The Federal Period:
Shaping a Nation 1780-1820

Curriculum Connections

Although the content of this program is History based, the activities are interdisciplinary. Listed below are the subject areas covered in the content and the activities and the standards to which they are linked.
(click here to view detailed curriculum connections)

Massachusetts History and Social Science Curriculum Framework
United States History, Geography, Economics, and Government > History and Geography (Gr. 5)
United States History, Geography, Economics, and Government > Civics and Government (Gr. 5)
United States History, Geography, Economics, and Government > Economics (Gr. 5)
United States History, Geography, Economics, and Government > The Political, Intellectual, and Economic Growth of the Colonies, 1700-1775 (Gr. 5)
United States History, Geography, Economics, and Government > Revolution and the Formation of a Federal Government under the Constitution, 1775-1789 (Gr. 5)
United States History, Geography, Economics, and Government > The Principles and Institutions of American Constitutional Government (Gr. 5)
United States History, Geography, Economics, and Government > The Growth of the Republic (Gr. 5)
Concepts and Skills > History and Geography (Gr. 8-12)
U.S. History I > The Formation and Framework of American Democracy (Gr. 8-12)
U.S. History I > Political Democratization, Westward, Expansion, and Diplomatic Developments, 1790-1860 (Gr. 8-12)
U.S. History I > Economic Growth in the North and South, 1800-1860 (Gr. 8-12)
U.S. History I > Social, Political, and Religious Change, 1800-1860 (Gr. 8-12)

Massachusetts English Language Arts Curriculum Framework
Language Strand > Standard 1: Discussion (Gr. 5-6)
Language Strand > Standard 2: Questioning, Listening, and Contributing (Gr. 5-6)
Language Strand > Standard 3: Oral Presentation (Gr. 5-6)
Language Strand > Standard 4: Vocabulary and Concept Development (Gr. 5-6)
Language Strand > Standard 5: Structures and Origins of Modern English (Gr. 5-6)
Reading and Literature Strand > Standard 8: Understanding a Text (Gr. 5-6)
Reading and Literature Strand > Standard 9: Making Connections (Gr. 5-6)
Reading and Literature Strand > Standard 13: Nonfiction (Gr. 5-6)
Reading and Literature Strand > Standard 15: Style and Language (Gr. 5-6)
Composition Strand > Standard 19: Writing (Gr. 5-6)
Composition Strand > Standard 20: Consideration of Audience and Purpose (Gr. 5-6)
Composition Strand > Standard 23: Organizing Ideas in Writing (Gr. 5-6)
Composition Strand > Standard 24: Research (Gr. 5-6)
Composition Strand > Standard 26: Analysis of Media (Gr. 5-6)

Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework
Physical Sciences > States of Matter (Gr. 3-5)
Technology/Engineering > Materials and Tools (Gr. 3-5)
Technology/Engineering > Engineering Design (Gr. 3-5)
Life Science (Biology) > Characteristics of Plants and Animals (Gr. 3-5)
Life Science (Biology) > Structures and Functions (Gr. 3-5)
Life Science (Biology) > Adaptations of Living Things (Gr. 3-5)
Earth and Space Science > Weather (Gr. 3-5)

Massachusetts Arts Curriculum Framework
Visual Arts > Standard 1: Methods, Materials, and Techniques (Gr. K-12)
Visual Arts > Standard 2: Elements and Principles of Design (Gr. K-12)
Visual Arts > Standard 3: Observation, Abstraction, Invention, and Expression (Gr. K-12)
Visual Arts > Standard 5: Critical Response (Gr. K-12)
Connections Strand > Standard 6: Purposes and Meanings in the Arts (Gr. K-12)
Connections Strand > Standard 8: Concepts of Style, Stylistic Influences, and Stylistic Change (Gr. K-12)
Connections Strand > Standard 9: Inventions, Technologies, and the Arts (Gr. K-12)
Connections Strand > Standard 10: Interdisciplinary Connections (Gr. K-12)

Massachusetts Mathematics Curriculum Framework
Number Sense and Operations (Gr. 5-6)
Geometry (Gr. 5-6)
Measurement (Gr. 5-6)
Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability (Gr. 5-6)

The Federal Period:
Shaping a Nation 1780-1820

Detailed Curriculum Connections

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Massachusetts History and Social Science Curriculum Framework

United States History, Geography, Economics, and Government > 1 History and Geography (Gr. 5)
Identify different ways of dating historical narratives.

