Join us for a free one-day workshop for educators at the Japanese American National Museum, hosted by the USC U.S.-China Institute and the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia. This workshop will include a guided tour of the beloved exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community, slated to close permanently in January 2025. Following the tour, learn strategies for engaging students in the primary source artifacts, images, and documents found in JANM’s vast collection and discover classroom-ready resources to support teaching and learning about the Japanese American experience.
History Standards Relating to Asia
History and Social Science
(Pre-publication, April 27, 1999)
Analytical Skills Grades 6-8 || Grade 6 || Grade 7 ||
Analytical Skills Grades 9-12 || Grade 10 || Grade 11 || Grade 12
GRADE 6-8
HISTORICAL AND SOCIAL ANALYSIS SKILLS
The intellectual skills noted below are to be learned through, and applied to, content standards for grades 6-8. They are to be assessed only in conjunction with the content standards in grades 6-8 and are not to be assessed in isolation.
In addition to the standards for grades 6-8, students demonstrate the following intellectual reasoning, reflection and research skills:
Grades 6-8
Chronological and Spatial Thinking
1. students explain how major events are related to each other in time
2. students construct various timelines of key events, people, and periods of the historical era being studied
3. students use a variety of maps and documents to identify physical and cultural features of neighborhoods, cities, states, and countries and to explain the historical migration of people, expansion and disintegration of empires, and the growth of economic systems
Research, Evidence and Point of View
1. students frame questions that can be answered by historical study and research
2. students distinguish fact from opinion in historical narratives and stories
3. students distinguish relevant from irrelevant information, essential from incidental information, and verifiable from unverifiable information in historical narratives and stories
4. students assess the credibility of primary and secondary sources and draw sound conclusions from them
5. students detect the different historical points of view on historical events and determine the context in which the historical statements were made (the questions asked, sources used, author's perspectives)
Historical Interpretation
1. students explain the central issues and problems of the past, placing people and events in a matrix of time and place
2. students understand and distinguish cause, effect, sequence, and correlation in historical events, including the long- and short-term causal relations
3. students explain the sources of historical continuity and how the combination of ideas and events explains the emergence of new patterns
4. students recognize the role of chance, oversight, and error in history
5. students recognize interpretations of history are subject to change as new information is uncovered
6. students interpret basic indicators of economic performance and conduct cost/benefit analyses in order to analyze economic and political issues
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GRADE 6
WORLD HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY: ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS
Students in grade six expand their understanding of history by studying the people and events that ushered in the dawn of the major western and non-western ancient civilizations. Geography is of special significance in the development of the human story. Continued emphasis is placed on the everyday lives, problems and accomplishments of people, their role in developing social, economic and political structures, as well as in establishing and spreading ideas that helped transform the world forever. Students develop higher levels of critical thinking by considering why civilizations developed where and when they did, why they became dominant and why they declined. Students analyze the interactions among the various cultures, emphasizing their enduring contributions and the link, despite time, between the contemporary and ancient worlds.
6.5 Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the early civilizations of India, in terms of:
1. the location and description of the river system and physical setting that supported the rise of this civilization
2. the significance of the Aryan invasions
3. the major beliefs and practices of Brahmanism in India and how they evolved into early Hinduism
4. the social structure of the caste system
5. the life and moral teachings of Buddha and how Buddhism spread in India, Ceylon, and Central Asia
6. the growth of the Maurya empire and the political and moral achievements of the emperor Asoka
7. important aesthetic and intellectual traditions (e.g., Sanskrit literature, including the Bhagavad Gita, medicine, metallurgy, mathematics including Hindu-Arabic numerals and the zero)
6.6 Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the early civilizations of China, in terms of:
1. the location and description of the origins of Chinese civilization in the Huang-He Valley Shang dynasty
2. the geographical features of China that made governance and movement of ideas and goods difficult and served to isolate that country from the rest of the world
3. the life of Confucius and the fundamental teachings of Confucianism and Taoism
4. the political and cultural problems prevalent in the time of Confucius and how he sought to solve them
5. the policies and achievements of the emperor Shi Huangdi in unifying northern China under the Qin dynasty
6. the political contributions of the Han dynasty to the development of the imperial bureaucratic state and the expansion of the empire
7. the significance of the trans-Eurasian "silk roads" in the period of the Han and Roman empires and their locations
8. the diffusion of Buddhism northward to China during the Han dynasty
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GRADE 7
WORLD HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY: MEDIEVAL AND EARLY MODERN TIMES
Students in grade seven study the social, cultural, and technological changes that occurred in Europe, Africa, and Asia from 500-1789 AD. After reviewing the ancient world and the ways in which archaeologists and historians uncover the past, students study the history and geography of great civilizations that were developing concurrently throughout the world during medieval and early modern times. They examine the growing economic interaction among civilizations as well as the exchange of ideas, beliefs, technologies and commodities. They learn about the resulting growth of Enlightenment philosophy and the new examination of the concepts of reason and authority, the natural rights of human beings and the divine right of kings, experimentalism in science and the dogma of belief. Finally, students assess the political forces let loose by the Enlightenment, particularly the rise of democratic ideas, and they learn about the continuing influence of these ideas in the world today.
