What does a student learn in StateVirginia,GradeGrade 12,SubjectSocial Studies?

The student will apply history and social science skills to the content by

selecting and synthesizing evidence from information sources, including, but not limited to artifacts, primary and secondary sources, charts, graphs, and diagrams, to question and understand government and politics;

applying geographic skills to determine and/or predict patterns and trends;

questioning and using inquiry to construct arguments, using evidence from multiple sources;

investigating and analyzing evidence from multiple sources to construct arguments and draw conclusions;

comparing and contrasting historical, cultural, economic, and political perspectives;

determining cause and effect to analyze connections;

using economic decision-making models to analyze and explain the incentives for and consequences of a specific choice;

engaging and communicating as an informed individual with persons with different perspectives;

developing products that reflect an understanding of research and content to make real-life connections; and

contextualizing, corroborating, and evaluating sources for credibility, propaganda, and bias to determine patterns and trends in Virginia and United States government and politics.

The student will apply history and social science skills to understand the foundations of American constitutional government by

describing the features of a democratic republic as influenced by forms of Athenian democracy and the Roman Republic;

analyzing the foundational principles found in historic writings and prior governing documents, including the Magna Carta, charters of the Virginia Company of London (April 10, 1606; May 23, 1609; and March 12, 1612), the works of Enlightenment philosophers (Locke, Hobbes, Rousseau, and others), the Great Awakening, and the English Bill of Rights;

evaluating the foundational principles expressed in the Constitution of Virginia, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution of the United States; and

analyzing George Mason’s Virginia Declaration of Rights, Thomas Jefferson’s Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, and James Madison’s leadership role in securing adoption of the Bill of Rights by the First Congress.

The student will apply history and social science skills to describe the concept of democracy by

explaining the concepts of popular sovereignty, natural rights, the rule of law, selfgovernment, and “consent of the governed”;

comparing structures of government including constitutional republic, autocracy, direct democracy, representative democracy, the presidential system, and the parliamentary system;

recognizing the equality of all citizens under the law;

recognizing majority rule and minority rights;

recognizing the necessity of compromise; and

recognizing the freedom of the individual.

The student will apply history and social science skills to analyze the Virginia and United States Constitutions and the Bill of Rights by

examining the ratification debates and The Federalist Papers, including but not limited to No. 10 and No. 51;

evaluating the purposes for government stated in the Preamble;

defining the structure and authority of the national government as outlined in Article I, Article II, and Article III;

examining the differences between the powers and authority of state and national governments;

connecting the fundamental principles of checks and balances and separation of powers to the three branches of government;

describing how the Bill of Rights affirms natural rights as something that precedes politics; and

explaining the amendment process.

The student will apply history and social science skills to explore and understand the significance, reverence, and pride around the foundation of the American republic by

analyzing the five values of liberty, egalitarianism, individualism, populism, and laissezfaire government as described by Alexis de Tocqueville;

understanding the meaning and historical significance of the mottos "E Pluribus Unum" and "In God We Trust";

describing the fundamental concepts of American constitutional democracy, including how the government derives its power from the people, and the primacy of individual liberty;

defining the meaning of the American Creed that calls on citizens to safeguard the liberty of individual Americans within a unified nation, to respect the rule of law, and to preserve the Constitution; and

evaluating how the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights protect freedoms and limit government.

The student will apply history and social science skills to explain the rights and responsibilities of United States citizenship by

describing the paths to U.S. citizenship;

obeying the law and paying taxes;

serving as a juror;

participating in the political process and voting in local, state, and national elections;

performing public service;

keeping informed about current issues;

practicing personal and fiscal responsibility; and

understanding that the United States has a voluntary military and the importance of Selective Service registration.

The student will apply history and social science skills to explain the process of local, state, and national elections by

describing how amendments and laws have extended the right to vote to previously disenfranchised Americans;

examining campaign finance laws and campaign funding and spending, including the impact of Supreme Court decisions, the nationalization of campaign financing, and the role of interest groups;

describing the nomination and election process, including the organization and evolving role of political parties and interest groups;

analyzing the influence of media coverage, campaign advertising, public opinion polls, social media, and digital communications;

explaining the role of the Electoral College and the impact of reapportionment and redistricting on elections and governance; and

evaluating challenges of the election process, including redistricting and gerrymandering.

