Common Core Curriculum: United States History, Grades K-2: (Common Core History: The Alexandria Plan)

Comprehensive Common Core curriculum for United States History, Grades K-2 The Alexandria Plan is Common Core's curriculum tool for the teaching of United States and World History. It is a strategic framework for identifying and using high quality informational texts and narrative nonfiction to meet the expectations of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English Language Arts (ELA) while also sharing essential historical knowledge drawn from the very best state history and civics standards from around the country. The curriculum is presented in this four volume series: Common Core Curriculum: United States History, Grades K-2; Common Core Curriculum: World History, Grades K-2; Common Core Curriculum: United States History, Grades 3-5; and Common Core Curriculum: World History, Grades 3-5. Features of each book include: Learning Expectations, which articulate the key ideas, events, facts, and figures to be understood by students in a particular grade span. Suggested anchor texts for each topic. In depth text studies, comprised of text-dependent questions, student responses, and assessments based on a featured anchor text. Select additional resources. Concise Era Summaries that orient both teachers and students to the historical background. The curriculum helps teachers pose questions about texts covering a wide range of topics. This volume, Common Core Curriculum: United States History, Grades K-2, introduces lower elementary students to 18 key eras in our country's history, from the original Native American people to modern times, through stories that they will treasure forever.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: How to Use the Alexandria Plan vii Text Studies Era 1 Across Beringia: Original People of North America (ca. 20,000 bce to ca. 1600 ce) 1 Text Study: Native Homes by Bobbie Kalman Era 2 Driven to Discover: Europeans Establish the New World (Late 1400s to Late 1600s) 7 Text Study: Follow the Dream: The Story of Christopher Columbus by Peter Sis Era 3 Uniquely American: The Beginnings of a New Nationality (1607 to Late 1600s) 15 Text Study: The First Thanksgiving by Linda Hayward Era 4 Taxation without Representation: Tension Mounts (ca. 1660 to 1763) 21 Text Study: If You Lived in Colonial Times by Ann McGovern Era 5 Independence: America Gains Its Freedom (1763 to 1783) 27 Text Study: A Picture Book of Paul Revere by David A. Adler Era 6 We the People: Building an American Republic (1776 to 1789) 33 Text Study: D Is for Democracy: A Citizen’s Alphabet by Elissa Grodin Era 7 Democracy Made Real: America Passes the Torch (1789 to 1800) 39 Text Study: George Washington: Soldier, Hero, President by Justine and Ron Fontes Era 8 Going West: Opportunity and Peril on America’s Frontier (1800 to 1830s) 47 Text Study: How We Crossed the West: The Adventures of Lewis and Clark by Rosalyn Schanzer Era 9 Freedom for All: American Democracy Begins to Transform (1820s to 1840s) 57 Text Study: The Listeners by Gloria Whelan Text Study: The Bobbin Girl by Emily Arnold McCully Era 10 A House Divided: North versus South (1820 to 1859) 67 Text Study: “When I Reach the Promised Land . . .” by Susan Buckley, pages 11–13, Appleseeds, March 2004 Text Study: Henry’s Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad by Ellen Levine Era 11 Blue versus Gray: Civil War and Reconstruction (1860 to 1877) 75 Text Study: Abraham Lincoln: Lawyer, Leader, Legend by Justine and Ron Fontes Era 12 Resistance and Recovery: Rebuilding a War-Torn Nation (1870s to 1890s) 83 Text Study: Journey of a Pioneer by Patricia J. Murphy Era 13 The Next Benchmark: America Is a Global Leader (1890s to 1920) 89 Text Study: A Weed Is a Flower: The Life of George Washington Carver by Aliki Era 14 The Great War: Rallying American Patriotism (1914 to 1929) 95 Text Study: Bessie Smith and the Night Riders by Sue Stauffacher Era 15 Prosperity Has Its Price: Economic Collapse and World War II (1929 to 1945) 103 Text Study: Finding Daddy: A Story of the Great Depression by Jo and Josephine Harper Era 16 The New American Dream: Freedom from Tyranny (1946 to Late 1950s) 111 Text Study: Mercedes and the Chocolate Pilot: A True Story of the Berlin Airlift and the Candy That Dropped from the Sky by Margot Theis Raven Era 17 Communism and Counterculture: The Challenges of the ’50s and ’60s (1950s to Late 1960s) 117 Text Study: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the March on Washington by Frances E. Ruffin Era 18 Modern Times: Presidential Scandals, Conservatism, and Unrest (1968 to Present) 125 Text Study: America’s White Table by Margot Theis Raven Era Summaries 131 Era 1 Across Beringia: Original People of North America (ca. 20,000 bce to ca. 1600 ce) 133 Indigenous Peoples Arrive • Distribution, Diversity, and Cultural Regions • Native American Civilization in North America