7.2 Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of civilizations of Islam in the Middle Ages, in terms of:
1. the physical features and climate of the Arabian peninsula, its relationship to surrounding bodies of land and water and the relationship between nomadic and sedentary ways of life
2. the origins of Islam and the life and teachings of Muhammad, including Islamic teachings on the connection with Judaism and Christianity
3. the significance of the Qur'an and the Sunnah as the primary sources of Islamic beliefs, practice and law, and their influence in Muslims’ daily life
4. the expansion of Muslim rule through military conquests and treaties, emphasizing the cultural blending within Muslim civilization and the spread and acceptance of Islam and the Arabic language
5. the growth of cities and the trade routes created among Asia, Africa and Europe, the products and inventions that traveled along these routes (e.g., spices, textiles, paper, steel, new crops), and the role of merchants in Arab society
6. the intellectual exchanges among Muslim scholars of Eurasia and Africa and the contributions Muslim scholars made to later civilizations in the areas of science, geography, mathematics, philosophy, medicine, art, and literature
7.3 Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the civilizations of China in the Middle Ages in terms of:
1. the reunification of China under the Tang Dynasty and reasons for the spread of Buddhism in Tang China, Korea, and Japan
2. agricultural, technological, and commercial developments during the Tang and Sung periods
3. the influences of Confucianism and changes in Confucian thought during the Sung and Mongol periods
4. the importance of both overland trade and maritime expeditions between China and other civilizations in the Mongol Ascendancy and Ming Dynasty
5. the historic influence of such discoveries as tea, the manufacture of paper, wood block printing, the compass, and gunpowder
6. the development of the imperial state and the scholar-official class
7.5 Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the civilizations of Medieval Japan, in terms of:
1. the significance of Japan’s proximity to China and Korea and the intellectual, linguistic, religious and philosophical influence of those countries on Japan
2. the reign of Prince Shotoku of Japan and the characteristics of Japanese society and family life
3. the values, social customs, and traditions prescribed by the lord-vassal system consisting of shogun, daimyo and samurai and the lasting influence of the warrior code in the 20th century
4. the development of distinctive forms of Japanese Buddhism
5. the ninth and tenth century golden age of literature, art and drama, and its lasting effects on culture today, including Murasaki Shikibu’s Tale of Genji
6. the rise of a military society in the late twelfth century and the role of the samurai
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GRADE 9-12
HISTORICAL AND SOCIAL ANALYSIS SKILLS
The intellectual skills noted below are to be learned through, and applied to, the content standards for grades 9-12. They are to be assessed only in conjunction with the content standards in grades 9-12 and are not to be assessed in isolation.
Chronological and Spatial Thinking
1. students compare the present with the past, evaluating the consequences of past events and decisions and determining the lessons learned
2. students analyze how change happens at different rates at different times; that some aspects can change while others remain the same; that change is complicated and affects not only technology and politics, but also values and beliefs
3. students use a variety of maps and documents to interpret human movement, including major patterns of domestic and international migration; changing environmental preferences and settlement patterns; the frictions that develop between population groups; and the diffusion of ideas, technological innovations, and goods
4. students relate current events to the physical and human characteristics of places and regions
Historical Research, Evidence and Point of View
1. students distinguish valid arguments from fallacious arguments in historical interpretations
2. students identify bias and prejudice in historical interpretations
3. students evaluate major debates among historians concerning alternative interpretations of the past, including an analysis of authors' use of evidence and the distinctions between sound generalizations and misleading oversimplifications
4. students construct and test hypotheses; collect, evaluate and employ information from multiple primary and secondary sources; and apply it in oral and written presentations
Historical Interpretation
1. students show the connections, causal and otherwise, between particular historical events and larger social, economic and political trends and developments
2. students recognize the complexity of historical causes and effects, including the limitations on determining cause and effect
3. students interpret past events and issues within the context in which an event unfolded rather than solely in terms of present day norms and values
4. students understand the meaning, implication, and impact of historical events while recognizing that events could have taken other directions
5. students analyze human modifications of a landscapes, and examine the resulting environmental policy issues
6. students conduct cost/benefit analyses and apply basic economic indicators to analyze the aggregate economic behavior of the U.S. economy
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GRADE 10
WORLD HISTORY, CULTURE, AND GEOGRAPHY: THE MODERN WORLD
Students in grade ten study major turning points that shaped the modern world, from the late 18th century through the present, including the cause and course of the two world wars. They trace the rise of democratic ideas and develop an understanding of the historical roots of current world issues, especially as they pertain to international relations. They extrapolate from the American experience that democratic ideals are often achieved at a high price, remain vulnerable and are not practiced everywhere in the world. Students develop an understanding of current world issues and relate them to their historical, geographic, political, economic, and cultural contexts. Students consider multiple accounts of events in order to understand international relations from a variety of perspectives.
