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Alabama Course of Study: Social Studies

K–12 Standards

Grade 12
Other Alabama Social Studies sets
Grade K
Kindergarten: Living and Working Together in Family and Community
Grade 1
Grade 1: Living and Working Together in Community and State
Grade 2
Grade 2: Living and Working Together in State and Nation
Grade 3
Grade 3: Alabama in American History and Government I: Geography and Settlement
Grade 4
Grade 4: Alabama in American History and Government II: Colonies to 1900
Grade 5
Grade 5: Alabama in American History and Government III: Twentieth Century to Present
Grade 6
Grade 6: Making A New Nation: United States Beginnings and Civic Foundations
Grade 7
Grade 7: World History and Geography: Geographic Principles and Ancient Civilizations
Grade 8
Grade 8: World History and Geography: Middle Ages to the Enlightenment
Alabama Studies
Contemporary World Issues
Grade 9
Grade 9: World History and Geography: Age of Revolution to Present
Historical Studies
Holocaust Studies
Human Geography
Psychology
Psychology Grade 9-12
Sociology
Grade 10
Grade 10: United States History I: Revolution to Progressive Era
Grade 11
Grade 11: United States History II: World War I to Present
Grade 12: Economics
Grade 12: United States Government
U.S. Government

United States Government

1.
Explain historical and philosophical origins that shaped the government of the United States, including the Magna Carta, the Petition of Rights, the English Bill of Rights, the Mayflower Compact, the Virginia Declaration of Rights, and the influence of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Charles de Montesquieu, Jean-Jaques Rousseau, and the Great Awakening.12.1
1. a.
  Comparing characteristics of limited and unlimited governments throughout the world, including constitutional, authoritarian, and totalitarian governments12.1.a
2.
Summarize the significance of the First and Second Continental Congresses, the Declaration of Independence, Shays' Rebellion, and the Articles of Confederation of 1781 on the writing and ratification of the Constitution of the United States of 1787 and the Bill of Rights of 1791.12.2
3.
Analyze major features of the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights for purposes, organization, functions, and principles, including rule of law, federalism, limited government, popular sovereignty, judicial review, separation of powers, and checks and balances.12.3
1. a.
  Explaining main ideas of the debate over ratification that included the Federalist papers12.3.a
2. b.
  Analyzing the Bill of Rights for its application to historical and current issues12.3.b
3. c.
  Outlining the formal process of amending the Constitution of the United States12.3.c
4.
Explain how the federal system of the United States divides powers between national and state governments.14.4
1. a.
  Summarizing obligations that the Constitution of the United States places on a nation for the benefit of the states, including admitting new states and cooperative federalism14.4.a
2. b.
  Evaluating the role of the national government in interstate relations14.4.b
5.
Compare specific functions, organizations, and purposes of local and state governments, including implementing fiscal and monetary policies, ensuring personal security, and regulating transportation.14.5
1. a.
  Analyzing the Constitution of Alabama of 1901 to determine its impact on local funding and campaign funding14.5.a
2. b.
  Describing the influence of special interest groups on state government14.5.b
6.
Analyze the expansion of suffrage for its effect on the political system of the United States, including suffrage for non-property owners, women, African Americans, and persons eighteen years of age.12.6
1. a.
  Describing implications of participation of large numbers of minorities and women in parties and campaigns12.6.a
2. b.
  Analyzing the black codes, the Jim Crow laws, and the Selma-to-Montgomery March for their impact on the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 196512.6.b
7.
Describe the process of local, state, and national elections, including the organization, role, and constituency of political parties.12.7
1. a.
  Explaining campaign funding and spending12.7.a
2. b.
  Evaluating the impact of reapportionment, redistricting, and voter turnout on elections12.7.b
8.
Describe functions and the development of special interest groups and campaign contributions by political action committees and their impact on state and national elections.12.8
1. •
