Common Planner
K–12 Standards

9-12

Other Washington Social Studies sets

Social Studies SkillsSSS

  • 1

    Uses critical reasoning skills to analyze and evaluate claims.SSS1

  • 2

    Uses inquiry-based researchSSS2

    1. 1

      Create compelling and supporting questions that focus on an idea, issue, or event.SSS2.1

    2. 2

      Evaluate the validity, reliability, and credibility of sources when researching an issue or event.SSS2.2

    3. 3

      Determine the kinds of sources and relevant information that are helpful, taking into consideration multiple points of view represented in the sources, the types of sources available, and the potential uses of the sources.SSS2.3

    4. 4

      Explain how supporting questions contribute to an inquiry and how, through engaging source work, new compelling and supporting questions emerge.SSS2.4

  • 3

    Deliberates public issues.SSS3

    1. 1

      Evaluate one’s own viewpoint and the viewpoints of others in the context of a discussion.SSS3.1

    2. 2

      Apply a range of deliberative and democratic strategies and procedures to make decisions and take action in their classrooms, school, or out-of-school civic context.SSS3.2

    3. 3

      Use appropriate deliberative processes in multiple settings. SSS3.3

    4. 4

      Analyze the impact and the appropriate roles of personal interests and perspectives on the application of civic virtues, democratic principles, constitutional rights, and human rights.SSS3.4

    5. 5

      Integrate evidence from multiple relevant historical sources and interpretations into a reasoned argument about the past and its relationship to the present.SSS3.5

    6. 6

      Assess options for individual and collective action to address local, regional, or global problems by engaging in self-reflection, strategy identification, and complex causal reasoning.SSS3.6

  • 4

    Creates a product that uses social studies content to support a claim and presents the product in an appropriate manner to a meaningful audience.SSS4

    1. 1

      Evaluate multiple reasons or factors to develop a position paper or presentation.SSS4.1

    2. 2

      Construct arguments using precise and knowledgeable claims, with evidence from multiple and reliable sources, while acknowledging counterclaims and evidentiary weaknesses.SSS4.2

    3. 3

      Present adaptations of arguments and explanations that feature evocative ideas and perspectives on issues and topics to reach a range of audiences and venues outside the classroom, using print and oral technologies (e.g., posters, essays, letters, debates, speeches, reports, and maps) and digital technologies (e.g. Internet, social media, and digital documentary).SSS4.3

    4. 4

      Create strategies to avoid plagiarism and respect intellectual property when developing a paper or presentation.SSS4.4

Critique the precision of a claim about an issue or event.SSS1.1

  • 1

    Critique the precision of a claim about an issue or event.SSS1.1

Critique the use of reasoning, sequencing, and details supporting the claim.SSS1.2

  • 2

    Critique the use of reasoning, sequencing, and details supporting the claim.SSS1.2

Explain points of agreement and disagree¬ment that experts have regarding interpretations of sources.SSS1.3

  • 3

    Explain points of agreement and disagree¬ment that experts have regarding interpretations of sources.SSS1.3

Gather relevant information from multiple sources representing a wide range of views while using the origin, authority, structure, context, and corroborative value of the sources to guide the selection.SSS1.4

  • 4

    Gather relevant information from multiple sources representing a wide range of views while using the origin, authority, structure, context, and corroborative value of the sources to guide the selection.SSS1.4

Explain the challenge and opportunities of addressing problems over place and time using disci¬plinary and interdisciplinary lenses.SSS1.5

  • 5

    Explain the challenge and opportunities of addressing problems over place and time using disci¬plinary and interdisciplinary lenses.SSS1.5

CivicsC

  • 1

    Understands key ideals and principles of the United States, including those in the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and other foundational documents.C1

    1. 1

      Analyze and evaluate the ideas and principles contained in the foundational documents of the United States, and explain how they influence the social and political system.C1.1

    2. 2

      Analyze the impact of constitutions, laws, treaties and international agreements on the maintenance of national and international order.C1.2

    3. 3

      Apply civic virtues and democratic principles when working with others.C1.3

  • 2

    Understands the purposes, organization, and function of governments, laws, and political systems.C2

    1. 1

      Explain how citizens and institutions address social and political problems at the local, state, tribal, national, and international level.C2.9-10.1

    2. 2

      Explain the origins, functions, and structure of government.C2.9-10.2

    3. 3

      Analyze citizens’ and institutions’ effectiveness in addressing social and political problems at the local, state, tribal, national and/or international level.C2.11-12.1

    4. 4

      Analyze the origins, functions, and structure of government with reference to the United States, Washington state, and tribal constitutions.C2.11-12.2

