Course Description Core Standards of the CourseStandard 1 (Creativity and Innovation) Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology (NETS-1, 4, & 6).Objective 1 Demonstrate understanding of basic uses and processes of computers (RST 6-8.4).Develop understanding of computers at home, in school, and throughout the world.Develop understanding and awareness of the benefits and dangers of using the Internet.Objective 2 Accurately identify and use the monitor, keyboard, and mouse.Describe and demonstrate understanding of functions, uses and types of the monitor, keyboard, and mouse.Demonstrate accuracy in using the monitor, keyboard, and mouse.Standard 2 (Communication and Collaboration) Students will use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others (NETS—2, 3, 5, & 6).Objective 1 Determine the meaning of common computer terminology (RST 6-8.4).Identify the primary hardware components of a computer.Define and understand the function of an operating system.Define and understand the terms program and data.Define and understand the term network and identify the benefits and responsibilities of networkingDefine and understand the term Internet and identify the benefits, dangers, and responsibilities of using the Internet.Objective 2 Understand computer performance and features (RST 6-8.10).Identify and compare the features of different types of computer.Explain the role of memory.Explain the basics of computer performance and productivity.Describe and understand different types of productivity programs and their uses.Describe and understand different types of communication programs and their uses.Describe and demonstrate the ability to use educational and entertainment programs.Standard 3 (Research and Information Fluency) Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information (NETS-3).Objective 1 Analyze and use the Internet and the World Wide Web (RST 6-8.9).Identify the different components required for an Internet connection.Distinguish between different types of Internet connections and the meaning of the term bandwidth in relation to those connections.Explain how Web addresses work (e.g., parts of a URL—Web server, domain name, etc.).Exhibit proficiency and understanding of how to use a browser to navigate the Web, find content, and evaluate sites.Objective 2 Understand communication on the Internet (WHST 6-8.2, 6, & 8).Demonstrate understanding of how e-mail works.Write and send e-mail messages for a variety of purposes.Manage e-mail messages (inbox, trash, search, etc.).Identify the features, benefits, dangers, and uses of online communities.Understand features and uses of instant messaging.Explain and demonstrate understanding of how Web authoring software is used to create and publish Web pages.Explain the meaning and uses of e-commerce.Standard 4 (Digital Citizenship) Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues relating to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior (NETS 5).Objective 1 Understand and demonstrate knowledge of common features and commands (RST 6-8.3).Identify the main components of the user interface.Identify the purpose of commands on the menu bar.Select and use appropriate buttons on the toolbar according to task and purpose.Effectively use the pointer in a program.Select and use appropriate text and characters in a program according to task and purpose.Explain and use primary keyboard shortcuts and key combinations.Objective 2 Demonstrate knowledge of word processing (RST 6-8.3) (WHST 6-8.6).Perform basic tasks by using a word processor (RST 6-8.3).Edit and format text.Work with tables and pictures.Work with language tools.Identify the various benefits of using desktop publishing (DTP).Objective 3 Demonstrate knowledge of Spreadsheets (RST 6-8.3 & 7) (WHST 6-8.6).Identify the different components of a spreadsheet.Enter data into a spreadsheet.Perform basic mathematical operations in a spreadsheet.Insert charts into a spreadsheet.Explain the purpose of options available for printing a spreadsheet.Objective 4 Demonstrate knowledge of presentation programs (RST 6-8.3 & 7) (WHST 6-8.6).Identify the basic functionalities offered by presentation programs.Create a new presentation.Add graphics and multimedia to a presentation.Identify the options available to print presentations in different formats.Objective 5 Demonstrate knowledge of databases (RST 6-8.3 & 7) (WHST 6-8.6).Describe and understand basic database concepts.Create a database.Create and understand records in a database.Describe and understand database queries.Describe, use, and understand reports.Standard 5 (Technology Operations and Concepts) Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations (NETS 6) (RST 6-8.8).Objective 1 Demonstrate knowledge of computer security and privacy (RST 6-8. 8 & 10).Define security and privacy as they apply to computing.Identify various threats in the world of computers and explain their corresponding solutions.Objective 2 Understand how to protect computers and data.Identify various methods of protecting the operating system, software, and data on a computer.Identify various ways of securing online and network transactions.Identify common measures for securing e-mail and instant messaging transactions.Objective 3 Understand how to protect home computers from security threats.Identify common measures used to protect privacy.Describe and understand how online predators work.Identify the guidelines to protect children from online predators.Objective 4 Understand how to keep a computer secure and updated.Explain the purpose of different security settings on your computer.Identify the options available for keeping your computer up to date.Objective 5 Understand and demonstrate computer ethics.Define intellectual property as it applies to computing.Identify the various copyright violation acts and their preventive measures.Identify the various legal concerns associated with information exchange.Standard 6 Students will research and understand digital lifestyles topics (NETS 3 &5) (RST 6-8.2, 3, & 4).Objective 1 Define and analyze the modern digital experience.Identify the benefits of the expanding scope of digital technology.Explain how merging technologies expands the features of digital devices.Objective 2 Understand and use digital audio.Identify the characteristics of digital audio.Explain the concepts of recording, copying, and converting digital audio.Identify the features of advanced speech technologies.Objective 3 Understand and use digital video.Identify the characteristics of digital video.Describe what digital video editing is and the various output formats for digital video.Identify the features of different Web video technologies.Objective 4 Understand and use digital photography.Explain the benefits, features, and workings of a digital camera.Demonstrate how digital images can be managed and edited.Identify the features of different types of printers that are available for printing photos.Objective 5 Understand digital technology and career opportunities.Explain how digital technology enables different work environments.Identify different career opportunities available in digital technology.Objective 6 Understand computer operating systemsExplain the common functions of an operating system.Identify the different components of the Windows XP interface.Work with the Windows XP interface within programs.Manage files and folders in Windows Explorer.Perform basic file operations.Standard 7 (Critical Thinking, Problem Solving and Decision Making) Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources through an integrated project with a General Education Class (NETS 2, 4, & 5).Objective 1 Students will use any or all of the following in a project to be presented to the Computer Technology teacher and a cross-curricular teacher: document processing, spreadsheet, electronic, presentation.Course Description Core Standards of the CourseStandard 1 Students will understand basic business, economic and entrepreneurial concepts.Objective 1 Students will identify different types of businesses ownership (sole proprietorship, partnership, and corporations)List the advantages and disadvantages of each business type.Explain the difference between profit vs. non profit businesses.Objective 2 Students will understand and demonstrate Economic and Entrepreneurial concepts:Students will determine business risks, skills and characteristics of entrepreneurs. (Personality Test, Risk Awareness)Explain scarcity, demand, supply and opportunity cost (trade-offs).Standard 2 Students will understand the importance of investing and its relationship to business.Objective 1 Identify various investment tools.Compare risk and benefit of investment tools.Understand how time influences investment options.(Compound Interest)Objective 2 Students will be understand and explain basic stock market concepts and terminology.Understand differences between public and privately held companies.Define stock, stock market, stockbroker, commission, stock exchange (NYSE), shareholders, dividends, bull market, and bear market.Objective 3 Students will be able to read stock quotes.Objective 4 Students will simulate the buying and selling of stock. (The Stock Market Game, bankhs.com, creating a personal portfolio)Use research to identify possible stock purchases.Determine gains/losses on the sale of stock.Standard 3 Students will research and develop a business venture to be used for their entrepreneurial simulation.Objective 1 Students will explore possible business ventures to pursue for the business simulation.Identify resources at their disposal. Capital, Human, and Natural ResourcesAnalyze different business ventures and choose a business for the simulation.Objective 2 Students will determine who the potential customers are for the business simulation.Identify goods and/or services as potential business ventures.Determine an appropriate target market for business venture using demographics.Conduct market research of target market to determine customer wants and needs.Objective 3 Students will make financial decisions by creating a budget for the business venture.Create a financial budget. (Include advertising, business documents and other related expenses.)Standard 4 Students will create a marketing plan for their business venture.Objective 1 Students will know the 4 P's of marketing (Marketing Mix) of product, place, price, and promotion.Incorporate the marketing mix to the business marketing plan.Objective 2 Students will understand what motivates consumer purchase.Identify emotional, rational and patronage motives for making purchases.Identify possible motivations for the simulation target market.Objective 3 Students will identify advertising media: magazines, newspapers, television, radio, social media, internet, and billboards.Choose the best advertising media for the simulation.Objective 4 Students will research advertising costs for their business venture.Include the advertising cost in the financial budget.Standard 5 Students will design business documents.Objective 1 Students will understand and evaluate basic design concepts and terminology.Define: white space, margins, headline, copy, color, page balance, font, font size, graphic formats, and design elements.Design high-quality printed documents on for the simulation.Objective 2 Students will create a logo and slogan for their business.Identify the purpose of logos and slogans.Create a digital logo and slogan to be used in the simulation documents.Objective 3 Students will create business cards, letterhead, and additional documents as needed.Identify the purpose of these documents.Objective 4 Students will create 3 print and/or multimedia advertisements.Objective 5 Students will research the financial cost of creating/obtaining business documents for their business venture.Include the printing cost in the financial budget.Standard 6 Students will incorporate concepts learned to create, present and evaluate a business plan (Student portfolio).Objective 1 Students will compile a business plan (student portfolio), including, but not limited to the following sections:Cover SheetExecutive SummaryOrganizational PlanMarketing PlanFinancial DocumentsOther documents created for the simulationObjective 2 Students will present or display the business plan and supporting documents.Collect feedback from a third-party.Objective 3 Students will evaluate the success of their business.Complete a self-reflection activity about the project.Standard 7 Students will reinforce keyboarding skills.Objective 1 Students will use correct keyboarding technique to improve speed and accuracy.Eyes on copy or screen, not on keys.Fingers curved and oriented to home row.Correct fingers used for keystrokes.Key with smooth rhythm and quiet hands.Forearms parallel to slant of keyboard; wrists low but not resting on any surface.Proper sitting posture: body centered, feet provide balance elbows naturally at sides.Standard 8 (Optional) Students will create a webpage for their business venture.(District guidelines must be followed for publishing web pages.)Objective 1 Students will explore the basic concept of source code.Objective 2 Students will use a web page editor to create a web site that includes multiple pages and links. The web site will also include a title heading, sub-heading, body text, and text enhancements (i.e. font, color, bold, italics, font size, etc), and a graphic.Objective 3 Students will research the costs related to publishing and maintaining a web site and prepare a budget.Include the web publishing cost in the financial budget.Core Standards of the CourseCollege and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for 6-12 ReadingThe following Reading standards offer a focus for instruction each year and help ensure that students gain adequate exposure to a range of texts and tasks. Rigor is also infused through the requirement that students read increasingly complex texts through the grades. Students advancing through the grades are expected to meet each year’s grade-specific standards and retain or further develop skills and understandings mastered in preceding grades.The CCR anchor standards and high school grade-specific standards work in tandem to define college and career readiness expectations—the former providing broad standards, the latter providing additional specificity.Key Ideas and DetailsReading: Literature Standard 1 Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.Reading: Literature Standard 2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective summary of the text.Reading: Literature Standard 3 Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story or drama propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision.Craft and StructureReading: Literature Standard 4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.Reading: Literature Standard 5 Compare and contrast the structure of two or more texts and analyze how the differing structure of each text contributes to its meaning and style.Reading: Literature Standard 6 Analyze how differences in the points of view of the characters and the audience or reader (e.g., created through the use of dramatic irony) create such effects as suspense or humor.Integration of Knowledge and IdeasReading: Literature Standard 7 Analyze the extent to which a filmed or live production of a story or drama stays faithful to or departs from the text or script, evaluating the choices made by the director or actors.Reading: Literature Standard 8 (Not applicable to literature)Reading: Literature Standard 9 Analyze how a modern work of fiction draws on themes, patterns of events, or character types from myths, traditional stories, or religious works such as the Bible, including describing how the material is rendered new.Range of Reading and Level of Text ComplexityReading: Literature Standard 10 By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, at the high end of grades 6–8 text complexity band independently and proficiently.The CCR anchor standards and high school grade-specific standards work in tandem to define college and career readiness expectations—the former providing broad standards, the latter providing additional specificity.Key Ideas and DetailsReading: Informational Text Standard 1 Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.Reading: Informational Text Standard 2 Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to supporting ideas; provide an objective summary of the text.Reading: Informational Text Standard 3 Analyze how a text makes connections among and distinctions between individuals, ideas, or events (e.g., through comparisons, analogies, or categories).Craft and StructureReading: Informational Text Standard 4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.Reading: Informational Text Standard 5 Analyze in detail the structure of a specific paragraph in a text, including the role of particular sentences in developing and refining a key concept.Reading: Informational Text Standard 6 Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author acknowledges and responds to conflicting evidence or viewpoints.Integration of Knowledge and IdeasReading: Informational Text Standard 7 Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using different mediums (e.g., print or digital text, video, multimedia) to present a particular topic or idea.Reading: Informational Text Standard 8 Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; recognize when irrelevant evidence is introduced.Reading: Informational Text Standard 9 Analyze a case in which two or more texts provide conflicting information on the same topic and identify where the texts disagree on matters of fact or interpretation.Range of Reading and Level of Text ComplexityReading: Informational Text Standard 10 By the end of the year, read and comprehend literary nonfiction at the high end of the grades 6–8 text complexity band independently and proficiently.College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for 6-12 WritingThe following Writing standards offer a focus for instruction each year to help ensure that students gain adequate mastery of a range of skills and applications. Each year in their writing, students should demonstrate increasing sophistication in all aspects of language use, from vocabulary and syntax to the development and organization of ideas, and they should address increasingly demanding content and sources. Students advancing through the grades are expected to meet each year’s grade-specific standards and retain or further develop skills and understandings mastered in preceding grades. The expected growth in student writing ability is reflected both in the standards themselves and in the collection of annotated student writing samples in Appendix C.Text Types and PurposesWriting Standard 1 Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.a. Introduce claim(s), acknowledge and distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically.b. Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.c. Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.d. Establish and maintain a formal style.e. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.Writing Standard 2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.a. Introduce a topic clearly, previewing what is to follow; organize ideas, concepts, and information into broader categories; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.b. Develop the topic with relevant, well-chosen facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples.c. Use appropriate and varied transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts.d. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.e. Establish and maintain a formal style.f. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented.Writing Standard 3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.a. Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and point of view and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically.b. Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, and reflection, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.c. Use a variety of transition words, phrases, and clauses to convey sequence, signal shifts from one time frame or setting to another, and show the relationships among experiences and events.d. Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to capture the action and convey experiences and events.e. Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on the narrated experiences or events.Production and Distribution of WritingWriting Standard 4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3 above.)Writing Standard 5 With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed.Writing Standard 6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas efficiently as well as to interact and collaborate with others.Research to Build and Present KnowledgeWriting Standard 7 Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration.Writing Standard 8 Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.Writing Standard 9 Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.a. Apply grade 8 Reading standards to literature (e.g., “Analyze how a modern work of fiction draws on themes, patterns of events, or character types from myths, traditional stories, or religious works such as the Bible, including describing how the material is rendered new”).b. Apply grade 8 Reading standards to literary nonfiction (e.g., “Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; recognize when irrelevant evidence is introduced”).Range of WritingWriting Standard 10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two.College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for 6-12 Speaking and ListeningThe following Speaking and Listening standards offer a focus for instruction in each year to help ensure that students gain adequate mastery of a range of skills and applications.Students advancing through the grades are expected to meet each year’s grade-specific standards and retain or further develop skills and understandings mastered in preceding grades.Comprehension and CollaborationSpeaking and Listening Standard 1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.a. Come to discussions prepared, having read or researched material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence on the topic, text, or issue to probe and reflect on ideas under discussion.b. Follow rules for collegial discussions and decision-making, track progress toward specific goals and deadlines, and define individual roles as needed.c. Pose questions that connect the ideas of several speakers and respond to others’ questions and comments with relevant evidence, observations, and ideas.d. Acknowledge new information expressed by others, and, when warranted, qualify or justify their own views in light of the evidence presented.Speaking and Listening Standard 2 Analyze the purpose of information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and evaluate the motives (e.g., social, commercial, political) behind its presentation.Speaking and Listening Standard 3 Delineate a speaker’s argument and specific claims, evaluating the soundness of the reasoning and relevance and sufficiency of the evidence and identifying when irrelevant evidence is introduced.Presentation of Knowledge and IdeasSpeaking and Listening Standard 4 Present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with relevant evidence, sound valid reasoning, and well-chosen details; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.Speaking and Listening Standard 5 Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest.Speaking and Listening Standard 6 Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for 6-12 LanguageThe following Language standards offer a focus for instruction each year to help ensure that students gain adequate mastery of a range of skills and applications. Students advancing through the grades are expected to meet each year’s grade-specific standards and retain or further develop skills and understandings mastered in preceding grades. Beginning in grade 3, skills and understandings that are particularly likely to require continued attention in higher grades as they are applied to increasingly sophisticated writing and speaking are marked with an asterisk (*).Conventions of Standard EnglishLanguage Standard 1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.a. Explain the function of verbals (gerunds, participles, infinitives) in general and their function in particular sentences.b. Form and use verbs in the active and passive voice.c. Form and use verbs in the indicative, imperative, interrogative, conditional, and subjunctive mood.d. Recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in verb voice and mood.*Language Standard 2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.a. Use punctuation (comma, ellipsis, dash) to indicate a pause or break.b. Use an ellipsis to indicate an omission.c. Spell correctly.Knowledge of LanguageLanguage Standard 3 Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.a. Use verbs in the active and passive voice and in the conditional and subjunctive mood to achieve particular effects (e.g., emphasizing the actor or the action; expressing uncertainty or describing a state contrary to fact).Vocabulary Acquisition and UseLanguage Standard 4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words or phrases based on grade 8 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.a. Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence or paragraph; a word’s position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.b. Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., precede, recede, secede).c. Consult general and specialized reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning or its part of speech.d. Verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase (e.g., by checking the inferred meaning in context or in a dictionary).Language Standard 5 Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.a. Interpret figures of speech (e.g. verbal irony, puns) in context.b. Use the relationship between particular words to better understand each of the words.c. Distinguish among the connotations (associations) of words with similar denotations (definitions) (e.g., bullheaded, willful, firm, persistent, resolute).Language Standard 6 Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.Beginning in grade 3, skills and understandings that are particularly likely to require continued attention in higher grades as they are applied to increasingly sophisticated writing and speaking are marked with an asterisk (*).Appendices:Appendix A: Supplementary materials and glossary of terms (PDF - 881 KB)Appendix B: Text exemplars (PDF - 1.52 MB)Appendix C: Annotated samples of student writing (PDF - 11.28 MB)
Core Standards of the CourseStandard 1 Students will interpret the role of geography in shaping United States history.Objective 1 Determine how geography affected the development of the United States.Identify the five themes of geography; i.e., location, place, human-environmental interaction, movement, and region.Apply the five themes of geography as they relate to the development of the United States.Objective 2 Utilize geographic skills as they relate to the study of the United States.Locate the major physical features, including the plains, major rivers, bodies of water, mountain ranges, and continents.Locate the major political features, including countries, regions, and states.Apply map and globe skills to the study of United States history; e.g., direction, legend, scale, grid coordinates.Standard 2 Students will investigate the relationship between events of different time periods.Objective 1 Develop an awareness of current events.Use print and broadcast media to acquire an awareness of current events.Recognize the difference between fact and opinion, and discern bias in the media.Objective 2 Analyze how contemporary concerns and events affect and are affected by history.Apply knowledge of historical events to recent major events.Utilize contemporary news to discuss past events.Standard 3 Students will understand the changes caused by European exploration in the Americas.Objective 1 Explore life among the various American Indian nations prior to European exploration of the New World.Identify the major regional American Indian nations of North America. Examine the cultures of American Indian nations; e.g., languages, beliefs, traditions, and lifestyles.Objective 2 Analyze the reasons for European exploration.Explain the economic reasons behind exploration; e.g., trade routes, discoveries of fine goods in the East, search for raw materials.Examine the political reasons behind exploration; e.g., empire building, European rivalries.Investigate the social reasons behind exploration; e.g., spreading ideas and beliefs, seeking religious freedoms.Identify key individuals who contributed to European exploration; e.g. Columbus, Cartier, Cabot, Hudson.Objective 3 Assess the impact of European exploration on African slaves and American Indian nations.Examine the reasons for slavery in the New World; e.g., cotton, sugar, tobacco.Trace the beginnings of the slave trade in the Americas.Investigate the transportation of African slaves to the Americas; i.e., triangular trade routes, the Middle Passage.Explore the impact of the Europeans and the resulting destruction of American Indian cultures; e.g., the Spanish Conquistadors, disease brought by Europeans, European settlement.Standard 4 Students will analyze European colonization and settlement of North America.Objective 1 Explain where and why European countries colonized North America, e.g., the Netherlands, England, France, Spain.Identify motives for exploration; e.g., religion, expansion, trade, wealth.Locate the geographical regions of European settlement.Investigate the contributions and influences of the major European powers.Objective 2 Assess the reasons for settlement of the English colonies.Compare the reasons for settlement in the New England, Middle, and Southern colonies.Explain the contributions of key individuals in the settling of the English colonies; e.g., John Smith, Lord Baltimore, William Bradford.Identify key groups involved in the settlement of the English colonies; e.g., Virginia Company, Pilgrims, Puritans, Quakers.Determine the reasons for conflict between the European powers in North America.Examine the causes and outcomes of the French and Indian War. Objective 3 Examine the economic, political, and social patterns in the development of the 13 English colonies.Contrast the economies of the three major Colonial regions: New England, Middle, and Southern.Assess the impact of geography on the economies of the three major regions.Explain the development of self-government in the colonies.Investigate the lifestyles and cultures of the New England, Middle, and Southern colonies; e.g., education, slavery, religion.Standard 5 Students will understand the significance of the American Revolution in the development of the United States.Objective 1 Analyze what ideas and events led to the Revolutionary movement.Explore the events leading to the outbreak of armed conflict between the American colonies and Great Britain.Analyze the origin of the ideas behind the revolutionary movement and the movement toward independence; e.g., social contract, natural rights, English traditions.Explain the major ideas expressed in the Declaration of Independence.Objective 2 Assess the factors affecting the course of the war and contributing to American victory.Examine how the Revolutionary War affected the colonists.Explain the events that brought European aid to the American cause.Examine the advantages and disadvantages of the Continental Army against British resources.Objective 3 Evaluate the contributions of key people and groups to the Revolution.Identify the contributions of colonial leaders; e.g., George Washington, Thomas Paine, Alexander Hamilton, Sam Adams, John AdamsAnalyze the role various political groups played in the Revolutionary movement; e.g., Sons and Daughters of Liberty, Committees of Correspondence, 1st and 2nd Continental Congress.Examine the contributions of various social groups to the Revolutionary movement; e.g., women, free and enslaved blacks, American Indians.Objective 4 Examine the effects of the Revolution on the United States.Analyze the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1783.Determine the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.Investigate the problems that faced the emerging nation; e.g., debt, lack of unified central government, international relations.Explain the effect the Revolution had on people; e.g., Native American Indians, slaves, European immigrants.Standard 6 Students will understand the structure and function of the United States government established by the Constitution.Objective 1 Assess the foundations and principles that led to the development of the Constitution, and to the United States’ form of government, a compound constitutional republic.Analyze the factors involved in convening the Constitutional Convention.Investigate the ideas and documents that became the foundation for the United States Constitution; e.g., Magna Carta, Iroquois Confederation, European philosophers.Objective 2 Analyze the compromises that led to the ratification of the Constitution.Compare the Federalists and Anti-Federalist ratification debates.Examine the Constitution ratification compromises; i.e., 3/5 Compromise, Great Compromise, Bill of Rights.Objective 3 Examine the basic structure of the Constitution.Identify the major elements of the United States Constitution.Explain the purpose of the Constitution as outlined in the preamble.Explore the role and functions of the three branches of government.Examine the Constitutional principles of separation of powers and checks and balances.Determine the role of the Constitution as a living document.Objective 4 Analyze the rights, liberties, and responsibilities of citizens.Identify the responsibilities of citizenship to secure liberties; e.g., vote, perform jury duty, obey laws.Examine the Bill of Rights and its specific guarantees.Standard 7 Students will explore the territorial growth of the United States before the Civil War.Objective 1 Describe the ideas and events that motivated the expansion of the United States.Explain Manifest Destiny and its role in American expansion; e.g., land acquisition, economy, immigration.Examine the background and consequences of the Louisiana Purchase.Investigate the role of explorers in the expansion of the United States; e.g., Lewis and Clark, Pike, Fremont.Examine the groups of people that came West; e.g., mountain men, Mormon pioneers, California 49ers, Asian and Irish immigrants.Objective 2 Examine the conflicts that arose during the American expansion.Investigate the causes and results of the War of 1812.Analyze government policies toward and treaties with American Indian nations; e.g., relocation, removal, assimilation, and sovereignty.Investigate the impact of the Mexican War on the land and people of the American Southwest; e.g., Mexican Cession, Texas, Gadsden Purchase.Objective 3 Analyze how new inventions and transportation methods stimulated western expansion.Research the impact of inventions on expansion; e.g., farming,industry, communication.Examine developments in transportation; e.g., expansion of roads and trails, steamboats, and railroads.Objective 4 Assess the impact of the Industrial Revolution on the United States.Examine the development of the factory system.Analyze the role of factories on the growth of northern cities.Determine how the Industrial Revolution affected the North, South, and West differently.Investigate the changes in working conditions caused by the Industrial Revolution.Standard 8 Students will examine the expansion of the political system and social rights before the Civil War.Objective 1 Investigate the development of the American political party system.Examine the differences between the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans.Trace the development of new political parties throughout the 18 th and 19 th centuries; e.g., Whigs, Jacksonian Democrats, Republicans.Determine the role of third parties as an agent of reform.Investigate the role of political parties in the electoral process.Objective 2 Analyze the evolution of democracy and the extension of democratic principles.Examine how the Supreme Court strengthened the national government.Analyze how states' rights issues led to growing sectionalism.Investigate the relationship between national and state governments in expanding democracy.Appraise how the political process changed to involve more people.Objective 3 Analyze the impact of social reforms on Americans during the 19th century.Examine the abolitionist movement; e.g., Sojourner Truth, William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglas, the Grimke sisters.Investigate the impact of reform in education, religion, prisons and the treatment of the mentally ill during this period.Examine the extension of women's political and legal rights.Standard 9 Students will understand the significance of the Civil War Era to the United States.Objective 1 Analyze differences and events that led to the Civil War.Describe the cultural differences between the North and the South.Examine the sectional economic differences of the United States; e.g., slavery, industry, agriculture, geography.Analyze how states' rights led to conflict between the North and the South.Trace the failure of compromise to ease sectional differences; e.g., Missouri Compromise, Compromise of 1850, Kansas-Nebraska Act.Investigate how the abolitionist movement increased sectional tensions between the Northern and Southern states; e.g., John Brown's raid, Dred Scott decision, Uncle Tom's Cabin, the Fugitive Slave Law.Assess how the election of 1860 led to secession.Objective 2 Determine the factors that affected the course of the war and contributed to Union victory.Compare the advantages and disadvantages of the Union and the Confederacy. Analyze the impact of the Emancipation Proclamation on the United States and the Confederacy.Identify the contributions of key individuals in the Civil War; e.g., Lincoln, Davis, Lee, Grant.Investigate how the Civil War affected all people in the United States land area.Objective 3 Evaluate the Reconstruction period and how it affected the United States following the Civil War.Explain the purpose of Reconstruction.Analyze the social impact of Reconstruction; e.g., abolition of slavery, integration of races, fall of Southern society, education.Determine the economic changes in the country caused by Reconstruction.Explain the political changes brought about by the Reconstruction Era; e.g., 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, voting regulations, military districts.Standard 10 Students will understand the development of the American West following the Civil War.Objective 1 Analyze the factors that brought people west.Examine why peoples came to the West; e.g., farmers, ranchers, miners, American Indian nations, immigrants, adventurers.Investigate the impact of mining and ranching on the land and people.Assess the impact of the railroad on western development.Objective 2 Analyze the settlement of the American West.Examine the changes of the landscape due to settlement patterns.Investigate the development of cities in the West. Assess the impact western settlement patterns had on the Native American Indians.Objective 3 Investigate the conflict among various groups involved in the settlement of the West.Determine the reasons and groups involved in conflict during the settlement of the West; e.g., ranchers, miners, farmers, American Indian nations, immigrants.Examine the consequences of conflict in