10.3 Students analyze the effects of the Industrial Revolution in England, France, Germany, Japan and the United States, in terms of:
1. why England was the first country to industrialize
2. how scientific and technological changes and new forms of energy brought about massive social, economic, and cultural change (e.g., biographies of James Watt, Eli Whitney, Henry Bessemer, Louis Pasteur, Thomas Edison,)
3. the growth of population, rural to urban migration and growth of cities associated with the Industrial Revolution
4. the evolution of work and labor, including the demise of the slave trade and effect of immigration, mining and manufacturing, division of labor, and the union movement
5. the connections among natural resources, entrepreneurship, labor and capital in an industrial economy
6. the emergence of capitalism as a dominant economic pattern and the responses to it, including Utopianism, Social Democracy, Socialism, and Communism
7. the emergence of the Romantic impulse in art and literature (e.g., the poetry of William Blake and William Wordsworth), social criticism (e.g., Charles Dickens’ novels) and the move away from Classicism in Europe
10.4 Students analyze patterns of global change in the era of New Imperialism in at least two of the following regions or countries: Africa, Southeast Asia, China, India, Latin America and the Philippines, in terms of:
1. the rise of industrial economies and their link to imperialism and colonialism (e.g., the role played by national security and strategic advantage; moral issues raised by search for national hegemony, Social Darwinism and the missionary impulse; material issues such as land, resources and technology
2. the location of the colonial rule of such nations as England, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain, Portugal, and the United States
3. imperialism from the perspective of the colonizers and the colonized and the varied immediate and long-term responses by the people under colonial rule
4. the independence struggles of the colonized regions of the world, including the role of leaders, such as Sun Yat-sen in China, and the role of ideology and religion
10.8 Students analyze the causes and consequences of the Second World War, in terms of:
1. the German, Italian, and Japanese drives for empire in the 1930's, including the 1937 Rape of Nanking and other atrocities in China and the Stalin-Hitler Pact of 1939
2. the role of appeasement, nonintervention (isolationism), and the domestic distractions in Europe and the United States prior to the outbreak of World War II
3. the identification and location of the Allied and Axis powers; the major turning points of the war, the principal theaters of conflict, key strategic decisions; and the resulting war conferences and political resolutions with emphasis on the importance of geographic factors
4. the political, diplomatic and military leadership (e.g., biographies of Winston Churchill, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Hirohito, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Joseph Stalin, Douglas MacArthur, Dwight Eisenhower)
5. the Nazi policy of pursuing racial purity, especially against the European Jews, its transformation into the Final Solution and the Holocaust resulting in the murder of six million Jewish civilians
6. the human costs of the war, with particular attention to the civilian and military losses in Russia, Germany, Britain, United States, China, and Japan
10.9 Students analyze the international developments in the post-World War II world, in terms of:
1. the economic and military power shifts caused by the war, including the Yalta Pact, the development of nuclear weapons, Soviet control over Eastern European nations, and the economic recovery of Germany and Japan
2. the causes of the Cold War, with the free world on one side and Soviet client states on the other, including competition for influence in such places as Egypt, the Congo, Vietnam, and Chile
3. the importance of the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan which established the pattern for the postwar American policy of supplying economic and military aid to prevent the spread of communism and the resulting economic and political competition in arenas such as Asia (i.e., Korean War, Vietnam War), Cuba, and Africa
4. the Chinese Civil War, the rise of Mao Tse-tung, and the subsequent political and economic upheavals in China (e.g., the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, and the Tiananmen Square uprising)
uprisings in Poland (1952), Hungary (1956), and Czechoslovakia (1968) and their resurgence in the 1970's and 1980's as people in Soviet satellites sought freedom from Soviet control
5. how the forces of nationalism developed in the Middle East, how the Holocaust affected world opinion regarding the need for a Jewish state,
6. the significance and effects of the location and establishment of Israel on world affairs the reasons for
7. the collapse of the Soviet Union, including the weakness of the command economy, burdens of military commitments, and growing resistance to Soviet rule by dissidents in satellite states and the non-Russian Soviet republics
8. the establishment and work of the United Nations, the Warsaw Pact, SEATO, and NATO, Organization of American States and their purposes and functions
10.10 Students analyze instances of nation-building in the contemporary world in two of the following regions or countries: the Middle East, Africa, Mexico and other parts of Latin America, or China, in terms of:
1. challenges in the region, including its geopolitical, cultural, military, and economic significance and the international relationships in which it is involved
2. the recent history of the region, including the political divisions and systems, key leaders, religious issues, natural features, resources, and population patterns
3. the important trends in the region today and whether they appear to serve the cause of individual freedom and democracy
