Study Guide

Overview and Test Objectives
Field 084: Social Studies (Secondary)

Test Overview

*Does not include 15-minute CBT tutorial

Test Objectives

Hover over each subarea for details of subtest content or see table above.

Sub area 1 10%, Sub area 2 18%, Sub area 3 18%, Sub area 4 18%, Sub area 5 13%, Sub area 5 13%, and Sub area 7 10%.

Subarea I1—HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES

Objective 001—Understand historical concepts and terms.

Includes:

• basic historical terms and concepts (e.g., time, chronology, change and continuity, periodization, city-state, civilization, empire)
• interpretation of time lines and the identification of chronological relationships between major events and developments in Michigan, U.S., and world history
• relationships between historical events and the implications and long-term consequences of major historical decisions
• instructional strategies and resources for promoting the acquisition of historical knowledge, applying techniques for assessing student understanding of history, and utilizing knowledge of professional standards and technology in history instruction

Objective 002—Understand historical sources of information and perspectives.

Includes:

• differences between primary and secondary sources of historical information
• major features of print and electronic reference sources used in historical research (e.g., almanacs, encyclopedias, bibliographies, periodical guides, biographical dictionaries, maps)
• uses and limitations of various historical source materials (e.g., oral histories, newspapers, diaries, artifacts, tax lists, census data, personal correspondence, materials accessed through information technology)
• multiple historical interpretations of the past, the impact of major theories and interpretive frameworks that shape history, and the biases that these theories and frameworks might present
• evaluation of major historical issues and events from diverse perspectives (e.g., regional, interregional, global, racial, ethnic, social class, gender)

 

Subarea II2—WORLD HISTORY

Objective 003—Understand major events and developments in world history during Era 1, the beginnings of human society to 4000 BCE; Era 2, early civilizations and cultures and the emergence of pastoral peoples, 4000 to 1000 BCE; Era 3, classical traditions, world religions, and major empires, 1000 BCE to 300 CE; and Era 4, expanding and intensified hemispheric interactions, 300 to 1500 CE.

Includes:

• the Neolithic Revolution and the beginnings of human society (e.g., the growth of agriculture, the domestication of animals, economic specialization, political organization, the emergence of towns)
• the development of early civilizations in Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, China, and the Americas
• major population movements and commercial and cultural interactions within and between Eurasia, Africa, and the Americas
• the evolution, characteristics, and contributions of ancient Greek and Roman civilizations
• the development of major civilizations and empires in Asia (e.g., Persia, the Mauryan Empire, the Han dynasty), Africa (e.g., Kush, the Sudanic kingdoms), and the Americas (e.g., Olmec culture, Mayan civilization)
• principal beliefs, sacred texts, and the historical development and spread of Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam
• geographic, social, political, economic, and cultural characteristics of the Byzantine Empire and Islamic civilization
• the development of Europe (e.g., the decline of the Roman Empire, the emergence of feudalism, the role of the Catholic Church, the Crusades, the Black Death, the Hundred Years' War)
• origins, significant individuals, and major consequences of the European Renaissance

Objective 004—Understand major events and developments in world history during Era 5, the emergence of the first global age, fifteenth to eighteenth centuries CE; and Era 6, an age of global revolutions, eighteenth century to 1914 CE.

Includes:

• causes and consequences of the Protestant Reformation (e.g., the role of leading reformers, the response of the Catholic Church, the religious wars of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the Spanish Inquisition)
• the civilizations created by the Aztec and Inca during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries CE
• European expansion (e.g., geopolitical effects, changes in the global system of trade, the Columbian exchange, the rise of transatlantic slave systems, the demographic and environmental consequences of European oceanic travel and conquest)
• diverging paths in East Asia (e.g., the Ming and Qing dynasties in China, the Warring States and Tokugawa era in Japan)
• major events and developments in the Islamic world (e.g., the rise and decline of the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal Empires)
• the Scientific Revolution, the European Enlightenment, and their influence on the development of the modern world
• causes, major events, and consequences of the American Revolution, the French Revolution, and the Latin American wars of independence
• the emergence, spread, and results of industrialization in Europe (e.g., major technological innovations, migration and population change, the growth of urban centers, the transformation of social relations, the environmental effects of industrialization)
• political developments, reform movements, and military conflicts in Europe and East Asia (e.g., the Napoleonic Wars, the revolutions of 1848, the rise of nationalism and socialism, Italian and German unification, the Meiji Restoration, the Boxer Rebellion, the Russo-Japanese War, the Chinese Revolution of 1911)
• the growth of European imperialism and its consequences for Europe and the world (e.g., motives for the pursuit of colonial empires, encounters between imperial powers, imperialism and the social construction of race, Asian and African responses to imperialism by Asian and African cultures, the effect of imperialism on colonized populations)

Objective 005—Understand major events and developments in world history during Era 7, global crisis and achievement, 1900 to 1945 CE.