United States History, Geography, Economics, and Government > 2 History and Geography (Gr. 5)
Interpret timelines of events studies.

United States History, Geography, Economics, and Government > 3 History and Geography (Gr. 5)
Observe and identify details in cartoons, photographs, charts, and graphs relating to an historical narrative.

United States History, Geography, Economics, and Government > 8 Civics and Government (Gr. 5)
Define and use correctly words related to government: citizen, suffrage, rights, representation, federal, state, county, and municipal.

United States History, Geography, Economics, and Government > 9 Civics and Government (Gr. 5)
Give examples of the responsibilities and powers associated with major federal and state officials (e.g., the President, chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, governor, state senators, and state representatives).

United States History, Geography, Economics, and Government > 14 Economics (Gr. 5)
Give examples of how changes in supply and demand affected prices in colonial history.

United States History, Geography, Economics, and Government > 5.12 The Political, Intellectual, and Economic Growth of the Colonies, 1700-1775 (Gr. 5)
Explain the causes of the establishment of slavery in North America. Describe the harsh conditions of the Middle Passage and slave life, and the responses of slaves to their condition. Describe the life of free African Americans in the colonies.

United States History, Geography, Economics, and Government > 5.18 The Revolution and the

Formation of a Federal Government under the Constitution, 1775-1789 (Gr. 5)
Describe the life and achievements of important leaders during the Revolution and the early years of the United States.

United States History, Geography, Economics, and Government > 5.23 The Principles and Institutions of American Constitutional Government (Gr. 5)
Describe the responsibilities of government at the federal, state, and local levels (e.g., protection of individual rights and the provision of services such as law enforcement and the building and funding of schools).

United States History, Geography, Economics, and Government > 5.27 The Principles and Institutions of American Constitutional Government (Gr. 5)
Explain how American citizens were expected to participate in, monitor, and bring about changes in their government over time, and give examples of how they continue to do so today.

United States History, Geography, Economics, and Government > 5.31 The Growth of the Republic (Gr. 5)
Describe the significance and consequences of the abolition of slavery in the northern states after the Revolution and the 1808 law that banned the importation of slaves into the United States.

United States History, Geography, Economics, and Government > 5.35 The Growth of the Republic (Gr. 5)
Identify the key issues that contributed to the onset of the Civil War.

Concepts and Skills > 7 History and Geography (Gr. 8-12)
Show connections, causal and otherwise, between particular historical events and ideas and larger social, economic, and political trends and developments.

Concepts and Skills > 8 History and Geography (Gr. 8-12)
Interpret the past within its own historical context rather than in terms of present-day norms and values.

U.S. History I > USI.11 The Formation and Framework of American Democracy (Gr. 8-12)
Describe the purpose and functions of government.

U.S. History I > USI.14 The Formation and Framework of American Democracy (Gr. 8-12)
Explain the characteristics of American democracy, including the concepts of popular sovereignty and constitutional government, which includes representative institutions, federalism, separation of powers, shared powers, checks and balances, and individual rights.

U.S. History I > USI.15 The Formation and Framework of American Democracy (Gr. 8-12)
Explain the varying roles and responsibilities of federal, state, and local governments in the United States.

U.S. History I > USI.16 The Formation and Framework of American Democracy (Gr. 8-12)
Describe the evolution of the role of the federal government, including public services, taxation, economic policy, foreign policy, and common defense.

U.S. History I > USI.19 The Formation and Framework of American Democracy (Gr. 8-12)
Explain the rights and the responsibilities of citizenship and describe how a democracy provides opportunities for citizens to participate in the political process through elections, political parties, and interest groups.

U.S. History I > USI.20 The Formation and Framework of American Democracy (Gr. 8-12)
Explain the evolution and function of political parties, including their role in federal, state, and local elections.

U.S. History I > USI.22 Political Democratization, Westward, Expansion, and Diplomatic Developments, 1790-1860 (Gr. 8-12)
Summarize the major policies and political developments that took place during the presidencies of George Washington (1789-1797), John Adams (1797-1801), and Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809).

•  The origins of the Federalist and Democratic-Republican parties in the 1790s
•  The conflicting ideas of Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton

Seminal Primary Document to Consider : Jefferson's First Inaugural Address (1801)

U.S. History I > USI.27 Economic Growth in the North and South, 1800-1860 (Gr. 8-12)
Explain the importance of the Transportation Revolution of the 19 th century (the building of canals, roads, bridges, turnpikes, steamboats, and railroads), including the stimulus it provided to the growth of a market economy.