  Analyzing rulings by the United States Supreme Court, including Buckley versus Valeo, regarding campaign financing to determine the effect on the election process12.8.a
9.
Trace the impact of the media on the political process and public opinion in the United States, including party press, penny press, print media, yellow journalism, radio, television, and electronic media.12.9
1. a.
  Describing regional differences in public opinion in the United States12.9.a
2. b.
  Analyzing television and electronic media for their impact on the election process and campaign spending from the John F. Kennedy-Richard M. Nixon debate to the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States12.9.b
3. c.
  Explaining the effect of attack advertisements on voter selection of candidates12.9.c
10.
Evaluate roles political parties play in the functioning of the political system of the United States.12.10
1. a.
  Describing the role of third-party candidates in political elections in the United States12.10.a
2. b.
  Explaining major characteristics of contemporary political parties in the United States, including the role of conventions, party leadership, formal and informal memberships, and regional strongholds12.10.b
3. c.
  Describing the influence of political parties on individuals and elected officials, including the development of party machines, rise of independent voters, and disillusionment with party systems12.10.c
11.
Evaluate constitutional provisions of the legislative branch of the government of the United States, including checks by the legislative branch on other branches of government.12..11
1. a.
  Comparing rules of operations and hierarchies of Congress, including roles of the Speaker of the House, the Senate President Pro Tempore, majority and minority leaders, and party whips12..11.a
2. b.
  Identifying the significance of Congressional committee structure and types of committees12..11.b
3. c.
  Tracing the legislative process, including types of votes and committee action, from a bill's presentation to presidential action12..11.c
12.
Evaluate constitutional provisions of the executive branch of the government of the United States, including checks by the executive branch on other branches of government and powers, duties as head of state and head of government, the electoral process, and the Twenty-fifth Amendment.12.12
1. a.
  Critiquing informal powers of the President of the United States, including press conferences, State of the Union addresses, total media access, head of party, and symbolic powers of the Oval Office12.12.a
2. b.
  Identifying the influence of White House staff on the President of the United States12.12.b
3. c.
  Ranking powers held by the President's Cabinet, including roles of Cabinet secretaries, appropriations by Congress, appointment and confirmation, and operation of organization12.12.c
4. d.
  Comparing diverse backgrounds, socioeconomic status, and levels of education of United States' presidents12.12.d
13.
Evaluate constitutional provisions of the judicial branch of government of the United States, including checks by the judicial branch on other branches of government, limits on judicial power, and the process by which cases are argued before the United States Supreme Court.12.13
1. a.
  Explaining the structure and jurisdiction of court systems of the United States, including lower courts and appellate courts12.13.a
2. b.
  Identifying the impact of landmark United States Supreme Court cases on constitutional interpretation12.13.b
3. c.
  Describing the shifting political balance of the court system, including the appointment process, the ideology of justices, influences on court decisions regarding executive and legislative opinion, public opinion, and the desire for impartiality12.13.c
4. d.
  Contrasting strict and loose constructionist views of the Constitution of the United States12.13.d
14.
Describe the role of citizens in American democracy, including the meaning, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship; due process and other rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States; and participation in the election process.12.14
1. a.
  Explaining how the balance between individual versus majority rule and state versus national authority is essential to the functioning of the American democratic society12.14.a
15.
Explain the role and consequences of domestic and foreign policy decisions, including scientific and technological advancements and humanitarian, cultural, economic, and political changes.12.15
1. a.
  Evaluating financial, political, and social costs of national security12.15.a

