Grade 7 Social Studies OLS Standards

Economics

Government

Geography

History

Learning Progression

Complexity c

Complexity b

Complexity a

Markets

Learning Progression

Complexity c

Complexity b

Complexity a

Scarcity

Learning Progression

Complexity c

Complexity b

Complexity a

Economic Decision-Making and Skills

Learning Progression

Complexity c

Complexity b

Complexity a

Learning Progression

Complexity c

Complexity b

Complexity a

Roles and Systems of Government

Learning Progression

Complexity c

Complexity b

Complexity a

Civic Participation and Skills

Learning Progression

Complexity c

Complexity b

Complexity a

Learning Progression

Complexity c

Complexity b

Complexity a

Learning Progression

Complexity c

Complexity b

Complexity a

Human Systems

Learning Progression

Complexity c

Complexity b

Complexity a

Spatial Thinking and Skills

Learning Progression

Complexity c

Complexity b

Complexity a

Learning Progression

Complexity c

Complexity b

Complexity a

Learning Progression

Complexity c

Complexity b

Complexity a

Learning Progression

Complexity c

Complexity b

Complexity a

First Global Age

Learning Progression

Complexity c

Complexity b

Complexity a

Learning Progression

Complexity c

Complexity b

Complexity a

Learning Progression

Complexity c

Complexity b

Complexity a

Learning Progression

Complexity c

Complexity b

Complexity a

Learning Progression

Complexity c

Complexity b

Complexity a

Feudalism and Transitions

Learning Progression

Complexity c

Complexity b

Complexity a

Early Civilizations

Learning Progression

Complexity c

Complexity b

Complexity a

Historical Thinking

Individuals, governments and businesses must analyze costs and benefits when making economic decisions. A cost-benefit analysis consists of determining the potential costs and benefits of an action and then balancing the costs against the benefits.

The variability in the distribution of productive resources in the various regions of the world contributed to specialization, trade and interdependence.

The growth of cities and empires fostered the growth of markets. Market exchanges encouraged specialization and the transition from barter to monetary economies.

Maps and other geographic representations can be used to trace the development of human settlement over time.

Geographic factors promote or impede the movement of people, products and ideas.

Trade routes connecting Africa, Europe and Asia helped foster the spread of ideas, technology, goods and major world religions (Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism) that impacted the Eastern Hemisphere.

Improvements in transportation, communication and technology have facilitated cultural diffusion among peoples around the world.

Analyzing individual and group perspectives is essential to understanding historic and contemporary issues. Opportunities for civic engagement exist for students to connect real-world issues and events to classroom learning.

Greek democracy and the Roman Republic were a radical departure from monarchy and theocracy, influencing the structure and function of modern democratic governments.

With the decline of feudalism, consolidation of power resulted in the emergence of nation-states.

Historians and archaeologists describe historical events and issues from the perspectives of people living at the time to avoid evaluating the past in terms of today's norms and values.

European economic and cultural influence dramatically increased through explorations, conquests and colonization.

The Columbian exchange (i.e., the exchange of fauna, flora and pathogens) among previously unconnected parts of the world reshaped societies in ways still evident today.

The civilizations that developed in Greece and Rome had an enduring impact on later civilizations. This legacy includes governance and law, engineering and technology, art and architecture, as well as literature and history. The Roman Empire also played an instrumental role in the spread of Christianity.

The Roman Empire collapsed due to various internal and external factors (political, social and economic) which led to the development of feudalism and the manorial system in the region. The fall of Rome and later invasions also allowed for the creation of new empires in the region.

The Mongols conquered much of Asia which led to unified states in China and Korea. Mongol failure to conquer Japan allowed a feudal system to persist.

Achievements in medicine, science, mathematics and geography by the Islamic civilization dominated most of the Mediterranean after the decline of the Roman Empire. These achievements were introduced into Western Europe as a result of the Muslim conquests, Crusades and trade, influencing the European Renaissance.

