Tracks: Impressions of America
& the California Content Standards for History/Social Science
Tracks: Impressions of America is a 12-part video series, teacher guide and a CD-ROM. The following matrix shows the relationship between each program in the series and the national Social Studies content strands and correlating California Content Standard by number. A numerical index of content standards and appropriate programming, along with a matrix showing the K-5 and 6-8 Historical and Social Sciences Analysis skills for each program can be found at the bottom of this page.
| National Social Studies Strands | Time, Continuity & Change | People, Places & Environments; Global Connections | Production, Distribution & Consumption; Science, Technology & Society | Culture; Individual Development & Identity | Power, Authority & Governance; Individuals, Groups & Institutions | Civic Ideals & Practices |
| Tracks #1 Trekking Across Our Land |
-Development of diverse Native American
cultures 3.2 |
-Pre-Columbian migration of humans from Asia
to North America 5.1 |
-Agriculture as the driving force in determining settlement patterns of Native Americans | -Migration and immigration patterns as dynamic, positive forces. | -Settlements led to evolution of early Native American societies | -Contributions of Native Americans to modern American lifestyles |
| Tracks #2 Spain Comes to America |
-European explorers sought to control North
America 3.3 |
-Impact of European settlers on Timucuan
people of Florida 5.2 |
-Early Atlantic trade routes 5.2 |
-The conflict between European nations in
North America 5.3 |
-Spain & England battle for control of
America 5.3 |
-The role of the soldier in European expansion. |
| Tracks #3 Early European Settlements |
-Interactions between Europeans and Powhatans 3.3 |
-Selection of location for the Jamestown
settlement 5.2, 5.4 |
-Evolution of a plantation economy dependent
on slavery -The economic boom of tobacco |
-The motivation and goals of Jamestown,
VA settlers -John Smith 5.4 |
-How indentured servants were eventually
replaced by African slaves 5.4 |
-Early examples of racism |
| Tracks #4 Seeds of Revolution |
-How New England settlements differ from other
regions 5.4 |
-Religious persecution drives ideologies of
New England settlers 5.5 |
-Trade an important factor even in earliest settlements | - Pilgrims and Puritans promote concepts of
religious freedom and human equality 5.4 |
-The Boston Tea Party 5.5 |
-Revolutionaries organize in Faneuil Hall 5.4 |
| Tracks # 5 Independence! |
-The Declaration of Independence -Benjamin Franklin 3.4, 5.5 |
-Taxation without representation 5.5 |
-Economic forces fuel revolutionary fervor 5.5 |
-Loyalists’ views conflict with
revolutionary colonists 5.6 |
-The Continental Congress -The Committees of Correspondence 5.5 |
-Ideals of personal liberty as presented in
the Declaration of Independence 4.5, 5.6 |
| Tracks # 6 A New Nation |
-U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights -Thomas Jefferson 5.7, 8.2 |
-The selection of Washington D.C. as the nation's capitol | -Jefferson's passion for science and
technology 8.1 |
-The War of 1812 8.5 |
-The Connecticut Compromise establishes the
bicameral legislature 5.7, 8.1, 8.2 |
-Patriotism & the new Nationalism 5.7. 8.1 |
| Tracks # 7 Westward Ho! |
-Settlement moves westward 5.8, 8.4 |
-Mexican-American War and Louisiana Purchase 5.8, 8.8 |
-Causes of the spread and entrenchment of
slavery -The establishment of transportation routes to the west 5.8 |
-Contrasting views of European settlers and Native Americans toward the land | -The Trail of Tears and the establishment of
Indian reservations 8.5, 8.8 |
-19th Century Federal policy toward Native
Americans 8.12 |
| Tracks # 8 Divided & United |
-The American Civil War 8.10 |
-Racial discrimination 8.7 |
-The role of the cotton gin on southern
agricultural economy 8.7 |
-Southern values and politics are contrasted
with the industrialized North 8.10 |
-Abolitionism 8.9 |
- The modern Civil Rights movement |
| Tracks # 9 The Urbanization of America |
-The Industrial Revolution 8.12 |
-Shift from rural to urban societies 8.12 |
-Mechanization fuels the American economy -Evolution of the labor force from agricultural-based to manufacturing-based 8.12 |
-Increased immigration brings cultural
diversity 8.12 |
-Organized labor 8.12 |
-Pluralism and cultural diversity become key
characteristics of national identity. 8.12 |
| Tracks # 10 The Road toMt. Rushmore |
-Westward expansion 8.6 |
-Devastation of native buffalo herds & other environmental damage from westward expansion | -Railroads to the west encouraged ranching,
farming & mining development -Gold Rush 8.6 |
-Spanish influence in the West 8.6 |
-Homestead Act | -Mt. Rushmore monument epitomizes expansionist
values 8.8 |
| Tracks # 11 America at War |
-Manifest Destiny 8.8 |
-The Great Depression | -The Atomic Age | -America as a world military power WWI & WWII |
-The New Deal | -Military patriotism |
| Tracks # 12 Changing Times and Modern Industries |
-The Cold War -20th Century industrial diversification |
-The Marshall Plan -Modern advances toward racial and gender equality |
-The emergence of a global economy -Cold War sparks industrial and technological growth -Sustainable resources |
-NATO -Modern Asian immigration -The break-up of the Soviet Union |
-Cuban Missile Crisis -Civil Rights legislation |
-The U.S. role in promoting the spread of democracy |
Index for California Standards:
Grade 3: Continuity & Change
Grade 4: California: A Changing State
Grade 5: United States History and Geography: Making a New Nation
Grade 8: United States History and Geography: Growth & Conflict
Tracks: Impressions of America & the California standards for Historical and Social Sciences Analysis Skills
In the area of skills development, the Tracks: Impressions of America video series, teacher guide and CD-ROM address all three skill sets identified for the K-5 and 6-8 group as described in the recently revised California standards, pre-publication version. Below, a detailed analysis of the programs and CD-ROM activities that relate to specific skill sets are shown:
| Chronological & Spatial Thinking | Research, Evidence & Point of View | Historical Interpretation |
| K-5 programs # 1, #2, #3 & #4 CD-ROM
|
K-5 programs #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, & #7 CD-ROM
|
K-5 programs #3, #4, #5 #6, & #7 CD-ROM
|
| 6-8 all programs, but especially # 1, # 2, # 3, #7 & #10 CD-ROM
|
6-8 all programs, but especially #2, #5 & #10 CD-ROM
|
6-8 all programs but especially #3, #8, #9 & #11 CD-ROM
|
©1999 Agency for Instructional Technology
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