10.11 Students analyze the integration of countries into the world economy, and the information, technological and communications revolutions (e.g., television, satellites, computers)
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GRADE 11
UNITED STATES HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY: CONTINUITY AND CHANGE IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Students in grade eleven study the major turning points in American history in the 20th century. Following a review of the nation's beginnings and the impact of the Enlightenment on U.S. democratic ideals, students build upon the tenth grade study of global industrialization to understand the emergence and impact of new technology and a corporate economy, including the social and cultural effects. They trace the change in the ethnic composition of American society; the movement towards equal rights for racial minorities and women; and the role of the United States a major world power. An emphasis is placed on the expanding role of the federal government and federal courts as well as the continuing tension between the individual and the state. Students consider the major social problems of our time and trace their causes in historical events. They learn that the United States has served as a model for other nations and that the rights and freedoms we enjoy are not accidents, but the results of a defined set of political principles that are not always basic to citizens of other countries. Students understand that our rights under the U.S. Constitution comprise a precious inheritance that depends on an educated citizenry for their preservation and protection.
11.4 Students trace the rise of the U.S. to its role as a world power in the 20th century, in terms of:
1. the purpose and the effects of the Open Door policy [towards China -- ed.]
2. the Spanish-American War and U.S. expansion in the South Pacific
3. the U.S. role in the Panama Revolution and the building of the Panama Canal
4. Roosevelt's Big Stick diplomacy, Taft's Dollar Diplomacy, and Wilson's Moral Diplomacy, drawing on relevant speeches
5. the political, economic and social ramifications of World War I on the homefront
6. the declining role of Great Britain and the expanding role of the U.S. in world affairs after World War II
11.7 Students analyze the American participation in World War II, in terms of:
1. the origins of American involvement in the war, with an emphasis on the events that precipitated the attack on Pearl Harbor
2. United States and Allied wartime strategy, including the major battles of Midway, Normandy, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and the Battle of the Bulge
3. the role and sacrifices of individual American soldiers, as well as the unique contributions of the special fighting forces (e.g., the Tuskegee Airmen, the 442 Regimental Combat team, and the Navajo Codetalkers)
Roosevelt's foreign policies during World War II (e.g., Four Freedoms speech)
4. the constitutional issues and impact of events on the U.S. home front, including the internment of Japanese Americans (e.g., Fred Korematsu v. United State of America) and the restrictions on German and Italian resident aliens; the response of the administration to Hitler’s atrocities against Jews and other groups; the role of women in military production; the role and growing political demands of African Americans
5. major developments in aviation, weaponry, communication, and medicine and the War’s impact on the location of American industry and use of resources
6. the decision to drop atomic bombs and the consequences (Hiroshima and Nagasaki )
7. the effect of massive aid given to western Europe under the Marshall Plan to rebuild itself after the war, and its importance to the U.S. economy
11.9 Students analyze United States foreign policy since World War II, in terms of:
1. the establishment of the United Nations and International Declaration of Human Rights, IMF, the World Bank, and GATT, and their importance in shaping modern Europe and maintaining peace and international order
2. the role of military alliances including NATO and SEATO in deterring communist aggression and maintaining security during the Cold War
3. the origins and geopolitical consequences (foreign and domestic) of the Cold War and containment policy, including
** the era of McCarthyism, instances of domestic communism (e.g., Alger Hiss) and blacklisting
** the Truman Doctrine
** the Berlin Blockade
** the Korean War
** the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis
** atomic testing in the American west, "mutual assured destruction" doctrine, disarmament policies
** the Vietnam War
** Latin American policy and the economic relationships today
4. (e.g., protests during the war in Vietnam and the "nuclear freeze" movement)
5. the role of the Reagan Administration and other factors in the victory of the West in the Cold War
6. the strategic, political, and economic factors in Middle East policy, including the Gulf War
7. U.S.-Mexican relations in the twentieth century, including key economic, political, immigration, and environmental issues
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GRADE 12
PRINCIPLES OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY
Students in grade twelve pursue a deeper understanding of the institutions of American government. They compare systems of government in the world today and analyze the life and changing interpretations of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the current state of the legislative, executive and judiciary branches of government. An emphasis is placed on analyzing the relationship among federal, state and local governments, with particular attention paid to important historical documents such as The Federalist. These standards represent the culmination of civic literacy as students prepare to vote, participate in community activities and assume the responsibilities of citizenship.