The decline of feudalism, the rise of nation-states and the Renaissance in Europe introduced revolutionary ideas, leading to cultural, scientific and social changes.

The Reformation introduced changes in religion including the emergence of Protestant faiths and a decline in the political power and social influence of the Roman Catholic Church.

Empires in Africa and Asia grew as commercial and cultural centers along trade routes.

The advent of the trans-Saharan slave trade had profound effects on both West and Central Africa and the receiving societies.

Historians and archaeologists describe historical events and issues from the perspectives of people living at the time to avoid evaluating the past in terms of today’s norms and values.

Identify a person who studies the past, usually through written records, as a historian.

Identify a person who studies past cultures through artifacts (items people have made, used, or modified) as an archaeologist.

Identify that artifacts are examples of life during a given time-period.

Identify that people throughout history have left evidence behind called artifacts.

Associate history with the past and current event related to the present.

Engage with images of items from different periods that have been used for a common human need (e.g., cooking, clothing, gathering/hunting food)

European economic and cultural influence dramatically increased through explorations, conquests and colonization.

Acknowledge that as people move from place to place they share cultural and economic practices.

Identify environmental factors that might influence people to move (e.g., drought, flooding, pollution).

Identify economic factors that might influence people to move (e.g., new opportunities for work, access to resources, etc.).

Engage with images and representations of colonization (e.g., paintings, journal entries, etc.).

Engage during a shared story about colonization.

Engage with individuals within school or community who have immigrated or migrated into the local community.

Identify examples of colonization.

Provide two reasons why people would go to a new place (e.g., move to a new place, visit family, see new things, meet new people).

Provide one detail about visiting a new place (e.g., going to a new store, going on vacation, visiting a different city or state).

The Columbian Exchange (e.g., the exchange of fauna, flora, and pathogens) among previously unconnected parts of the world reshaped societies in ways still evident today.

Identify a pathogen as a bacteria or virus that spreads disease.

Acknowledge that the Columbian Exchange was the widespread transfer of plants, animals, culture, human populations, technology, diseases, and ideas between the Americas, West Africa, and Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries.

Sort items of today based on country of origin (e.g., “made in” labels).

Identify animals, plants, and other goods traded in the Columbian Exchange.

Simulate with manipulatives to represent the movement of goods in the Columbian Exchange.

Sort images of animals and plants into fauna and flora.

Engage with maps that show the trans-Atlantic connections/routes between Europe, America, and Africa.

Engage in a trade simulation or activity.

Engage with plants and animals.

Describe how flora, fauna, and pathogens reshaped societies (e.g., potatoes became a staple crop in Ireland; horses became an important tool of the plains-dwelling Native Americans).

Identify examples of fauna, flora, and pathogens.

Give one example of people trading plants and/ or animals.

Maps and other geographic representations can be used to trace the development of human settlement over time.

Compare maps of the same locations from two different time periods.

Match map types with their intended purpose (e.g., architectural map/building or design, topographical/ landforms, physical maps with features, (bodies of water, forests, mountains) road maps/navigation, climate map/ weather, political maps/state and national boundaries, etc.).

Identify the different features of maps that make them useful for different purposes (e.g., key, latitude/longitude lines, equator, topography, labels, etc.).

Identify possible uses for maps or models (e.g., building exits, navigation, weather forecast).

Match a map or model with a photo or other representation of a real place.

Engage with different representations of the same location (e.g., topographic map vs. municipal map).

Engage with maps of all types.

Recognize that maps can change over time as a result of political, social, and environmental events.

Recognize that maps of the same location can look different depending on their purpose.

Use the appropriate map to locate one piece of information.

Geographic factors promote or impede the movement of people, products, and ideas.

Identify that as people migrate to new lands they spread ideas (cultural, economic, political).

Acknowledge that the availability of natural resources offered economic opportunities and promoted migration.

Identify ways that people use natural resources to make products to trade.

Identify ways that people use natural resources to meet their needs.

Acknowledge that natural disasters like drought cause people to migrate to more fertile lands.

