Pizarro 1

Dominic A. Pizarro
Professor Hollie Schillig
HIST 250-01
3 September 2014
Essay Response 2 on CA 6th Grade Standards and CCSS
Every day teachers tackle the task of creating a lesson plan which will provide their students with
the necessary knowledge to continue on in the students educational career. Created by the California
State Board of Education (CSBOE) in October 1998, the California (CA) 6th Grade History-Social
Science Content Standards (HSSCS) were developed to assist teachers achieve the previously stated
task. 12 years later in August 2010, the CSBOE adopted the CA Common Core State Standards
(CCSS), a revised and more intricately developed set of standards designed to replace the CA Content
Standards. Te CA 6th Grade HSSCS focused primarily on the origins of humankind and multiple
ancient civilizations; focusing solely on one geographic location at a time, the CA 6th Grade HHSCS
fails to display the larger picture connection of the specifc civilizations on the world stage. Correcting
this faw, the CA CCSS displays connections between civilizations and withdraws the topical or
singular geographic approach to World History, therefore establishing a more efective method of
teaching the content to students.
Within the CA 6th Grade HHSCS, the terms early civilization and ancient are
continuously used displaying a common focus on the development and genesis of ancient civilizations
(California Department of Education 23-26, 1998). Students are expected to analyze the geographic,
political, economic, religious, and social structures of each of the following civilizations: Mesopotamia,
Egypt, Kush, the Ancient Hebrews, Ancient Greece, India, China, and Ancient Rome (California
Department of Education 24-26, 1998). Standards 6.1-6.7 individually isolate one civilization and its
particular geographic location creating a false sense of a lack of outside infuence or interaction; a proper
study of World History displays and highlights the interaction and interdependence of civilizations
Pizarro 2
upon each other for assistance in establishing their respective roles on the world stage. Te CA 6th
Grade HHSCS only display the internal factors which caused development, dominance, and
decline of specifc civilizations and fails to mention the numerous other external factors (California
Department of Education 23, 1998). Tis failure to display the larger world stage when studying World
History robs students of an inclusive and comprehensive understanding of civilization interaction
throughout history.
Te study of World History requires geographical integration in order to provide students with
a proper learning experience; accomplishing this goal, the CA CCSS draw connections between
previously isolated civilizations, solidifying the interaction between civilizations. Curriculum founded
on the CA CCSS allows students to clearly identify central ideas or conclusions concerning historical
concepts (California Department of Education 83, 2013). Tis development of critical thinking skills
employs a more active learning process than the previous method of fact reiteration. Te CA CCSS are
an expansion and improvement upon the faulty CA 6th Grade HHSCS, providing students with the
necessary knowledge to critically comprehend World History. Te implementation of the CA CCSS is a
positive change for World History education and has provided a remedy for the shortcomings within
the CA 6th Grade HHSCS.
Te study of World History has become closely integrated with Geography and curriculum
must refect this important connection between the two disciplines. Utilizing only the CA 6th Grade
HHSCS, teachers are limited to providing only a Historical viewpoint with limited geographical input;
the sole integration of Geography lies within the recognition of where specifc civilizations reside,
therefore isolating each geographical location as if that civilization is the entire picture. Providing a more
extensive world picture, the CA CCSS refect a World Historical Geography viewpoint; this viewpoint
displays both social interactions between civilizations and the infuence of geographical locations upon
the emergence of civilizations and their specifc cultures. Tis change from separation of World History
and Geography to their integration of World Historical Geography is a positive shif for students,
Pizarro 3
displaying a thorough study of previously mentioned civilizations. All studies of World History should
be focused on presenting a World Historical Geography viewpoint, or otherwise fall short in providing
the entire world picture.
Te CA CCSS corrects the shortcomings of the CA 6th Grade HHSCS and steps away from
the singular topic approach to World History, therefore establishing a stronger foundation of historical
knowledge in the curriculum. Te tendency for the CA 6th Grade HHSCS to simply focus on one
geographical location at a time presents a false sense of isolation regarding the individual civilizations of
study. Tis approach may be thorough in its presentation of the internal development of ancient
civilizations, but will consistently fail to account for the external factors of other world-wide interaction
and geographical input. Students should be provided with the best curriculum regarding World History
possible, so to better prepare them for their future educational careers. Establishing this proper
curriculum early in 6th grade is essential to guiding students on their discovery of World History,
Geography, and most importantly World Historical Geography.












Pizarro 4
Works Cited
California Department of Education. HistorySocial Science Content Standards for California Public
Schools Kindergarten Trough Grade Twelve. CA: California State Board of Education, October,
1998. PDF.
California Department of Education. California Common Core State Standards: English Language Arts
& Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects. CA: California State Board
of Education, March, 2013. PDF.