U.S. History I > USI.28 Economic Growth in the North and South, 1800-1860 (Gr. 8-12)
Explain the emergence and impact of the textile industry in New England and the industrial growth generally throughout antebellum America.

•  The technological improvements and inventions that contributed to industrial growth

U.S. History I > USI.31 Social, Political, and Religious Change, 1800-1860 (Gr. 8-12)
Describe the formation of the abolitionist movement, the roles of various abolitionists, and the response of southerners and northerners to abolitionism.

B. William Lloyd Garrison

Massachusetts English Language Arts Curriculum Framework

Language Strand > Standard 1: Discussion (Gr. 5-6)
Students will use agreed-upon rules for informal and formal discussions in small and large groups.

Language Strand > Standard 2: Questioning, Listening, and Contributing (Gr. 5-6)
Students will pose questions, listen to the ideas of others, and contribute their own information or ideas in group discussions or interviews in order to acquire new knowledge.

Language Strand > Standard 3: Oral Presentation (Gr. 5-6)
Students will make oral presentations that demonstrate appropriate consideration of audience, purpose, and the information to be conveyed.

Language Strand > Standard 4: Vocabulary and Concept Development (Gr. 5-6)
Students will understand and acquire new vocabulary and use it correctly in reading and writing.

Language Strand > Standard 5: Structures and Origins of Modern English (Gr. 5-6)
Students will analyze standard English grammar and usage and recognize how its vocabulary has developed and been influenced by other languages.

Reading and Literature Strand > Standard 8: Understanding a Text (Gr. 5-6)
Students will identify basic facts and main ideas in a text and use them as the basis for interpretation.

Reading and Literature Strand > Standard 9: Making Connections (Gr. 5-6)
Students will deepen their understanding of a literary or non-literary work by relating it to its contemporary context or historical background.

Reading and Literature Strand > Standard 13: Nonfiction (Gr. 5-6)
Students will identify, analyze, and apply knowledge of the purposes, structure, and elements of nonfiction or informational materials and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding.

Reading and Literature Strand > Standard 15: Style and Language (Gr. 5-6)
Students will identify and analyze how an author's words appeal to the senses, create imagery, suggest mood, and set tone, and will provide evidence from the text to support their understanding.

Composition Strand > Standard 19: Writing (Gr. 5-6)
Students will write with a clear focus, coherent organization, and sufficient detail.

Composition Strand > Standard 20: Consideration of Audience and Purpose (Gr. 5-6)
Students will write for different audiences and purposes.

Composition Strand > Standard 23: Organizing Ideas in Writing (Gr. 5-6)
Students will organize ideas in writing in a way that makes sense for their purpose.

Composition Strand > Standard 24: Research (Gr. 5-6)
Students will gather information from a variety of sources, analyze and evaluate the quality of the information they obtain, and use it to answer their own questions.

Composition Strand > Standard 26: Analysis of Media (Gr. 5-6)
Students will identify, analyze, and apply knowledge of the conventions, elements, and techniques of film, radio, video, television, multimedia productions, the Internet, and emerging technologies, and provide evidence from the works to support their understanding.

Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework

Physical Sciences > 1 States of Matter (Gr. 3-5)
Compare and contrast solids, liquids, and gases based on the basic properties of each of these states of matter.

Physical Sciences > 2 States of Matter (Gr. 3-5)
Describe how water can be changed from one state to another by adding or taking away heat.

Technology/Engineering > Materials and Tools (Gr. 3-5)
Appropriate materials, tools, and machines extend our ability to solve problems and invent.

Technology/Engineering > Engineering Design (Gr. 3-5)
Engineering design requires creative thinking and strategies to solve practical problems generated by needs and wants.

Life Science (Biology) > 1 Characteristics of Plants and Animals (Gr. 3-5)
Classify plants and animals according to the physical characteristics that they share.

Life Science (Biology) > 2 Structures and Functions (Gr. 3-5)
Identify the structures in plants (leaves, roots, flowers, stem, bark, wood) that are responsible for food production, support, water transport, reproduction, growth, and protection.

Life Science (Biology) > 3 Structures and Functions (Gr. 3-5)
Recognize that plants and animals go through predictable life cycles that include birth, growth, development, reproduction, and death.

Life Science (Biology) > 5 Structures and Functions (Gr. 3-5)
Differentiate between observed characteristics of plants and animals that are fully inherited and characteristics that are affected by the climate or environment.

