1. Individual Development and Cultural Identity
 Role of social, political, and cultural interactions in the development of identity
 Personal identity as a function of an individual’s culture, time, place, geography, interaction with groups, influences from institutions, and lived experiences

2. Development, Movement, and Interaction of Cultures
 Role of diversity within and among cultures
 Aspects of culture such as belief systems, religious faith, or political ideals as influences on other parts of a culture, such as its institutions or literature, music, and art
 Cultural diffusion and change over time facilitating different ideas and beliefs

3. Time, Continuity, and Change
 History as a formal study that applies research methods
 Reading, reconstructing, and interpreting events
 Analyzing the causes and consequences of events and developments
 Considering competing interpretations of events

4. Geography, Humans, and the Environment
 Relationship between human populations and the physical world (people, places, and environments)
 Effect of human activities on the environment
 Interactions between regions, locations, places, people, and environments
 Spatial patterns of place and location

5. Development and Transformation of Social Structures
 Role of social class, systems of stratification, social groups, and institutions
 Role of gender, race, ethnicity, education, class, age, and religion in defining social structures within a culture
 Social and political inequalities
 Expansion and access to rights through concepts of justice and human rights

6. Power, Authority, and Governance
 Purposes, characteristics, and functions of various governance systems as they are practiced
 Individual rights and responsibilities as protected and challenged within the context of majority rule
 Fundamental principles and values of constitutional democracy
 Origins uses, and abuses of power
 Conflict, diplomacy, and war

7. Civic Ideals and Practices
 Basic freedoms and rights and responsibilities of citizens in a democratic republic
 Role of the citizen in the community and nation and as a member of the global community
 Civic participation and engagement
 Respect for diversity 
 Civic ideals and practices in countries other than our democratic republic
 Struggle for rights, access to citizenship rights, and universal human rights

8. Creation, Expansion, and Interaction of Economic Systems
 Production, distribution, and consumption
 Scarcity of resources and the challenges of meeting wants and needs
 Supply/demand and the coordination of individual choices
 Economic systems
 Trade, interdependence, and globalization
 Role of government in the economy
 Personal finance

9. Science, Technology, and Innovation
 Scientific and intellectual theories, findings, discoveries, and philosophies
 Applications of science and innovations in transportation, communication, military technology, navigation, agriculture, and industrialization
 Relationship between science, technology, and innovation, and social, cultural, and economic change

10. Global Connections and Exchange
 Past, current, and likely future global connections and interactions
 Cultural diffusion; the spread of ideas, beliefs, technology, and goods
 Role of technology
 Benefits/consequences of global interdependence (social, political, economic)  Causes and patterns of migration
 Tension between national interests and global priorities

Taken from the New York State Social Studies Framework Introduction, pp. 11-12