Common Planner
K–12 Standards

Grade 8: Social Studies Practices

Other New York Social Studies sets

Gathering, Interpreting and Using Evidence8.A

  • 1

    Define and frame questions about the United States and answer them by gathering, interpreting, and using evidence.8.A.1

  • 2

    Identify, describe, and evaluate evidence about events from diverse sources (including written documents, works of art, photographs, charts and graphs, artifacts, oral traditions, and other primary and secondary sources).8.A.2

  • 3

    Analyze evidence in terms of historical and/or social context, content, authorship, point of view, purpose, and format; identify bias; explain the role of bias, context and audience in presenting arguments or evidence.8.A.3

  • 4

    Describe and analyze arguments of others, considering historical context.8.A.4

  • 5

    Make inferences and draw conclusions from evidence.8.A.5

  • 6

    Recognize an argument and identify evidence that supports the argument; examine arguments related to a specific social studies topic from multiple perspectives; deconstruct arguments, recognizing the perspective of the argument and identifying evidence used to support that perspective.8.A.6

Chronological Reasoning8.B

  • 1

    Articulate how events are related chronologically to one another in time, and explain the ways in which earlier ideas and events may influence subsequent ideas and events.8.B.1

  • 2

    Employ mathematical skills to measure time by years, decades, centuries, and millennia; to calculate time from the fixed points of the calendar system (B.C. or B.C.E. and A.D. or C.E.); and to interpret the data presented in time lines.8.B.2

  • 3

    Identify causes and effects, using examples from current events, grade-level content, and historical events8.B.3

  • 4

    Identify, analyze, and evaluate the relationship between multiple causes and effects.8.B.4

  • 5

    Distinguish between long-term and immediate causes and effects of an event from current events or history.8.B.5

  • 6

    Recognize, analyze, and evaluate dynamics of historical continuity and change over periods of time.8.B.6

  • 7

    Recognize that changing the periodization affects the historical narrative.8.B.7

  • 8

    Relate patterns of continuity and change to larger historical processes and themes8.B.8

  • 9

    Identify and describe models of historical periodization that historians use to categorize events.8.B.9

Comparison and Contextualization8.C

  • 1

    Identify a region of the United States by describing multiple characteristics common to places within it, and then identify other similar regions inside the United States.8.C.1

  • 2

    Identify and compare multiple perspectives on a given historical experience8.C.2

  • 3

    Describe, compare, and evaluate multiple historical developments (within societies; across and between societies; in various chronological and geographical contexts).8.C.3

  • 4

    Describe the relationship between geography, economics, and history as a context for events and movements in the United States.8.C.4

  • 5

    Connect historical developments to specific circumstances of time and place and to broader regional, national, or global processes.8.C.5

  • 6

    Analyze case studies in United States history in a comparative framework, attending to the role of chronology and sequence, as well as categories of comparison or socio-political components.8.C.6

Geographic Reasoning8.D

  • 1

    Use location terms and geographic representations, such as maps, photographs, satellite images, and models to describe where places are in relation to each other and connections between places; evaluate the benefits of particular places for purposeful activities8.D.1

  • 2

    Distinguish human activities and human-made features from “environments” (natural events or physical features—land, air, and water—that are not directly made by humans) and describe the relationship between human activities and the environment.8.D.2

  • 3

    Identify and analyze how environments affect human activities and how human activities affect physical environments in the United States. 8.D.3

  • 4

    Recognize and analyze how characteristics (cultural, economic, and physical-environmental) of regions affect the history of the United States.8.D.4

  • 5

    Characterize and analyze changing interconnections between places and regions.8.D.5

  • 6

    Describe the spatial organization of place, considering the historical, social, political, and economic implication of that organization. Identify and describe examples of how boundaries and definition of location are historically constructed.8.D.6

Economics and Economic Systems8.E

  • 1

    Explain how economic decisions affect the well-being of individuals, businesses, and society; evaluate alternative approaches or solutions to economic issues in terms of benefits and costs for different groups of people.8.E.1

  • 2

    Explain the roles of buyers and sellers in product, labor, and financial markets.8.E.2

  • 3

    Describe the role of competition in the determination of prices and wages in a market economy.8.E.3

  • 4

    Examine the roles of institutions such as corporations, non-profit organizations, and labor unions in a market economy in the United States.8.E.4

  • 5

    Use appropriate data to evaluate the state of employment, unemployment, inflation, total production, income, and economic growth in the economy.8.E.5

  • 6

    Explain how government policies affect the economy.8.E.6

Civic Participation8.F

  • 1.

    Demonstrate respect for the rights of others in discussions and classroom debates; respectfully disagree with other viewpoints. Use techniques and strategies to be an active and engaged member of class discussions of fellow classmates’ views and statements.8.F.1

  • 2.

    Participate in activities that focus on a classroom, school, community, state, or national issue or problem.8.F.2

  • 3.

    Identify and explain different types of political systems and ideologies used at various times in United States history and explain the roles of individuals and key groups in those political and social systems.8.F.3

  • 4.

    Identify, describe, and contrast the role of the individual in opportunities for social and political participation as an agent of historical change in different societies and communities, as well as at different times, in the United States.8.F.4

  • 5.

    Participate in persuading, negotiating, and compromising in the resolution of conflicts and differences; introduce and examine the elements of debate.8.F.5

  • 6.

    Identify situations in which social actions are required and determine an appropriate course of action8.F.6

  • 7.

    Work to influence those in positions of power to strive for extensions of freedom, social justice, and human rights.8.F.7

  • 8.

    Fulfill social and political responsibilities associated with citizenship in a democratic society.8.F.8

  • 9.

    Develop the connections of an interdependent global community by engaging in the political process as it relates to a global context.8.F.9

Frequently asked questions

What grade levels do these standards cover?
Grade 8
Where can I read the official document?
New York State K-8 Social Studies Framework

Keep exploring

Keep exploring Social Studies standards

Sibling grade bands, other subjects in this jurisdiction, and the same subject across other states.

More New York Social Studies sets

Social Studies