Description Of Bulleted Items In Each Rubric

• The first bullet references the use of content and vocabulary
• The second bullet references the manipulation/application of critical thinking skills.
• The third bullet references communication including organization and clarity.

These rubric bullets are used across the grade levels for all sub-domain open response models, thus providing a grading consistency K-12. The rubric was designed to reflect the proposed performance standards for the CATS open response questions in the social studies section of the state assessment. The proposed state social studies performance standards include:

• Content knowledge
• Decisions, concepts, problems (Critical Thinking Skills)
• Vocabulary
• Communication
• Connections (Critical Thinking Skills)

Government and Civics

Sample Government and Civics Open Response Question

Standard I: The study of government and civics allows students to understand the nature of government and the unique characteristics of American democracy including its fundamental principles, structure and role of citizens.

Academic Expectation 2.14: Students should understand the democratic principles of justice, equality, responsibility and freedom and apply them to real-life situations.

Academic Expectation 2.15: Students can accurately describe various forms of government and analyze issues that relate to the rights and responsibilities of citizens in a democracy.

Core Content

Demonstrators

• Rights and responsibilities of citizens in a school and classroom, community.
• Conflict management (making developmentally appropriate choices)
• The role of citizens (e.g. elections)
• Authority
• family rules and responsibilities
• classroom rules and responsibilities
• Community rules and responsibilities

• Demonstrate democratic behavior: treating others justly and respecting the rights and privacy of others, etc.
• Identify sources of authority
• Demonstrate knowledge of the development and purpose of rules
• Demonstrate knowledge of the development and purpose of rules.
• Describes elements of familiar political systems. (e.g. home, school)
• Recognize sequential relationships (5.1)
• Generate a variety of ideas. (5.2)

Culture and Society

Sample Culture and Society Open Response Questions

Standard II: Culture is the way of life by a group of people, including their ideas and traditions. In America’s multicultural society, students need to understand that culture influences viewpoints, social rules and social institutions

Academic Expectation 2.16: Students observe, analyze and interpret human behaviors, social groupings and institutions to better understand people and the relationships among individuals and among groups.

Academic Expectation 2.17: Students interact effectively and work cooperatively with the many diverse ethnic and cultural groups of our nation and world.

Core Content

Demonstrators

• Prejudice awareness
• Conflict management for disagreements and arguments
• Develops an understanding and appreciation for different cultures, study includes food, fine arts, customs, literature, dress, folktales.
• Native Americans had similarities (e.g. gender roles, family organization, religion, values) and differences (e.g. language, shelter, tools, foods, and clothing).
• Various human needs are met through interaction in and among social groups (family, school)
• Elements of culture serve to define specific groups

• Demonstrate an ability to function as part of a social system
• Recognize and respect the right of others to display unique characteristics
• Describe culture universals, similarities and differences
• Recognize the existence of different perspectives
• Recognize culture is learned
• Make a decision from given options (5.4)

Economics

Sample Economics Open Response Question

Standard III: Economics includes the study of production, distribution and consumption of goods and services. Students need to understand how their economic decisions affect them, others and the nation as a whole.

Academic Expectation 2.18: Students understand economic principles and are able to make economic decisions that have consequences in daily living.

Core Content

Demonstrators

• The direct exchange of goods and services is called barter. Money has generally replaced barter as a more efficient system for exchange.
• Human and natural resources
• Consumers use goods and services to satisfy economic wants and needs.

• Identify money and services as a means of exchange
• Apply fundamental economic concepts (goods and services, supply and demand, scarcity, opportunity costs)
• Group data into categories
• Develop generalizations based on data regarding relationships among objects, ideas and actions (6.3)

Geography

Sample Geography Open Response Question

Standard IV: Geography is the study of people, places and environments. Students need geographic knowledge to understand the world and their relationship to it. A geographic perspective also enables students to better understand the past and present and to prepare for the future.

Academic Expectation 2.19: Students recognize and understand the relationship between people and geography and apply their knowledge in real-life situations.

Core Content

Demonstrators

• Illustrate how people are affected by:
• climate/weather
• geographic features
• natural resources
• Map and globe skills including direction, map symbols, land forms, bodies of water, distance
• People depend on the physical environment for food, shelter and clothing

• Use geographic sources of information and data for a purpose including simple physical maps, globes, charts and graphs for a purpose.
• Recognize that everything has a location
• Describe the connection between people and their environment and can make predictions

History

Sample History Open Response Questions

Standard V: History is the interpretation of events, people, ideas and their interaction over time. In order for students to understand the present and make plans for their future, they must understand the past.

Academic Expectation 2.20: Students understand, analyze and interpret historical events, conditions, trends and issues to develop historical perspective.

Core Content

Demonstrators

· Major historical people and events (i.e., Columbus voyages, Pilgrims, Native Americans).

· Pilgrims

· Native Americans - land and people before Columbus

· Distinguish among the past, present, and future.

· Recognize continuity and change

· Identify strategies used to acquire existing knowledge (6.2)