Economics

1.
Explain why productive resources are limited and why individuals, businesses, and governments have to make choices in order to meet needs and wants.ECON.1
1. a.
  Explaining scarcity as a basic condition that exists when unlimited wants exceed limited productive resourcesECON.1.a
2. b.
  Explaining land (an example of a natural resource), labor (an example of a human resource), capital (an example of a physical or human resource), and entrepreneurship to be the factors of productionECON.1.b
3. c.
  Explaining opportunity cost as the next best alternative to relinquish when individuals, businesses, and governments confront scarcity by making choicesECON.1.c
2.
Explain how rational decision making entails comparing additional costs of alternatives to additional benefits.ECON.2
1. a.
  Illustrating on a production-possibilities curve how rational decision making involves trade-offs between two optionsECON.2.a
2. b.
  Explaining rational decision making as the comparison between marginal benefits and marginal costs of an actionECON.2.b
3.
Describe different economic systems used to allocate scarce goods and services.ECON.3
1. a.
  Defining command, market, and mixed economic systemsECON.3.a
2. b.
  Describing how different economic systems answer the three basic economic questions of what to produce, how to produce, and for whom to produceECON.3.b
3. c.
  Evaluating how each type of system addresses private ownership, profit motive, consumer sovereignty, competition, and government regulationECON.3.c
4.
Describe the role of government in a market economy, including promoting and securing competition, protecting private property rights, promoting equity, providing public goods and services, resolving externalities and other market failures, and stabilizing growth in the economy.ECON.4
1. a.
  Explaining how government regulation and deregulation policies affect consumers and producersECON.4.a
5.
Explain that a country's standard of living depends upon its ability to produce goods and services.ECON.5
1. a.
  Explaining productivity as the amount of outputs, or goods and services, produced from inputs, or factors of productionECON.5.a
2. b.
  Describing how investments in factories, equipment, education, new technology, training, and health improve economic growth and living standardsECON.5.b
6.
Describe how specialization and voluntary exchange between buyers and sellers lead to mutually beneficial outcomes.ECON.6
1. a.
  Illustrating on a circular-flow diagram the product market; the factor market; the real flow of goods and services between and among businesses, households, and government; and the flow of moneyECON.6.a
2. b.
  Constructing examples of specialization and exchangeECON.6.b
3. c.
  Illustrating on a table and graph the law of supply and demandECON.6.c
4. d.
  Describing the role of buyers and sellers in determining market clearing priceECON.6.d
5. e.
  Illustrating on a table and graph how supply and demand determine equilibrium price and quantityECON.6.e
6. f.
  Illustrating on a graph of supply and demand how price movements eliminate shortages and surplusesECON.6.f
7. g.
  Illustrating on a graph how different factors cause changes in a market supply and demandECON.6.g
8. h.
  Explaining how prices serve as incentives in a market economyECON.6.h
7.
Describe the organization and role of business.ECON.7
1. a.
  Comparing types of business firms, including sole proprietorships, partnerships, and corporationsECON.7.a
2. b.