Life Science (Biology) > 7 Adaptations of Living Things (Gr. 3-5)
Give examples of how changes in the environment (drought, cold) have caused some plants and animals to die or move to new locations (migration).

Earth and Space Science > 7 Weather (Gr. 3-5)
Distinguish among the various forms of precipitation (rain, snow, sleet, and hail), making connections to the weather in a particular place and time.

Earth and Space Science > 9 Weather (Gr. 3-5)
Differentiate between weather and climate.

Massachusetts Arts Curriculum Framework

Visual Arts > Standard 1: Methods, Materials, and Techniques (Gr. K-12)
Students will demonstrate knowledge of the methods, materials, and techniques unique to the visual arts.

Visual Arts > Standard 2: Elements and Principles of Design (Gr. K-12)
Students will demonstrate knowledge of the elements and principles of design.

Visual Arts > Standard 3: Observation, Abstraction, Invention, and Expression (Gr. K-12)
Students will demonstrate their powers of observation, abstraction, invention, and expression in a variety of media, materials, and techniques.

Visual Arts > Standard 5: Critical Response (Gr. K-12)
Students will describe and analyze their own work and the work of others using appropriate visual arts vocabulary. When appropriate, students will connect their analysis to interpretation and evaluation.

Connections Strand > Standard 6: Purposes and Meanings in the Arts (Gr. K-12)
Students will describe the purpose for which works of dance, music, theater, visual arts, and architecture were and are created, and, when appropriate, interpret their meanings.

Connections Strand > Standard 8: Concepts of Style, Stylistic Influences, and Stylistic Change (Gr. K-12)
Students will demonstrate their understanding of styles, stylistic influence, and stylistic change by identifying when and where art works were created, and by analyzing characteristic features of art works from various historical periods, cultures, and genres.

Connections Strand > Standard 9: Inventions, Technologies, and the Arts (Gr. K-12)
Students will describe and analyze how performing and visual artists use and have used materials, inventions, and technologies in their work.

Connections Strand > Standard 10: Interdisciplinary Connections (Gr. K-12)
Students will apply their knowledge of the arts to the study of English language arts, foreign languages, health, history and social science, mathematics, and science and technology/engineering.

Massachusetts Mathematics Curriculum Framework

5.N.12 Number Sense and Operations (Gr. 5)
Accurately and efficiently add and subtract whole numbers and positive decimals. Multiply and divide whole numbers. Multiply positive decimals with whole numbers.

6.N.5 Number Sense and Operations (Gr. 5-6)
Identify and determine common equivalent fractions, mixed numbers, decimals, and percents.

6.N.9 Number Sense and Operations (Gr. 5-6)
Select and use appropriate operation to solve problems involving addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and positive integer exponents with whole numbers, and with positive fractions, mixed numbers, decimals, and percents.

6.N.13 Number Sense and Operations (Gr. 5-6)
Accurately and efficiently add, subtract, multiply, and divide whole numbers and positive decimals.

5.G.1 Geometry (Gr. 5)
Identify, describe, and compare special types of triangles (isosceles, equilateral, right) and quadrilaterals (square, rectangle, parallelogram, rhombus, trapezoid), e.g., recognize that all equilateral triangles are isosceles, but not all isosceles triangles are equilateral.

5.G.2 Geometry (Gr. 5)
Identify, describe, and compare special types of three-dimensional shapes (cubes, prisms, spheres, pyramids) based on their properties, such as edges and faces.

6.G.1 Geometry (Gr. 5-6)
Identify polygons based on their properties, including types of interior angles, perpendicular or parallel sides, and congruence of sides, e.g., squares, rectangles, rhombuses, parallelograms, trapezoids, and isosceles, equilateral, and right triangles.

6.G.2 Geometry (Gr. 5-6)
Identify three-dimensional shapes based on their properties, such as edges and faces.

5.M.3 Measurement (Gr. 5)
Solve problems involving simple unit conversions within a system of measurement.

6.M.3 Measurement (Gr. 5-6)
Solve problems involving proportional relationships and units of measurement, e.g., same system unit conversions, scale models, maps, and speed.

5.D.2 Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability (Gr. 5)
Construct and interpret line plots, line graphs, and bar graphs. Interpret and label circle graphs.

6.D.2 Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability (Gr. 5-6)
Construct and interpret stem-and-leaf plots, line plots, and circle graphs.

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