clothing, games/entertainment, dance, and how food was gathered/caught and cooked.

Explain how nomadic groups of people first hunted and traveled throughout what would become Louisiana.

Explain how people living in what would become Louisiana gradually moved towards seasonal hunting and gathering, using new tools and practices for hunting, and building large mounds for ceremonial and practical purposes.

Describe key characteristics of Poverty Point culture, including art, hunting methods, dress, food, use of mounds, and resources traded there.

Explain the major accomplishments of the Mayans, including advancements in astronomy, mathematics and the calendar, construction of pyramids, temples, and hieroglyphic writing.

Describe the influence of geographic features on the origins of the Mayan civilization and explain theories related to the abandonment of their cities.

Create and use a chronological sequence of related events to compare developments and describe instances of change and continuity.

Analyze social studies content.

Explain claims and evidence.

Compare and contrast multiple sources.

Explain connections between ideas, events, and developments in world history.

Compare and contrast events and developments in world history.

Demonstrate an understanding of social studies content.

Compare and contrast content and viewpoints.

Explain causes and effects.

Describe counterclaims.

Create and use geographic representations to locate and describe places and geographic characteristics, including hemispheres; landforms such as continents, oceans, rivers, mountains, deserts; cardinal and intermediate directions; latitude and longitude, climate, and environment.

Use geographic representations and historical information to explain how physical geography influenced the development of civilizations and empires.

Describe the origin and spread of major world religions as they developed throughout history.

Identify and locate geographic features of Europe, including the Alps, Atlantic Ocean, North European Plain, English Channel, Ural Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea.

Describe the role of monasteries in the preservation of knowledge and the spread of the Catholic Church throughout Europe.

Explain how Charlemagne shaped and defined medieval Europe, including the creation of the Holy Roman Empire, and the establishment of Christianity as the religion of the Empire.

Describe the development of feudalism and manorialism and their role in the medieval European economy.

Describe the significance of the Magna Carta, including limiting the power of the monarch, the rule of law, and the right to trial by jury.

Explain how the Crusades affected Christian, Muslim, and Jewish populations in Europe.

Describe the economic and social effects of the spread of the Black Death (Bubonic Plague) from Central Asia to China, the Middle East, and Europe, and its effect on the global population.

Describe the significance of the Hundred Years' War, including the roles of Henry V in shaping English culture and language and Joan of Arc in promoting a peaceful end to the war.

Identify and locate the geographic features of Southwest Asia and North Africa, including the Arabian Peninsula, the Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea, Red Sea, Black Sea, and the Caspian Sea.

Describe the diffusion of Islam, its culture, and the Arabic language throughout North Africa and Southwest Asia.

Summarize the contributions of Islamic scholars in the areas of art, medicine, science, and mathematics.

Identify and locate the geographic features of West Africa, including the Atlantic Ocean, Niger River, Djenne, the Sahara, Gulf of Guinea, and Timbuktu.

Describe the growth of the kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai, including cities such as Djenne and Timbuktu as centers of trade, culture, and learning.

Describe the role of the Trans-Saharan caravan trade in the changing religious and cultural characteristics of West Africa and in the exchange of salt, gold, and enslaved people.

Explain the importance of the Malian king Mansa Musa and his pilgrimage to Mecca.

Explain how the location of the Italian Peninsula affected the movement of resources, knowledge, and culture throughout Italy's independent trade cities.

Identify the importance of Florence, Italy and the Medici Family in the early stages of the Renaissance.

Explain the development of Renaissance art, including the significance of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, William Shakespeare, and systems of patronage.

Explain how Johannes Gutenberg's printing press affected the growth of literacy and diffusion of knowledge.

Explain the significant causes of the Protestant Reformation, including the selling of indulgences and Martin Luther's 95 Theses.

Compare and contrast heliocentric and geocentric theories of the Greeks (geocentric) and Copernicus (heliocentric).

Describe Galileo Galilei's theories and improvement of scientific tools, including the telescope and microscope.