the settlement of the West. Course Description Core Standards of the CourseScience BenchmarkChemical change is a primary way that matter on earth changes from one form to another. Energy is involved in chemical and physical change. When chemical or physical changes occur, the total amount of matter and energy remains the same; this is the law of conservation of matter and energy.Matter can change state through physical change. In a physical change the identity of the atoms does not change.In a chemical change the identity of the atoms does not change, but the atoms are recombined into a new substance. Evidence for a chemical reaction may include color change, gas given off, and heat or light given off or absorbed. Changing the amount of energy in a chemical system alters the reaction rate. Changing the surface area and/or concentration of reactants changes the rate of chemical reaction.Standard 1 Students will understand the nature of changes in matter.Objective 1 Describe the chemical and physical properties of various substances.Differentiate between chemical and physical properties.Classify substances based on their chemical and physical properties (e.g., reacts with water, does not react with water, flammable or nonflammable, hard or soft, flexible or nonflexible, evaporates or melts at room temperature).Investigate and report on the chemical and physical properties of a particular substance.Objective 2 Observe and evaluate evidence of chemical and physical change.Identify observable evidence of a physical change (e.g., change in shape, size, phase).Identify observable evidence of a chemical change (e.g., color change, heat or light given off, change in odor, gas given off).Observe and describe chemical reactions involving atmospheric oxygen (e.g., rust, fire, respiration, photosynthesis).Investigate the effects of chemical change on physical properties of substances (e.g., cooking a raw egg, iron rusting, polymerization of a resin).Objective 3 Investigate and measure the effects of increasing or decreasing the amount of energy in a physical or chemical change, and relate the kind of energy added to the motion of the particles.Identify the kinds of energy (e.g., heat, light, sound) given off or taken in when a substance undergoes a chemical or physical change.Relate the amount of energy added or taken away from a substance to the motion of molecules in the substance.Measure and graph the relationship between the states of water and changes in its temperature.Cite evidence showing that heat may be given off or taken in during a chemical change (e.g., striking a match, mixing vinegar and antacid, mixing ammonium chloride and water).Plan and conduct an experiment, and report the effect of adding or removing energy on the chemical and physical changes.Objective 4 Identify the observable features of chemical reactions.Identify the reactants and products in a given chemical change and describe the presence of the same atoms in both the reactants and products.Cite examples of common significant chemical reactions (e.g., photosynthesis, respiration, combustion, rusting) in daily life.Demonstrate that mass is conserved in a chemical reaction (e.g., mix two solutions that result in a color change or formation of a precipitate and weigh the solutions before and after mixing).Experiment with variables affecting the relative rates of chemical changes (e.g., heating, cooling, stirring, crushing, concentration).Research and report on how scientists or engineers have applied principles of chemistry to an application encountered in daily life (e.g., heat-resistant plastic handles on pans, rust-resistant paints on highway bridges).Language science students should use: chemical properties, physical properties, chemical change, physical change, reaction, reactants, products, respiration, photosynthesis, temperature, molecules, heat energy, chemical energy, atoms, energyScience BenchmarkThe sun is the source for essentially all biological energy. Plants store captured light energy as chemical energy in sugars. Animals eat plants to obtain the energy and matter that they need. The energy from food is used for mechanical and heat energy. The matter is used to build the cells of the organism.Food chains and food webs are models used to show the transfer of energy and matter among organisms. These models can be used to show relationships among organisms. Organisms, including humans, influence the ability of other organisms to live in a specific environment.Standard 2 Students will understand that energy from sunlight is changed to chemical energy in plants, transfers between living organisms, and that changing the environment may alter the amount of energy provided to living organisms.Objective 1 Compare ways that plants and animals obtain and use energy.Recognize the importance of photosynthesis in using light energy as part of the chemical process that builds plant materials.Explain how respiration in animals is a process that converts food energy into mechanical and heat energy.Trace the path of energy from the sun to mechanical energy in an organism (e.g., sunlight - light energy to plants by photosynthesis to sugars - stored chemical energy to respiration in muscle cell - usable chemical energy to muscle contraction- mechanical energy).Objective 2 Generalize the dependent relationships between organisms.Categorize the relationships between organisms (i.e., producer/consumer/decomposer, predator/prey, mutualism/parasitism) and provide examples of each.Use models to trace the flow of energy in food chains and food webs.Formulate and test a hypothesis on the effects of air, temperature, water, or light on plants (e.g., seed germination, growth rates, seasonal adaptations).Research multiple ways that different scientists have investigated the same ecosystem.Objective 3 Analyze human influence on the capacity of an environment to sustain living things.Describe specific examples of how humans have changed the capacity of an environment to support specific life forms (e.g., people create wetlands and nesting boxes that increase the number and range of wood ducks, acid rain damages amphibian eggs and reduces population of frogs, clear cutting forests affects squirrel populations, suburban sprawl reduces mule deer winter range thus decreasing numbers of deer).Distinguish between inference and evidence in a newspaper or magazine article relating to the effect of humans on the environment.Infer the potential effects of humans on a specific food web.Evaluate and present arguments for and against allowing a specific species of plant or animal to become extinct, and relate the argument to the of flow energy in an ecosystem.Language science students should use: food web, food chain, photosynthesis, respiration, predator, energy flow, solar energy, chemical energy, mechanical energy, producer, consumer, prey, mutualism, parasitism, competition, environment, capacityScience BenchmarkEarth is a dynamic planet. Processes that change Earth's surface operated in the past much as they do today. Evidence of past surface and climatic changes are indicated in the rock and fossil records. Rocks are composed of minerals. Rocks and minerals cycle through processes that change their form.Several processes contribute to changing Earth’s surface. Earth’s surface is changed by heat flowing from Earth's hot interior toward the cooler surface and by atmospheric processes. Earth’s surface can change abruptly through volcanoes and earthquakes. Earth’s surface can change gradually through mountain building, weathering, erosion, and deposition. Small changes that repeatedly occur over very long time periods can add up to major changes in Earth’s surface.Standard 3 Students will understand the processes of rock and fossil formation.Objective 1 Compare rocks and minerals and describe how they are related.Recognize that most rocks are composed of minerals.Observe and describe the minerals found in rocks (e.g., shape, color, luster, texture, hardness).Categorize rock samples as sedimentary, metamorphic, or igneous.Objective 2 Describe the nature of the changes that rocks undergo over long periods of time.Diagram and explain the rock cycle.Describe the role of energy in the processes that change rock materials over time.Use a model to demonstrate how erosion changes the surface of Earth.Relate gravity to changes in Earth’s surface.Identify the role of weathering of rocks in soil formation.Describe and model the processes of fossil formation.Objective 3 Describe how rock and fossil evidence is used to infer Earth’s history.Describe how the deposition of rock materials produces layering of sedimentary rocks over time.Identify the assumptions scientists make to determine relative ages of rock layers.Explain why some sedimentary rock layers may not always appear with youngest rock on top and older rocks below (i.e., folding, faulting).Research how fossils show evidence of the changing surface of the Earth.Propose why more recently deposited rock layers are more likely to contain fossils resembling existing species than older rock layers.Objective 4 Compare rapid and gradual changes to Earth’s surface.Describe how energy from the Earth's interior causes changes to Earth’s surface (i.e., earthquakes, volcanoes).Describe how earthquakes and volcanoes transfer energy from Earth's interior to the surface (e.g., seismic waves transfer mechanical energy, flowing magma transfers heat and mechanical energy).Model the process of energy buildup and release in earthquakes.Investigate and report possible reasons why the best engineering or ecological practices are not always followed in making decisions about building roads, dams, and other structures.Model how small changes over time add up to major changes to Earth’s surface.Language science students should use: volcano, earthquake, weathering, minerals, fossils, sedimentary, magma, metamorphic, rock cycle, igneous, sedimentation, deposition, geology, paleontologyScience BenchmarkMovement involves one form of energy being transformed into another form. Energy has the potential to exert a force over a distance. Waves transfer energy such as sound, heat, light, and earthquakes through different mediums. Sound and light waves allow organisms to "hear" and "see" the world around them. Energy is classified as either kinetic or potential energy.Every object exerts a gravitational force on every other object. The distance between objects and mass of the objects determine the force of gravity between them. This force is difficult to measure unless one of the objects has a very large mass. Unbalanced forces cause change in the motion of objects, while balanced forces do not.Standard 4 Students will understand the relationships among energy, force, and motion.Objective 1 Investigate the transfer of energy through various materials.Relate the energy of a wave to wavelength.Compare the transfer of energy (i.e., sound, light, earthquake waves, heat) through various mediums. Describe the spread of energy away from an energy-producing source.Compare the transfer of heat by conduction, convection, and radiation and provide examples of each.Demonstrate how white light can be separated into the visible color spectrum.Objective 2 Examine the force exerted on objects by gravity.Distinguish between mass and weight.Cite examples of how Earth’s gravitational force on an object depends upon the mass of the object.Describe how Earth’s gravitational force on an object depends upon the distance of the object from Earth.Design and build structures to support a load.Engineer (design and build) a machine that uses gravity to accomplish a task.Objective 3 Investigate the application of forces that act on objects, and the resulting motion.Calculate the mechanical advantage created by a lever.Engineer a device that uses levers or inclined planes to create a mechanical advantage.Engineer a device that uses friction to control the motion of an object.Design and build a complex machine capable of doing a specified task.Investigate the principles used to engineer changes in forces and motion.Objective 4 Analyze various forms of energy and how living organisms sense and respond to energy.Analyze the cyclic nature of potential and kinetic energy (e.g., a bouncing ball, a pendulum).Trace the conversion of energy from one form of energy to another (e.g., light to chemical to mechanical).Cite examples of how organisms sense various types of energy.Investigate and report the response of various organisms to changes in energy (e.g., plant response to light, human response to motion, sound, light, insects’ response to changes in light intensity).Investigate and describe how engineers have developed devices to help us sense various types of energy (e.g., seismographs, eyeglasses, telescopes, hearing aids).Language science students should use: energy, potential energy, kinetic energy, force, gravity, complex machine, wave, friction, amplitudeCore Standards of the CourseDomain: The Number SystemKnow that there are numbers that are not rational, and approximate them by rational numbers. 1. Know that numbers that are not rational are called irrational. Understand informally that every number has a decimal expansion; for rational numbers show that the decimal expansion repeats eventually, and convert a decimal expansion which repeats eventually into a rational number.2. Use rational approximations of irrational numbers to compare the size of irrational numbers, locate them approximately on a number line diagram, and estimate the value of expressions (e.g., π2). For example, by truncating the decimal expansion of √2, show that √2 is between 1 and 2, then between 1.4 and 1.5, and explain how to continue on to get better approximations.Domain: Expressions and EquationsWork with radicals and integer exponents. 1. Know and apply the properties of integer exponents to generate equivalent numerical expressions. For example, 32 × 3–5 = 3–3 = 1/33 = 1/27.2. Use square root and cube root symbols to represent solutions to equations of the form x2 = p and x3 = p, where p is a positive rational number. Evaluate square roots of small perfect squares and cube roots of small perfect cubes. Know that √2 is irrational.3. Use numbers expressed in the form of a single digit times a whole-number power of 10 to estimate very large or very small quantities, and to express how many times as much one is than the other. For example, estimate the population of the United States as 3 times 108 and the population of the world as 7 times 109, and determine that the world population is more than 20 times larger.4. Perform operations with numbers expressed in scientific notation, including problems where both decimal and scientific notation are used. Use scientific notation and choose units of appropriate size for measurements of very large or very small quantities (e.g., use millimeters per year for seafloor spreading). Interpret scientific notation that has been generated by technology.Understand the connections between proportional relationships, lines, and linear equations. 5. Graph proportional relationships, interpreting the unit rate as the slope of the graph. Compare two different proportional relationships represented in different ways. For example, compare a distance-time graph to a distance-time equation to determine which of two moving objects has greater speed.6. Use similar triangles to explain why the slope m is the same between any two distinct points on a non-vertical line in the coordinate plane; derive the equation y = mx for a line through the origin and the equation y = mx + b for a line intercepting the vertical axis at b.Analyze and solve linear equations and pairs of simultaneous linear equations. 7. Solve linear equations in one variable.Give examples of linear equations in one variable with one solution, infinitely many solutions, or no solutions. Show which of these possibilities is the case by successively transforming the given equation into simpler forms, until an equivalent equation of the form x = a,a = a, or a = b results (where a and b are different numbers).Solve linear equations with rational number coefficients, including equations whose solutions require expanding expressions using the distributive property and collecting like terms.8. Analyze and solve pairs of simultaneous linear equations.Understand that solutions to a system of two linear equations in two variables correspond to points of intersection of their graphs, because points of intersection satisfy both equations simultaneously.Solve systems of two linear equations in two variables algebraically, and estimate solutions by graphing the equations. Solve simple cases by inspection. For example, 3x + 2y = 5 and 3x + 2y = 6 have no solution because 3x + 2y cannot simultaneously be 5 and 6.Solve real-world and mathematical problems leading to two linear equations in two variables. For example, given coordinates for two pairs of points, determine whether the line through the first pair of points intersects the line through the second pair.Domain: FunctionsDefine, evaluate, and compare functions. 1. Understand that a function is a rule that assigns to each input exactly one output. The graph of a function is the set of ordered pairs consisting of an input and the corresponding output.12. Compare properties of two functions each represented in a different way (algebraically, graphically, numerically in tables, or by verbal descriptions). For example, given a linear function represented by a table of values and a linear function represented by an algebraic expression, determine which function has the greater rate of change.3. Interpret the equation y = mx + b as defining a linear function, whose graph is a straight line; give examples of functions that are not linear. For example, the function A = s2 giving the area of a square as a function of its side length is not linear because its graph contains the points (1,1), (2,4) and (3,9), which are not on a straight line.Use functions to model relationships between quantities. 4. Construct a function to model a linear relationship between two quantities. Determine the rate of change and initial value of the function from a description of a relationship or from two (x, y) values, including reading these from a table or from a graph. Interpret the rate of change and initial value of a linear function in terms of the situation it models, and in terms of its graph or a table of values.5. Describe qualitatively the functional relationship between two quantities by analyzing a graph (e.g., where the function is increasing or decreasing, linear or nonlinear). Sketch a graph that exhibits the qualitative features of a function that has been described verbally.Domain: GeometryUnderstand congruence and similarity using physical models, transparencies, or geometry software. 1. Verify experimentally the properties of rotations, reflections, and translations:Lines are taken to lines, and line segments to line segments of the same length.Angles are taken to angles of the same measure.Parallel lines are taken to parallel lines.2. Understand that a two-dimensional figure is congruent to another if the second can be obtained from the first by a sequence of rotations, reflections, and translations; given two congruent figures, describe a sequence that exhibits the congruence between them.3. Describe the effect of dilations, translations, rotations, and reflections on two-dimensional figures using coordinates.4. Understand that a two-dimensional figure is similar to another if the second can be obtained from the first by a sequence of rotations, reflections, translations, and dilations; given two similar two-dimensional figures, describe a sequence that exhibits the similarity between them.5. Use informal arguments to establish facts about the angle sum and exterior angle of triangles, about the angles created when parallel lines are cut by a transversal, and the angle-angle criterion for similarity of triangles. For example, arrange three copies of the same triangle so that the sum of the three angles appears to form a line, and give an argument in terms of transversals why this is so.Understand and apply the Pythagorean Theorem. 