K-12 Enduring Understandings

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GIPS K-12 Social Studies Program
Enduring Understandings

Processes

• Historians and social scientists work to explain what happened through a continuous process of questioning, research, analysis and interpretation.
• The quality of the history and research is grounded in the integrity of the question.
• Good communication must evolve through experience, feedback and adjustment.
• Successful communication is measured by the degree by which it is understood by the audience.
• Language and images have the power to inspire action.
• A historian/social scientist effectively clarifies events while making their interpretation transparent to the audience.
• The integrity of communication is dependent on both the way information is interpreted for and presented to an audience.
• Historians and social scientists work to articulate the lessons learned from a particular set of circumstances so that we can make meaning of other sets of circumstances.
• One event has a ripple effect on other events.
• Knowing the context of an event (what triggered it and what it triggers) deepens understanding of that event.
• A timeline/chronology is a specific interpretation of what was most significant.
• Maps provide access to information that otherwise would be impossible to see.
• Geographic location affects identity, events and decisions.

Content

• The ideas, choices, and actions of a person can have significant ripple effects.
• Government establishes rules that people are expected to live by.
• The way a government enforces the laws reflects who and what they value.
• Group identity gives individuals a sense of belonging and empowerment.
• Group identity shapes ideas, choices, and actions of individuals.
• Removing a deep-rooted problem/injustice requires strategic planning, perseverance, and relentless pressure.
• Economic systems provide ways to produce and distribute goods and services.
• Just because you want something does not mean you can afford it.
• Everyone (from individuals to governments) must make economic choices because of limited resources.
• Every economic system punishes some and rewards others.
• Economics shape the ideas, choices and actions of individuals and groups.
• Scientific and technological advancements lead to positive and negative consequences.
• The natural resources and location of a place significantly affect the livelihood, politics, and opportunities of the people living there.
• Some conflicts leave no room for a compromise.
• Conflict can have significant costs/benefits for both winners and losers.
• Sometimes conflict is necessary.