South Dakota K–6 social studies standards

The student can distinguish between a map and a globe. G

The student can identify and explain a map of the classroom. G

The student can name his or her town, township or city, county, state or reservation, country, and continent. G

The student can distinguish on a map between oceans, lakes, rivers, and mountains. G

The student can identify and describe differences in setting, housing, and clothing from different time periods. H

The student can use sequential terms correctly to narrate personal and historical events, including first, next, last, before, and after. H

The student can use a calendar correctly to identify days, weeks, months, and years and can correctly reference “today,” “yesterday,” and “tomorrow.” H

The student can use chronological and temporal terms correctly to narrate personal and historical events, including now, long ago, in the future, last or next week, month, year, and present, past, and future. H

The student can use the word “because” correctly in answer to questions of “why” and cause and effect. H

The student can give examples of rules and laws. C

The student can give examples of treating others with and without respect for the equal human dignity of each person. C

The student can give examples of virtues and actions related to hard work, personal potential, and individual independence. CE

The student can correctly use words related to work, including: E food

The student can correctly use words related to work, including: E clothing

The student can correctly use words related to work, including: E home

The student can correctly use words related to work, including: E job

The student can correctly use words related to work, including: E money

The student can correctly use words related to work, including: E make

The student can correctly use words related to work, including: E serve

The student can correctly use words related to work, including: E borrow

The student can correctly use words related to work, including: E buy

The student can correctly use words related to work, including: E sell

The student can correctly use words related to work, including: E need

The student can correctly use words related to work, including: E want

The student can recite the “Pledge of Allegiance” from memory. C

North America

Atlantic Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The United States of America

Alaska

Hawaii

South Dakota and the neighboring states

The student locates each of the following on a map: G the location of the school

Christopher Columbus

Matoaka (Pocahontas)

John Smith

Ousamequin (Massasoit)

John Winthrop

George Washington

Thomas Jefferson

Benjamin Franklin

Phillis Wheatley

Alexander Hamilton

James Madison

Daniel Boone

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark

Sacagawea

Davy Crockett

Tecumseh

Francis Scott Key

Andrew Jackson

Sequoyah

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Frederick Douglass

Harriet Tubman

Abraham Lincoln

Elijah McCoy

Thomas Edison

Andrew Carnegie

Booker T. Washington

Anna Julia Cooper

George Washington Carver

Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake (Sitting Bull)

Tȟašúŋke Witkó (Crazy Horse)

Maȟpíya Lúta (Red Cloud)

Heȟáka Sápa (Black Elk)

Laura Ingalls Wilder

W.E.B. DuBois

Theodore Roosevelt

John Muir

Orville and Wilbur Wright

Henry Ford

Susan B. Anthony

Calvin Coolidge

Babe Ruth

Norman Rockwell

Robert Frost

Louis Armstrong

Langston Hughes

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Jesse Owens

Dwight Eisenhower

E.B. White

Jackie Robinson

Dr. Seuss

Thurgood Marshall

Ruby Bridges

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Rosa Parks

Cesar Chavez

John F. Kennedy

Ronald Reagan

Neil Armstrong

Clarence Thomas

Barack Obama

The Flag of the United States of America

Continental Flag/Betsy Ross Flag

Bald Eagle

The Great Seal of the United States of America

The National Motto: “In God We Trust”

Lincoln Memorial

Jefferson Memorial

Washington Monument

Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial

U.S. Capitol Building

The White House

The U.S. Supreme Court Building

The Minuteman

The Alamo

Golden Gate Bridge

Uncle Sam

Statue of Liberty

Mount Rushmore

Liberty Bell

“America”

“America the Beautiful”

“The Star-Spangled Banner”

“My Country, Tis of Thee”

“God Bless America”

The Pledge of Allegiance

Twenty-One Gun Salute

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Declaration of Independence

United States Constitution

Thanksgiving Day

The Fourth of July

Memorial Day

Juneteenth

The student can identify north, south, east, and west on a map and on a globe. G

The student can locate the North Pole and the South Pole on a map and on a globe. G

The student can place events in his or her life in the correct chronological order. H

The student can draw a depiction of a historical event or figure that intentionally reflects a story learned in class. H

The student can distinguish between a primary source and a secondary source. H

The student can give examples of goods (made, gathered, or grown products) that people buy, sell, and use. E

The student can give examples of services (actions) that people buy and sell. E

The student can give examples of a trade-off when working, buying, selling, and saving. E