6. Explain a proof of the Pythagorean Theorem and its converse.7. Apply the Pythagorean Theorem to determine unknown side lengths in right triangles in real-world and mathematical problems in two and three dimensions.8. Apply the Pythagorean Theorem to find the distance between two points in a coordinate system.Solve real-world and mathematical problems involving volume of cylinders, cones, and spheres. 9. Know the formulas for the volumes of cones, cylinders, and spheres and use them to solve real-world and mathematical problems.Domain: Statistics and ProbabilityInvestigate patterns of association in bivariate data. 1. Construct and interpret scatter plots for bivariate measurement data to investigate patterns of association between two quantities. Describe patterns such as clustering, outliers, positive or negative association, linear association, and nonlinear association.2. Know that straight lines are widely used to model relationships between two quantitative variables. For scatter plots that suggest a linear association, informally fit a straight line, and informally assess the model fit by judging the closeness of the data points to the line.3. Use the equation of a linear model to solve problems in the context of bivariate measurement data, interpreting the slope and intercept. For example, in a linear model for a biology experiment, interpret a slope of 1.5 cm/hr as meaning that an additional hour of sunlight each day is associated with an additional 1.5 cm in mature plant height.4. Understand that patterns of association can also be seen in bivariate categorical data by displaying frequencies and relative frequencies in a two-way table. Construct and interpret a two-way table summarizing data on two categorical variables collected from the same subjects. Use relative frequencies calculated for rows or columns to describe possible association between the two variables. For example, collect data from students in your class on whether or not they have a curfew on school nights and whether or not they have assigned chores at home. Is there evidence that those who have a curfew also tend to have chores?1 Function notation is not required in Grade 8.Course Description Core Standards of the CourseStandard 1 Students will use algebraic, spatial, and logical reasoning to solve geometry problems.Objective 1 Use inductive and deductive reasoning to develop mathematical arguments.Write conditional statements, converses, and inverses, and determine the truth value of these statements.Formulate conjectures using inductive reasoning.Prove a statement false by using a counterexample.Objective 2 Analyze characteristics and properties of angles.Use accepted geometric notation for lines, segments, rays, angles, similarity, and congruence.Identify and determine relationships in adjacent, complementary, supplementary, or vertical angles and linear pairs.Classify angle pairs formed by two lines and a transversal.Prove relationships in angle pairs.Prove lines parallel or perpendicular using slope or angle relationships.Objective 3 Analyze characteristics and properties of triangles.Prove congruency and similarity of triangles using postulates and theorems.Prove the Pythagorean Theorem in multiple ways, find missing sides of right triangles using the Pythagorean Theorem, and determine whether a triangle is a right triangle using the converse of the Pythagorean Theorem.Prove and apply theorems involving isosceles triangles.Apply triangle inequality theorems.Identify medians, altitudes, and angle bisectors of a triangle, and the perpendicular bisectors of the sides of a triangle, and justify the concurrency theorems.Objective 4 Analyze characteristics and properties of polygons and circles.Use examples and counterexamples to classify subsets of quadrilaterals.Prove properties of quadrilaterals using triangle congruence relationships, postulates, and theorems.Derive, justify, and use formulas for the number of diagonals, lines of symmetry, angle measures, perimeter, and area of regular polygons.Define radius, diameter, chord, secant, arc, sector, central angle, inscribed angle, and tangent of a circle, and solve problems using their properties.Show the relationship between intercepted arcs and inscribed or central angles, and find their measures.Objective 5 Perform basic geometric constructions, describing and justifying the procedures used.Investigate geometric relationships using constructions.Copy and bisect angles and segments.Construct perpendicular and parallel lines.Justify procedures used to construct geometric figures.Discover and investigate conjectures about geometric properties using constructions.Objective 6 Analyze characteristics and properties of three-dimensional figures.Identify and classify prisms, pyramids, cylinders and cones based on the shape of their base(s).Identify three-dimensional objects from different perspectives using nets, cross-sections, and two-dimensional views.Describe the symmetries of three-dimensional figures.Describe relationships between the faces, edges, and vertices of polyhedra.Mathematical Language and Symbols Students Should Use: conditional statement, converse, inverse, conjecture, inductive, deductive, counterexample, adjacent, complementary, supplementary, vertical, linear pair, transversal, congruent, postulate, theorem, median, altitude, angle bisector, secant, arc, sector, central angle, inscribed angle, tangent of a circle, intercepted arc, net, polyhedra, Standard 2 Students will use the language and operations of algebra to explore geometric relationships with coordinate geometry.Objective 1 Describe the properties and attributes of lines and line segments using coordinate geometry.Verify the classifications of geometric figures using coordinate geometry to find lengths and slopes.Find the distance between two given points and find the coordinates of the midpoint.Write an equation of a line perpendicular or a line parallel to a line through a given point.Objective 2 Describe spatial relationships using coordinate geometry.Graph a circle given the equation in the form (x-h)2 + (y-k)2 =r2, and write the equation when given the graph.Determine whether points in a set are collinear.Mathematical Language and Symbols Students Should Use: distance formula, equation of a circle, collinearStandard 3 Students will extend concepts of proportion and similarity to trigonometric ratios.Objective 1 Use triangle relationships to solve problems.Solve problems using the properties of special right triangles, e.g., 30°, 60°, 90° or 45°, 45°, 90°.Identify the trigonometric relationships of sine, cosine, and tangent with the appropriate ratio of sides of a right triangle.Express trigonometric relationships using exact values and approximations.Objective 2 Use the trigonometric ratios of sine, cosine, and tangent to represent and solve for missing parts of triangles.Find the angle measure in degrees when given the trigonometric ratio.Find the trigonometric ratio given the angle measure in degrees, using a calculator.Find unknown measures of right triangles using sine, cosine, and tangent functions and inverse trigonometric functions.Mathematical Language and Symbols Students Should Use: special right triangle, sine (sin), cosine (cos), tangent (tan), exact valueStandard 4 Students will use measurement tools, formulas, and techniques to explore geometric relationships and solve problems.Objective 1 Find measurements of plane and solid figures.Find linear and angle measures in real-world situations using appropriate tools or technology.Develop surface area and volume formulas for polyhedra, cones, and cylinders.Determine perimeter, area, surface area, lateral area, and volume for prisms, cylinders, pyramids, cones, and spheres when given the formulas.Calculate or estimate the area of an irregular region.Find the length of an arc and the area of a sector when given the angle measure and radius.Objective 2 Solve real-world problems using visualization and spatial reasoning.Solve problems using the Pythagorean Theorem.Solve problems using the distance formula.Solve problems involving trigonometric ratios.Solve problems using geometric probability.Mathematical Language and Symbols Students Should Use: polyhedra, cone, cylinder, sphere, arc, area of a sector, geometric probabilityCore Standards of the CourseDomain: The Number SystemKnow that there are numbers that are not rational, and approximate them by rational numbers. 1. Know that numbers that are not rational are called irrational. Understand informally that every number has a decimal expansion; for rational numbers show that the decimal expansion repeats eventually, and convert a decimal expansion which repeats eventually into a rational number.2. Use rational approximations of irrational numbers to compare the size of irrational numbers, locate them approximately on a number line diagram, and estimate the value of expressions (e.g., π2). For example, by truncating the decimal expansion of √2, show that √2 is between 1 and 2, then between 1.4 and 1.5, and explain how to continue on to get better approximations.Domain: Expressions and EquationsWork with radicals and integer exponents. 1. Know and apply the properties of integer exponents to generate equivalent numerical expressions. For example, 32 × 3–5 = 3–3 = 1/33 = 1/27.2. Use square root and cube root symbols to represent solutions to equations of the form x2 = p and x3 = p, where p is a positive rational number. Evaluate square roots of small perfect squares and cube roots of small perfect cubes. Know that √2 is irrational.3. Use numbers expressed in the form of a single digit times a whole-number power of 10 to estimate very large or very small quantities, and to express how many times as much one is than the other. For example, estimate the population of the United States as 3 times 108 and the population of the world as 7 times 109, and determine that the world population is more than 20 times larger.4. Perform operations with numbers expressed in scientific notation, including problems where both decimal and scientific notation are used. Use scientific notation and choose units of appropriate size for measurements of very large or very small quantities (e.g., use millimeters per year for seafloor spreading). Interpret scientific notation that has been generated by technology.Understand the connections between proportional relationships, lines, and linear equations. 5. Graph proportional relationships, interpreting the unit rate as the slope of the graph. Compare two different proportional relationships represented in different ways. For example, compare a distance-time graph to a distance-time equation to determine which of two moving objects has greater speed.6. Use similar triangles to explain why the slope m is the same between any two distinct points on a non-vertical line in the coordinate plane; derive the equation y = mx for a line through the origin and the equation y = mx + b for a line intercepting the vertical axis at b.Analyze and solve linear equations and pairs of simultaneous linear equations. 7. Solve linear equations in one variable.Give examples of linear equations in one variable with one solution, infinitely many solutions, or no solutions. Show which of these possibilities is the case by successively transforming the given equation into simpler forms, until an equivalent equation of the form x = a,a = a, or a = b results (where a and b are different numbers).Solve linear equations with rational number coefficients, including equations whose solutions require expanding expressions using the distributive property and collecting like terms.8. Analyze and solve pairs of simultaneous linear equations.Understand that solutions to a system of two linear equations in two variables correspond to points of intersection of their graphs, because points of intersection satisfy both equations simultaneously.Solve systems of two linear equations in two variables algebraically, and estimate solutions by graphing the equations. Solve simple cases by inspection. For example, 3x + 2y = 5 and 3x + 2y = 6 have no solution because 3x + 2y cannot simultaneously be 5 and 6.Solve real-world and mathematical problems leading to two linear equations in two variables. For example, given coordinates for two pairs of points, determine whether the line through the first pair of points intersects the line through the second pair.Domain: FunctionsDefine, evaluate, and compare functions. 1. Understand that a function is a rule that assigns to each input exactly one output. The graph of a function is the set of ordered pairs consisting of an input and the corresponding output.12. Compare properties of two functions each represented in a different way (algebraically, graphically, numerically in tables, or by verbal descriptions). For example, given a linear function represented by a table of values and a linear function represented by an algebraic expression, determine which function has the greater rate of change.3. Interpret the equation y = mx + b as defining a linear function, whose graph is a straight line; give examples of functions that are not linear. For example, the function A = s2 giving the area of a square as a function of its side length is not linear because its graph contains the points (1,1), (2,4) and (3,9), which are not on a straight line.Use functions to model relationships between quantities. 4. Construct a function to model a linear relationship between two quantities. Determine the rate of change and initial value of the function from a description of a relationship or from two (x, y) values, including reading these from a table or from a graph. Interpret the rate of change and initial value of a linear function in terms of the situation it models, and in terms of its graph or a table of values.5. Describe qualitatively the functional relationship between two quantities by analyzing a graph (e.g., where the function is increasing or decreasing, linear or nonlinear). Sketch a graph that exhibits the qualitative features of a function that has been described verbally.Domain: GeometryUnderstand congruence and similarity using physical models, transparencies, or geometry software. 1. Verify experimentally the properties of rotations, reflections, and translations:Lines are taken to lines, and line segments to line segments of the same length.Angles are taken to angles of the same measure.Parallel lines are taken to parallel lines.2. Understand that a two-dimensional figure is congruent to another if the second can be obtained from the first by a sequence of rotations, reflections, and translations; given two congruent figures, describe a sequence that exhibits the congruence between them.3. Describe the effect of dilations, translations, rotations, and reflections on two-dimensional figures using coordinates.4. Understand that a two-dimensional figure is similar to another if the second can be obtained from the first by a sequence of rotations, reflections, translations, and dilations; given two similar two-dimensional figures, describe a sequence that exhibits the similarity between them.5. Use informal arguments to establish facts about the angle sum and exterior angle of triangles, about the angles created when parallel lines are cut by a transversal, and the angle-angle criterion for similarity of triangles. For example, arrange three copies of the same triangle so that the sum of the three angles appears to form a line, and give an argument in terms of transversals why this is so.Understand and apply the Pythagorean Theorem. 6. Explain a proof of the Pythagorean Theorem and its converse.7. Apply the Pythagorean Theorem to determine unknown side lengths in right triangles in real-world and mathematical problems in two and three dimensions.8. Apply the Pythagorean Theorem to find the distance between two points in a coordinate system.Solve real-world and mathematical problems involving volume of cylinders, cones, and spheres. 9. Know the formulas for the volumes of cones, cylinders, and spheres and use them to solve real-world and mathematical problems.Domain: Statistics and ProbabilityInvestigate patterns of association in bivariate data. 1. Construct and interpret scatter plots for bivariate measurement data to investigate patterns of association between two quantities. Describe patterns such as clustering, outliers, positive or negative association, linear association, and nonlinear association.2. Know that straight lines are widely used to model relationships between two quantitative variables. For scatter plots that suggest a linear association, informally fit a straight line, and informally assess the model fit by judging the closeness of the data points to the line.3. Use the equation of a linear model to solve problems in the context of bivariate measurement data, interpreting the slope and intercept. For example, in a linear model for a biology experiment, interpret a slope of 1.5 cm/hr as meaning that an additional hour of sunlight each day is associated with an additional 1.5 cm in mature plant height.4. Understand that patterns of association can also be seen in bivariate categorical data by displaying frequencies and relative frequencies in a two-way table. Construct and interpret a two-way table summarizing data on two categorical variables collected from the same subjects. Use relative frequencies calculated for rows or columns to describe possible association between the two variables. For example, collect data from students in your class on whether or not they have a curfew on school nights and whether or not they have assigned chores at home. Is there evidence that those who have a curfew also tend to have chores?1 Function notation is not required in Grade 8.Marketing Introduction