The student will apply history and social science skills to describe the scope and limits of the powers of the legislative branch of the federal government as delineated in Article I of the United States Constitution by

describing its structure and the process for the election of its members;

describing how the power of the legislative branch has changed over time; and

evaluating how the processes of the legislative branch reflect the democratic principles of American constitutional government.

The student will apply history and science skills to describe the scope and limits of the powers of the executive branch of the federal government as delineated in Article II of the United States Constitution by

describing the structure and organization of the executive branch;

describing how the power of the executive branch has changed over time, including the Twentieth, Twenty-second, and Twenty-fifth Amendments; and

comparing and contrasting executive branch processes with those of the legislative branch.

The student will apply history and social science skills to describe the scope and limits of the powers of the federal judiciary as delineated in Article III of the United States Constitution by

describing the organization, jurisdiction, and proceedings of federal courts;

explaining how the Marshall Court established the Supreme Court as an independent branch of government in Marbury v. Madison;

describing how the Supreme Court decides cases; and

comparing the philosophy of originalism, judicial pragmatism, judicial activism, and judicial restraint.

The student will apply history and social science skills to explain the organization and powers of the state and local governments as described in the Constitution of Virginia by

analyzing legislative, executive, and judicial branches;

explaining the law-making process at the state and local levels;

examining the structure and powers of local governments (county, city, and town);

analyzing the relationship between state and local governments and the roles of regional authorities, governing boards, and commissions;

comparing partisan and nonpartisan offices; and

investigating and explaining the ways individuals and groups exert influence on state and local governments.

The student will apply history and social science skills to analyze civil liberties and civil rights by

explaining the difference between civil rights and civil liberties;

explaining the purpose of the Bill of Rights, with emphasis on First Amendment freedoms;

analyzing the rights of the accused and due process of law expressed in the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment;

explaining how the Supreme Court has applied most of the protections of the Bill of Rights to the states through a process of selective incorporation;

evaluating the balance between individual liberties and the public interest; and

examining how civil liberties and civil rights are protected under the law.

The student will apply history and social science skills to understand the role of the United States in a changing world by

describing the responsibilities of the federal government for foreign policy and national security;

assessing and analyzing the role of national interest in shaping foreign policy and promoting world peace; and

examining the relationship of Virginia and the United States in the global economy, including trends in international trade.

The student will apply history and social science skills to understand the role of the United States in a changing world by

evaluating the economic and political systems of capitalism, communism, Marxism, socialism, fascism, authoritarianism, and totalitarianism;

comparing the characteristics of economies as described by Adam Smith, Karl Marx, John Maynard Keynes, Friedrich Hayek, Milton Friedman, and Thomas Sowell;

comparing and contrasting capitalism and socialism as economic systems, including the role of government in each and individual economic freedoms;

explaining the differences between the principles of the Bill of Rights and the Communist Manifesto;

evaluating the factors that influence production and distribution of goods in a market system; and

explaining how competition and free enterprise influence the local, national, and global economies.

The student will apply history and social science skills to explain the role of government in the Virginia and United States economies by

explaining government’s limited but important role in free enterprise and how that affects individual economic freedoms;

describing the provision of government goods and services that are not readily produced by the market;

evaluating government’s establishment and maintenance of the rules and institutions in which markets operate, including the establishment and enforcement of property rights, contracts, consumer rights, labor-management relations, environmental protection, and competition in the marketplace;

investigating and describing the types and purposes of taxation that are used by local, state, and federal governments to pay for services provided by the government;

analyzing how Congress can use fiscal policy to stabilize the economy;

describing how the Federal Reserve can use monetary policy to pursue price stability, full employment, and economic growth with the goal of stabilizing the economy; and

evaluating the trade-offs in government decisions.