The student can give examples of different ways that a group of people can make decisions. C

The student can give examples of virtues and actions related to excellence in character, knowledge, wisdom, and self-government. C

The student can identify major public buildings in Washington, D.C., and their architectural styles. C

The student can identify the state flag and motto of South Dakota. C

The student can identify the South Dakota State Capitol Building and name the current governor. C

The student can recite the following line from the Declaration of Independence from memory: “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” C

The student can recite the Preamble to the United States Constitution from memory. C

North America

South America

Africa

Europe

Asia

Australia

Antarctica

Atlantic Ocean

Pacific Ocean

Indian Ocean

Arctic Ocean

Southern Ocean

Mississippi River

Gulf of Mexico

Washington, D.C.

Pierre

Sioux Falls

Rapid City

Canada

Mexico

Central America

The student explains the following geographic features: G coast

The student explains the following geographic features: G valley

The student explains the following geographic features: G prairie

The student explains the following geographic features: G desert

The student explains the following geographic features: G bay

The student explains the following geographic features: G harbor

The student explains the following geographic features: G peninsula

The student explains the following geographic features: G island

The student demonstrates understanding of the modern way of life by comparing the following in history to prior eras. H ability to believe and act on one’s beliefs without fear of arrest or worse

The student demonstrates understanding of the modern way of life by comparing the following in history to prior eras. H ability to speak one’s mind without fear of arrest or worse

The student demonstrates understanding of the modern way of life by comparing the following in history to prior eras. H acquisition of clothing, food, and shelter

The student demonstrates understanding of the modern way of life by comparing the following in history to prior eras. H communication by Internet, text, phones, mail

The student demonstrates understanding of the modern way of life by comparing the following in history to prior eras. H electricity, plumbing, heating, cooling

The student demonstrates understanding of the modern way of life by comparing the following in history to prior eras. H travel by plane, car, boat, horse and buggy, walking

The student identifies the major cultural features, stories, and contributions of Ancient India, Babylon, and Ancient China. H

The student identifies the major cultural features, stories, and contributions of Ancient Egypt, including agriculture, hieroglyphic writing, and papyrus. H

The student explains the major historical events and stories of the ancient Hebrews. H

The student identifies the major figures and stories within Greek mythology. H

The student tells the story of the Persian Wars, including the battles of Marathon and Thermopylae. H

The student identifies the major cultural features and contributions of Athens, including pottery, architecture, sculpture, and democracy. HC

The student tells the story of the Peloponnesian War. H

The student tells the story of the conquests of Alexander of Macedon. H

The student tells the stories of the founding of Rome and of the Roman Republic. H

The student identifies the major cultural features and contributions of Rome, including in architecture, engineering, and government. HC

The student tells the story of the Punic Wars. H

The student tells the story of the Roman civil wars and the triumvirates. H

The student identifies key Roman Emperors and events of the Roman Empire. H

The student describes the similarities and differences in lifestyle, traditional warfare, and culture between two historical pre-Columbian Native American tribes, one of which is from the Oceti Sakowin Oyate (including select standards from Oceti Sakowin Essential Understandings 1-5 and 7). Other tribes to consider include, but are not limited to, the Mandan, Sahnish (Arikara), Cheyenne, Crow, and Hidatsa. HC

The student explains the various European motivations for exploration. H

The student tells the biography of Christopher Columbus, including his theories about a faster western route to Asia and his first voyage. H

The student explains the Columbian Exchange of resources, people, and disease, including how smallpox decimated Native Americans. H

The student explains how Europeans and indigenous peoples both worked together and also fought against each other and among themselves. HC

The student explains the history of slavery, including in ancient times and in the 15th century. H

The student explains why slavery is morally evil. H

The student tells the story of the founding of Jamestown, including: H the stories of John Smith, Matoaka (Pocahontas), and John Rolfe

The student tells the story of the founding of Jamestown, including: H the Starving Time

The student tells the story of the founding of Jamestown, including: H the cultivation of tobacco

The student tells the story of the founding of Jamestown, including: H the arrival of Africans from a Dutch slave ship captured by the English

The student tells the story of the founding of Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay, including: HC the stories of William Bradford and John Winthrop

The student tells the story of the founding of Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay, including: HC the backgrounds and motivations of the Mayflower passengers

The student tells the story of the founding of Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay, including: HC the Mayflower Compact

The student tells the story of the founding of Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay, including: HC the assistance of the Wampanoag

The student tells the story of the founding of Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay, including: HC the first Thanksgiving