Identify environmental factors that might influence people to move (e.g., drought, flooding, pollution).

Locate different geographic features on a map (e.g., land, water, and mountains)

Identify geographic factors that impact people. (e.g.,. natural resources, altitude, boundaries, terrain, etc.).

Identify the basic needs of people.

Engage with individuals within school or community who have immigrated or migrated into the local community.

Engage with maps.

Describe how geographic factors affect why and where people move.

Identify an idea that has moved from one area to another (e.g., cultural foods).

Provide a reason why people move away from or to an area.

Trade routes connecting Africa, Europe, and Asia helped foster the spread of ideas, technology, goods, and major world religions (Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism) that impacted the Eastern Hemisphere.

Acknowledge that as people trade goods from place to place they spread ideas, technology, goods, and religion.

Acknowledge that people of different religions may have different beliefs.

Match images of symbols with corresponding religions.

Engage with symbols representative of major world religions.

Trace possible trade routes between Africa, Asia, and Europe.

Identify and trace the Silk Road on a map.

Locate Africa, Asia, and Europe on a map.

Locate the Eastern Hemisphere on a globe.

Engage with maps containing trade routes.

Identify the results of trade routes connecting Africa, Asia, and Europe (e.g., ideas, technology, goods, major world religions).

Identify on a map the trade routes between Africa, Asia, and/or Europe.

Locate on a map the route between two locations.

Improvements in transportation, communication, and technology have facilitated cultural diffusion among peoples around the world.

Acknowledge that cultural diffusion continues in the world today.

Create a heat map to show the travel of innovations from their place of origin to other areas across the globe. Compare speed of diffusion from past to present.

Arrange improvements that were made over time from one category (transportation, communication, or technology) onto a timeline from past to present.

Identify the common practices and beliefs of a group of people as culture.

Match images of current technology with their function (e.g., communication, transportation).

Identify/define transportation.

Identify/define communication.

Sort models or representations of forms of transportation and communication technologies into “today” and “long ago.”

Engage with models or representations of current forms of transportation (e.g., cars, school buses, airplanes).

Engage with a comparison of various communication technologies (e.g., old car phones, beepers, answering machines, rotary phones, old cell phones).

Engage in viewing or listening to media that addresses global issues/events.

Explain how current technologies have improved upon past technologies (e.g., transportation, communication).

Identify transportation and communication technologies from the past (e.g., horses, stagecoach, Pony Express, telegraph).

Identify current transportation and communication technologies (e.g., airplanes, cars, cellphones, email).

Analyzing individual and group perspectives is essential to understanding historic and contemporary issues. Opportunities for civic engagement exist for students to connect real-world issues and events to classroom learning.

Identify a belief based on experience and on certain facts but not amounting to sure knowledge as an opinion.

Sort statements for a given topic into fact and opinion.

Compare opinions from one person/group to another.

Acknowledge that opinions may differ from one person/ group to another.

Demonstrate the concept of “opinion” by sharing likes and dislikes for a given topic (e.g., colors, foods, games).

Identify the different people/groups involved in a historic issue.

Engage with stories describing different perspectives related to a historic issue.

Identify a contemporary issue that has different perspectives.

Engage with media

Explain how different people and groups can have different perspectives on an issue (e.g., transatlantic slave trade, colonialism).

Describe a difference of opinion that can exist between individuals and within groups.

Identify a difference of opinion that can exist between individuals.

Greek democracy and the Roman Republic were radical departures from monarchy and theocracy, influencing the structure and function of modern democratic governments.

Compare monarchies, democracies, and republics.

Note: In a direct democracy citizens participate in decision making. In the Roman Republic, citizens elected leaders and power was divided among leaders.

Understand that democracy and republic are not mutually exclusive forms of government. The U.S. is a democratic republic.

Identify how leaders in a democracy gain their power (e.g., elected by citizens).

Identify how leaders in a monarchy gain their power (e.g., inherited).

Identify the role of a citizen in a democracy.

Identify the role of a subject in a monarchy.

Engage in a voting simulation.