Includes:

• origins, major events, and consequences of World War I (e.g., the prewar alliance system, nationalist tensions in the Balkans, major battles of the war, the role of technology in warfare, the Russian Revolution, the Treaty of Versailles, the decline of the Ottoman Empire)
• changes in the global balance of power; and causes and consequences of the emergence of totalitarian and authoritarian regimes in Russia, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Japan
• economic, social, and political transformations in Africa, Asia, and Latin America (e.g., the Chinese Revolution of 1911; conflict between the Nationalists and Communists; the rise of nationalist movements in India, Africa, and Southeast Asia; the Mexican Revolution; challenges to democratic governments in Latin America)
• origins, major events, and consequences of World War II (e.g., major turning points and unique characteristics of the war, the role of technology in warfare, the Holocaust, the use of the atom bomb, the Nuremberg war crimes tribunals, the emergence of the United States and Soviet Union as global superpowers)

Objective 006—Understand major events and developments in world history during Era 8, the Cold War and its aftermath, twentieth century since 1945 CE.

Includes:

• causes, major events, and consequences of the Cold War (e.g., U.S.-Soviet differences concerning Eastern Europe, ideological confrontation, major Cold War conflicts, the nuclear arms race, détente, the collapse of the Soviet Union)
• major events, developments, and issues related to the process of decolonization in postwar Asia, Africa, and the Middle East and the economic and political challenges faced by new nations as they confronted the legacy of imperialism
• political, social, economic, and cultural developments in East Asia and Latin America (e.g., the Chinese Cultural Revolution, the reconstruction of postwar Japan, the economic rise of South Korea and Taiwan, revolutions in Cuba and Nicaragua, the persistence of traditional elites in Latin American society, relations with the United States)
• causes and consequences of major regional conflicts in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas since World War II
• global economic, demographic, political, social, and cultural trends, patterns, and interconnections
• major developments and challenges of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries (e.g., population movement and demographic change, economic globalization, environmental degradation, terrorism, a nuclear proliferation, human rights abuses, limited natural resources, economic imbalances among the world's peoples)

 

Subarea III3—U.S. HISTORY

Objective 007—Understand major events and developments in U.S. history during Era 1, beginnings to 1620 CE; Era 2, colonization and settlement, 1585 to 1763 CE; and Era 3, revolution and the new nation, 1754 to 1800 CE.

Includes:

• social, economic, political, and cultural features of major American Indian populations of the precontact era
• events and developments related to the European colonization of North America (e.g., objectives of various explorers, consequences of key expeditions and settlements, first contact with American Indian populations)
• interaction and conflict between Europeans and American Indians (e.g., different cultural perspectives, converging and diverging economic interests)
• the development of Great Britain's North American colonies (e.g., patterns of trade, the growth of representative government) and major features of the New England, mid-Atlantic, and southern colonies (e.g., reasons for migration, ethnic diversity, patterns of social and economic development)
• operation of the European slave trade, the development of slavery in North America, and African American life and culture in the colonies
• causes, developments, significant individuals, and consequences of the Revolutionary War (e.g., changes in British imperial policy, arguments over the rights of English people, major battles of the conflict, the roles and perspectives of various groups during the war)
• the evolution of national and state governments during and after the Revolution (e.g., arguments over the Articles of Confederation, major debates and compromises at the Constitutional Convention, differences between Federalists and Antifederalists)

Objective 008—Understand major events and developments in U.S. history during Era 4, expansion and reform, 1792 to 1861 CE; and Era 5, the Civil War and Reconstruction, 1850 to 1877 CE.