  Explaining the role of profit as an incentive, including short-term versus long-run decisions, for all firmsECON.7.b
3. c.
  Describing basic characteristics of pure competition, monopoly, monopolistic competition, and oligopolyECON.7.c
4. d.
  Explaining ways firms finance operations, including retained earnings, stocks, and debt, and the advantages and disadvantages of eachECON.7.d
5. e.
  Explaining ways firms engage in price and nonprice competitionECON.7.e
6. f.
  Recognizing the role of economic institutions, including labor unions and nonprofit organizations, in market economiesECON.7.f
8.
Explain the impact of the labor market on the United States' economy.ECON.8
1. a.
  Identifying regional characteristics of the labor force of the United States, including gender, race, socioeconomic background, education, age, and regional specializationECON.8.a
2. b.
  Explaining how supply of and demand for labor affect wagesECON.8.b
3. c.
  Describing characteristics that are most likely to increase wage and nonwage benefits, including skill, productivity, education, occupation, and mobilityECON.8.c
4. d.
  Explaining how unemployment and inflation impose costs on individuals and nationsECON.8.d
5. e.
  Determining the relationship of Alabama and the United States to the global economy regarding current technological innovations and industriesECON.8.e
6. f.
  Tracing the history of labor unions and methods of contract negotiation by labor and managementECON.8.f
9.
Describe methods used to measure overall economic activity, including the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the Consumer Price Index (CPI), inflation, and unemployment.ECON.9
1. a.
  Explaining how overall levels of income, employment, and prices are determined by spending decisions of households, businesses, and government; net exports in the short run; and production decisions of firms and technology in the long runECON.9.a
2. b.
  Identifying structural, cyclical, and frictional unemploymentECON.9.b
3. c.
  Describing stages of the business cycle and how employment and inflation change during those stagesECON.9.c
10.
Explain the structure, role, and functions of the United States Federal Reserve System.ECON.10
1. a.
  Describing how the United States Federal Reserve System oversees the banking system and regulates the quantity of money in the economyECON.10.a
2. b.
  Defining monetary policyECON.10.b
3. c.
  Describing how the central bank uses its tools of monetary policy to promote price stability, full employment, and economic growthECON.10.c
11.
Explain how the government uses fiscal policy to promote the economic goals of price stability, full employment, and economic growth.ECON.11
1. a.
  Defining fiscal policy and the use of taxation and government purchasesECON.11.a
2. b.
  Comparing government deficits and the national debtECON.11.b
12.
Explain why individuals, businesses, and governments trade goods and services in the global economy.ECON.12
1. a.
  Defining absolute advantage and comparative advantageECON.12.a
2. b.
  Explaining how gains from trade, whether between two individuals or two countries, are based on the principle of comparative advantageECON.12.b
3. c.
  Defining exchange ratesECON.12.c
4. d.
  Explaining how changes in exchange rates impact purchasing powers of individuals and businessesECON.12.d
5. e.
  Explaining tariffs, quotas, embargoes, standards, and subsidies as trade barriersECON.12.e
6. f.
  Explaining why countries sometimes impose trade barriers and sometimes advocate free tradeECON.12.f