The student tells the story of the founding of Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay, including: HC the meaning of John Winthrop’s “city upon a hill”

The student explains why rules and laws are important for ensuring that people live freely and in peace. C

The student explains the Triangle Trade. HE

The student explains the ways of life among the New England, Middle, and Southern colonies. HCE

The student explains the status and effects of each of the following in colonial society, and the extents to which these were rare in history: private property, education, local selfgovernment, and religious freedom. HCE

The student explains how the “American” colonist was generally defined by certain traits, including being hard-working, determined, religious, skeptical of authority, and self-governing. HCE

The student explains how England left the colonists alone to live and govern themselves, and why this was good for the colonists. HC

The student explains the rule of law, compared and contrasted in the Magna Carta to the arbitrary rule of man. C

The student tells the story of the French and Indian War, especially the roles of George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, and its effect on American identity and sense of unity. H

The student explains why the colonists believed Great Britain’s new claims to control in the colonies violated their rights and freedoms. HC

The student explains how the colonists responded to Great Britain’s new claims of power over them. H

The student tells the story of the Boston Massacre and John Adams’s defense of the British soldiers in the murder trial that followed. H

The student tells the story of the Boston Tea Party and the response by the British. H

The student tells the stories of Paul Revere’s ride and the Battles of Lexington and Concord. H

The student explains why the colonists declared independence from Great Britain. HC

The student listens to and discusses the meaning of the following lines from the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.—That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” H

The student explains the meaning of “created equal.” C

The student explains the meaning of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” in particular the founders’ argument that each human being has the freedom to try to be happy. C

The student explains the meaning of “the consent of the governed,” including the founders’ argument that a government can only tell people what to do if the people have a say over who in the government gets to make those decisions, which is called “self-government.” C

The student explains that the purpose of government as outlined in the Declaration of Independence is to protect people equally. C

The student tells the biography of George Washington, including: H his upbringing

The student tells the biography of George Washington, including: H his fighting in the French and Indian War

The student tells the biography of George Washington, including: H his ownership of slaves at Mount Vernon

The student tells the biography of George Washington, including: H his crossing of the Delaware River and his leadership at Valley Forge

The student tells the biography of George Washington, including: H his presiding at the Constitutional Convention

The student tells the biography of George Washington, including: H his freeing of slaves at Mount Vernon upon his death and that of his wife, Martha

The student tells the biography of George Washington, including: H the building of the Washington Monument

The student tells the biography of Thomas Jefferson, including: H his upbringing

The student tells the biography of Thomas Jefferson, including: H his ownership of slaves at Monticello

The student tells the biography of Thomas Jefferson, including: H his writing of the Declaration of Independence

The student tells the biography of Thomas Jefferson, including: H his purchase of Louisiana from France

The student tells the biography of Thomas Jefferson, including: H the building of the Jefferson Memorial

The student explains the meaning of the symbols on the American flag. HC

The student tells the story of how the Americans won the War of Independence. H

The student can move his or her finger on a map and on a globe in the correct cardinal direction when asked. G

The student can describe the location of a place on a map and on a globe in relation to the location of a second place by using the terms north, south, east, and west. G

The student can use a map key to understand different symbols on a map. G

The student can place images depicting historical events in the correct chronological order and explain their relationship to one another. H

The student can give examples of virtues and actions related to respecting the rule of law and having the courage to do what is morally right. C

The student can identify the major national holidays and their meanings. C

The Alamo

Transcontinental Railroad

Brooklyn Bridge

Statue of Liberty

Crazy Horse Memorial

Route 66

Mount Rushmore

Hoover Dam

Golden Gate Bridge

Mackinac Bridge

Gateway Arch

One World Trade Center

Equator

Northern Hemisphere

Southern Hemisphere

Tropic of Cancer

Tropic of Capricorn

Arctic Circle

Prime Meridian

Eastern Hemisphere

Western Hemisphere

The student explains the following geographic features: G plateau

The student explains the following geographic features: G isthmus

The student explains the following geographic features: G tropics

The student explains the following geographic features: G tundra

The student explains the following geographic features: G rainforest

The student explains the following geographic features: G ocean currents

The student explains the following geographic features: G wind current

The student identifies the major historical events, cultural features, stories, and religious contributions of the early Christians. H

The student identifies the major events during the rule of Constantine, including the legalization of Christianity and the moving of the Roman capital to Constantinople. H

The student tells the story of the barbarian invasions and the fall of the Roman Empire. H

