West Virginia Social Studies Standards

West Virginia’s Social Studies Standards consist of 125 pages and six different subject areas; economics, citizenship, civics/government, geography, reading and history. There standards are very detailed and they state the material that students are to know for each grade level from kindergarten to twelfth grade. The main goal is “to build a rigorous, relevant and challenging social studies curriculum that would prepare students for the 21st century (p. 3).” Students are assessed and categorized into five performance levels: distinguished, above mastery, mastery, partial mastery and novice.

The Curriculum for middle and high schools in West Virginia is rigorous for sure. There is not room for teachers to slack or spend extra time on a specific subject, event or person. There is so much information that students must know each year that it would be difficult to stay on track but not unmanageable. Teachers will have to be creative and balance their time and standards as well as still allow students to think like historians. By the end of twelfth grade students are to have taken extensive studies in world history, US history and state history. I found it interesting that eight grade students only learn about West Virginia during that year.

They describe their meaning of history as followed: “History organizes events and phenomena in terms of when they occurred and examines where, how and why they took place. Students study how individuals and societies have changed and interacted over time (p. 7).” They also believe that students should be able to gather data, examine, analyze and interpret that data and then present their results in a clear manner. They really push their students to see the bigger picture, to ask why and how and to look at the reasons behind history. Students are to relate history to the current date and debate over the impact of historical events and conflicts.

I feel that historical thinking is occurring in this state, well at least by the way the standards sound. The only thing that the West Virginia Social Studies Standards do not specify is the use of sources. Are they checking sources and using both primary and secondary sources in the classroom? Also in the elementary years, they seem to focus on heritage. The students learn about the origins of their families, communities, state and nation. “Students analyze how individuals, groups and nations have shaped cultural heritages (p. 7).” Therefore there isn’t a lot of historical thinking occurring during these years. Overall, Students living in West Virginia after completing grade school should have a wide historical knowledge and be able to think historically.