Psychology

1.
Trace the development of psychology as a scientific discipline evolving from other fields of study.PSYCH.1
1. a.
  Describing early psychological and biological inquiries that led to contemporary approaches and methods of experimentation, including ideologies of Aristotle, John Locke, Wilhelm Wundt, Charles Darwin, William James, Frantz Fanon, and G. Stanley HallPSYCH.1.a
2. b.
  Differentiating among various modern schools of thought and perspectives in psychology that have evolved since 1879, including each school's view on concepts of aggression or appetitePSYCH.1.b
3. c.
  Illustrating how modern psychologists utilize multiple perspectives to understand behavior and mental processesPSYCH.1.c
4. d.
  Identifying major subfields and career opportunities related to psychologyPSYCH.1.d
2.
Describe research strategies used by psychologists to explore mental processes and behavior.PSYCH.2
1. a.
  Describing the type of methodology and strategies used by researchers in different psychological studiesPSYCH.2.a
2. b.
  Contrasting independent, dependent, and confounding variables and control and experimental groupsPSYCH.2.b
3. c.
  Identifying systematic procedures necessary for conducting an experiment and improving the validity of resultsPSYCH.2.c
4. d.
  Describing the use of statistics in evaluating research, including calculating the mean, median, and mode from a set of data; conducting a simple correlational analysis using either calculators or computer software; and explaining the meaning of statistical significancePSYCH.2.d
3.
Explain how processes of the central and peripheral nervous systems underlie behavior and mental processes, including how neurons are the basis for neural communication.PSYCH.3
1. a.
  Describing how neurons communicate, including the role of neurotransmitters in behavior and the electrochemical processPSYCH.3.a
2. b.
  Comparing the effect of drugs and toxins on the brain and neurotransmittersPSYCH.3.b
3. c.
  Describing how different sections of the brain have specialized yet interdependent functions, including functions of different lobes and hemispheres of the cerebral cortex and consequences of damage to specific sections of the brainPSYCH.3.c
4. d.
  Describing different technologies used to study the brain and nervous systemPSYCH.3.d
5. e.
  Analyzing behavior genetics for its contribution to the understanding of behavior and mental processes, including differentiating between deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), chromosomes, and genes; identifying effects of chromosomal abnormalities; and explaining how genetics and environmental factors work together to determine inherited traitsPSYCH.3.e
4.
Describe the interconnected processes of sensation and perception.PSYCH.4
1. a.
  Explaining the role of sensory systems in human behavior, including sight, sound, smell, touch, and painPSYCH.4.a
2. b.
  Explaining how what is perceived can be different from what is sensed, including how attention and environmental cues can affect the ability to accurately sense and perceive the worldPSYCH.4.b
3. c.
  Describing the role of Gestalt principles and concepts in perceptionPSYCH.4.c
5.
Explain ways to promote psychological wellness.PSYCH.5
1. a.
  Describing physiological processes associated with stress, including hormones associated with stress responsesPSYCH.5.a
2. b.
  Describing Hans Selye's general adaptation syndrome (GAS)PSYCH.5.b
3. c.
  Describing the flight-or-fight response in terms of the autonomic and somatic nervous systemsPSYCH.5.c
4. d.
  Contrasting positive and negative ways of coping with stress related to problem-focused coping, aggression, and emotion-focused copingPSYCH.5.d
5. e.
  Explaining approach-approach, approach-avoidance, and avoidance-avoidance conflictsPSYCH.5.e
6. f.
  Identifying various eating disorders and conditionsPSYCH.5.f
6.
Describe the physical, cognitive, and social development across the life span of a person from the prenatal through aging stages.PSYCH.6
1. a.
  Outlining the stage-of-development theories of Jean Piaget, Erik H. Erikson, Sigmund Freud, Carol Gilligan, and Lawrence KohlbergPSYCH.6.a
7.
Describe the processes and importance of memory, including how information is encoded and stored, mnemonic devices, schemas related to short-term memory, working memory, and long-term memory.PSYCH.7
1. a.
  Distinguishing between surface and deep processing in memory developmentPSYCH.7.a
2. b.
  Comparing ways memories are stored in the brain, including episodic and proceduralPSYCH.7.b
3. c.
  Identifying different parts of the brain that store memoryPSYCH.7.c
4. d.
  Differentiating among different types of amnesiaPSYCH.7.d
5. e.
  Describing how information is retrieved from memoryPSYCH.7.e
6. f.
  Explaining how memories can be reconstructed and misrememberedPSYCH.7.f
8.
Describe ways in which organisms learn, including the processes of classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational conditioning.PSYCH.8
1. a.
  Identifying unconditioned stimuli (UCS), conditioned stimuli (CS), unconditioned responses (UCR), and conditioned responses (CR)PSYCH.8.a