and Beyond • The Effects of European Contact in the Americas Era 2 Driven to Discover: Europeans Establish the New World (Late 1400s to Late 1600s) 135 Europe Discovers the Americas • European Rivals in the Americas • Aims of British Settlement Differ by Region • The Colonists Encounter the Native North Americans Era 3 Uniquely American: The Beginnings of a New Nationality (1607 to Late 1600s) 139 The Early Colonies: Regional Differences Abound • Religious Tension and Tolerance • The Rise, Entrenchment, and Regional Patterns of Slavery • The Rise of Representative Government and Popular Power in the Colonies Era 4 Taxation without Representation: Tension Mounts (ca. 1660 to 1763) 142 Britain Expands Its Rule over America • The Colonies Become More Modern, British, and Like One Another • The Colonies’ Role in the Empire Grows and Becomes More Complex Era 5 Independence: America Gains Its Freedom (1763 to 1783) 145 The French and Indian War Prods Britain to Seek Revenue from the Colonies • The Colonies Reject British Taxation and Respond to the Stamp Act • Crisis Builds toward Revolution • The Revolutionary War: America Stands Up for Freedom, Britain for Its Empire Era 6 We the People: Building an American Republic (1776 to 1789) 149 Democratic Experiments: The Articles of Confederation and the State Constitutions • The Constitutional Convention of 1787 • The Battle for Ratification and the Call for a Bill of Rights Era 7 Democracy Made Real: America Passes the Torch (1789 to 1800) 153 Creating the National Government • The First Party Schism • The New Nation’s Parties and Politics • The Revolution of 1800 Era 8 Going West: Opportunity and Peril on America’s Frontier (1800 to 1830s) 157 A Young and Fast-Expanding Nation • America Defies the European Powers • The Economy Transforms as Commerce Expands Era 9 Freedom for All: American Democracy Begins to Transform (1820s to 1840s) 161 The New Party Schism and the Jacksonian Era • A More Perfect Society: Social Change and the Reform Movements • After Its Post-Revolution Decline, Slavery Gains Strength Era 10 A House Divided: North versus South (1820 to 1859) 164 A Line in the Sand: Slavery in the Territories • The Sectional Divide Grows • The Divide Begins to Rend the Country Era 11 Blue versus Gray: Civil War and Reconstruction (1860 to 1877) 168 Secessionists and Unionists • The War for the Union: 1861–1862 • The War against Slavery: 1863–1865 • The Rise and Fall of Reconstruction Era 12 Resistance and Recovery: Rebuilding a War-Torn Nation (1870s to 1890s) 174 Industrialization, Immigration, and Expansion • The Strains of the Gilded Age • The New South and the Rise of Jim Crow Era 13 The Next Benchmark: America Is a Global Leader (1890s to 1920) 178 The United States Looks Overseas • Social Strain at Home and the Progressive Push for Reform • The Limits of Progressivism and the Call for Civil Rights Era 14 The Great War: Rallying American Patriotism (1914 to 1929) 182 America Enters Europe’s War • The War at Home: Growth and Government, Patriotism, and Repression • Post-War America: Prosperity and New Freedoms—for Some Era 15 Prosperity Has Its Price: Economic Collapse and World War II (1929 to 1945) 186 Crash, Depression, and the New Deal Response • Totalitarian Europe and Global Crisis: Alarm, Extremism, and Isolationism at Home • The United States Joins the Second World War • The World War II Home Front Era 16 The New American Dream: Freedom from Tyranny (1946 to Late 1950s) 193 The Soviet Union and the Emerging Cold War • The Cold War at Home and the New Red Scare • American Life in the Post-War Era • The Renewed Civil Rights Movement Era 17 Communism and Counterculture: The Challenges of the ’50s and ’60s (1950s to Late 1960s) 199 The Superpowers Find an Uneasy Balance: Deterrence and the Battle for Hearts and Minds • Cold War Tensions under Kennedy and Johnson • Reform at Home: The Civil Rights Revolution and LBJ’s Great Society • The ’60s: War, Counterculture, and Conflict Era 18 Modern Times: Presidential Scandals, Conservatism, and Unrest (1968 to Present) 205 Global Conflict and Diplomacy: Détente, China, and the Middle East • The Cold War Ends, and European Communism Falls • The Changing Post–Cold War World • Recent Trends: Global Ties and Conflicts • Postscript: Recent Events (1992 to Present) Who Is Common Core 217 Acknowledgments 219 Index 221

About the Author :
Common Core, Inc. (commoncore.org) is a non-profit organization formed in 2007 to advocate for a content-rich liberal arts education in Americas K-12 schools. To improve education in America, Common Core creates curriculum materials, conducts professional development, and also promotes programs, policies, and initiatives at the local, state, and federal levels that provide students with challenging, rigorous instruction in the full range of liberal arts and sciences. Common Core, Inc. is not affiliated with the Common Core State Standards Initiative.