List of Benchmarks for Grades K-4 History |
| Standard 4. | Understands how democratic values came to be, and how they have been exemplified by people, events, and symbols |
| | Level Pre-K (Grade Pre-K) |
| | 1. | Not appropriate at this level |
| | Level I (Grade K-2) |
| | 1. | Knows the English colonists who became revolutionary leaders and fought for independence from England (e.g., George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin) |
| | 2. | Understands how individuals have worked to achieve the liberties and equality promised in the principles of American democracy and to improve the lives of people from many groups (e.g., Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr.;Soujourner Truth; Cesar Chavez) |
| | 3. | Understands ways in which such fundamental values as fairness, protection of individual rights, and responsibility for the common good have been applied by different groups of people (e.g., students and personnel in the local school) |
| | 4. | Knows how different groups of people in the community have taken responsibility for the common good (e.g., the police department, the fire department, senior citizen home, soup kitchen) |
| | 5. | Understands how important figures reacted to their times and why they were significant to the history of our democracy (e.g., George Washington; Thomas Jefferson; Abraham Lincoln; Soujourner Truth; Susan B. Anthony; Mary McLeod Bethune; Eleanor Roosevelt; Martin Luther King, Jr.) |
| | 6. | Understands the ways in which people in a variety of fields have advanced the cause of human rights, equality, and the common good (e.g., Frederick Douglass, Clara Barton, Elizabeth Blackwell, Jackie Robinson, Rosa Parks, Jonas Salk, Cesar Chavez) |
| | 7. | Understands the reasons that Americans celebrate certain national holidays (e.g., Martin Luther King, Jr. Day; the Fourth of July; Memorial Day) |
| | 8. | Knows the history of American symbols (e.g., the eagle, the Liberty Bell, George Washington as the "father of our country," the national flag) |
| | 9. | Knows why important buildings, statues, and monuments (e.g., the White House, Lincoln Memorial, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Angel Island, Mt. Rushmore, veterans’ memorials) are associated with state and national history A |
| | 10. | Understands how people have helped newcomers get settled and learn the ways of the new country (e.g., family members, fraternal organizations, houses of worship) |
| | Level II (Grade 3-4) |
| | 1. | Understands the basic ideas set forth in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, and the figures responsible for these documents A |
| | 2. | Understands the basic principles of American democracy; right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; responsibility for the common good; equality of opportunity and equal protection of the law; freedom of speech and religion; majority rule with protection for minority rights; and limitations on government, with power held by the people and delegated by them to those officials whom they elected to office |
| | 3. | Understands how people over the last 200 years have continued to struggle to bring to all groups in American society the liberties and equality promised in the basic principles of American democracy (e.g., Sojourner Truth; Harriet Tubman; Frederick Douglass; W.E.B. DuBois; Booker T. Washington; Susan B. Anthony; Martin Luther King, Jr.; Rosa Parks; Cesar Chavez) |
| | 4. | Understands the accomplishments of ordinary people in historical situations and how each struggled for individual rights or for the common good (e.g., James Armistead, Sybil Ludington, Nathan Beman, Lydia Darragh, Betty Zane) |
| | 5. | Understands how people in the local community have displayed courage in helping the common good (e.g., volunteering in unique situations including earthquakes, floods, and fires) |
| | 6. | Understands historical figures who believed in the fundamental democratic values (e.g., justice, truth, equality, the rights of the individual, responsibility for the common good, voting rights) and the significance of these people both in their historical context and today |
| | 7. | Understands how historical figures in the U.S. and in other parts of the world have advanced the rights of individuals and promoted the common good, and the character traits that made them successful (e.g., persistence, problem solving, moral responsibility, respect for others) |
| | 8. | Understands the historical events and democratic values commemorated by major national holidays (e.g., Martin Luther King, Jr. Day; Presidents’ Day; Memorial Day; the Fourth of July; Labor Day; Veterans’ Day; Thanksgiving) |
| | 9. | Knows the history of events and the historic figures responsible for such historical documents as the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Emancipation Proclamation |
| | 10. | Knows the Pledge of Allegiance and patriotic songs, poems, and sayings that were written long ago, and understands their significance |
| | 11. | Understands how songs, symbols, and slogans demonstrate freedom of expression and the role of protest in a democracy (e.g., the Boston Tea Party, the abolition of slavery, women's suffrage, labor movements, the civil rights movement) |
| | 12. | Understands why Americans and those who led them (e.g., George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson) went to war to win independence from England |
| | 13. | Understands how ordinary people have worked to contribute money and ideas to create or enhance our national symbols (e.g., French school children who raised money for the Statue of Liberty, Lee Iaccoca's work to restore Ellis Island) |
| | 14. | Understands how people have helped make the community a better place to live (e.g., working to preserve the environment, helping the homeless, restoring houses in low-income areas) |
| | |
A = Assessment items available |
