The following standards have been taken from the Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McRel) standards.

The students will:

• Understand the importance of equality of opportunity and equal protection of the law as a characteristic of American society.
• Understand important factors that have helped shape American society.
• Know ways in which Americans have attempted to make the values and principles of the U.S. Constitution a reality.
• Understand the significance of fundamental values and principles for the individual and society.
• Know some of the historical and contemporary efforts put forth to reduce discrepancies between ideals and the reality of American public life.
• Know how various individual, social, and political actions have helped to reduce discrepancies between reality and the ideals of the American constitutional democracy.
• Understand significant influences on the Civil Rights Movement.
• Know different types of primary and secondary sources and recognize the motives, interests, and biases they express.
• Analyze the values held by specific people who influence history, and the roles these values played in influencing history.
• Evaluate the validity and credibility of different historical interpretations.
• Use a variety of resource materials, including primary sources, to gather information for research topics.
• Use various criteria to evaluate the validity and reliability of primary and secondary source information.
• Synthesize information from multiple research studies to draw conclusions that go beyond those in any of the individual studies.
• Make formal presentations to the class.
• Analyze the influences specific ideas and beliefs had on a period of history and specify how events might have been different in their absence.
• Understand the role of sport in a diverse world.
• Know the difference between inclusive and exclusionary behaviors in physical activity settings.