On July 14, 2016 The Common Core World History Standards were enacted:http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/hs/cf/sbedrafthssfw.asp
Grade Ten – World History, Culture, and Geography: The Modern World
- How did ideas associated with the Enlightenment, the Scientific Revolution, the Age of Reason, and a variety of democratic revolutions develop and impact civil society?
- Why did imperial powers seek to expand their empires? How did colonies respond? What were the legacies of these conquests?
- Why was the modern period defined by global conflict and cooperation, economic growth and collapse, and global independence and connection?
The more than two hundred and fifty year period covered by the tenth-grade course highlights the intensification of a truly global history as people, products, diseases, knowledge, and ideas spread around the world as never before. The course begins with a turning point: the important transition in European systems of governance from divine monarch to a modern definition of a nation-state organized around principles of the Enlightenment. The course ends with the present, providing ample opportunities for teachers to make connections to the globalized world in which students live. As students move through the years 1750 through the present they consider how a modern system of communication and exchange drew peoples of the world into an increasingly complex network of relationships in which Europe and the United States exerted great military and economic power. They explore how people, goods, ideas, and capital traveled throughout and between Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Europe. They analyze the results of these exchanges. The ability to see connections between events and larger social, economic, and political trends may be developed by having students consider the most fundamental changes of the era:
- The intensification of the movement toward a global market aided by rapid transportation of goods around the world, powerful international financial institutions, and instantaneous communication
- The emergence of industrial production as the dominant economic force that shaped the world economy and created a related culture of consumption
- Increasing human impact on the natural and physical environment through the growth in world population, especially urban settings where populations engaged in mass consumption through mechanical and chemical developments related to the Industrial Revolution
- Imperial expansion across the globe and the growth of nation-states as the most common form of political organization
- The application of industrial technology and scientific advancements to the development of mechanized warfare, which drew millions of people into the experience of “total war”
- The conflict between economic and political systems that defined the post-World War II period
- The emergence of ideas of universal rights and popular sovereignty for all individuals, regardless of gender, class, religion, or race, which spread around the world
The content covered in grade ten is expansive, and the discipline-specific skills that are to be taught are equally demanding. In order to highlight significant developments, trends, and events, teachers should use framing questions around which their curriculum may be organized. Organizing content around questions of historical significance allows students to develop certain content areas in great depth. Framing questions also allow teachers the leeway to prioritize their content and highlight particular skills through students’ investigations of the past. Moreover, through an in-depth study of individual events and people, students can trace the development of even larger themes, such as the quest for liberty and justice, the influence and redefinition of national identity, and the rights and responsibilities of individual citizens. Questions that can frame the year-long content for tenth grade include: How did ideas associated with the Enlightenment, the Scientific Revolution, the Age of Reason, and a variety of democratic revolutions develop and impact civil society? Why did imperial powers seek to expand their empires? How did colonies respond? What were the legacies of these conquests? Why was the modern period defined by global conflict and cooperation, economic growth and collapse, and global independence and connection?
As students learn about modern world history, they should be encouraged to develop reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills that will enhance their understanding of the content. As in earlier grades, students should be taught that history is an investigative discipline, one that is continually reshaped based on primary source research and on new perspectives that can be uncovered. Students should be encouraged to read multiple primary and secondary documents; to understand multiple perspectives; to learn about how some things change over time and others tend not to; and they should appreciate that each historical era has its own context and it is up to the student of history to make sense of the past on these terms and by asking questions about it.
The California State Content Standard for World History:
To view the California State World History Contents online : http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/