The student explains how society changed with the fall of the Roman Empire. H

The student explains the establishment of monasteries and their role in the Middle Ages. H

The student identifies the major historical events, cultural features, stories, and religious contributions of the early Muslims. H

The student identifies the historical events of the Carolingian dynasty and the Viking invasions. H

The student explains the practice of feudalism in European societies. H

The student tells the stories of the Norman Conquest, the rule of King John of England, and the signing of the Magna Carta. HC

The student identifies the origins, historical events, and different perspectives of the conflicts between Muslims and Christians both before and during the crusades. H

The student identifies the developments and achievements of the high Middle Ages, including the power of the papacy and the founding of mendicant orders. H

The student identifies key developments in Africa, including the influence of Islam and Christianity and the civilizations of Ghana, Mali, and Songhay. H

The student identifies key developments in India, including Hinduism and Mongol and Muslim rule. H

The student identifies key developments in China, including Confucianism and the major dynasties. H

The student identifies key developments in Japan, including Japanese Buddhism, feudalism, and shoguns. H

The student identifies the disruptions to society in the late Middle Ages, including the Black Death, the Great Schism of 1378, and the Hundred Years’ War. H

The student identifies the origins and major ideas of the Renaissance, including a revival of classical Greece and Rome. H

The student explains the major cultural features and contributions of the Renaissance in Italy and Northern Europe in painting, architecture, and sculpture. H

The student explains what a constitution does. C

The student explains how representation lets the people choose the most responsible individuals to make the laws. C

The student listens to and discusses the meaning of the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution and selections from the Bill of Rights. C

The student explains the difference between legislative (law making), executive (law enforcing), and judicial (law judging) powers. C

The student explains what Congress, the President, and the Supreme Court each do. C

The student explains how a law is made. C

The student explains what a governor and state legislators do. C

The student explains the legal meaning of “citizen” in the United States and how someone becomes a citizen. C

The student explains the importance of a knowledgeable, good, and hard-working citizenry in America. C

The student explains each of the following guarantees in the Bill of Rights: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and right to trial by jury. C

The student explains the importance of free speech, the free press, and civil dialogue in representative self-government. C

The student tells of the major events in George Washington’s presidency, including his efforts to remain neutral in the conflict between revolutionary France and Great Britain. H

The student listens to and discusses the meaning of George Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation in its entirety. H

The student tells of the major events in Thomas Jefferson’s presidency, including the purchase of the Louisiana Territory, war with the Barbary pirates, and the end of the international slave trade. H

The student tells the story of the Corps of Discovery exploring the Louisiana Territory, including its path through South Dakota. H

The student tells the stories of the Burning of Washington and the Battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812. H

The student listens to and explains the meaning of the first stanza to “The Star-Spangled Banner.” H

The student names inventions that helped transform the American economy and way of life in the first half of the 19th century, especially in transportation. E

The student identifies various examples of westward expansion prior to the Civil War. H

The student describes the lives of slaves on southern plantations and at slave auctions, including cultural developments among African Americans in slavery. H

The student explains the electoral relationship between the number of slave states and the perpetuation of slavery. H

The student tells the biography of Andrew Jackson, including: H his upbringing

The student tells the biography of Andrew Jackson, including: H his ownership of slaves

The student tells the biography of Andrew Jackson, including: H his fighting in the War of 1812 and the Battle of New Orleans

The student tells the biography of Andrew Jackson, including: H his actions, both diplomatic and military, toward Native American tribes

The student tells the biography of Andrew Jackson, including: H his views on democracy

The student tells the biography of Andrew Jackson, including: H his presidency

The student tells about the fur trade, mountain men, and the Santa Fe Trail. H

The student tells the story of the Trail of Tears, particularly the 1838 Cherokee removal following the Treaty of New Echota. H

The student explains the differences between various geographic regions, especially the growing divide in culture, lifestyle, and economics between the northern states and the southern states. H

The student explains the work of the abolitionist movement and leading abolitionists, such as Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, and the Underground Railroad. H

The student tells the biography of Frederick Douglass, including: H his upbringing

The student tells the biography of Frederick Douglass, including: H his learning to read

The student tells the biography of Frederick Douglass, including: H his escape from slavery

The student tells the biography of Frederick Douglass, including: H his abolitionist writings

The student tells the biography of Frederick Douglass, including: H his initial and later views on the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution

The student tells the story of women’s suffrage efforts in the mid-19th century. H