The necessary skills and process for Tacoma Middle School students in the field of social studies are listed below. They are broken down into categories of Thinking and Learning, Communicating, Collaborating, and Producing. These skills and processes support the sort of understandings we expect to achieve in Tacoma. The categories are underlined and the skills and processes are listed below.
Thinking and Learning
Investigates historical and current issues, topics, and events
- Identify problems, patterns, trends, and changes
- Formulate questions to conduct inquiry
- Identify relevant or irrelevant information
Collect and Organize Information
- Access information using printed materials, primary sources, maps, and technology
- Conduct interviews
- Evaluate sources of information for reliability, relevance, and bias
- Records information and data in usable forms
Process and apply information
- Interpret and create timelines, charts, and graphs
- Distinguish between facts and interpretation
- Examine issues from multiple perspectives
- Form generalizations
- Recognize stereotypes in print, video, and other media
- Predict consequences to a variety of proposed solutions
Communicating
Use reading, writing, and oral language to learn and communicate about social studies
- Acquire and use developed vocabulary
- Articulate beliefs, feelings, and convictions on relevant issues
- Support/justify ideas
- Present to a variety of audiences
- Communicate various points of view
- Suspend judgment while listening to other viewpoints
Collaborating
Work in teams in a variety of roles
- Develop and use skills to perform in a team setting
- Set group goals, evaluate performance, and refine your work effort
Interact effectively with others
- Demonstrate appropriate behavior when working in a group setting
- How do the fundamental principles of the Constitution affect our daily lives?
- How do citizens participate to influence decisions in the American political system?
- How does the American democratic system compare to other systems of government?
- How has inclusive citizenship evolved?
- How does the United State Government protect its democratic system?
Societal needs are dependent upon availability and management of resources
- How does scarcity of resources for meeting wants and needs result in conflict?
- How do technology, transportation, and communication support and impact social, political, environmental, and economic systems?
- How do basic economic principles such as supply and demand operate within a society?