In addition to studying government in grade twelve, students will also master fundamental economic concepts, applying the tools (graphs, statistics, equations) from other subject areas to the understanding of operations and institutions of economic systems. Studied in a historic context are the basic economic principles of micro and macroeconomics, international economics, comparative economics systems, measurement and methods.
12.9 Students analyze the origins, characteristics, and development of different political systems across time, with emphasis on the quest for political democracy, its advances and obstacles, in terms of:
1. how the different philosophies and structures of feudalism, mercantilism, socialism, fascism, communism, monarchies, parliamentary systems, and constitutional liberal democracies influence economic policies, social welfare policies and human rights practices
2. the various ways power is distributed, shared, and limited in systems of shared powers and in parliamentary systems, including the influence and role of parliamentary leaders (e.g., William Gladstone, Margaret Thatcher)
3. the advantages and disadvantages of federal, confederal, and unitary systems of government
4. the consequences of conditions that gave rise to tyrannies during certain periods applied to at least two countries (e.g., Italy, Japan, Haiti, Nigeria, Cambodia)
5. the forms of illegitimate power that twentieth century African, Asian, and Latin American dictators used to gain and hold office and the conditions and interests that supported them
6. the ideologies, causes, stages, and outcomes of major Mexican, Central and South American revolutions of the 19th and 20th centuries
7. the ideologies that give rise to communism, methods to maintain control, and the movements to overthrow such governments in Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Poland, including the role of individuals (e.g., Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Pope John Paul II, Lech Walesa, Vaclav Havel)
8. the successes of relatively new democracies in Africa, Asia and Latin America and the ideas, leaders, and general societal conditions that have launched and sustained or failed to sustain them
GRADE 12
PRINCIPLES OF ECONOMICS
12.4 Students analyze the elements of the United States labor market in a global setting, in terms of:
1. the operations of the labor market, including the circumstances surrounding the establishment of principal American labor unions, procedures used to gain benefits for its members, the effect of unionization, the minimum wage, and unemployment insurance
2. the current economy and labor market including the types of goods and services produced, types of skills necessary, the effect of rapid technological change, and the impact of international competition
3. wage differences among jobs and professions using the laws of demand and supply and the concept of productivity
4. the effects of international mobility of capital and labor on the U.S. economy
12.6 Students analyze issues of international trade, and explain how the U.S. economy affects, and is affected by, economic forces beyond its borders, in terms of:
1. the gains in consumption and production efficiency from trade with emphasis on the main products and changing geographic patterns of twentieth century trade among countries in the Western hemisphere
2. the reasons for and the effect of trade restrictions in the Great Depression compared with the present day arguments among labor, business, and political leaders over the effects of free trade on the economic and social interests of various groups of Americans
3. the changing role of international political borders and territorial sovereignty in a global economy
4. explain foreign exchange, how exchange rates are determined, and the effects of the dollar gaining (or losing) value relative to other currencies a strong or weak dollar
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Featured Articles
Please join us for the Grad Mixer! Hosted by USC Annenberg Office of International Affairs, Enjoy food, drink and conversation with fellow students across USC Annenberg. Graduate students from any field are welcome to join, so it is a great opportunity to meet fellow students with IR/foreign policy-related research topics and interests.
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Events
Hosted by USC Annenberg Office of International Affairs, enjoy food, drink and conversation with fellow international students.
Join us for an in-person conversation on Thursday, November 7th at 4pm with author David M. Lampton as he discusses his new book, Living U.S.-China Relations: From Cold War to Cold War. The book examines the history of U.S.-China relations across eight U.S. presidential administrations.