Includes:

• events and developments related to westward expansion
• political and constitutional developments (e.g., the Washington and Adams administrations, differences between Jefferson and Hamilton, John Marshall and the Supreme Court, the expansion of suffrage)
• causes and consequences of economic growth (e.g., improvements in transportation, technological innovations, the spread of factory production, immigration, urbanization)
• major events and developments in U.S. foreign relations (e.g., the War of 1812, the Monroe Doctrine, the Mexican War)
• origins and objectives of major antebellum reform movements and the activities and achievements of key reformers (e.g., William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Horace Mann, Dorothea Dix)
• the impact of slavery in the United States and developments that contributed to the sectional polarization leading to the Civil War (e.g., forces promoting the expansion of slavery, the emergence of a distinct African American culture, the Missouri Compromise, the Compromise of 1850, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the formation of the Republican Party)
• events and developments of the Civil War (e.g., strategies adopted by Union and Confederate military leaders, major battles, the role of African Americans in the war, the Emancipation Proclamation)
• events and developments of the Reconstruction period

Objective 009—Understand major events and developments in U.S. history during Era 6, the development of an industrial, urban, and global United States, 1870 to 1930 CE.

Includes:

• the growth of the industrial economy (e.g., the consolidation of industrial and financial empires, major technological and managerial innovations, the rise of the automobile industry, the conflict between industrial capitalism and organized labor)
• changing patterns of immigration to the United States and the impact of immigration and urbanization on U.S. society
• the settlement of the trans-Mississippi West (e.g., life on the mining, ranching, and farming frontiers; the effects of expanding settlement; the response of American Indian populations)
• the emergence of the United States as a world power (e.g., the Spanish-American War, location of U.S. territorial acquisitions, the Open Door policy, the Philippine Revolution, the Panama Canal, the Roosevelt Corollary, U.S. interventions in Latin America)
• the rise of the New South; the disfranchisement and segregation of African Americans; and the efforts of African Americans to overcome social, economic, and political obstacles
• origins, strategies, and influence of the Populist and Progressive movements
• causes and consequences of U.S. participation in World War I (e.g., reasons for U.S. intervention in the conflict, effects of the war on U.S. society, opposition to Wilson's policies)
• political, economic, social, intellectual, and cultural developments of the 1920s (e.g., the resurgence of Ku Klux Klan, Prohibition, the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment, the social impact of radio, the Lost Generation, the Harlem Renaissance)

Objective 010—Understand major events and developments in U.S. history during Era 7, the Great Depression and World War II, 1920 to 1945 CE; Era 8, the post–World War II United States, 1945 to 1989 CE; and Era 9, America in a new global age, 1990 CE to the present.

Includes:

• causes of the Great Depression, the response of the Hoover administration and the New Deal to economic collapse, the effects of the Depression on U.S. society, and the role of organized labor
• events and developments related to U.S. participation in World War II (e.g., war mobilization, major battles involving U.S. forces, the impact of the war on U.S. society, the decision to drop the atom bomb)
• events and developments of the Cold War (e.g., the Truman Doctrine, the formation of NATO, the arms race, the Korean and Vietnam wars, effects of the Cold War on U.S. society, détente)
• social and economic developments (e.g., the postwar economic boom, suburbanization, the baby boom, the rise of the Sun Belt, Reaganomics, information technology and the computer revolution, economic globalization, demographic change and population shifts, changing patterns of immigration)
• political events and developments in the United States (e.g., Truman's Fair Deal, Eisenhower's Modern Republicanism, Kennedy's New Frontier, Johnson's Great Society, Watergate, the decline of liberalism and the rise of the conservative movement)
• aims, activities, strategies, ideals, and consequences of the struggle for African American rights
• social and political activism in the second half of the twentieth century (e.g., the feminist movement, the American Indian Movement, the Hispanic rights movement, the Asian American movement, counterculture, the environmental movement)
• issues and developments in U.S. foreign policy since 1970

 

Subarea IV4—GEOGRAPHY

Objective 011—Understand geographic terms, concepts, and resources.

