NCSS Standards
"The framework of the standards consists of ten themes incorporating fields of study that roughly correspond with one or more relevant disciplines. The first theme, "Culture," for instance, includes elements of anthropology, geography, history, and sociology. These ten themes span the educational levels from early to middle grades to high school. The standards are expressed in
statements that begin "Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of" - for instance, Culture. Student performance expectations within that theme are then specified, and examples of classroom activities are provided as illustrations of how to design learning experiences to help students meet the performance expectations.
Teachers and curriculum designers are encouraged first to establish their program frameworks using the social studies standards as a guide, and then to use the standards from history, geography, civics, economics, and others to guide the development of grade level strands and courses. Using all of these standards in concert with one another allows educators to give adequate attention to both integrated and single discipline configurations. " -- NCSS