Printable Version (pdf) Course Description Core Standards of the CourseInterpersonal Communication SkillsStandard 1 Students will model interpersonal communication skills needed in marketing and in life.Objective 1 Student will observe and demonstrate the elements of effective communication.Model effective Listening SkillsIdentify different types of communicationVerbal, written, other non-verbalEvaluate communication factors including Barriers, Obstacles, and Settings.Explore audience considerations. i.e. Gender and Cultural considerationsDefine Jargon and contrast content specialist or presentation type communication with peer to peer communication.Demonstrate effective presentation skills, including:Electronic presentation basicsVerbal presentation – speech and postureRelate the goals of personal communication with goals in marketing. (Develop and sustain an image)Objective 2 Identify and evaluate character traits important to business.Model appropriate business personal appearance.Contrast examples of ethical and unethical behavior or choices. Evaluate the impact of honesty and integrity in business and in personal relationships.Interpret a self evaluation or trait development exercise. (Example: color tests or Myers- Briggs Type Indicator.)Define “Networking” in terms of establishing personal contacts.Model an appropriate personal introduction including an appropriate hand shaking, personal space, and eye contact.Relate the goals of personal communication with goals in marketing. (Develop and sustain an image)Marketing ConceptStandard 2 Students will define the Marketing Concept and what role identifying products types, consumer types, and market segmentation play.Objective 1 Students will be able to categorize Product types and identify elements of the seven functions of Marketing.Define, differentiate and categorize Goods – Services – Ideas.Identify examples of the seven functions of marketing.Objective 2 Students will distinguish the four methods of market segmentation.Explain factors related to Demographic segmentation included gender, income, household status, ethnicity, and education.Contrast elements of each generation in generational MarketingSummarize the difference between disposable & discretionary income.Identify scenarios where Geographic segmentation would be effective.List factors or Psychographic segmentation.Relate and individual Behavior to consumer perceptions and shopping patterns.List Potential data collection processes.Objective 3 Students will Evaluate and classify of potential consumers.Define and identify target marketsExplain the necessity of target markets in order to create a brand or product image.Illustrate an example of Market share.Evaluate competition in terms of market share and identifying your competitors.Define niche marketing.Determine and Justify scenarios in which Mass Marketing vs Target marketing would be most appropriate.Marketing MixStandard 3 Students will be able to explain each category of the Marketing Mix or the 4 P's of Marketing.Objective 1 Discover the elements of the PRODUCT that support the marketing concept.Summarize the functions of Packaging.Explore packaging strategies including Price bundling and Mixed bundling.Compare elements of labels including Descriptions, Branding, Grades.Analyze elements of developing a new product.Consider: size or shape, naming, labeling, packaging, colors, quantities, etc...Predict the impact of Customer Service and Warranties as an element of product success.Explore the benefits and risks of Brand extension.Contrast product Features with the product Benefits from a consumers prospective.Objective 2 Examine the elements of the PLACE that support the marketing concept.Discuss Channels of distribution and possible channel members.Contrast pros and cons of Direct and Indirect distribution.Explain cost vs control as it relates to distribution alternatives.Evaluate the impact of a Stores physical location.Prioritize or recommend store locations for various business types.Objective 3 Recall elements of the PRICE that support the marketing concept.Define the three Pricing Orientations. (Cost, Competition, Demand)Assess the possible Goals of Pricing (profit, market share, prestige)Examine considerations of pricingList multiple forms of pricing.Classify products by their price elasticity.Demonstrate how a pricing strategy supports a products image.Explore legal considerations including predatory pricing, Bait and switch, and MSRP.Evaluate Various Pricing Strategies - Loss leaders | Captive products | Options and up selling | etc.Objective 4 Explore elements of the PROMOTION that support the marketing concept.Define the term promotion.Discuss the impact Slogans and Logos have on a product.Explore various types of promotion.Discover consumer promotions. i.e. coupons, point of purchase, loyalty programs, production placement, tie-ins, samples, etc.Demonstrate how incorporating multiple strategies together can reinforce each other and the product in a promotional mix.Explore cost, production and effectiveness of: Print, Broadcast, and Online promotions.Construct a promotion for a product or business.Interpersonal SkillsStandard 4 Students will be able to identify key personal traits, interpersonal skills and elements of teamwork that facilitate job success and ethical action in the workplace.Objective 1 Examine interpersonal skills necessary to build good relationships.Identify Interpersonal Skills:Self-esteem and self-awarenessPositive attitudeInitiative and ResponsibilitySelf-controlCreativityTime ManagementStress ManagementAssertivenessFlexibilityExamine how interpersonal skills build good business relationships.Objective 2 Analyze basic values and moral principles that guide behavior of individuals and groups.Define ethicsExamine ethical behavior between coworkers and clients.Demonstrate practical ethical behavior in the workplace.Objective 3 Understand how to manage conflict in the workplace.Examine the negotiation process.Manage conflicts by using appropriate negotiation skillsDemonstrate effective speaking and listening skills in the negotiation process.Objective 4 Understand how to use interpersonal skills to handle customer complaints, and work with a team.Understand a company’s policies and procedures in responding to customers.Demonstrate how to respond promptly and intelligently to customer concerns.Examine the critical components of successful teamwork. Course Description Core Standards of the CourseStandard 1 Students will demonstrate the ability to use knowledge, skills, and strategies related to mental and emotional health to enhance self-concept and relationships with others.Objective 1 Develop strategies for a healthy self-concept.Identify ways to build self-esteem including recognizing strengths and weaknesses.Identify goal-setting strategies and use them to create a plan for reaching a health-related goal.Explain the influence of personal values on individual health practices.Analyze how self-esteem affects risk and protective factors.Use decision making skills to solve personal problems.Objective 2 Identify strategies that enhance mental and emotional health.Identify positive ways to express emotions.Identify ways to build resiliency.Determine how societal norms, cultural differences, personal beliefs, and media impact choices, behavior, and relationships.Demonstrate stress management techniques.Explore strategies for suicide prevention.Objective 3 Examine mental illness.Identify the prevalence of mental illness and the importance of early intervention and treatment.Distinguish types of mental disorders and explain their effects on individuals and society.Analyze the stigma associated with mental illness.Investigate school and community mental health resources.Objective 4 Develop and maintain healthy relationships.Examine components of healthy relationships.Determine healthy ways to accept, manage, and adapt to changes in relationships (e.g., loss, grief, coping).Develop strategies to manage inappropriate or harmful comments and advances from others (e.g. bullying, cyber-bullying, sexual harassment).Demonstrate refusal skills for managing peer pressure.Demonstrate effective communication skills.Standard 2 Students will use nutrition and fitness information, skills, and strategies to enhance health.Objective 1 Describe the components and benefits of proper nutrition.Identify the primary nutrients and describe their functions.Explain how the United States Department of Agriculture’s Seven Dietary Guidelines and the most recent Food Pyramid can enhance proper nutrition.Recognize ways to make healthy food choices (e.g., reading food labels, calculating calorie intake).List school and community nutritional resources.Objective 2 Analyze how physical activity benefits overall health.List the elements of physical fitness (e.g., muscular strength and endurance, cardio- vascular endurance, flexibility, body composition).Examine the benefits of maintaining life-long fitness and the consequences of inactivity.Identify and investigate available fitness resources.Create individual fitness goals.Objective 3 Recognize the importance of a healthy body image and develop appropriate weight management behaviors.Explain how weight control is affected by caloric intake and energy expenditure.Explore the short and long term effects of poor nutrition and inactivity (e.g., obesity, chronic diseases).Describe the strengths and weaknesses of various body-weight indicators (e.g., Body Mass Index [B.M.I.], waist circumference, body fat percentage calculators).Examine the causes, symptoms, and the short and long-term consequences of eating disorders.Analyze the influence of media on body image.Standard 3 Students will demonstrate health-promoting and risk-reducing behaviors to prevent substance abuse.Objective 1 Examine the consequences of drug use, misuse, and abuse.Define the short and long term effects of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs (e.g., steroids, inhalants, stimulants, depressants, prescription painkillers).List guidelines for the safe use of medicine (e.g., over the counter drugs, prescription drugs, herbal supplements).Recognize the legal consequences of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug abuse.Identify ways to recognize, respect, and communicate personal boundaries.Examine the impact of alcohol, tobacco and other drug abuse on individuals, families, and communities.Objective 2 Analyze the risk and protective factors that influence the use and abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.List risk and protective factors associated with the use and abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.Examine the impact of peer pressure on alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use/abuse.Identify practices that help to support a drug-free lifestyle.Analyze media and marketing tactics used to promote alcohol, tobacco, and other drug products.Practice interpersonal and communication skills (e.g., assertiveness, refusal skills, negotiation, conflict management).Objective 3 Access information for treatment of addictive behaviors.Recognize the signs of addiction.Explain the need for professional intervention for those affected by addictions.Identify community resources available to support individuals impacted by substance abuse.Standard 4 Students will demonstrate the ability to apply prevention and intervention knowledge, skills, and processes to promote safety in the home, school, and community.Objective 1 Identify personal behaviors that contribute to a safe or unsafe environment.Recognize unhealthy or potentially dangerous situations and their consequences.Identify ways to avoid dangerous situations.Discuss safety guidelines for a variety of activities at home, school, and in the community. (e.g., indoor and outdoor sports activities, recreational outings in various seasons, technology).Develop strategies to enhance personal safety (e.g., use of helmets, protective gear, seatbelts).Objective 2 Recognize emergencies and respond appropriately.Explain how immediate response increases a victim’s chance for survival.Demonstrate proficiency in basic first-aid, practice Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) as outlined in national standards, and describe the purpose and use of an Automated External Defibrillator (AED).Create personal disaster safety plans (e.g., fire, earthquakes, floods, terrorism).Objective 3 Identify and respond appropriately to harassment and violent behaviors.Identify abusive behaviors (e.g., threats, harassment, bullying, assault, domestic abuse).Recognize sexual harassment and identify methods to stop it.Describe ways to prevent and report violence at home, in school, and in the community.Investigate resources to assist those affected by abusive behaviors.Objective 4 Examine the dangers of inappropriate use of current technology.Identify the use and misuse of current technology (e.g., Internet, email, websites, instant messaging, cell phones).Discuss the short and long term dangers of sharing private information using current technology devices.Investigate personal and legal consequences for the inappropriate use of technology and discuss school and LEA policies.Analyze violence in the media and how it impacts behavior.Standard 5 Students will understand and summarize concepts related to health promotion and the prevention of communicable and non-communicable diseases.Objective 1 Explain the transmission and prevention of communicable diseases.Identify pathogens and how they are transmitted.Discuss symptoms of common communicable diseases.Describe methods of prevention and treatment for communicable diseases (e.g., personal hygiene, immunization, balanced diet, exercise, rest, natural body defenses, abstinence from high risk behaviors).Objective 2 Identify the effects of non-communicable diseases.Recognize common non-communicable diseases (e.g., arthritis, cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, asthma, allergies).Identify risk factors for common non-communicable diseases (e.g., environment, age, gender, family history, diet, body mass, risky behaviors).List signs and symptoms of common non-communicable diseases.Describe risk reduction and prevention methods, including breast and testicular self exams, for common non-communicable diseases.Objective 3 Analyze the impact of sexually transmitted diseases including human immuno-deficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) on self and others.Identify common sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) (e.g., HIV/AIDS, chlamydia, gonorrhea, herpes, syphilis).Recognize symptoms, modes of transmission, including the absence of symptoms, and associated pathogens for common sexually transmitted diseases. Terms of a sensitive or explicit nature may be used in discussions.Determine risk-reducing behaviors in the prevention of STDs while discussing the advantages of abstinence over other methods of preventing sexually transmitted diseases.Recognize the importance of early detection and testing for sexually transmitted diseases.Objective 4 Examine the impact of disease on self and society.Determine the economic, physical, mental, social, and emotional impact of communicable diseases.Identify the economic, physical, mental, social, and emotional impact of non-communicable diseases.Identify preventive measures for communicable and non-communicable diseases.Standard 6 Students will demonstrate knowledge of human development, social skills, and strategies to encourage healthy relationships and healthy growth and development throughout life.Objective 1 Describe physical, mental, social, and emotional changes that occur throughout the life cycle.Explain the anatomy and physiology of the male and female reproductive systems.Recognize the impact of heredity and environment on growth and development.Describe the development and maturation of the brain and its impact on behavior.Identify the mental, social, and emotional developmental changes that occur from infancy through adolescence.Objective 2 Describe the interrelationship of mental, emotional, social, and physical health during adolescence.Identify qualities and strategies for developing healthy relationships including healthy ways to manage or adapt to changes.Analyze how self-image, social norms (e.g., age, gender, culture, ethnicity), and personal beliefs may influence choices, behaviors, and relationships.Identify ways to recognize, respect, and communicate personal boundaries for self and others.Develop and use effective communication skills including being able to discuss questions on sexuality with parents and/or guardians.Develop strategies to manage inappropriate comments or advances from others.Objective 3 Explain the processes of conception, prenatal development, birth, and the challenges created by teen and unwanted pregnancies.Identify appropriate ways to show interest and express affection for others.Describe the benefits of sexual abstinence before marriage (e.g., personal and relationship growth, preventing early or unintentional pregnancy and/or sexually transmitted diseases), and strategies that support the practice.Predict the impact of adolescent parenting (e.g., relationships, finances, education).Identify adoption as an option for unintended pregnancy and discuss the Newborn Safe Haven Law.Core Standards of the CourseStandard 1 (Reading Comprehension): Students will use vocabulary development and an understanding of text elements and structures to comprehend literary and informational grade level text.Objective 1 (Word Analysis, Vocabulary Development): Determine word meaning through word parts, definitions, and context clues.Identify common prefixes and suffixes to determine meanings of words (see chart, Appendix A).Extend the meanings of words through understanding of connotation.Determine word meaning through definition or explanation context clues.Distinguish between commonly confused words (i.e., capital /capitol; cell/sale/ sell; choose/chose; emigrate/ immigrate; farther/further; knew/new; loose/lose; passed/past; quiet/quit/quite; their/they're/there; weak/week).Objective 2 (Comprehension of Informational Text): Comprehend and evaluate informational text (i.e., textbooks, biographies/autobiographies, persuasive essays, letters, graphs, charts).Use external text features to enhance comprehension (i.e., headings, subheadings, pictures, captions, sidebars, annotations, italics, bolded words, graphs, charts and tables of contents).Comprehend text using internal text structures and their appropriate cue words and phrases (i.e., question/answer, comparison/contrast).Infer meaning from explicit information in text.Distinguish fact from opinion.Objective 3 (Comprehension of Literary Text): Comprehend literature by differentiating the uses of literary elements in narrative texts.Determine which incidents are important to moving the plot forward and to making predictions (e.g., flashback, foreshadowing)Describe a character's traits based on what other characters think, say, and do.Identify themes in literary works.Define and describe settings in literature (e.g., place, time, and customs).Compare types of figurative language (i.e., simile, metaphor, and symbolism).Distinguish between free verse and rhyme.Standard 2 (Writing): Students will write informational and literary text to reflect on and recreate experiences, report observations, and persuade others.Objective 1 (Writing to Learn): Evaluate information, interpret ideas, and demonstrate thinking through writing.Organize events and ideas in order of importance.Focus written facts or events around a clearly stated, unifying idea.Connect text to self, text to world and text to text.Objective 2 (Extended Writing): Write to identify and reflect on feelings to recreate experiences. (Emphasize short biographies, narratives, or memoirs. Students should use the entire writing process to produce at least one extended piece per term, not necessarily limited to the type of writing emphasized at individual grade levels.)Convey a unifying theme or idea.Order events effectively and experiment with flashback or foreshadowing.Use narrative details (e.g., dialogue, description, imagery, symbolism).Objective 3 (Revision and Editing): Revise and edit to strengthen ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency and conventions.Evaluate and revise for:Ideas: Specific and relevant details that support the idea.Organization: An introduction, body, and conclusion with a controlling idea, topic sentences, and supporting details.Voice: Appropriate tone and voice.Word Choice: Words appropriate to audience.Sentence Fluency: Varied sentence structure.Edit for conventions:Correct grade-level spellingCorrect use of quotation marks and commas in dialogue.Correct verb tenses.Correct use of relative pronouns.Correct agreement of pronouns and antecedents.Correct capitalization of titles of books, poems, etc., and titles of courses (e.g., History 202).Standard 3 (Inquiry/Research/Oral Presentation): Students will understand the process of seeking and giving information in conversations, group discussions, written reports, and oral presentations.Objective 1 (Processes of Inquiry): Use the process of inquiry to focus thinking toward understanding an idea or concept.Formulate text-supported, open-ended questions for inquiry (i.e., literal, interpretive inferential, evaluative).Choose information that best supports the focus of inquiry.Distinguish between reliable and unreliable sources of information.Distinguish primary from secondary sources.Objective 2 (Written Communication of Inquiry): Write to demonstrate understanding of an idea or concept.Select an appropriate format to demonstrate understanding.Gather information from more than one source.Report information by paraphrasing, summarizing, and/or quoting from sources.Use informal citation to support inquiry.Objective 3 (Oral Communication of Inquiry): Participate in and report on small group learning activities.Determine the purpose for small group learning activities (e.g., to respond to writing, to acquire information, to present ideas, to clarify understanding).Identify and assume responsibility for specific group tasks, including asking relevant questions.Respond appropriately to group members’ questions and contributions.Present group reports.