Includes:

• basic geographic terms and concepts (e.g., habitat, ecology, biome, interdependence, assimilation, demographic cycle, cultural diffusion)
• the five fundamental themes of geography (i.e., location, place, human-environment interaction, movement, and region)
• the six essential elements of geography (i.e., the world in spatial terms, places and regions, physical systems, human systems, environment and society, and the uses of geography)
• basic properties (e.g., grid systems, symbols, scales) and uses of maps and globes
• characteristics and uses of geographic information systems, remote sensing, geographic positioning systems, and other geographic tools to acquire, process, and communicate information from a spatial perspective
• characteristics and applications of spatial thinking
• characteristics and uses of basic print and digital reference sources employed in geographic research (e.g., almanacs, atlases, information technology, bibliographies, periodical guides, encyclopedias, geographical dictionaries)
• instructional strategies and resources for promoting the acquisition of geographic knowledge, applying techniques for assessing student understanding of geography, and utilizing knowledge of professional standards and technology in geography instruction

Objective 012—Understand physical systems.

Includes:

• the location and physical characteristics of major landmasses and bodies of water
• origins and characteristics of major types of physical features (e.g., gulfs, deltas, capes, peninsulas, archipelagos)
• characteristics of and interactions among the four basic components of the earth's physical systems (i.e., the atmosphere, biosphere, lithosphere, and hydrosphere)
• tectonic and erosional processes that shape the earth's surface (e.g., glaciation, plate tectonics, volcanic activity, water, wind, deposition)
• the interactive processes and locational elements of climate (e.g., temperature, atmospheric pressure, winds, condensation, precipitation, air masses, latitude)
• global and regional climate types and climatic patterns
• the location, accessibility, and uses of important natural resources
• instructional strategies and resources for promoting the acquisition of geographic knowledge, applying techniques for assessing student understanding of geography, and utilizing knowledge of professional standards and technology in geography instruction

Objective 013—Understand the interaction between human societies and the environment.

Includes:

• the location and characteristics of major ecosystems and biomes
• ways in which human societies modify physical environments and adapt to environmental changes
• the role and consequences of technological innovation and economic development in the creation and solution of environmental problems
• the causes and effects of current environmental problems (e.g., climate change, tropical deforestation, desertification, acid rain, decline of fish stocks, water supply problems)
• major conservation initiatives and programs for resource use and management and environmental sustainability
• basic forms of land use and development (e.g., residential, agricultural, industrial) and the economic, environmental, cultural, and political consequences of land use and development decisions
• instructional strategies and resources for promoting the acquisition of geographic knowledge, applying techniques for assessing student understanding of geography, and utilizing knowledge of professional standards and technology in geography instruction

Objective 014—Understand human systems.

Includes:

• cultural characteristics of the diverse peoples of the world and how culture affects human perceptions of the environment
• types of human settlements, factors that influence the characteristics and locations of settlements, causes and consequences of urbanization, and the functions and internal structure of cities in various places and regions
• basic demographic concepts and globalization processes (e.g., dependency ratio, doubling time, population density, interdependence, global networking)
• processes of globalization (e.g., interdependence, global networking)
• causes and consequences of population increase and decline in world history, historical and contemporary global population patterns, and world and regional population distribution
• types of human migration and the causes and consequences of historical and contemporary migrations of human populations (e.g., push and pull factors, the diffusion of ideas and cultural traits)
• economic interdependence and ways in which the forces of cooperation and conflict influence the development and control of political entities
• instructional strategies and resources for promoting the acquisition of geographic knowledge, applying techniques for assessing student understanding of geography, and utilizing knowledge of professional standards and technology in geography instruction

 

Subarea V5—POLITICAL SCIENCE

Objective 015—Understand political science concepts, terms, and perspectives.

Includes:

• basic political science terms and concepts (e.g., constitutional principles, federalism, nation-state, balance of power, legitimacy, authority, sovereignty, rule of law, political socialization, social contract theory)
• events and developments related to the emergence and spread of constitutional and democratic government from ancient Greece to the present
• principles and ideas contained in the writings of important political theorists and figures associated with the rise of and spread of constitutional and democratic government
• major characteristics of different forms of government (e.g., oligarchy, theocracy, liberal democratic state, semi-democratic state, authoritarian and totalitarian regimes)
• similarities and differences between the political system of the United States and other contemporary (e.g., parliamentary, presidential, semi-presidential) and historical political systems
• causes and chronology of governmental evolution and transitions throughout the various eras of world and U.S. history
• instructional strategies and resources for promoting the acquisition of political science knowledge, applying techniques for assessing student understanding of political science, and utilizing knowledge of professional standards and technology in political science instruction

Objective 016—Understand the foundations of U.S. government, the U.S. political process, and the rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizenship.

