Social Studies Learning Standards for Massachusetts Units



New England and Massachusetts


3.1  On a map of the United States, locate the New England States (Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine) and the Atlantic Ocean.  On a map of Massachusetts, locate major cities and towns, Cape Ann, Cape Cod, the Connecticut River, the Merrimack River, the Charles River, and the Berkshire Mountains.


3.2  Identify the Wampanoags and their leaders at the time the Pilgrims arrived, and describe their way of life.


3.3  Identify who the Pilgims were and explain why they left Europe to seek religious freedom:  describe their journey and their early years in the Plymouth Colony.

3.4 Explain how the Puritans and Pilgrims differ and identify early leaders in Massachusetts, such as John Winthrop;  describe the daily life, education, and work of the Puritans in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.


3.5  Explain important political, economic, and military developments leading to and during the American Revolution.
        a.  the growth of towns and cities in Massachusetts before the Revolution
        b.  the Boston Tea Party
        c.  the beginning of the Revolution at Lexington and Concord
        d.  the Battle of Bunker Hill
        e.  Revolutionary leaders such as Paul Revere, John Hancock, John Adams, and Samuel Adams.


3.6  Identify the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights as key American documents.


3.7  After reading a biography of a person from Massachusetts in one of the following categories, summarize the person's life and achievements.
        a.  in science and technology (e.g. Nathaniel Bowditch, Alexander Graham Bell, Samuel Morse, John Hayes Hammond, Robert Goddard, and Edwin Land
        b.  the arts (e.g. John Singleton Copley, Norman Rockwell, Theodore Geisel, Henry Adams, Oliver  Wendell Holmes, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Emily Dickinson, Frederick Law  Olmsted, Phyllis Wheatley, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Louisa May Alcott)

        c.  business ( e.g. Amos Lawrence, William Filene, Francis Cabot Lowell, and An Wang)        
        d.  education, journalism, and health (e.g. Horace Mann, William Monroe Trotter, and Clara Barton
        e.  political leadership (e.g. John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Paul Revere, John Quincy Adams,  Susan B. Anthony, and John F. Kennedy).



Cities and Towns of Massachusetts



3.8  On a map of Massachusetts locate the class's hometown or city and local geographic features and landmarks.
3.9  Identify historic buildings, monuments, or sites in the area and explain their purpose and significance.

3.10  Explain the meaning of the stars and stripes in the American flag, and describe official procedure for the care and display of the flag.

3.11  Identify when the student's own town or city was founded, and describe the different groups of people who have settled in the community since its founding.

3.12 Explain how objects or artifacts of everyday life in the past tell us how ordinary people lived and how everyday life has changed.  Draw on the services of the local historical society and local museums as needed.
3.13  Give examples of goods and services provided by their local businesses and industries.

3.14  Give examples of tax-supported facilities and services provided by their local government, such as public schools, parks, recreational facilities, police and fire departments, and libraries.


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Last Modified on Aug 8, 2003