For the 1986 Italian film, see Camorra (A Story of Streets, Women and Crime).
Core Standards of the CourseStandard 1 Students will interpret the role of geography in shaping United States history.Objective 1 Determine how geography affected the development of the United States.Identify the five themes of geography; i.e., location, place, human-environmental interaction, movement, and region.Apply the five themes of geography as they relate to the development of the United States.Objective 2 Utilize geographic skills as they relate to the study of the United States.Locate the major physical features, including the plains, major rivers, bodies of water, mountain ranges, and continents.Locate the major political features, including countries, regions, and states.Apply map and globe skills to the study of United States history; e.g., direction, legend, scale, grid coordinates.Standard 2 Students will investigate the relationship between events of different time periods.Objective 1 Develop an awareness of current events.Use print and broadcast media to acquire an awareness of current events.Recognize the difference between fact and opinion, and discern bias in the media.Objective 2 Analyze how contemporary concerns and events affect and are affected by history.Apply knowledge of historical events to recent major events.Utilize contemporary news to discuss past events.Standard 3 Students will understand the changes caused by European exploration in the Americas.Objective 1 Explore life among the various American Indian nations prior to European exploration of the New World.Identify the major regional American Indian nations of North America. Examine the cultures of American Indian nations; e.g., languages, beliefs, traditions, and lifestyles.Objective 2 Analyze the reasons for European exploration.Explain the economic reasons behind exploration; e.g., trade routes, discoveries of fine goods in the East, search for raw materials.Examine the political reasons behind exploration; e.g., empire building, European rivalries.Investigate the social reasons behind exploration; e.g., spreading ideas and beliefs, seeking religious freedoms.Identify key individuals who contributed to European exploration; e.g. Columbus, Cartier, Cabot, Hudson.Objective 3 Assess the impact of European exploration on African slaves and American Indian nations.Examine the reasons for slavery in the New World; e.g., cotton, sugar, tobacco.Trace the beginnings of the slave trade in the Americas.Investigate the transportation of African slaves to the Americas; i.e., triangular trade routes, the Middle Passage.Explore the impact of the Europeans and the resulting destruction of American Indian cultures; e.g., the Spanish Conquistadors, disease brought by Europeans, European settlement.Standard 4 Students will analyze European colonization and settlement of North America.Objective 1 Explain where and why European countries colonized North America, e.g., the Netherlands, England, France, Spain.Identify motives for exploration; e.g., religion, expansion, trade, wealth.Locate the geographical regions of European settlement.Investigate the contributions and influences of the major European powers.Objective 2 Assess the reasons for settlement of the English colonies.Compare the reasons for settlement in the New England, Middle, and Southern colonies.Explain the contributions of key individuals in the settling of the English colonies; e.g., John Smith, Lord Baltimore, William Bradford.Identify key groups involved in the settlement of the English colonies; e.g., Virginia Company, Pilgrims, Puritans, Quakers.Determine the reasons for conflict between the European powers in North America.Examine the causes and outcomes of the French and Indian War. Objective 3 Examine the economic, political, and social patterns in the development of the 13 English colonies.Contrast the economies of the three major Colonial regions: New England, Middle, and Southern.Assess the impact of geography on the economies of the three major regions.Explain the development of self-government in the colonies.Investigate the lifestyles and cultures of the New England, Middle, and Southern colonies; e.g., education, slavery, religion.Standard 5 Students will understand the significance of the American Revolution in the development of the United States.Objective 1 Analyze what ideas and events led to the Revolutionary movement.Explore the events leading to the outbreak of armed conflict between the American colonies and Great Britain.Analyze the origin of the ideas behind the revolutionary movement and the movement toward independence; e.g., social contract, natural rights, English traditions.Explain the major ideas expressed in the Declaration of Independence.Objective 2 Assess the factors affecting the course of the war and contributing to American victory.Examine how the Revolutionary War affected the colonists.Explain the events that brought European aid to the American cause.Examine the advantages and disadvantages of the Continental Army against British resources.Objective 3 Evaluate the contributions of key people and groups to the Revolution.Identify the contributions of colonial leaders; e.g., George Washington, Thomas Paine, Alexander Hamilton, Sam Adams, John AdamsAnalyze the role various political groups played in the Revolutionary movement; e.g., Sons and Daughters of Liberty, Committees of Correspondence, 1st and 2nd Continental Congress.Examine the contributions of various social groups to the Revolutionary movement; e.g., women, free and enslaved blacks, American Indians.Objective 4 Examine the effects of the Revolution on the United States.Analyze the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1783.Determine the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.Investigate the problems that faced the emerging nation; e.g., debt, lack of unified central government, international relations.Explain the effect the Revolution had on people; e.g., Native American Indians, slaves, European immigrants.Standard 6 Students will understand the structure and function of the United States government established by the Constitution.Objective 1 Assess the foundations and principles that led to the development of the Constitution, and to the United States’ form of government, a compound constitutional republic.Analyze the factors involved in convening the Constitutional Convention.Investigate the ideas and documents that became the foundation for the United States Constitution; e.g., Magna Carta, Iroquois Confederation, European philosophers.Objective 2 Analyze the compromises that led to the ratification of the Constitution.Compare the Federalists and Anti-Federalist ratification debates.Examine the Constitution ratification compromises; i.e., 3/5 Compromise, Great Compromise, Bill of Rights.Objective 3 Examine the basic structure of the Constitution.Identify the major elements of the United States Constitution.Explain the purpose of the Constitution as outlined in the preamble.Explore the role and functions of the three branches of government.Examine the Constitutional principles of separation of powers and checks and balances.Determine the role of the Constitution as a living document.Objective 4 Analyze the rights, liberties, and responsibilities of citizens.Identify the responsibilities of citizenship to secure liberties; e.g., vote, perform jury duty, obey laws.Examine the Bill of Rights and its specific guarantees.Standard 7 Students will explore the territorial growth of the United States before the Civil War.Objective 1 Describe the ideas and events that motivated the expansion of the United States.Explain Manifest Destiny and its role in American expansion; e.g., land acquisition, economy, immigration.Examine the background and consequences of the Louisiana Purchase.Investigate the role of explorers in the expansion of the United States; e.g., Lewis and Clark, Pike, Fremont.Examine the groups of people that came West; e.g., mountain men, Mormon pioneers, California 49ers, Asian and Irish immigrants.Objective 2 Examine the conflicts that arose during the American expansion.Investigate the causes and results of the War of 1812.Analyze government policies toward and treaties with American Indian nations; e.g., relocation, removal, assimilation, and sovereignty.Investigate the impact of the Mexican War on the land and people of the American Southwest; e.g., Mexican Cession, Texas, Gadsden Purchase.Objective 3 Analyze how new inventions and transportation methods stimulated western expansion.Research the impact of inventions on expansion; e.g., farming,industry, communication.Examine developments in transportation; e.g., expansion of roads and trails, steamboats, and railroads.Objective 4 Assess the impact of the Industrial Revolution on the United States.Examine the development of the factory system.Analyze the role of factories on the growth of northern cities.Determine how the Industrial Revolution affected the North, South, and West differently.Investigate the changes in working conditions caused by the Industrial Revolution.Standard 8 Students will examine the expansion of the political system and social rights before the Civil War.Objective 1 Investigate the development of the American political party system.Examine the differences between the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans.Trace the development of new political parties throughout the 18 th and 19 th centuries; e.g., Whigs, Jacksonian Democrats, Republicans.Determine the role of third parties as an agent of reform.Investigate the role of political parties in the electoral process.Objective 2 Analyze the evolution of democracy and the extension of democratic principles.Examine how the Supreme Court strengthened the national government.Analyze how states' rights issues led to growing sectionalism.Investigate the relationship between national and state governments in expanding democracy.Appraise how the political process changed to involve more people.Objective 3 Analyze the impact of social reforms on Americans during the 19th century.Examine the abolitionist movement; e.g., Sojourner Truth, William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglas, the Grimke sisters.Investigate the impact of reform in education, religion, prisons and the treatment of the mentally ill during this period.Examine the extension of women's political and legal rights.Standard 9 Students will understand the significance of the Civil War Era to the United States.Objective 1 Analyze differences and events that led to the Civil War.Describe the cultural differences between the North and the South.Examine the sectional economic differences of the United States; e.g., slavery, industry, agriculture, geography.Analyze how states' rights led to conflict between the North and the South.Trace the failure of compromise to ease sectional differences; e.g., Missouri Compromise, Compromise of 1850, Kansas-Nebraska Act.Investigate how the abolitionist movement increased sectional tensions between the Northern and Southern states; e.g., John Brown's raid, Dred Scott decision, Uncle Tom's Cabin, the Fugitive Slave Law.Assess how the election of 1860 led to secession.Objective 2 Determine the factors that affected the course of the war and contributed to Union victory.Compare the advantages and disadvantages of the Union and the Confederacy. Analyze the impact of the Emancipation Proclamation on the United States and the Confederacy.Identify the contributions of key individuals in the Civil War; e.g., Lincoln, Davis, Lee, Grant.Investigate how the Civil War affected all people in the United States land area.Objective 3 Evaluate the Reconstruction period and how it affected the United States following the Civil War.Explain the purpose of Reconstruction.Analyze the social impact of Reconstruction; e.g., abolition of slavery, integration of races, fall of Southern society, education.Determine the economic changes in the country caused by Reconstruction.Explain the political changes brought about by the Reconstruction Era; e.g., 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, voting regulations, military districts.Standard 10 Students will understand the development of the American West following the Civil War.Objective 1 Analyze the factors that brought people west.Examine why peoples came to the West; e.g., farmers, ranchers, miners, American Indian nations, immigrants, adventurers.Investigate the impact of mining and ranching on the land and people.Assess the impact of the railroad on western development.Objective 2 Analyze the settlement of the American West.Examine the changes of the landscape due to settlement patterns.Investigate the development of cities in the West. Assess the impact western settlement patterns had on the Native American Indians.Objective 3 Investigate the conflict among various groups involved in the settlement of the West.Determine the reasons and groups involved in conflict during the settlement of the West; e.g., ranchers, miners, farmers, American Indian nations, immigrants.Examine the consequences of conflict in the settlement of the West. Course Description Core Standards of the CourseScience BenchmarkChemical change is a primary way that matter on earth changes from one form to another. Energy is involved in chemical and physical change. When chemical or physical changes occur, the total amount of matter and energy remains the same; this is the law of conservation of matter and energy.Matter can change state through physical change. In a physical change the identity of the atoms does not change.In a chemical change the identity of the atoms does not change, but the atoms are recombined into a new substance. Evidence for a chemical reaction may include color change, gas given off, and heat or light given off or absorbed. Changing the amount of energy in a chemical system alters the reaction rate. Changing the surface area and/or concentration of reactants changes the rate of chemical reaction.Standard 1 Students will understand the nature of changes in matter.Objective 1 Describe the chemical and physical properties of various substances.Differentiate between chemical and physical properties.Classify substances based on their chemical and physical properties (e.g., reacts with water, does not react with water, flammable or nonflammable, hard or soft, flexible or nonflexible, evaporates or melts at room temperature).Investigate and report on the chemical and physical properties of a particular substance.Objective 2 Observe and evaluate evidence of chemical and physical change.Identify observable evidence of a physical change (e.g., change in shape, size, phase).Identify observable evidence of a chemical change (e.g., color change, heat or light given off, change in odor, gas given off).Observe and describe chemical reactions involving atmospheric oxygen (e.g., rust, fire, respiration, photosynthesis).Investigate the effects of chemical change on physical properties of substances (e.g., cooking a raw egg, iron rusting, polymerization of a resin).Objective 3 Investigate and measure the effects of increasing or decreasing the amount of energy in a physical or chemical change, and relate the kind of energy added to the motion of the particles.Identify the kinds of energy (e.g., heat, light, sound) given off or taken in when a substance undergoes a chemical or physical change.Relate the amount of energy added or taken away from a substance to the motion of molecules in the substance.Measure and graph the relationship between the states of water and changes in its temperature.Cite evidence showing that heat may be given off or taken in during a chemical change (e.g., striking a match, mixing vinegar and antacid, mixing ammonium chloride and water).Plan and conduct an experiment, and report the effect of adding or removing energy on the chemical and physical changes.Objective 4 Identify the observable features of chemical reactions.Identify the reactants and products in a given chemical change and describe the presence of the same atoms in both the reactants and products.Cite examples of common significant chemical reactions (e.g., photosynthesis, respiration, combustion, rusting) in daily life.Demonstrate that mass is conserved in a chemical reaction (e.g., mix two solutions that result in a color change or formation of a precipitate and weigh the solutions before and after mixing).Experiment with variables affecting the relative rates of chemical changes (e.g., heating, cooling, stirring, crushing, concentration).Research and report on how scientists or engineers have applied principles of chemistry to an application encountered in daily life (e.g., heat-resistant plastic handles on pans, rust-resistant paints on highway bridges).Language science students should use: chemical properties, physical properties, chemical change, physical change, reaction, reactants, products, respiration, photosynthesis, temperature, molecules, heat energy, chemical energy, atoms, energyScience BenchmarkThe sun is the source for essentially all biological energy. Plants store captured light energy as chemical energy in sugars. Animals eat plants to obtain the energy and matter that they need. The energy from food is used for mechanical and heat energy. The matter is used to build the cells of the organism.Food chains and food webs are models used to show the transfer of energy and matter among organisms. These models can be used to show relationships among organisms. Organisms, including humans, influence the ability of other organisms to live in a specific environment.Standard 2 Students will understand that energy from sunlight is changed to chemical energy in plants, transfers between living organisms, and that changing the environment may alter the amount of energy provided to living organisms.Objective 1 Compare ways that plants and animals obtain and use energy.Recognize the importance of photosynthesis in using light energy as part of the chemical process that builds plant materials.Explain how respiration in animals is a process that converts food energy into mechanical and heat energy.Trace the path of energy from the sun to mechanical energy in an organism (e.g., sunlight - light energy to plants by photosynthesis to sugars - stored chemical energy to respiration in muscle cell - usable chemical energy to muscle contraction- mechanical energy).Objective 2 Generalize the dependent relationships between organisms.Categorize the relationships between organisms (i.e., producer/consumer/decomposer, predator/prey, mutualism/parasitism) and provide examples of each.Use models to trace the flow of energy in food chains and food webs.Formulate and test a hypothesis on the effects of air, temperature, water, or light on plants (e.g., seed germination, growth rates, seasonal adaptations).Research multiple ways that different scientists have investigated the same ecosystem.Objective 3 Analyze human influence on the capacity of an environment to sustain living things.Describe specific examples of how humans have changed the capacity of an environment to support specific life forms (e.g., people create wetlands and nesting boxes that increase the number and range of wood ducks, acid rain damages amphibian eggs and reduces population of frogs, clear cutting forests affects squirrel populations, suburban sprawl reduces mule deer winter