Identify and locate the geographic features of the Americas, including the Andes Mountains, Appalachian Mountains, Great Plains, Pacific Ocean Mountains, Gulf of Mexico, Rocky Mountains, Atlantic Ocean, Mississippi River, Amazon River, South America, Caribbean Sea, North America, Yucatan Peninsula, and the Central Mexican Plateau.

Explain the effects of geographic features on Indigenous North American cultures (Northeast, Southeast, and Plains), including clothing, housing, and agriculture.

Describe the existence of diverse networks of Indigenous North American cultures, including varied languages, customs, and economic and political structures.

Explain the effects of geographic features and climate on the agricultural practices and settlement of the Aztec and Incan civilizations.

Explain how the Aztec built and controlled a powerful empire that covered much of what is now central Mexico.

Describe Aztec religious beliefs and how they were linked to the traditions of the society.

Describe Tenochtitlán and the surrounding landscape, including aqueducts, massive temples, and chinampa agriculture.

Identify Moctezuma II and describe features of his reign.

Explain how the Inca built and organized their empire and how Inca engineers overcame challenges presented by the geography of the land.

Explain how the Inca kept their empire together without a written language.

Analyze why European countries were motivated to explore the world, including religion, political rivalry, and economic gain.

Identify the significance of the voyages and routes of discovery of the following explorers by their sponsoring country: England: Henry Hudson; France: Jacques Cartier; Portugal: Vasco da Gama, Bartolomeu Dias; Spain: Christopher Columbus, Hernando de Soto, Ferdinand Magellan, and Amerigo Vespucci.

Describe Prince Henry the Navigator's influence on exploration, voyages, cartographic improvements, and tools related to exploration, including the compass, caravel, and astrolabe.

Describe how the Aztec and Inca empires were eventually defeated by Spanish conquistadors.

Explain the impact of the Columbian Exchange on people, plants, animals, technology, culture, ideas, and diseases among Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and examine the major effects on each continent.

Explain how Spanish colonization introduced Christianity, the mission system, and the encomienda system to the Americas as well as the transition to African slavery.

Describe the development of the transatlantic slave trade and the experiences of enslaved people in the Americas.

Examine sources in order to distinguish between primary, secondary, and tertiary sources

Examine sources in order to determine the origin, author's point of view, intended audience, and reliability

Examine sources in order to explain the meaning of words, phrases, and content-specific vocabulary

Use a variety of primary and secondary sources to analyze social studies content

Use a variety of primary and secondary sources to evaluate claims, counterclaims, and evidence

Use a variety of primary and secondary sources to compare and contrast multiple sources and accounts

Use a variety of primary and secondary sources to distinguish between historical facts and historical interpretations

Construct and express claims that are supported with relevant evidence from primary and/or secondary sources, social studies content knowledge, and clear reasoning and explanations to demonstrate an understanding of social studies content

Construct and express claims that are supported with relevant evidence from primary and/or secondary sources, social studies content knowledge, and clear reasoning and explanations to compare and contrast content and viewpoints

Construct and express claims that are supported with relevant evidence from primary and/or secondary sources, social studies content knowledge, and clear reasoning and explanations to analyze causes and effects

Construct and express claims that are supported with relevant evidence from primary and/or secondary sources, social studies content knowledge, and clear reasoning and explanations to explain counterclaims

Explain ideas, events, and developments in the history of the United States of America from 1580 to 1791 and how they progressed, changed, or remained the same over time.

Analyze connections between ideas, events, and developments in U.S. history within their global context from 1580 to 1791.

Compare and contrast events and developments in U.S. history from 1580 to 1791.

Use geographic representations and historical data to analyze events and developments in U.S. history from 1580 to 1791, including environmental, cultural, economic, and political characteristics and changes.

Use maps to identify absolute location (latitude and longitude) and describe geographic characteristics of places in Louisiana, North America, and the world.

Analyze social studies content.

Evaluate claims, counterclaims, and evidence.

Compare and contrast multiple sources and accounts.

Explain how the availability of sources affects historical interpretations.

Demonstrate an understanding of social studies content.

Compare and contrast content and viewpoints.

Analyze causes and effects.

Evaluate counterclaims.