Engage with common images of elected officials (e.g., campaigning for office), and monarchs (e.g., wearing crown, with royal family).

Explain the difference between a democracy and a republic.

Identify one difference between a democracy and a republic.

Identify that citizens in democracies choose their leaders.

With the decline of feudalism, consolidation of power resulted in the emergence of nation-states.

Identify a nation-state as a homogeneous group of people that come together to form their own social systems and governance.

Identify a social system in which people worked and fought for nobles, or lords, who gave them protection and land in return as feudalism.

Acknowledge that people were not treated equally under feudalism.

Match roles and responsibilities of people within the levels of feudal systems.

Identify the hierarchical roles in the feudal system.

Identify hierarchical roles in the school (students, teachers, principal) or other system.

Engage with representations of people in different hierarchical roles within a school setting.

Engage with representations of people within the levels of feudal systems (e.g., serfs, lords and ladies, noblemen, knights, kings, etc.).

Engage with manipulatives to represent the concept of consolidation.

Describe one way that roles within feudalism resulted in the emergence of nation-states (e.g., unhappy with their positions, frustrated by the hierarchy above them).

Identify an example of a feudal society (e.g., has peasants, serf, or other unpaid workers, has a ruling class).

Match the level of power in a feudal society with a serf and/or a lord.

Individuals, governments, and businesses must analyze costs and benefits when making economic decisions. A costbenefit analysis consists of determining the potential costs and benefits of an action and then balancing the costs against the benefits.

Acknowledge that costs must be subtracted from benefits in an economic decision.

Identify a cost-benefit analysis as an example of a decision-making process.

Identify an example of governmental economic decision.

Identify an example of a business economic decision.

Compare the pros/benefit and cons/costs to a choice.

Identify a cost as something that is given up to obtain something else.

Identify a benefit as a gain that can be monetary or non- monetary

Identify an example of a personal economic decision.

Identify decisions about money and resources as economic decisions.

Engage in making a choice.

Engage in a simulated business.

Explain possible gains and losses for a decision (e.g., perform a costbenefit analysis).

Identify a possible gain or loss (good or bad consequence) for a decision (e.g., spend your money on candy, can’t buy lunch).

Match a possible gain or loss to a decision (e.g., don’t return your library book, get a fine).

Compare a historical photograph with a current photograph taken at the same location.

Identify historical items that are no longer commonly used.

Match the professions of historian or archaeologist with examples of their work.

The civilizations that developed in Greece and Rome had an enduring impact on later civilizations. This legacy includes governance and law, engineering and technology, art, and architecture, as well as literature and history. The Roman Empire also played an instrumental role in the spread of Christianity.

Acknowledge that ancient civilization refers specifically to the first settled and stable communities that became the basis for later states, nations, and empires.

Identify ancient civilizations on a timeline.

Identify physical characteristics of the local community using pictures or other representations (desert, mountains, bodies of water, forest).

Identify human features as the way humans have changed the physical characteristics of their region.

Identify examples of human features in the local community (buildings, roads, and parks).

Identify a community as people living together peacefully as a civilization.

Engage with items/images from present day that have been shaped by Roman or Grecian civilizations. (e.g. senate, democracy, farming tools and methods - crop rotation, Olympic games, concrete, marble, columns, and arches in building design, art - sculptures of people, roads, sewer system, Bible, cross, architecture, such as the White House, etc.

Engage with representations of the physical environment, possibly through tactile interaction with water, soil, sand, and rocks, and hot and cold air temperature, to connect with the idea of different earth surfaces.

The variability in the distribution of productive resources in the various regions of the world contributed to specialization, trade, and economic interdependence.

Identify interdependence using the example of trade of scarce resources across the globe.

Identify resources that may be scarce in specific regions.

Identify examples of products that originate in only one or two places on the globe.

Identify the local resources that people in different regions have abundant access to.

Acknowledge that people use natural resources to make products that can be used, traded, or sold.

Identify examples of natural resources (e.g., land, trees, minerals, oil, etc.).