2. b.
  Describing the law of effectPSYCH.8.b
3. c.
  Describing original experiments conducted by B. F. Skinner, Albert Bandura, Ivan Pavlov, John B. Watson, and Rosalie RaynerPSYCH.8.c
4. d.
  Differentiating between reinforcement and punishment, positive and negative reinforcement, and various schedules of reinforcementPSYCH.8.d
5. e.
  Describing biological limitations on operantly conditioned learningPSYCH.8.e
6. f.
  Differentiating between observational learning and modelingPSYCH.8.f
7. g.
  Analyzing watching violent media for effects on violent behaviorPSYCH.8.g
9.
Describe how organisms think and solve problems, including processes involved in accurate thinking.PSYCH.9
1. a.
  Identifying the role of mental images and verbal symbols in the thought processPSYCH.9.a
2. b.
  Explaining how concepts are formedPSYCH.9.b
3. c.
  Differentiating between algorithms and heuristicsPSYCH.9.c
4. d.
  Analyzing different types of heuristics to determine effects on problem solvingPSYCH.9.d
10.
Describe the qualities and development of language.PSYCH.10
1. a.
  Identifying common phonemes and morphemes of languagePSYCH.10.a
2. b.
  Describing how understanding syntax and grammar affect language comprehensionPSYCH.10.b
3. c.
  Demonstrating how qualities of sign language are similar to spoken languagePSYCH.10.c
4. d.
  Describing how infants move from babbling to usage of complete sentencesPSYCH.10.d
5. e.
  Explaining how hearing loss in infants and children can affect the development of spoken languagePSYCH.10.e
11.
Compare various states of consciousness evident in human behavior, including the process of sleeping and dreaming.PSYCH.11
1. a.
  Explaining states of sleep throughout an average night's sleep, including nonrapid eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye movement (REM)PSYCH.11.a
2. b.
  Describing the mechanism of the circadian rhythmPSYCH.11.b
3. c.
  Evaluating the importance of sleep to good performancePSYCH.11.c
4. d.
  Comparing theories regarding the use and meaning of dreamsPSYCH.11.d
5. e.
  Analyzing the use of psychoactive drugs for effects on people, including the mechanisms of addiction, withdrawal, and tolerancePSYCH.11.e
6. f.
  Evaluating the phenomenon of hypnosis and its possible usesPSYCH.11.f
12.
Describe the role of motivation and emotion in human behavior.PSYCH.12
1. a.
  Identifying theories that explain motivational processes, including cognitive, biological, and psychological reasons for motivational behavior, and Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs and arousal theoryPSYCH.12.a
2. b.
  Describing situational cues that cause emotions, including anger, curiosity, and anxietyPSYCH.12.b
3. c.
  Differentiating among theories of emotionPSYCH.12.c
4. d.
  Identifying universally recognized emotionsPSYCH.12.d
13.
Describe methods of assessing individual differences and theories of intelligence, including Charles E. Spearman's general (g) factor of intelligence, Howard Gardner's multiple intelligences, and Robert J. Sternberg's triarchic theory of intelligence.PSYCH.13
1. a.
  Describing different types of intelligence tests, including the Flynn effectPSYCH.13.a
2. b.
  Describing how intelligence may be influenced by differences in heredity and environment and by biases toward ethnic minority and socioeconomic groupsPSYCH.13.b
14.
Explain the role of personality development in human behavior.PSYCH.14
1. a.
  Differentiating among personality theories, including psychoanalytic, sociocognitive, trait, and humanistic theories of personalityPSYCH.14.a
2. b.
  Describing different measures of personality, including the Neuroticism-Extroversion-Openness Personality Inventory (NEO-PI), the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), and projective testsPSYCH.14.b
15.
Describe major psychological disorders and their treatments.PSYCH.15
1. a.
  Differentiating between normal and abnormal behaviorPSYCH.15.a
2. b.
  Describing different approaches for explaining mental illness, including biological and medical, cognitive, and sociocultural modelsPSYCH.15.b
3. c.
  Differentiating types of mental illness, including mood, anxiety, somatoform, schizophrenic, dissociative, and personality disordersPSYCH.15.c
16.
Describe how attitudes, conditions of obedience and conformity, and other influences affect actions and shape human behavior, including actor-observer, self-server, social facilitation, social loafing, bystander effect, groupthink, and group polarization.PSYCH.16
1. a.
  Explaining the fundamental attribution errorPSYCH.16.a
2. b.
  Critiquing Stanley Milgram's work with obedience and S. E. Asch's work with conformityPSYCH.16.b
17.
Describe various careers pursued by psychologists, including medical and mental health care fields, the business world, education, law and criminal justice, and research.PSYCH.17
18.
Explain how culture and gender influence behavior.PSYCH.18
1. a.
  Identifying gender differences and similaritiesPSYCH.18.a
2. b.
  Explaining ways in which gender differences are developedPSYCH.18.b
3. c.
  Describing ways in which gender roles are assigned in different culturesPSYCH.18.c