Includes:

• documents related to the historical and philosophical origins of American constitutional government (e.g., Magna Carta, the English Bill of Rights, the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, the Federalist Papers)
• documents related to the evolution of democratic ideals in the United States (e.g., the Seneca Falls Declaration, the Gettysburg Address, Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
• basic principles and major components of the U.S. Constitution and the Michigan Constitution
• the separation of powers and the operation of the system of checks and balances in U.S. constitutional government
• conflicts that arise due to competing constitutional principles or fundamental values, landmark U.S. Supreme Court decisions (e.g., Marbury v. Madison, Gibbons v. Ogden, McCulloch v. Maryland, Brown v. Board of Education, Lau v. Nichols), and major amendments to the U.S. Constitution
• political parties and the U.S. political process (e.g., the origin and evolution of political parties and their influence; factors affecting campaigns and elections in U.S. politics; how interest groups, the media, individuals, and public opinion shape the public agenda)
• the rights, responsibilities, and meaning of U.S. citizenship and the different methods for attaining citizenship in the United States
• the role of civic engagement in U.S. society, ways in which citizens can participate in the political process, and skills and civic dispositions needed for effective participation in public affairs
• instructional strategies and resources for promoting the acquisition of political science knowledge, applying techniques for assessing student understanding of political science, and utilizing knowledge of professional standards and technology in political science instruction

Objective 017—Understand the structure, organization, and operation of different levels of government in the United States and the role of the United States in the international community.

Includes:

• the purposes, organization, and functions of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the federal government
• the purposes, organization, and functions of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of local and state government in Michigan and relations between federal, state, and local government in the United States
• lawmaking processes in the United States (e.g., steps in the legislative process, the role of lobbyists and special interest groups, the operation of initiative and referendum processes at the state level)
• operation of the U.S. legal system (e.g., functions of law in U.S. society, major sources of U.S. law, the criminal justice system, the enforcement and impact of law in the United States)
• the process by which U.S. foreign policy is made and implemented, the role of the United States in the world, and examples of conflict and cooperation between the United States and other governments
• the functions, purposes, achievements, and limitations of international organizations (e.g., United Nations, NATO, the Organization of American States)
• instructional strategies and resources for promoting the acquisition of political science knowledge, applying techniques for assessing student understanding of political science, and utilizing knowledge of professional standards and technology in political science instruction

 

Subarea VI6—ECONOMICS

Objective 018—Understand economic concepts and the market economy.

Includes:

• basic economic terms and concepts (e.g., scarcity, opportunity cost, economic incentives, production possibility curves, factors of production, specialization, division of labor)
• basic characteristics of a free market economic system, comparing and contrasting major economic systems, and how economic systems affect the standards of living and fulfilling needs and wants
• comparing and contrasting major economic systems, and how economic systems fulfill needs and wants and affect the standards of living
• characteristics of a mixed economy
• effects of supply and demand, price, equilibrium, elasticity, and incentives on the workings of a market economy and the level of competition in various market structures
• entrepreneurship and the ways in which businesses confront scarcity and choice when organizing, producing, and using resources
• characteristics of various market structures (e.g., pure competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly, monopoly)
• major economic indicators, measures, and models (e.g., gross domestic product, national income, consumer price index, unemployment rate, economic growth rate)
• instructional strategies and resources for promoting the acquisition of economics knowledge, applying techniques for assessing student understanding of economics, and utilizing knowledge of professional standards and technology in economics instruction

Objective 019—Understand personal finance.

Includes:

• how the economic concepts of scarcity, opportunity cost, and cost-benefit analysis affect household choices and individual economic decisions
• consumer rights and responsibilities, sources of consumer information, and consumer protection laws and agencies
• consumer fraud, forms of advertising, and factors to consider when evaluating advertisements
• principles and steps involved in creating and maintaining a budget and factors affecting financial planning throughout the stages of an individual's life
• types of credit, procedures for obtaining credit, factors that affect credit eligibility, and appropriate uses of credit
• characteristics of insurance, savings, investment, and retirement financing options, and the risks and benefits associated with each
• types of institutions, businesses, and agencies that provide financial services (e.g., credit unions, commercial banks, savings and loan associations)
• instructional strategies and resources for promoting the acquisition of economics knowledge, applying techniques for assessing student understanding of economics, and utilizing knowledge of professional standards and technology in economics instruction

Objective 020—Understand the national economy and the international economy.

