Grade 7 Social Studies Connecticut standards Standards

Communicate Conclusions and Take Informed Action

Evaluate Sources and Use Evidence

Apply Disciplinary Concepts and Tools

Develop Questions and Plan Inquiries

Movement and Cultural Diffusion

Governance and Human Rights

Regional and Global Economics

Identify the powers and responsibilities of individuals, groups, and media in addressing human rights issues in both governmental and nongovernmental contexts (e.g., Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Refugee Assistance, United States Border Security, United Nations).

Evaluate the effectiveness of rules, laws, and agreements as a means of addressing regional and global problems (e.g., International Court of Justice, International Criminal Court, Paris Agreement, International Atomic Energy Agency).

Analyze the purpose, implementation, and consequences of a policy in both historical and contemporary contexts (e.g., environmental, human rights, public health, White Australia Policy).

Explain how political participation varies within different types of government in different eras and contexts (e.g., compulsory voting, protest, volunteerism, women’s suffrage).

Describe the roles of political and economic organizations in shaping lives of individuals and groups in a region (e.g., World Bank, United Nations, International Monetary Fund, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, World Trade Organization).

Explain how economic fluctuations and cycles affect individuals and groups in a region (e.g., deflation, inflation, unemployment, depression, recession).

Describe tools and resources that are used to measure standard of living (e.g., Gross Domestic Product, Human Development Index).

Explain how improvements in productivity enhance the standard of living in a region (e.g., automation, computer processing, 4-day workweek).

Explain how a trade barrier has shaped global or regional trade in historical and contemporary contexts (e.g., tariff barrier, non-tariff barrier, embargo).

Describe different types of economies (e.g., command, market, mixed).

Describe the role of competition in a market economy (e.g., prices, wages, tariffs, trade agreements, international trade organizations).

Explain ways in which money facilitates the exchange of goods and services in both historical and contemporary contexts (e.g., cattle, Cowrie shells, wampum, coins, banknotes, credit cards, cryptocurrency).

Explain how changes in supply and demand have influenced the price and quantity of a good or service in a region (e.g., gold inflation related to Mansa Musa’s Hajj, Dutch fur trade in North America, Rainforest logging, Cobalt mining in Democratic Republic of the Congo, global agriculture, Venezuela oil production, illegal poaching).

Analyze the role of innovation and entrepreneurship in a market economy (e.g., mills, transportation, electricity, computer technology, research and development, knowledge economy).

Describe the role of labor unions, corporations, and non-profits within the market economy of a region (e.g., representation, collective bargaining, production, investment, social impact, advocacy).

Analyze how cultural characteristics vary among regions and shape diversity of local communities (e.g., cultural centers, diasporas, cultural universals, taboos, linguistics).

Analyze how environmental characteristics vary among regions (e.g., climate, natural disasters, waterways, mountain ranges, deserts).

Explain how global changes in population distribution patterns have affected land use in a region (e.g., the Pampas, Deforestation in the Amazon, Southwest United States population boom).

Analyze cultural diffusion among regions using paper based and digital mapping techniques (e.g., expansion, relocation).

Explain how norms regarding gender and sexuality influence the daily lives of people (e.g., LGBTQ+ rights, family structures, matrilineal societies, division of labor, political participation).

Explain how changes in transportation have led to regional and global connections among human settlements (e.g., United States Interstate Highway System, Panama Canal, Mombasa– Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway).

Describe how growth in communication technology has led to the diffusion of ideas and cultural practices (e.g., Hollywood, global news networks, television, telecommunication infrastructure, social media).

Analyze how human-environment interactions influence movement and settlement (e.g., Floating City Of Ganvie, The Dry Corridor, Tenochtitlán, Silk Road, trans-Saharan caravans).

Evaluate the influences of long-term human-induced environmental change on spatial patterns of conflict and cooperation within a region (e.g., State Barrier Fence of Western Australia, uncontacted Indigenous tribes, Third Agricultural Revolution).

Describe a series of political events and developments that reflect change and continuity throughout the history of a region (e.g., trans-Saharan Migration, Spanish Conquest of Hispaniola, Mexican Revolution, Cuban Revolution, Latin American independence, Apartheid, Central African Republic Civil War, Yogyakarta Principles, Timbuktu).

Analyze how maps represent the perspectives of individuals and groups during different eras (e.g., Treaty of Tordesillas map, Catalan Atlas, Mercator Projection, Carte du Congo Belge).

Classify the kinds of historical sources used in a secondary interpretations of a globally or regionally significant event or issue (e.g., genocide, natural disasters, climate change, refugee crises, human trafficking).

Explain how compelling and supporting questions represent key ideas about geography or other social science disciplines in the study of a world region.

Develop compelling and supporting questions that are mutually reinforcing.

Determine the kinds of sources that will be helpful in answering compelling and supporting questions, taking into consideration multiple points of views represented in the sources.

Apply disciplinary knowledge and practices to demonstrate an understanding of world regional studies content.

Gather relevant evidence from multiple sources using both print and digital resources and databases (e.g., origin, authority, structure, context, credibility).

Organize and prioritize relevant evidence from multiple sources to support claims.

Develop claims and counterclaims in response to a compelling question.

Construct arguments using evidence from multiple sources.

Construct explanations using summary, sequence, examples, and data.

Critique arguments and explanations presented about events or issues in a world region.

Present arguments and explanations about local, regional, and global issues to reach a target audience using print, oral, and digital technologies.

Analyze how a specific problem can manifest itself at local, regional, and global levels over time, identifying its characteristics and causes, and the challenges and opportunities faced by those trying to address the problem.

Assess individual and collective capacities to take action to address local, regional, and global problems, taking into account a range of possible levers of power, strategies, and potential outcomes.