New Jersey Department of Education

Social Studies (HS)

Introduction

The social studies writers have developed units to meet the expectations of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards for Social Studies and English Language Arts Companion Standards for History/Social Studies, Science and Technical Subjects. These units are designed for US History I, US History II, and World History courses and include the Civics, Geography, Economics, and Historical Perspective strands.

As you review these documents, please refer to New Jersey Student Learning Standards for Social Studies and for English Language Arts Companion Standards for History/Social Studies, Science and Technical Subjects.

As the Department moves forward with the Model Curriculum Project, additional resources will be provided to assist districts. The Student Learning Objectives (SLOs) are intended to provide clear targets to assist in the daily planning of lessons and the development of curriculum units.

Assessments will be designed to measure how well students have met the targets.  Teachers are encouraged to use the assessment data to determine if additional learning experiences are necessary for their students.

A note about the integration of the standards for social studies and English Language Arts Companion Standards for History/Social Studies, Science and Technical Subjects in the units:

• All SLOs reflect the expectations of the social studies indicators.
• Some SLOs include the integration of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards for English Language Arts Companion Standards for History/Social Studies, Science and Technical Subjects. For example, the expectations of those standards were included in a unit when the content of the time period and/or available resources would provide an opportunity for students to engage in developing essential civic, economic, geographic, and historical thinking skills. 
• SLOs that include the New Jersey Student Learning Standards for English Language Arts Companion Standards for History/Social Studies, Science and Technical Subjects are in italics.
• The New Jersey Student Learning Standards for English Language Arts Companion Standards for History/Social Studies, Science and Technical Subjects appear multiple times across the units and should be assessed periodically (in part or whole) in one or more units to gauge the students' progress towards mastery.
• Several New Jersey Student Learning Standards for English Language Arts Companion Standards for History/Social Studies, Science and Technical Subjects have not been identified or fully addressed in the model curriculum because their inclusion depends on individual student needs as well as text selection (i.e., RH. 4, 5, 10 and WHST. 3, 5, 10).
• When appropriate, teachers should design additional learning experiences to address specific New Jersey Student Learning Standards for English Language Arts Companion Standards for History/Social Studies, Science and Technical Subjects based on results from formative assessments and individual student needs.
• If a unit is taught at a different grade level (see standards into units chart below), the teacher should make the necessary modifications to meet the expectations of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards for English Language Arts Companion Standards for History/Social Studies, Science and Technical Subjects at that grade level.

Standards into Units