Includes:

• roles of and relationships between major economic institutions and groups in the U.S. economic system (e.g., banks, financial markets, labor unions, small businesses, corporations, consumers, governments)
• business cycles and the causes and effects of recession, unemployment, inflation, and deflation
• use of national income accounting, unemployment data, consumer price indexes, balance of payment data, and other measures to analyze national markets
• factors influencing fiscal policy and confronting scarcity, resource allocation, and market forces in the business cycle
• factors influencing monetary policy (e.g., the structure and functions of the Federal Reserve System, tools of monetary policy, the likely response of the Federal Reserve to given economic developments)
• forms of government regulation and their effects on consumers and producers
• basic principles and components of international economics (e.g., the concept of comparative advantage, the principles of free trade and protectionism, interdependence, the challenges and benefits of trade, exchange rates, the rationale for specialization and trade across international borders)
• factors influencing the operation of the international economic system (e.g., Bretton Woods Institutions, government trade policies, international trade and economic organizations, major patterns of trade, transitional and developing economies, the impact of globalization on the U.S. economy, multinational corporations)
• instructional strategies and resources for promoting the acquisition of economics knowledge, applying techniques for assessing student understanding of economics, and utilizing knowledge of professional standards and technology in economics instruction

 

Subarea VII7—INQUIRY, INTERDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVES, AND PUBLIC DISCOURSE

Objective 021—Understand social science research methods and the analysis and interpretation of social studies information.

Includes:

• steps in the research process (e.g., formulating research questions, choosing a research design, collecting data, organizing and communicating results)
• methods and techniques for collecting social science information
• the acquisition and organization of social science data (e.g., gathering sources, note taking, file maintenance, preparation of bibliographies) and the use of electronic technologies to assist in assessing and managing information
• the analysis of documents and interpretations (e.g., recognizing purpose, point of view, and central questions; distinguishing between fact and opinion; making inferences and drawing conclusions)
• the evaluation of social science information (e.g., assessing evidence, identifying underlying assumptions, recognizing bias)
• the interpretation of social science issues presented in graphic formats (e.g., charts, diagrams, maps, political cartoons, graphs)

Objective 022—Understand interdisciplinary perspectives.

Includes:

• the integration of basic content and concepts from history, geography, economics, and political science and the connections between major political, economic, and geographic concepts
• the interelatedness of major world demographic, political, economic, and cultural regions (e.g., regional organizations, commercial relationships, shared religious beliefs)
• the impact of geography on the history of Michigan, the United States, and the world (e.g., human-environment relationships, territorial expansion, resource use, population demographics, geographic causes of conflict and cooperation, cultural diffusion, technology patterns and networks, economic development and interdependence)
• the effects of physical factors such as climate, topography, ecology, and location on population distribution, livelihood, industry, agriculture, and commerce in various world regions
• changing historical views of the relationship between government and economics and the impact of government on local, national, and global trade and various types of economic systems
• the origins and geographic context of global issues involving political stability and change, refugee populations, economic development and international trade, resource use, environmental degradation, and various forms of systematic oppression

Objective 023—Understand core democratic values, recognize the rights and responsibilities of citizenship in a democratic society, and apply methods for analyzing public policy questions.

Includes:

• core democratic values of America's constitutional republic (e.g., individual rights, justice for all, equal opportunity, respect and appreciation for diversity, patriotism) and ways in which pivotal decisions and major debates in U.S. history reflect those values
• values held by members of a democratic society
• steps in the decision-making and problem-solving processes (e.g., identifying decisions to be made or problems to be solved, gathering information, identifying alternative courses of action)
• methods of engaging in constructive conversation about matters of public concern (e.g., clarifying issues, considering opposing views, applying democratic values, anticipating consequences, working toward making decisions)
• methods of making reasoned and informed decisions on public issues (e.g., stating issues clearly, tracing the origins of issues, analyzing various perspectives people bring to public policy debates, recognizing factors to be considered when formulating resolutions to public issues, evaluating possible solutions)
• criteria used to analyze evidence and position statements (e.g., logical validity, factual accuracy and/or omission, emotional appeal, credibility, unstated assumptions, logical fallacies, distortions, appeals to bias or prejudice)
• using pertinent evidence and reasoned arguments to support positions on public policy issues in a written format

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