    5. 5

      Evaluate the effectiveness of the American system compared to international governmental systems.C3.11-12.3

    6. 6

      Evaluate the effectiveness of our system of checks and balances in limiting the power of government at the national, state, and local levels.C4.11-12.4

  • 3

    Understands the purposes and organization of tribal and international relationships and U.S. foreign policy.C3

    1. 1

      Analyze the impact of constitutions, laws, treaties, and international agreements on the maintenance of national and international order.C3.9-10.1

    2. 2

      Analyze relationships among governments, civil societies, and economic markets.C3.9-10.2

    3. 2

      Evaluate the impact of constitutions, laws, treaties, and international agreements on the maintenance of national and international order or disorder.C3.11-12.1

    4. 3

      Critique relationships among governments, civil societies, and economic markets.C3.11-12.2

    5. 4

      Evaluate the impact of international agreements on contemporary world issues.C3.11-12.4

    6. 5

      Evaluate the impact of international organizations on United States foreign policy.C3.11-12.4

  • 4

    Understands civic involvement.C4

    1. 1

      Use appropriate deliberative processes in multiple settings.C4.9-10.1

    2. 2

      Analyze how governments throughout history have or have not valued individual rights over the common good.C4.9-10.2

    3. 3

      Describe the impact and the appropriate roles of personal interests and perspectives on the application of civic virtues, democratic principles, constitutional rights, and human rights.C4.9-10.3

    4. 4

      Explain how social and political problems are addressed at the local, regional, state, tribal, national, and international level.C4.9-10.4

    5. 5

      Use appropriate deliberative processes in multiple settings.C4.11-12.1

    6. 6

      Analyze and evaluate ways of influencing local, state, and national governments and international organizations to establish or preserve individual rights and/or promote the common good.C4.11-12.2

    7. 7

      Evaluate the impact and the appropriate roles of personal interests and perspectives on the application of civic virtues, democratic principles, constitutional rights, and human rights.C4.11-12.3

    8. 8

      Evaluate citizens’ and institutions’ effectiveness in addressing social and political problems at the local, state, tribal, national, and/or international level.C4.11-12.4

EconomicsE

  • 1

    Understands that people have to make choices between wants and needs and evaluates the outcomes of those choices.E1

    1. 1

      Analyze how the costs and benefits of economic choices have shaped events in the world in the past and present.E1.9-10.1

    2. 2

      Analyze how choices made by individuals, firms, or governments are constrained by the resources to which they have access.E1.9-10.2

    3. 3

      Analyze how economic incentives influence choices that may result in policies with a range of costs and benefits for different groups in the United States.E1.11-12.1

    4. 4

      Assess the optimal level of a public service with the marginal costs and benefits of providing a service in the United States.E1.11-12.2

    5. 5

      Analyze how economic choices made by groups and individuals in the global economy can impose costs and provide benefits.E1.11-12.3

    6. 6

      Use marginal benefits and marginal costs to construct an argument for or against an approach or solution to an economic issue.E1.11-12.4

  • 2

    Understands how economic systems function.E2

    1. 1

      Explain how a variety of economies have shaped the production, distribution, and consumption of goods, services, and resources around the world in the past or present.E2.9-10.1

    2. 2

      Describe the effects of specialization, availability of resources, and technology on a variety of economies.E2.9-10.2

    3. 3

      Analyze how and why countries have specialized in the production of particular goods and services in the past or present.E2.9-10.3

    4. 4

      Analyze the relationship between the distribution of income and the allocation of resources in a variety of economies.E2.9-10.4

    5. 5

      Analyze how comparative advantage has affected the United States’ imports and exports in the past or present.E2.11-12.1

    6. 6

      Describe how imports are paid for by exports, savings, or borrowing in the United States.E2.11-12.2

    7. 7

      Describe how market outcomes, surpluses, and shortages are determined by buyers’ incomes and preferences, sellers’ production and price, and government policies in the United States.E2.11-12.3

    8. 8

      Evaluate the advantages, disadvantages, and stability of different economic systems for countries and groups of people, both short and long term.E2.11-12.4

    9. 9

      Evaluate the effects of specialization, availability of resources, and technology on a variety of economies.E2.11-12.5

    10. 10

      Evaluate the level of competition based on the introduction of new products, production methods, en¬try into the market, and the consumers’ knowledge of goods or services in a variety of economies.E2.11-12.6

    11. 11

      Evaluate the relationship between the distribution of income and the allocation of resources in a variety of economies.E2.11-12.7

  • 3

    Understands the government’s role in the economy.E3

    1. 1

      Analyze the costs and benefits of government trade policies from around the world in the past and present.E3.9-10.1