Identify human labor, knowledge, and skills as productive resources.

Engage with manipulatives to map the origin and distribution of resources from around the world.

Identify the distributor of a product using the label.

Sort various items using the label to identify the origin of the product.

Engage with world maps.

Engage in a trade with a classmate or teacher.

Engage with examples of resources used in everyday life.

Identify examples of interdependence.

Determine the natural resource used in the production of a given product (e.g., trees used to produce a house).

Provide examples of production and producers (e.g., farmers produce food, miners mine ore used to produce metal).

The growth of cities and empires fostered the growth of markets. Market exchanges encouraged specialization and the transition from barter to monetary economies.

Identify that bartering was used more in our past historically and that today we primarily use a monetary exchange for goods and services. Identify that paper and coin money were not as readily available in our past history, but people had individual goods and services that could be used in trade within a barter economy.

Compare a local map of bank locations today with a map containing the bank locations in the same area in the 1800s or earlier.

Visit a local bank.

Sort images/locations of local banks vs. other markets (stores/businesses) where money might be exchanged.

Engage with images of money/currency.

Engage in a barter agreement with a friend or classmate.

Acknowledge that money is NOT used in a barter economy.

Identify a system of exchanging goods and services for other goods and services as a bartering economy.

Engage with the story of Jack and the Beanstalk (or other example) as an example of bartering.

Explain the transition from bartering to the use of money in a society.

Identify services that financial institutions provide.

Recognize financial institutions in the local community.

Describe the impact that Ancient Greece and Rome have had on later civilizations.

Identify key physical and human features of societies (e.g., houses, geography, laws, technology, buildings).

Identify the physical and human features of the local community.

The Roman Empire collapsed due to various internal and external factors (political, social, and economic) which led to the development of feudalism and the manorial system in the region. The fall of Rome and later invasions also allowed for the creation of new empires in the region.

Identify a social system in which people worked and fought for nobles, or lords, who gave them protection and land in return as feudalism.

Identify roles in the school (students, teachers, principal) or other community systems.

Engage with representations of people within the feudal system (e.g., serfs, lords and ladies, etc.)

Engage with representations of people in different roles within the community, including the school.

Describe the relationships between various social classes and the roles of the people within a feudal system (e.g., serfs, lords and ladies).

Identify the various social roles of people within the feudal system (e.g., serfs, lords and ladies, etc.).

Identify roles of people in a community (e.g., principal, teacher, peers).

The Mongols conquered much of Asia, which led to unified states in China and Korea. Mongol failure to conquer Japan allowed a feudal system to persist there.

Identify the group of people who lived in the Asian region of Mongolia and were mostly nomadic as the Mongols.

Visually show that the Mongols were united and created a large empire in Asia.

Identify Mongolia, China, Korea, and Japan on a map.

Identify Asia on a map.

Identify land (continents) and water (bodies of water) on a map.

Identify that groups of people fight to gain land occupied by other groups/cultures.

Identify that groups of people have cultural practices and lifestyles unique to their group.

Identify that locations where groups of people live are named (e.g., Mongols/Mongolia, Chinese/China, Japanese/ Japan, etc.).

Engage with representations of artifacts from the feudal era in Asia (e.g., scrolls, vases, tools, weaponry).

Engage with maps and globes.

Use a map to identify the parts of Asia that were conquered by the Mongols and those that were not.

Identify locations within Asia on a map (e.g., Mongolia, China, Korea, Japan).

Identify the location of Asia on a map.

Achievements in medicine, science, Mathematics, and geography by the Islamic civilization dominated most of the Mediterranean after the decline of the Roman Empire. These achievements were introduced into Western Europe as a result of the Muslim conquests, Crusades and trade, influencing the European Renaissance.

Acknowledge that Islam refers to both a civilization and religion that emerged in the Middle East.

Understand that as different groups, including the Islamic and Europeans, began to trade goods, ideas were also shared between the different cultures.

Identify an Islamic innovation/achievement in mathematics.