Sociology

1.
Describe the development of sociology as a social science field of study.SOC.1
1. a.
  Identifying important figures in the field of sociology, including Karl Marx, Émile Durkheim, Max Weber, George Herbert Mead, and W. E. B. Du BoisSOC.1.a
2. b.
  Identifying characteristics of sociology, including functional integration, power, social action, social structure, and cultureSOC.1.b
2.
Explain methods and tools of research used by sociologists to study human society, including surveys, polls, statistics, demographic information, case studies, participant observations, and program evaluations.SOC.2
1. a.
  Differentiating between qualitative and quantitative research methodsSOC.2.a
3.
Describe how values and norms influence individual behavior.SOC.3
1. a.
  Comparing ways in which cultures differ, change, and resist change, including countercultures, subcultures, and ethnocentric beliefsSOC.3.a
2. b.
  Comparing the use of various symbols within and across societiesSOC.3.b
3. d.
  Explaining the significance of socialization in human developmentSOC.3.d
4. e.
  Illustrating key concepts of socialization, including self-concept, looking-glass self, significant others, and role-takingSOC.3.e
5. f.
  Determining the role of family, school, peer groups, and the media in socializing young peopleSOC.3.f
6. g.
  Explaining the process of socialization in adulthoodSOC.3.g
4.
Identify antisocial behaviors, including social deviance, addiction, terrorism, anomie, and related arguments for the strain theory and the conflict theory.SOC.4
1. a.
  Contrasting violent crime, property crime, and victimless crime with white-collar crimeSOC.4.a
2. b.
  Comparing methods for dealing with antisocial behavior, including imprisonment, restitution, community service, rehabilitation, education, and therapySOC.4.b
5.
Describe how environment and genetics affect personality, including self-concept and temperament.SOC.5
6.
Identify stages of development across the life cycle, including birth, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, parenthood, middle age, and late adulthood.SOC.6
1. a.
  Describing the value of birth cohorts as a research deviceSOC.6.a
7.
Describe types and characteristics of groups.SOC.7
1. a.
  Explaining the relationship between social stratification and social class, including status ascription versus achievement, intergenerational social mobility, and structural occupational changeSOC.7.a
2. b.
  Relating the importance of group dynamics, including size, leadership, decision making, and gender rolesSOC.7.b
3. c.
  Distinguishing between the terms, race and ethnicity and prejudice and discriminationSOC.7.c
4. d.
  Describing social inequalities experienced as related to gender and ageSOC.7.d
8.
Describe the structure and function of the family unit, including traditional, extended, nuclear, single-parent, and blended families involving the roles of parent, child, and spouse.SOC.8
1. a.
  Identifying problems facing families, including abuse, divorce, teen pregnancy, poverty, addiction, family violence, and care of elderly family membersSOC.8.a
9.
Explain the purpose of social systems and institutions, including schools, churches, voluntary associations, and governments.SOC.9
1. a.
  Describing origins and beliefs of various religionsSOC.9.a
2. b.
  Distinguishing among the concepts of power, coercion, and authoritySOC.9.b
3. c.
  Comparing charismatic, traditional, and rational-legal authoritySOC.9.c
10.
Describe social movement and social change.SOC.10
1. a.
  Comparing various forms of collective behavior, including mobs, riots, fads, and crowdsSOC.10.a
2. b.
  Identifying major ethical and social issues facing modern societySOC.10.b
3. c.
  Explaining the impact of the modern Civil Rights Movement, the women's movement, the gun rights movement, the green movement, and other minority movements in the United StatesSOC.10.c
11.
Contrast population patterns using the birth rate, death rate, migration rate, and dependency rate.SOC.11
1. a.
  Identifying the impact of urbanization on human social patternsSOC.11.a
2. b.
  Analyzing factors that affect the depletion of natural resources for their impact on social and economic developmentSOC.11.b
3. c.
  Projecting future population patternsSOC.11.c

Contemporary World Issues and Civic Engagement

1.
Describe current news stories from various perspectives, including geographical, historical, political, social, and cultural.CW.1
1. a.
  Evaluating the impact of current news stories on the individual and on local, state, national, and international communitiesCW.1.a
2. b.
  Comparing current news stories to related past eventsCW.1.b
3. c.
  Analyzing news stories for implications regarding nations of the worldCW.1.c
4. d.
  Locating on a map areas affected by events described in news storiesCW.1.d
5. e.
  Interpreting statistical data related to political, social, and economic issues in current eventsCW.1.e
2.
Compare the relationship of governments and economies to events occurring in specific nations.CW.2
1. a.
  Identifying recurring historical patterns in regions around the worldCW.2.a
2. b.
  Describing costs and benefits of trade among nations in an interdependent worldCW.2.b
3. c.
  Comparing ways different countries address individual and national economic and social problems, including child care, tax rates, economic regulations, health care, national debt, and unemploymentCW.2.c
3.
Compare civic responsibilities, individual rights, opportunities, and privileges of citizens of the United States to those of citizens of other nations.CW.3
4.
Analyze scientific and technological changes for their impact on the United States and the world.CW.4
5.
Analyze cultural elements, including language, art, music, literature, and belief systems, to determine how they facilitate global understanding or misunderstanding.CW.5
6.
Compare information presented through various media, including television, newspapers, magazines, journals, and the Internet.CW.6
1. a.
  Explaining the reliability of news stories and their sourcesCW.6.a
2. b.
  Describing the use, misuse, and meaning of different media materials, including photographs, artwork, and film clipsCW.6.b
3. c.
  Critiquing viewpoints presented in editorial writing and political cartoons, including the use of symbols that represent viewpointsCW.6.c
4. d.
  Describing the role of intentional and unintentional bias and flawed samplingsCW.6.d
7.
Identify strategies that facilitate public discussion on societal issues, including debating various positions, using a deliberative process, blogging, and presenting public forums.CW.7
8.
Organize a service-learning project, including research and implementation, that addresses an identified community or global issue having an impact on the quality of life of individuals and groups.CW.8

