NCSS Theme 9: Global Connections

John Stokes
Capstone Portfolio

NCSS Overview
The NCSS theme global connections expands across the four main subjects
included in social studies: history, economics, geography, and
government/politics. For Minnesota, this theme is mainly covered at the 8th
grade level as students focus on global studies with an emphasis on
geography.
The following are the other NCSS themes that global connections relate to:
Culture
Time, Continuity, and Change
People, Places, and Environments
Power, Authority and Governance
Production, Distribution, and Consumption
Science, Technology, and Society

History
World History Substrand and Standards

13. Post-World War II political reorganization produced the Cold War balance
of power and new alliances that were based on competing economic and
political doctrines. (The World After World War II: 1950-1989)

Economics
Macroeconomic Concepts Substrand and Standards

12. International trade, exchange rates and international institutions affect

individuals, organizations and governments throughout the world.

Geography
Human Systems Substrand and Standards

5. The characteristics, distribution and migration of human populations on

the earths surface influence human systems (cultural, economic and
political systems)
6. Geographic factors influence the distribution, functions, growth and
patterns of cities and human settlements.
7. The characteristics, distribution and complexity of the earths cultures
influence human systems.
8. Processes of cooperation and conflict among people influence the division
and control of the earths surface.
Citizenship and Government
Relationships of the United States to Other Nations and Organization
Substrand and Standards

10. The United States establishes and maintains relationships and interacts
with indigenous nations and other sovereign nations, and plays a key role in
world affairs.
11. International political and economic institutions influence world affairs
and United States foreign policy.
12. Governments are based on different political philosophies and purposes;
government establish and maintain relationships with varied types of other
governments.

LIST OF RESOURCES

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/globalconnections/mideast/educators/lessons.html
(Variety of Lesson Plans and other resources)

https://www.nytimes.com/spotlight/learning-social-studies (Primary Sources

and Lesson Plans)

http://worldhistoryconnected.press.illinois.edu/4.2/maunu.html (Links to
different Resources)

http://besthistorysites.net/ww2/#lesson (Lesson Plans and Media)

http://www.thewha.org/resource-links/resources-for-teachers/secondary-
school-instructors/ (Links to Lesson Plans and Helpful Information)

http://www.loc.gov/teachers/ (Lesson Plans)

http://www.discoveryeducation.com//teachers/free-6-8-teacher-resources/?
campaign=flyout_teachers_68 (Lesson Plans and other resources)

https://sheg.stanford.edu/world (Stanford Lesson Plans, Resources, and

information)

http://thecrashcourse.com/curriculum.html (Education Assistance)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/ (BBC Broadcast Archives)

http://www.spiegel.de/international/a-360-degree-panorama-of-the-sistine-
chapel-a-888471.html (Panoramic View of the Sixteenth Chapel)
Summary of the Theme

According to the National Council for Social Studies this theme lists several

ideas that should be covered and relate to this theme. The first is that Global

connections have intensified and and accelerated the changes at faced at

the local and national levels. The second idea is discussed as what kind of

questions can students confront relating to this theme; some examples of

questions include what are global connections currently, and how were

global connections used in the past. The third big idea under this theme is

analyses of the costs and benefits that have happened due to increased

global connections. The fourth big idea discusses where global connections

can be seen and taught in the school and how they are related to certain

subjects. These subjects include geography, economics, history, political

science, and technology classes. Students in various grades and various

subjects will learn about global connections and teachers may be teaching

global connections even in classes beyond the social studies real and not

even realize it.

This theme has a ton of strengths to it and is an excellent theme for the

National Council for Social Studies to use. One strength this theme has is the

ability to relate to some many different topics in the social sciences. You can

relate global connections to immigration, slave trade, various wars, cold war,

currency, Native American tribes, and many more. Most of the topics you

cover in social sciences will relate to the theme global connections in some
way. Another strength that this theme has includes its importance to society.

Most career fields, some political conflicts, and the economy are all linked to

global connection. So everyone is affected by global connections in some

way and therefore it is vital information for student to learn.

One weakness is the overall scale and depth of this theme. This is being

unintentionally covered in many topics but arent being pointed out. When

teachers dont point out the global connections of a topic students especially

in the 5-8 realm will not recognize the connection and may lose valuable

information. Another weakness depending on the state is not all states have

an easy time connecting its self to the world to cover this theme especially in

the rural states.

This theme covers Minnesota Standards 9.4.3.13.2 and 9.4.3.13.3. These

standards cover the degree to which individuals and groups have shaped the

development of various post-colonial governments and how the Cold War

shaped the global geopolitical climate, including proxy wars and Non-

Alignment Movement respectably. This theme may also cover many other

standards across all grade levels.

LESSON PLANS

Lesson Plan 1: Cold War

Objective: Historians have offered vastly different interpretations of the origins

of the Cold War over the past 5 decades. Few historical events have been
subject to such an array of revisionist and neo-revisionist accounts. In this
lesson, students enter the fray through exploring a variety of documents
highlighting various issues and perspectives that led to the Cold War and
address the question: Who was primarily responsible for the Cold War, the
United State or the Soviet Union?

Source: https://sheg.stanford.edu/world-cold-war

Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards in Social Studies:

9.4.3.13.1

Post-World War II geopolitical reorganization produced the Cold War balance

of power and new alliances that were based on competing economic and
political doctrines.

Benchmark: Trace the political and economic changes in China from the
Communist Revolution until recent times

Strengths and Weaknesses: Some strengths of this lesson plan is that it

has 4 part and each part builds on each other. The lesson starts out by giving
background on what happened during the cold war, why the cold war
happened and the issues during the cold war so that students had a
background on the cold war to move on to the next parts of the lesson plan.
This lesson plan also has parts for each type of learner. There are primary
source documents, photos, guided questions and readings to help every type
of learner succeed during the lesson. One weakness of this assignment is
them isnt a clear assessment piece; there is guided questions to do with the
reading and a discussion piece that can give you an idea on how students
are doing but not an actual assessment.

Lesson Plan 2:

Objective: There is a temptation, even among good students who demonstrate proficiency in applying the
fundamental precepts of economic reasoning, to abandon those precepts when attention shifts from the domestic
scene to issues of international trade. A reminder is thus in order: the tools of economic analysis are neither place,
time, nor circumstance- specific. Their power lies in their ability to transcend context, to facilitate our understanding of
human economic interaction with not just our neighbors across town, but also those around the globe.

This lesson outline provides a brief summary of the way in which fundamental economic principles of scarcity, choice,
opportunity cost, and incentives apply to the study of issues of international trade.

Source: http://www.fte.org/teacher-resources/lesson-plans/tradelessons/ioit-lesson-1-the-
basics-still-apply
Minnesota State K-12 Academic Standards in Social Studies

8.2.5.12.1

International trade, exchange rates and international institutions affect

individuals, organizations and governments throughout the world.

Benchmark: Explain why trade is mutually beneficial to countries; define and

apply absolute and comparative advantage with respect to international
trade.

Strengths and Weaknesses: The strength of this lesson is it gives students a

ton of background on international trade and how it affects global
connections and how trade works. Each issue shows students the importance
of International Trade and how the United States operates it. Another
strength of this lesson is that it uses primary sources, secondary sources and
also has a reading and a video. Having all those resources in the lesson
reaches every type of learner and allows every student to understand and be
successful on the lessons and assignments. A weakness of this lesson it that
it has no formal assessment technique or have accommodations for students
who need it. There is a worksheet and discussion questions but no other
assessment. This assignment also relies on technology so if you dont have
technology you could not do it so that is another weakness.