Social Studies Standards

Reinvigorating the civic mission of public education should be the top priority for anyone concerned about the future health of our government and our society.  Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor

Social studies prepares our young people to be college, career, and community ready.  It has separate content strands, yet is most understandable to students as an interdisciplinary topic.  

Social studies is composed of deep and enduring understandings, content, inquiry, concepts, and skills from the fields of geography, history, political science and civics, economics, and the behavioral sciences.

Wisconsin Standards for Social Studies

Here are some things to look for in these standards:

1. The Wisconsin Standards for Social Studies focus on both content and skills.  The addition of the Inquiry Practices and Processes strand reflects the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework published by the National Council for the Social Studies.

2. The Wisconsin Standards for Social Studies are organized by grade bands: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. This allows for some flexibility in instruction and greater differentiation for the support of students over time. 

3. There are 28 social studies standards identified for grades kindergarten through 12. This is a shift from Wisconsin's Model Academic Standards for Social Studies (the previous state standards), which had dozens of indicators at 4th, 8th, and 12th grades.  

4. Performance indicators within the standards allow for flexibility for educators and school communities to identify more specific elements through their own curricular development. 

Social Studies Strands - The six strands differentiated within the standards are: 

• Inquiry Practices and Processes
• Behavioral Sciences (which include Anthropology, Psychology, and Sociology)
• Economics
• Geography
• History
• Political Science

Standards Structure

Standard: Broad statement that tells what students are expected to know or be able to do.

Learning Priority: Breaks down the broad statement into manageable learning pieces.

Performance Indicator by grade band: Measurable degree to which a standard has been developed or met.       

Grade Bands - K - 2nd (Elementary), 3rd - 5th (Intermediate), 6th - 8th (Middle School), and 9th - 12th (High School)

• Wisconsin Standards for Social Studies 
• Wisconsin Disciplinary Literacy in Social Studies
• Wisconsin Academic Standards for Literacy in All Subjects
• Universal Design for Learning (UDL); Universal Design for Learning in the Arts (Video)
• Wisconsin Guiding Principles for Teaching and Learning

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction has a transparent and comprehensive process for reviewing and revising academic standards. The process involves the wide gathering of ideas from multiple persons including music teachers, administrators, parents, business professionals, music industry and service organizations, and leaders from across the state. The process is outlined within the standards review/revision process  link.

This work is made possible through the efforts of a dedicated team of educators, administrators, higher education staff, and industry professionals. The Wisconsin Standards for Social Studies were shaped by this team’s expertise and generous nature, with the goal of creating a tool that could be used by fellow educators, parents, community members, and the learners in their care, to build skills and knowledge in all social studies areas. Members of the writing committee donated numerous hours and shared their expertise in the development of the social studies standards document. These members include:

Many resources were used by the writing team to develop the Wisconsin Standards for Social Studies.

• Wisconsin's Model Academic Standards for Social Studies (1998)
• The College, Career, and Civic Life Ready (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards: Guidance for Enhancing the Rigor of K-12 Civics, Economics, Geography, and History by the National Council for the Social Studies (2013)
• The NCSS National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies: A Framework for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment (2010)
• National Content Standards:
  • Geography for Life: National Geography Standards from the Geography Education National Implementation Project (GENIP) on behalf of the Association of American Geographers, the American Geographical Society, the National Council for Geography Education, and the National Geographic Society (2012).
  • National Standards for High School Psychology from the American Psychological Association (2011)
  • Voluntary National Economics Content Standards from the Council for Economic Education (2010)
• State Social Studies Standards from Delaware, Iowa, and Illinois
• Advanced Placement History Disciplinary Practices and Reasoning Skills from the College Board

Special thanks for the assistance from the Wisconsin Historical Society in determining eras and themes for the history strand.

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (WI DPI) will be updating the resources on this page to support districts in learning about and implementing the social studies standards. WI DPI supports a three-year implementation for districts to ensure appropriate time to fully implement the social studies standards into the curriculum, instruction, and assessment.