Human Geography

1.
Describe spatial patterns of world populations to discern major clusters of population density and reasons for these patterns.HG.1
2.
Identify world migration patterns caused by displacement issues.HG.2
1. a.
  Explaining how Southeast Asian ethnic minorities, including Hmong, Lhasa, and Akha, adapt to life in the United StatesHG.2.a
2. b.
  Tracing the migration of ethnic minorities in Kunming to urban cities in ChinaHG.2.b
3. c.
  Explaining how the displacement of American Indians to reservations affected many areas of the United States, including AlabamaHG.2.c
3.
Identify the characteristics, distribution, and complexity of Earth's cultural mosaics.HG.3
1. a.
  Explaining essential aspects of culture, including social structure, languages, belief systems, customs, religion, traditions, art, food, architecture, and technologyHG.3.a
4.
Describe elements of the landscape as a mirror of culture.HG.4
1. a.
  Explaining how landscapes reflect cultural traits and preferencesHG.4.a
2. b.
  Distinguishing various types of architecture, including rural, urban, and religious structuresHG.4.b
5.
Compare the geographic distribution of linguistic features around the world.HG.5
1. a.
  Identifying the world's most widely spoken languagesHG.5.a
2. b.
  Describing how linguistic diversity creates cultural conflictHG.5.b
6.
Explain how religion influences cultures around the globe.HG.6
1. a.
  Identifying major religions, their source areas, and spatial expansionHG.6.a
2. b.
  Interpreting different ceremonies based on religious traditions, including marriages, funerals, and coming-of-ageHG.6.b
3. c.
  Describing how religion influences political views around the worldHG.6.c
7.
Describe patterns of settlement in different regions of the world.HG.7
8.
Analyze the interaction of urban places for their impact on surrounding regions.HG.8
1. a.
  Describing urban hinterlandsHG.8.a
2. b.
  Explaining dimensions of urban sprawlHG.8.b
9.
Explain how economic interdependence and globalization impact many countries and their populations.HG.9
1. a.
  Tracing the flow of commodities from one region to anotherHG.9.a
2. b.
  Comparing advantages and disadvantages of global trade agreementsHG.9.b
10.
Recognize how human-environmental interaction affects culture in today's society.HG.10
11.
Interpret human geography as it relates to gender.HG.11
1. a.
  Contrasting roles of men and women around the worldHG.11.a
2. b.
  Describing ways the diffusion of ideas affects gender roles within societiesHG.11.b
12.
Distinguish among cultural health patterns around the world.HG.12
1. a.
  Comparing dietary trends in Africa, Asia, the United States, Europe, and South AmericaHG.12.a
2. b.
  Tracing disease prevalence and efficiency of treatment around the world, including malaria, dengue fever, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), parasites, and obesityHG.12.b
13.
Critique music, art, and dance as vehicles for understanding world cultures.HG.13
1. a.
  Categorizing musical instruments as a means to understanding culture, including the didgeridoo in the aboriginal culture in AustraliaHG.13.a
2. b.
  Identifying music genres and dance styles around the worldHG.13.b
3. c.
  Explaining how culture from various countries is expressed through adornmentsHG.13.c
4. d.
  Relating artwork and artists to historyHG.13.d
14.
Describe how tourism shapes cultural traditions and population growth.HG.14
1. a.
  Explaining how regions become major business centers of tourism and trade, including the cities of Dubai, Bangkok, New York, and ShanghaiHG.14.a
2. b.
  Identifying how trends, including ecotourism and the cruise industry, affect island culture in tropical areasHG.14.b

Frequently asked questions

What grade levels do these standards cover?: Grade 12
When were these standards adopted?: 2013
Where can I read the official document?: Alabama Course of Study: Social Studies

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