    2. 2

      Explain the role of government in advancing technology and investing in capital goods and human capital to increase economic growth and standards of living.E3.9-10.2

    3. 3

      Evaluate the role of the United States government in regulating a market economy in the past or present.E3.11-12.1

    4. 4

      Use data to explain the government’s influence on spending, production, and the money supply when economic conditions change.E3.11-12.2

    5. 5

      Describe how the United States government has established rules in which markets operate.E3.11-12.3

    6. 6

      Evaluate the selection of governmental fiscal and monetary policies by weighing the costs and benefits in a variety of economic conditions.E3.11-12.4

    7. 7

      Analyze the role of government in defining and enforcing property rights of a good or service.E3.11-12.5

  • 4

    Understands the economic issues and problems that all societies face.E4

    1. 1

      Evaluate how people across the world have addressed issues involved with the distribution of resources and sustainability.E4.9-10.1

    2. 2

      Analyze why specialization is used to help countries increase their overall economy, contribute to globalization, or solve economic challenges.E4.9-10.2

    3. 3

      Evaluate how people in the United States have addressed issues involved with the distribution of re-sources and sustainability.E4.11-12.1

    4. 4

      Evaluate how the standard of living changes when incentives, entitlement programs, or entrepreneurship is increased.E4.11-12.2

    5. 5

      Evaluate how individuals and different groups affect and are affected by the distribution of resources and sustainability.E4.11-12.3

    6. 6

      Analyze the role of comparative advantage in international trade of goods and services.E4.11-12.4

    7. 7

      Explain how current globalization trends and policies affect economic growth, labor markets, rights of citizens, the environment, and resource and income distribution in different nations.E4.11-12.5

    8. 8

      Use economic indicators to analyze the current and future state of an economy.E4.11-12.6

GeographyG

  • 1

    Understands the physical characteristics, cultural significance, and location of places, regions, and spatial patterns on the Earth’s surface.G1

    1. 1

      Define the characteristics of each of the major world regions.G1.9-10.1

    2. 2

      Explain the causes and effects of voluntary and involuntary migration in the world.G1.9-10.2

    3. 3

      Create maps that employ geospatial and related technologies to display and explain the spatial patterns of culture and environment.G1.9-10.3

    4. 4

      Explain relationships between the locations of places and regions, and their political, cultural, and economic dynamics, using maps, satellite images, photo¬graphs, and other representationsG1.9-10.4

    5. 5

      Analyze how differences in regions and spatial patterns have emerged in the United States from natural processes and human activities.G1.11-12.1

    6. 6

      Analyze interactions and conflicts between various cultures in the United States.G1.11-12.2

    7. 7

      Compare the causes and effects of voluntary and involuntary migration in the United States.G1.11-12.3

    8. 8

      Analyze information from geographic tools, including computer-based mapping systems, to draw conclusions about an issue or event.G1.11-12.4

    9. 9

      Evaluate the complexities of regions and the challenges involved in defining those regions.G1.11-12.5

    10. 10

      Assess the social, economic, and political factors affecting cultural interactions.G1.11-12.6

    11. 11

      Predict future opportunities and obstacles connected with international migration.G1.11-12.7

  • 2

    Understands human interaction with the environment.G2

    1. 1

      Analyze human interaction with the environment across the world in the past or present.G2.9-10.1

    2. 2

      Explain how humans modify the environment with technology.G2.9-10.2

    3. 3

      Explain that the environment is modified through agriculture, industry, settlement, lifestyles, and other forms of activity.G2.9-10.3

    4. 4

      Explain that humans cope with and adapt to environmental conditions.G2.9-10.4

    5. 5

      Evaluate human interaction with the environment in the United States in the past or present.G2.11-12.1

    6. 6

      Analyze how the United States balances protections of the environment and economic development.G2.11-12.2

    7. 7

      Evaluate the impact of human settlement activities on the environmental and cultural characteristics of specific places and regions.G2.11-12.3

    8. 8

      Evaluate how human interaction with the environment has affected economic growth and sustainability.G2.11-12.4

    9. 9

      Evaluate how technology can create environmental problems and solutions.G2.11-12.5

    10. 10

      Evaluate how political and economic decisions throughout time have influenced cultural and environmental characteristics of various places and regions.G2.11-12.6

    11. 11

      Evaluate current opportunities and obstacles connected with international migration.G2.11-12.7

  • 3

    Understands the geographic context of global issues and events.G3

    1. 1

      Define how the geography of expansion and encounter have shaped global politics and economics in history.G3.9-10.1