range thus decreasing numbers of deer).Distinguish between inference and evidence in a newspaper or magazine article relating to the effect of humans on the environment.Infer the potential effects of humans on a specific food web.Evaluate and present arguments for and against allowing a specific species of plant or animal to become extinct, and relate the argument to the of flow energy in an ecosystem.Language science students should use: food web, food chain, photosynthesis, respiration, predator, energy flow, solar energy, chemical energy, mechanical energy, producer, consumer, prey, mutualism, parasitism, competition, environment, capacityScience BenchmarkEarth is a dynamic planet. Processes that change Earth's surface operated in the past much as they do today. Evidence of past surface and climatic changes are indicated in the rock and fossil records. Rocks are composed of minerals. Rocks and minerals cycle through processes that change their form.Several processes contribute to changing Earth’s surface. Earth’s surface is changed by heat flowing from Earth's hot interior toward the cooler surface and by atmospheric processes. Earth’s surface can change abruptly through volcanoes and earthquakes. Earth’s surface can change gradually through mountain building, weathering, erosion, and deposition. Small changes that repeatedly occur over very long time periods can add up to major changes in Earth’s surface.Standard 3 Students will understand the processes of rock and fossil formation.Objective 1 Compare rocks and minerals and describe how they are related.Recognize that most rocks are composed of minerals.Observe and describe the minerals found in rocks (e.g., shape, color, luster, texture, hardness).Categorize rock samples as sedimentary, metamorphic, or igneous.Objective 2 Describe the nature of the changes that rocks undergo over long periods of time.Diagram and explain the rock cycle.Describe the role of energy in the processes that change rock materials over time.Use a model to demonstrate how erosion changes the surface of Earth.Relate gravity to changes in Earth’s surface.Identify the role of weathering of rocks in soil formation.Describe and model the processes of fossil formation.Objective 3 Describe how rock and fossil evidence is used to infer Earth’s history.Describe how the deposition of rock materials produces layering of sedimentary rocks over time.Identify the assumptions scientists make to determine relative ages of rock layers.Explain why some sedimentary rock layers may not always appear with youngest rock on top and older rocks below (i.e., folding, faulting).Research how fossils show evidence of the changing surface of the Earth.Propose why more recently deposited rock layers are more likely to contain fossils resembling existing species than older rock layers.Objective 4 Compare rapid and gradual changes to Earth’s surface.Describe how energy from the Earth's interior causes changes to Earth’s surface (i.e., earthquakes, volcanoes).Describe how earthquakes and volcanoes transfer energy from Earth's interior to the surface (e.g., seismic waves transfer mechanical energy, flowing magma transfers heat and mechanical energy).Model the process of energy buildup and release in earthquakes.Investigate and report possible reasons why the best engineering or ecological practices are not always followed in making decisions about building roads, dams, and other structures.Model how small changes over time add up to major changes to Earth’s surface.Language science students should use: volcano, earthquake, weathering, minerals, fossils, sedimentary, magma, metamorphic, rock cycle, igneous, sedimentation, deposition, geology, paleontologyScience BenchmarkMovement involves one form of energy being transformed into another form. Energy has the potential to exert a force over a distance. Waves transfer energy such as sound, heat, light, and earthquakes through different mediums. Sound and light waves allow organisms to "hear" and "see" the world around them. Energy is classified as either kinetic or potential energy.Every object exerts a gravitational force on every other object. The distance between objects and mass of the objects determine the force of gravity between them. This force is difficult to measure unless one of the objects has a very large mass. Unbalanced forces cause change in the motion of objects, while balanced forces do not.Standard 4 Students will understand the relationships among energy, force, and motion.Objective 1 Investigate the transfer of energy through various materials.Relate the energy of a wave to wavelength.Compare the transfer of energy (i.e., sound, light, earthquake waves, heat) through various mediums. Describe the spread of energy away from an energy-producing source.Compare the transfer of heat by conduction, convection, and radiation and provide examples of each.Demonstrate how white light can be separated into the visible color spectrum.Objective 2 Examine the force exerted on objects by gravity.Distinguish between mass and weight.Cite examples of how Earth’s gravitational force on an object depends upon the mass of the object.Describe how Earth’s gravitational force on an object depends upon the distance of the object from Earth.Design and build structures to support a load.Engineer (design and build) a machine that uses gravity to accomplish a task.Objective 3 Investigate the application of forces that act on objects, and the resulting motion.Calculate the mechanical advantage created by a lever.Engineer a device that uses levers or inclined planes to create a mechanical advantage.Engineer a device that uses friction to control the motion of an object.Design and build a complex machine capable of doing a specified task.Investigate the principles used to engineer changes in forces and motion.Objective 4 Analyze various forms of energy and how living organisms sense and respond to energy.Analyze the cyclic nature of potential and kinetic energy (e.g., a bouncing ball, a pendulum).Trace the conversion of energy from one form of energy to another (e.g., light to chemical to mechanical).Cite examples of how organisms sense various types of energy.Investigate and report the response of various organisms to changes in energy (e.g., plant response to light, human response to motion, sound, light, insects’ response to changes in light intensity).Investigate and describe how engineers have developed devices to help us sense various types of energy (e.g., seismographs, eyeglasses, telescopes, hearing aids).Language science students should use: energy, potential energy, kinetic energy, force, gravity, complex machine, wave, friction, amplitudeCore Standards of the CourseDomain: The Number SystemKnow that there are numbers that are not rational, and approximate them by rational numbers. 1. Know that numbers that are not rational are called irrational. Understand informally that every number has a decimal expansion; for rational numbers show that the decimal expansion repeats eventually, and convert a decimal expansion which repeats eventually into a rational number.2. Use rational approximations of irrational numbers to compare the size of irrational numbers, locate them approximately on a number line diagram, and estimate the value of expressions (e.g., π2). For example, by truncating the decimal expansion of √2, show that √2 is between 1 and 2, then between 1.4 and 1.5, and explain how to continue on to get better approximations.Domain: Expressions and EquationsWork with radicals and integer exponents. 1. Know and apply the properties of integer exponents to generate equivalent numerical expressions. For example, 32 × 3–5 = 3–3 = 1/33 = 1/27.2. Use square root and cube root symbols to represent solutions to equations of the form x2 = p and x3 = p, where p is a positive rational number. Evaluate square roots of small perfect squares and cube roots of small perfect cubes. Know that √2 is irrational.3. Use numbers expressed in the form of a single digit times a whole-number power of 10 to estimate very large or very small quantities, and to express how many times as much one is than the other. For example, estimate the population of the United States as 3 times 108 and the population of the world as 7 times 109, and determine that the world population is more than 20 times larger.4. Perform operations with numbers expressed in scientific notation, including problems where both decimal and scientific notation are used. Use scientific notation and choose units of appropriate size for measurements of very large or very small quantities (e.g., use millimeters per year for seafloor spreading). Interpret scientific notation that has been generated by technology.Understand the connections between proportional relationships, lines, and linear equations. 5. Graph proportional relationships, interpreting the unit rate as the slope of the graph. Compare two different proportional relationships represented in different ways. For example, compare a distance-time graph to a distance-time equation to determine which of two moving objects has greater speed.6. Use similar triangles to explain why the slope m is the same between any two distinct points on a non-vertical line in the coordinate plane; derive the equation y = mx for a line through the origin and the equation y = mx + b for a line intercepting the vertical axis at b.Analyze and solve linear equations and pairs of simultaneous linear equations. 7. Solve linear equations in one variable.Give examples of linear equations in one variable with one solution, infinitely many solutions, or no solutions. Show which of these possibilities is the case by successively transforming the given equation into simpler forms, until an equivalent equation of the form x = a,a = a, or a = b results (where a and b are different numbers).Solve linear equations with rational number coefficients, including equations whose solutions require expanding expressions using the distributive property and collecting like terms.8. Analyze and solve pairs of simultaneous linear equations.Understand that solutions to a system of two linear equations in two variables correspond to points of intersection of their graphs, because points of intersection satisfy both equations simultaneously.Solve systems of two linear equations in two variables algebraically, and estimate solutions by graphing the equations. Solve simple cases by inspection. For example, 3x + 2y = 5 and 3x + 2y = 6 have no solution because 3x + 2y cannot simultaneously be 5 and 6.Solve real-world and mathematical problems leading to two linear equations in two variables. For example, given coordinates for two pairs of points, determine whether the line through the first pair of points intersects the line through the second pair.Domain: FunctionsDefine, evaluate, and compare functions. 1. Understand that a function is a rule that assigns to each input exactly one output. The graph of a function is the set of ordered pairs consisting of an input and the corresponding output.12. Compare properties of two functions each represented in a different way (algebraically, graphically, numerically in tables, or by verbal descriptions). For example, given a linear function represented by a table of values and a linear function represented by an algebraic expression, determine which function has the greater rate of change.3. Interpret the equation y = mx + b as defining a linear function, whose graph is a straight line; give examples of functions that are not linear. For example, the function A = s2 giving the area of a square as a function of its side length is not linear because its graph contains the points (1,1), (2,4) and (3,9), which are not on a straight line.Use functions to model relationships between quantities. 4. Construct a function to model a linear relationship between two quantities. Determine the rate of change and initial value of the function from a description of a relationship or from two (x, y) values, including reading these from a table or from a graph. Interpret the rate of change and initial value of a linear function in terms of the situation it models, and in terms of its graph or a table of values.5. Describe qualitatively the functional relationship between two quantities by analyzing a graph (e.g., where the function is increasing or decreasing, linear or nonlinear). Sketch a graph that exhibits the qualitative features of a function that has been described verbally.Domain: GeometryUnderstand congruence and similarity using physical models, transparencies, or geometry software. 1. Verify experimentally the properties of rotations, reflections, and translations:Lines are taken to lines, and line segments to line segments of the same length.Angles are taken to angles of the same measure.Parallel lines are taken to parallel lines.2. Understand that a two-dimensional figure is congruent to another if the second can be obtained from the first by a sequence of rotations, reflections, and translations; given two congruent figures, describe a sequence that exhibits the congruence between them.3. Describe the effect of dilations, translations, rotations, and reflections on two-dimensional figures using coordinates.4. Understand that a two-dimensional figure is similar to another if the second can be obtained from the first by a sequence of rotations, reflections, translations, and dilations; given two similar two-dimensional figures, describe a sequence that exhibits the similarity between them.5. Use informal arguments to establish facts about the angle sum and exterior angle of triangles, about the angles created when parallel lines are cut by a transversal, and the angle-angle criterion for similarity of triangles. For example, arrange three copies of the same triangle so that the sum of the three angles appears to form a line, and give an argument in terms of transversals why this is so.Understand and apply the Pythagorean Theorem. 6. Explain a proof of the Pythagorean Theorem and its converse.7. Apply the Pythagorean Theorem to determine unknown side lengths in right triangles in real-world and mathematical problems in two and three dimensions.8. Apply the Pythagorean Theorem to find the distance between two points in a coordinate system.Solve real-world and mathematical problems involving volume of cylinders, cones, and spheres. 9. Know the formulas for the volumes of cones, cylinders, and spheres and use them to solve real-world and mathematical problems.Domain: Statistics and ProbabilityInvestigate patterns of association in bivariate data. 1. Construct and interpret scatter plots for bivariate measurement data to investigate patterns of association between two quantities. Describe patterns such as clustering, outliers, positive or negative association, linear association, and nonlinear association.2. Know that straight lines are widely used to model relationships between two quantitative variables. For scatter plots that suggest a linear association, informally fit a straight line, and informally assess the model fit by judging the closeness of the data points to the line.3. Use the equation of a linear model to solve problems in the context of bivariate measurement data, interpreting the slope and intercept. For example, in a linear model for a biology experiment, interpret a slope of 1.5 cm/hr as meaning that an additional hour of sunlight each day is associated with an additional 1.5 cm in mature plant height.4. Understand that patterns of association can also be seen in bivariate categorical data by displaying frequencies and relative frequencies in a two-way table. Construct and interpret a two-way table summarizing data on two categorical variables collected from the same subjects. Use relative frequencies calculated for rows or columns to describe possible association between the two variables. For example, collect data from students in your class on whether or not they have a curfew on school nights and whether or not they have assigned chores at home. Is there evidence that those who have a curfew also tend to have chores?1 Function notation is not required in Grade 8.Course Description Core Standards of the CourseStandard 1 Students will use algebraic, spatial, and logical reasoning to solve geometry problems.Objective 1 Use inductive and deductive reasoning to develop mathematical arguments.Write conditional statements, converses, and inverses, and determine the truth value of these statements.Formulate conjectures using inductive reasoning.Prove a statement false by using a counterexample.Objective 2 Analyze characteristics and properties of angles.Use accepted geometric notation for lines, segments, rays, angles, similarity, and congruence.Identify and determine relationships in adjacent, complementary, supplementary, or vertical angles and linear pairs.Classify angle pairs formed by two lines and a transversal.Prove relationships in angle pairs.Prove lines parallel or perpendicular using slope or angle relationships.Objective 3 Analyze characteristics and properties of triangles.Prove congruency and similarity of triangles using postulates and theorems.Prove the Pythagorean Theorem in multiple ways, find missing sides of right triangles using the Pythagorean Theorem, and determine whether a triangle is a right triangle using the converse of the Pythagorean Theorem.Prove and apply theorems involving isosceles triangles.Apply triangle inequality theorems.Identify medians, altitudes, and angle bisectors of a triangle, and the perpendicular bisectors of the sides of a triangle, and justify the concurrency theorems.Objective 4 Analyze characteristics and properties of polygons and circles.Use examples and counterexamples to classify subsets of quadrilaterals.Prove properties of quadrilaterals using triangle congruence relationships, postulates, and theorems.Derive, justify, and use formulas for the number of diagonals, lines of symmetry, angle measures, perimeter, and area of regular polygons.Define radius, diameter, chord, secant, arc, sector, central angle, inscribed angle, and tangent of a circle, and solve problems using their properties.Show the relationship between intercepted arcs and inscribed or central angles, and find their measures.Objective 5 Perform basic geometric constructions, describing and justifying the procedures used.Investigate geometric relationships using constructions.Copy and bisect angles and segments.Construct perpendicular and parallel lines.Justify procedures used to construct geometric figures.Discover and investigate conjectures about geometric properties using constructions.Objective 6 Analyze characteristics and properties of three-dimensional figures.Identify and classify prisms, pyramids, cylinders and cones based on the shape of their base(s).Identify three-dimensional objects from different perspectives using nets, cross-sections, and two-dimensional views.Describe the symmetries of three-dimensional figures.Describe relationships between the faces, edges, and vertices of polyhedra.Mathematical Language and Symbols Students Should Use: conditional statement, converse, inverse, conjecture, inductive, deductive, counterexample, adjacent, complementary, supplementary, vertical, linear pair, transversal, congruent, postulate, theorem, median, altitude, angle bisector, secant, arc, sector, central angle, inscribed angle, tangent of a circle, intercepted arc, net, polyhedra, Standard 2 Students will use the language and operations of algebra to explore geometric relationships with coordinate geometry.Objective 1 Describe the properties and attributes of lines and line segments using coordinate geometry.Verify the classifications of geometric figures using coordinate geometry to find lengths and slopes.Find the distance between two given points and find the coordinates of the midpoint.Write an equation of a line perpendicular or a line parallel to a line through a given point.Objective 2 Describe spatial relationships using coordinate geometry.Graph a circle given the equation in the form (x-h)2 + (y-k)2 =r2, and write the equation when given the graph.Determine whether points in a set are collinear.Mathematical Language and Symbols Students Should Use: distance formula, equation of a circle, collinearStandard 3 Students will extend concepts of proportion and similarity to trigonometric ratios.Objective 1 Use triangle relationships to solve problems.Solve problems using the properties of special right triangles, e.g., 30°, 60°, 90° or 45°, 45°, 90°.Identify the trigonometric relationships of sine, cosine, and tangent with the appropriate ratio of sides of a right triangle.Express trigonometric relationships using exact values and approximations.Objective 2 Use the trigonometric ratios of sine, cosine, and tangent to represent and solve for missing parts of triangles.Find the angle measure in degrees when given the trigonometric ratio.Find the trigonometric ratio given the angle measure in degrees, using a calculator.Find unknown measures of right triangles using sine, cosine, and tangent functions and inverse trigonometric functions.Mathematical Language and Symbols Students Should Use: special right triangle, sine (sin), cosine (cos), tangent (tan), exact valueStandard 4 Students will use measurement tools, formulas, and techniques to explore geometric relationships and solve problems.Objective 1 Find measurements of plane and solid figures.Find linear and angle measures in real-world situations using appropriate tools or technology.Develop surface area and volume formulas for polyhedra, cones, and cylinders.Determine perimeter, area, surface area, lateral area, and volume for prisms, cylinders, pyramids, cones, and spheres when given the formulas.Calculate or estimate the area of an irregular region.Find the length of an arc and the area of a sector when given the angle measure and radius.Objective 2 Solve real-world problems using visualization and spatial reasoning.Solve problems using the Pythagorean Theorem.Solve problems using the distance formula.Solve problems involving trigonometric ratios.Solve problems using geometric probability.Mathematical Language and Symbols Students Should Use: polyhedra, cone, cylinder, sphere, arc, area of a sector, geometric probabilityCore Standards of the CourseDomain: The Number SystemKnow that there are numbers that are not rational, and approximate them by rational numbers. 