Explain the significance of the land claims made in North America by European powers after 1600, including England, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Spain, and Sweden and their effects on Native Americans.

Compare and contrast the motivations, challenges, and achievements related to exploration and settlement of North America by the British, Dutch, French, and Spanish, including the search for wealth, freedom, and a new life.

Explain the importance of the founding and development of Jamestown, including representative government established through the House of Burgesses, private ownership of land, introduction of slavery, and arrival of women and families.

Explain the importance of the founding and development of the Plymouth settlement, including practice of self-government established by the Mayflower Compact, religious freedom, and contributions of Native Americans, including Chief Massasoit and Squanto, the leadership of William Bradford.

Compare and contrast the New England, Middle, and Southern colonies, including their physical geography, religion, education, economy, and government.

Explain the contributions of key individuals and groups to the foundation of the colonies, including Pilgrims, Puritans, Quakers, John Smith, Roger Williams, Anne Hutchinson, William Penn, Edward Winslow, William Bradford, John Winthrop, John Rolfe, and Pocahontas.

Identify the locations of the colonies and lands inhabited by Native Americans, and explain how location, environment, and resources affected changes and development over time.

Analyze the causes, interactions, and consequences related to triangular trade, including the forced migration of Africans through the transatlantic trade of enslaved people and experiences of the Middle Passage.

Explain the experiences and perspectives of various people groups living in colonial North America, including large landowners, farmers, artisans, women, children, indentured servants, enslaved people, and Native Americans.

Analyze cooperation, competition, and conflict among groups in North America from the late 1500s to the mid-1700s, including Dutch, English, French, Spanish, and Native Americans including the 1621 Autumn Harvest Celebration, French and Native American trade of fur, Bacon's Rebellion, and King Philip's (Metacom) War.

Explain the significance of events that influenced pre-colonial and colonial Louisiana, including the founding of Natchitoches and New Orleans, the Treaty of Fontainebleau, and the Third Treaty of San Ildefonso.

Describe the factors that influenced migration within and to Louisiana by various groups, including French, Spanish, Africans, Acadians, Germans, Canary Islanders/Islenos, and Haitians, and explain how individuals and groups interacted and contributed to the development of Louisiana.

Describe the characteristics of colonial Louisiana, including physical geography, climate, economic activities, culture and customs, and government, and analyze their importance to the growth and development of Louisiana.

Explain the influence of France and Spain on government in Louisiana, with an emphasis on the Napoleonic Code, the Code Noir, and the contributions of Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, John Law, King Louis XIV, and Alejandro O'Reilly.

Describe the contributions and achievements of Gens de Couleur Libres in colonial Louisiana.

Compare and contrast French and Spanish colonial Louisiana and colonial Louisiana and British colonies.

Analyze the historical and religious factors that influenced the development of government in the United States, including those from ancient Greece; the Roman Republic; the Judeo-Christian tradition; English rule of law and the Magna Carta; Enlightenment philosophies; and the Great Awakening.

Explain the causes and effects of the French and Indian War.

Analyze the role and importance of key events and developments leading to the American Revolution, including end of Salutary Neglect by King George III, French and Indian War, Proclamation of 1763, Acts of 1764–1773 (Sugar Act, Stamp Act, Quartering Act, Townshend Acts, Tea Act), Boston Massacre and the death of Crispus Attucks, Boston Tea Party, Coercive (Intolerable) Acts, First Continental Congress, Restraining Acts, the seizure of firearms, and Second Continental Congress.

Explain how key ideas expressed in historical works influenced the American Revolution, including "taxation without representation is tyranny" (John Otis), John Dickinson's Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania, Patrick Henry's "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death" speech, Thomas Paine's Common Sense, and the Declaration of Independence: "all men are created equal, … endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, … among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness," and "the consent of the governed."

Explain efforts to mobilize support for the American Revolution by individuals and groups, including the Minutemen and Committees of Correspondence and Sons of Liberty (Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Paul Revere).

Compare and contrast viewpoints of Loyalists and Patriots, and evaluate their arguments for and against independence from Britain.