    2. 2

      Analyze the reciprocal nature of how historical events and the spatial diffusion of ideas, technologies, and cultural practices have influenced migration patterns and the distribution of human population.G3.9-10.2

    3. 3

      Evaluate the consequences of human-made and natural catastrophes on global trade, politics, and human migration.G3.9-10.3

    4. 4

      Evaluate elements of geography to trace the emergence of the United States as a global economic and political force in the past or present.G3.11-12.1

    5. 5

      Evaluate the impact of economic activities and political decisions on spatial patterns within and among urban, suburban, and rural regions in the United States.G3.11-12.2

    6. 6

      Analyze how the geography of globalization affects local diversity.G3.11-12.3

    7. 7

      Evaluate how changes in the environmental and cultural characteristics of a place or region influence spatial patterns of trade and land use.G3.11-12.4

    8. 8

      Evaluate how economic globalization and the expanding use of scarce resources contribute to conflict and cooperation within and among countries.G3.11-12.5

HistoryH

  • 1

    Understands historical chronology.H1

    1. 1

      Analyze change and continuity within a historical time period.H1.9-10.1

    2. 2

      Assess how historical events and developments were shaped by unique circumstances of time and place as well as broader historical contexts.H1.9-10.2

    3. 3

      Design questions generated about individuals and groups that assess how the significance of their actions changes over time.H1.9-10.3

    4. 4

      Evaluate how historical events and developments were shaped by unique circumstances of time and place as well as broader historical contexts.H1.11-12.1

    5. 5

      Design questions generated about individuals and groups that assess how the significance of their actions changes over time and is shaped by the historical context.H1.11-12.2

  • 2

    Understands and analyzes causal factors that have shaped major events in history.H2

    1. 1

      Analyze how individuals and movements have shaped world history (1450-present).H2.9-10.1

    2. 2

      Summarize how cultures and cultural and ethnic groups have shaped world history (1450-present).H2.9-10.2

    3. 3

      Define and evaluate how technology and ideas have shaped world history (1450-present).H2.9-10.3

    4. 4

      Analyze multiple and complex causes and effects of events in world history (1450-present).H2.9-10.4

    5. 5

      Analyze how technology and ideas have shaped United States history (1877-present).H2.11-12.1

    6. 6

      Distinguish between long-term causes and triggering events in developing a historical argument.H2.11-12.2

    7. 7

      Evaluate how individuals and movements have shaped contemporary world issues.H2.11-12.3

    8. 8

      Analyze how cultural identity can promote unity and division.H2.11-12.4

    9. 9

      Evaluate the ethics of current and future uses of technology based on how technology has shaped history.H2.11-12.5

  • 3

    Understands that there are multiple perspectives and interpretations of historical events.H3

    1. 1

      Analyze and interpret historical materials from a variety of perspectives in world history (1450-present).H3.9-10.1

    2. 2

      Analyze the multiple causal factors of conflicts in world history (1450-present) to create and support claims and counterclaims.H3.9-10.2

    3. 3

      Explain how the perspectives of people in the present shape interpretations of the past.H3.9-10.3

    4. 4

      Analyze how historical contexts shaped and continue to shape people’s perspectives.H3.11-12.1

    5. 5

      Analyze how historical contexts shaped and continue to shape people’s perspectives.H3.11-12.2

    6. 6

      Analyze the relationship between historical sources and the secondary interpretations made from them.H3.11-12.3

    7. 7

      Integrate evidence from multiple relevant historical sources and interpretations into a reasoned argument about the past to create claims and counterclaims.H3.11-12.4

    8. 8

      Evaluate how historical contexts shaped and continue to shape people’s perspectives.H3.11-12.5

    9. 9

      Evaluate the ways in which the perspectives of those writing history shaped the history that they produced.H3.11-12.6

    10. 10

      Analyze how current interpretations of the past are limited by the extent to which available historical sources represent perspectives of people at the time.H3.11-12.7

  • 4

    Understands how historical events inform analysis of contemporary issues and events.H4

    1. 1

      Examine and assess how an understanding of world history can explain that earlier events may cause later ones.H4.9-10.1

    2. 2

      Examine and evaluate in detail a series of e¬vents in United States’ history and explain how earlier events may also cause later ones.H4.11-12.1

    3. 3

      Evaluate claims about a current issue based on an analysis of history.H4.11-12.2

    4. 4

      Analyze how current events today are rooted in past events.H4.11-12.3

Frequently asked questions

What grade levels do these standards cover?
Grade 9, Grade 10, Grade 11, and Grade 12

Keep exploring

Keep exploring Social Studies standards

Sibling grade bands, other subjects in this jurisdiction, and the same subject across other states.