Identify an Islamic innovation/achievement in science.

Identify an Islamic innovation/achievement in medicine.

Identify an Islamic innovation/achievement in geography

Use a map to show a timeline of how the Islamic civilization spread over time.

Identify one or more areas on a map occupied by Islamic civilization over time.

Engage with a timeline.

Engage with representations of land and water (maps, globes).

Explain how Islamic innovations in mathematics, science, or medicine have changed over time.

State one way an Islamic achievement has changed over time.

Identify an achievement from the Islamic civilization.

The decline of feudalism, the rise of nationstates, and the Renaissance in Europe introduced revolutionary ideas, leading to cultural, scientific, and social changes.

Identify a renewed interest in Europe of the arts, literature, and politics as the Renaissance.

Identify cultural practices of class members and their families.

Identify the common practices and beliefs of a group of people as culture.

Show on a timeline that new inventions/technology led to new scientific discoveries over time after the decline of Feudalism.

Engage with images of art or listen to music from the Renaissance period.

Engage with scientific tools.

List multiple examples of cultural, scientific, or social changes over time.

Define Renaissance as rebirth or emerging change.

Identify cultural or social commonalities in a group of people or nation-states (e.g., language, religion, education, profession, political beliefs, interests, etc.).

The Reformation introduced changes in religion, including the emergence of Protestant faiths and a decline in the political power and social influence of the Roman Catholic Church.

Identify important ideas of Reformation thought (e.g., Martin Luther)

Acknowledge that leaders of the Reformation disagreed with the Roman Catholic Church on certain religious ideas/ practices.

Acknowledge that leaders of the Reformation criticized the wealth and power of the Roman Catholic Church.

Acknowledge that people of different religions may have different beliefs.

Identify the Roman Catholic Church as a political power during the Reformation.

Identify the social influence of the Roman Catholic Church.

Identify the Reformation as a split in the Roman Catholic Church.

Identify the emergence of Protestant faiths as an important event in the Reformation.

Identify or match images of symbols with corresponding religions.

Identify religion as a system of beliefs, faith, and worship.

Engage with images of symbols representative of major religions in Europe and the Middle East.

Explain how a change in ideas led to a split in religion (e.g., Protestant Church from the Roman Catholic Church).

Identify one difference between Protestant faiths and the Roman Catholic faith.

Provide an example of a religion.

Empires in Africa and Asia grew as commercial and cultural centers along trade routes.

Using a map, trace or point at possible trade routes connecting Asia, Africa, and Europe.

Locate Asia and Africa on a map.

List items traded among empires in Asia, Africa, and Europe (e.g., silk, spices, salt, tools, cloth, teas, sugar).

Share an example of a time a student engaged in a trade.

Engage with a shared story about traders traveling along the Silk Road.

Engage with representations of goods traded in Africa and Asia.

Engage with a map that shows both Africa and Asia.

Engage in a trade activity/simulation.

Explain how trade may lead to growth (e.g., growth in African and Asian empires).

Provide one reason why people would trade goods.

Identify an example of simple trade (e.g., trading chocolate milk for white milk).

The advent of the trans-Saharan slave trade had profound effects on both West and Central Africa and the receiving societies.

Identify an economic impact of slavery (e.g., rulers who sold slaves became wealthy).

Identify a social cause of slavery (e.g., debtors and prisoners of war often became slaves).

Acknowledge that many slaves died on their trip across the Sahara desert.

Identify the movement of slaves across the Sahara desert as the trans-Saharan slave trade.

Acknowledge that enslaved people were bought and sold across Africa.

Acknowledge that slaves were denied their freedom and were often treated poorly by their owners.

Engage with appropriate images of slavery from the trans- Saharan slave trade.

Locate the Sahara desert on a map.

Engage with images of the Sahara desert.

Explain the negative effects of slavery for societies (e.g., West and Central Africa).

Identify two characteristics of slavery (e.g., slaves were owned by people, loss of freedom, separated from family, harsh punishment, unfair treatment).

Identify examples of slavery.