1. Know that numbers that are not rational are called irrational. Understand informally that every number has a decimal expansion; for rational numbers show that the decimal expansion repeats eventually, and convert a decimal expansion which repeats eventually into a rational number.2. Use rational approximations of irrational numbers to compare the size of irrational numbers, locate them approximately on a number line diagram, and estimate the value of expressions (e.g., π2). For example, by truncating the decimal expansion of √2, show that √2 is between 1 and 2, then between 1.4 and 1.5, and explain how to continue on to get better approximations.Domain: Expressions and EquationsWork with radicals and integer exponents. 1. Know and apply the properties of integer exponents to generate equivalent numerical expressions. For example, 32 × 3–5 = 3–3 = 1/33 = 1/27.2. Use square root and cube root symbols to represent solutions to equations of the form x2 = p and x3 = p, where p is a positive rational number. Evaluate square roots of small perfect squares and cube roots of small perfect cubes. Know that √2 is irrational.3. Use numbers expressed in the form of a single digit times a whole-number power of 10 to estimate very large or very small quantities, and to express how many times as much one is than the other. For example, estimate the population of the United States as 3 times 108 and the population of the world as 7 times 109, and determine that the world population is more than 20 times larger.4. Perform operations with numbers expressed in scientific notation, including problems where both decimal and scientific notation are used. Use scientific notation and choose units of appropriate size for measurements of very large or very small quantities (e.g., use millimeters per year for seafloor spreading). Interpret scientific notation that has been generated by technology.Understand the connections between proportional relationships, lines, and linear equations. 5. Graph proportional relationships, interpreting the unit rate as the slope of the graph. Compare two different proportional relationships represented in different ways. For example, compare a distance-time graph to a distance-time equation to determine which of two moving objects has greater speed.6. Use similar triangles to explain why the slope m is the same between any two distinct points on a non-vertical line in the coordinate plane; derive the equation y = mx for a line through the origin and the equation y = mx + b for a line intercepting the vertical axis at b.Analyze and solve linear equations and pairs of simultaneous linear equations. 7. Solve linear equations in one variable.Give examples of linear equations in one variable with one solution, infinitely many solutions, or no solutions. Show which of these possibilities is the case by successively transforming the given equation into simpler forms, until an equivalent equation of the form x = a,a = a, or a = b results (where a and b are different numbers).Solve linear equations with rational number coefficients, including equations whose solutions require expanding expressions using the distributive property and collecting like terms.8. Analyze and solve pairs of simultaneous linear equations.Understand that solutions to a system of two linear equations in two variables correspond to points of intersection of their graphs, because points of intersection satisfy both equations simultaneously.Solve systems of two linear equations in two variables algebraically, and estimate solutions by graphing the equations. Solve simple cases by inspection. For example, 3x + 2y = 5 and 3x + 2y = 6 have no solution because 3x + 2y cannot simultaneously be 5 and 6.Solve real-world and mathematical problems leading to two linear equations in two variables. For example, given coordinates for two pairs of points, determine whether the line through the first pair of points intersects the line through the second pair.Domain: FunctionsDefine, evaluate, and compare functions. 1. Understand that a function is a rule that assigns to each input exactly one output. The graph of a function is the set of ordered pairs consisting of an input and the corresponding output.12. Compare properties of two functions each represented in a different way (algebraically, graphically, numerically in tables, or by verbal descriptions). For example, given a linear function represented by a table of values and a linear function represented by an algebraic expression, determine which function has the greater rate of change.3. Interpret the equation y = mx + b as defining a linear function, whose graph is a straight line; give examples of functions that are not linear. For example, the function A = s2 giving the area of a square as a function of its side length is not linear because its graph contains the points (1,1), (2,4) and (3,9), which are not on a straight line.Use functions to model relationships between quantities. 4. Construct a function to model a linear relationship between two quantities. Determine the rate of change and initial value of the function from a description of a relationship or from two (x, y) values, including reading these from a table or from a graph. Interpret the rate of change and initial value of a linear function in terms of the situation it models, and in terms of its graph or a table of values.5. Describe qualitatively the functional relationship between two quantities by analyzing a graph (e.g., where the function is increasing or decreasing, linear or nonlinear). Sketch a graph that exhibits the qualitative features of a function that has been described verbally.Domain: GeometryUnderstand congruence and similarity using physical models, transparencies, or geometry software. 1. Verify experimentally the properties of rotations, reflections, and translations:Lines are taken to lines, and line segments to line segments of the same length.Angles are taken to angles of the same measure.Parallel lines are taken to parallel lines.2. Understand that a two-dimensional figure is congruent to another if the second can be obtained from the first by a sequence of rotations, reflections, and translations; given two congruent figures, describe a sequence that exhibits the congruence between them.3. Describe the effect of dilations, translations, rotations, and reflections on two-dimensional figures using coordinates.4. Understand that a two-dimensional figure is similar to another if the second can be obtained from the first by a sequence of rotations, reflections, translations, and dilations; given two similar two-dimensional figures, describe a sequence that exhibits the similarity between them.5. Use informal arguments to establish facts about the angle sum and exterior angle of triangles, about the angles created when parallel lines are cut by a transversal, and the angle-angle criterion for similarity of triangles. For example, arrange three copies of the same triangle so that the sum of the three angles appears to form a line, and give an argument in terms of transversals why this is so.Understand and apply the Pythagorean Theorem. 6. Explain a proof of the Pythagorean Theorem and its converse.7. Apply the Pythagorean Theorem to determine unknown side lengths in right triangles in real-world and mathematical problems in two and three dimensions.8. Apply the Pythagorean Theorem to find the distance between two points in a coordinate system.Solve real-world and mathematical problems involving volume of cylinders, cones, and spheres. 9. Know the formulas for the volumes of cones, cylinders, and spheres and use them to solve real-world and mathematical problems.Domain: Statistics and ProbabilityInvestigate patterns of association in bivariate data. 1. Construct and interpret scatter plots for bivariate measurement data to investigate patterns of association between two quantities. Describe patterns such as clustering, outliers, positive or negative association, linear association, and nonlinear association.2. Know that straight lines are widely used to model relationships between two quantitative variables. For scatter plots that suggest a linear association, informally fit a straight line, and informally assess the model fit by judging the closeness of the data points to the line.3. Use the equation of a linear model to solve problems in the context of bivariate measurement data, interpreting the slope and intercept. For example, in a linear model for a biology experiment, interpret a slope of 1.5 cm/hr as meaning that an additional hour of sunlight each day is associated with an additional 1.5 cm in mature plant height.4. Understand that patterns of association can also be seen in bivariate categorical data by displaying frequencies and relative frequencies in a two-way table. Construct and interpret a two-way table summarizing data on two categorical variables collected from the same subjects. Use relative frequencies calculated for rows or columns to describe possible association between the two variables. For example, collect data from students in your class on whether or not they have a curfew on school nights and whether or not they have assigned chores at home. Is there evidence that those who have a curfew also tend to have chores?1 Function notation is not required in Grade 8.Marketing Introduction
Printable Version (pdf) Course Description Core Standards of the CourseInterpersonal Communication SkillsStandard 1 Students will model interpersonal communication skills needed in marketing and in life.Objective 1 Student will observe and demonstrate the elements of effective communication.Model effective Listening SkillsIdentify different types of communicationVerbal, written, other non-verbalEvaluate communication factors including Barriers, Obstacles, and Settings.Explore audience considerations. i.e. Gender and Cultural considerationsDefine Jargon and contrast content specialist or presentation type communication with peer to peer communication.Demonstrate effective presentation skills, including:Electronic presentation basicsVerbal presentation – speech and postureRelate the goals of personal communication with goals in marketing. (Develop and sustain an image)Objective 2 Identify and evaluate character traits important to business.Model appropriate business personal appearance.Contrast examples of ethical and unethical behavior or choices. Evaluate the impact of honesty and integrity in business and in personal relationships.Interpret a self evaluation or trait development exercise. (Example: color tests or Myers- Briggs Type Indicator.)Define “Networking” in terms of establishing personal contacts.Model an appropriate personal introduction including an appropriate hand shaking, personal space, and eye contact.Relate the goals of personal communication with goals in marketing. (Develop and sustain an image)Marketing ConceptStandard 2 Students will define the Marketing Concept and what role identifying products types, consumer types, and market segmentation play.Objective 1 Students will be able to categorize Product types and identify elements of the seven functions of Marketing.Define, differentiate and categorize Goods – Services – Ideas.Identify examples of the seven functions of marketing.Objective 2 Students will distinguish the four methods of market segmentation.Explain factors related to Demographic segmentation included gender, income, household status, ethnicity, and education.Contrast elements of each generation in generational MarketingSummarize the difference between disposable & discretionary income.Identify scenarios where Geographic segmentation would be effective.List factors or Psychographic segmentation.Relate and individual Behavior to consumer perceptions and shopping patterns.List Potential data collection processes.Objective 3 Students will Evaluate and classify of potential consumers.Define and identify target marketsExplain the necessity of target markets in order to create a brand or product image.Illustrate an example of Market share.Evaluate competition in terms of market share and identifying your competitors.Define niche marketing.Determine and Justify scenarios in which Mass Marketing vs Target marketing would be most appropriate.Marketing MixStandard 3 Students will be able to explain each category of the Marketing Mix or the 4 P's of Marketing.Objective 1 Discover the elements of the PRODUCT that support the marketing concept.Summarize the functions of Packaging.Explore packaging strategies including Price bundling and Mixed bundling.Compare elements of labels including Descriptions, Branding, Grades.Analyze elements of developing a new product.Consider: size or shape, naming, labeling, packaging, colors, quantities, etc...Predict the impact of Customer Service and Warranties as an element of product success.Explore the benefits and risks of Brand extension.Contrast product Features with the product Benefits from a consumers prospective.Objective 2 Examine the elements of the PLACE that support the marketing concept.Discuss Channels of distribution and possible channel members.Contrast pros and cons of Direct and Indirect distribution.Explain cost vs control as it relates to distribution alternatives.Evaluate the impact of a Stores physical location.Prioritize or recommend store locations for various business types.Objective 3 Recall elements of the PRICE that support the marketing concept.Define the three Pricing Orientations. (Cost, Competition, Demand)Assess the possible Goals of Pricing (profit, market share, prestige)Examine considerations of pricingList multiple forms of pricing.Classify products by their price elasticity.Demonstrate how a pricing strategy supports a products image.Explore legal considerations including predatory pricing, Bait and switch, and MSRP.Evaluate Various Pricing Strategies - Loss leaders | Captive products | Options and up selling | etc.Objective 4 Explore elements of the PROMOTION that support the marketing concept.Define the term promotion.Discuss the impact Slogans and Logos have on a product.Explore various types of promotion.Discover consumer promotions. i.e. coupons, point of purchase, loyalty programs, production placement, tie-ins, samples, etc.Demonstrate how incorporating multiple strategies together can reinforce each other and the product in a promotional mix.Explore cost, production and effectiveness of: Print, Broadcast, and Online promotions.Construct a promotion for a product or business.Interpersonal SkillsStandard 4 Students will be able to identify key personal traits, interpersonal skills and elements of teamwork that facilitate job success and ethical action in the workplace.Objective 1 Examine interpersonal skills necessary to build good relationships.Identify Interpersonal Skills:Self-esteem and self-awarenessPositive attitudeInitiative and ResponsibilitySelf-controlCreativityTime ManagementStress ManagementAssertivenessFlexibilityExamine how interpersonal skills build good business relationships.Objective 2 Analyze basic values and moral principles that guide behavior of individuals and groups.Define ethicsExamine ethical behavior between coworkers and clients.Demonstrate practical ethical behavior in the workplace.Objective 3 Understand how to manage conflict in the workplace.Examine the negotiation process.Manage conflicts by using appropriate negotiation skillsDemonstrate effective speaking and listening skills in the negotiation process.Objective 4 Understand how to use interpersonal skills to handle customer complaints, and work with a team.Understand a company’s policies and procedures in responding to customers.Demonstrate how to respond promptly and intelligently to customer concerns.Examine the critical components of successful teamwork. Course Description Core Standards of the CourseStandard 1 Students will demonstrate the ability to use knowledge, skills, and strategies related to mental and emotional health to enhance self-concept and relationships with others.Objective 1 Develop strategies for a healthy self-concept.Identify ways to build self-esteem including recognizing strengths and weaknesses.Identify goal-setting strategies and use them to create a plan for reaching a health-related goal.Explain the influence of personal values on individual health practices.Analyze how self-esteem affects risk and protective factors.Use decision making skills to solve personal problems.Objective 2 Identify strategies that enhance mental and emotional health.Identify positive ways to express emotions.Identify ways to build resiliency.Determine how societal norms, cultural differences, personal beliefs, and media impact choices, behavior, and relationships.Demonstrate stress management techniques.Explore strategies for suicide prevention.Objective 3 Examine mental illness.Identify the prevalence of mental illness and the importance of early intervention and treatment.Distinguish types of mental disorders and explain their effects on individuals and society.Analyze the stigma associated with mental illness.Investigate school and community mental health resources.Objective 4 Develop and maintain healthy relationships.Examine components of healthy relationships.Determine healthy ways to accept, manage, and adapt to changes in relationships (e.g., loss, grief, coping).Develop strategies to manage inappropriate or harmful comments and advances from others (e.g. bullying, cyber-bullying, sexual harassment).Demonstrate refusal skills for managing peer pressure.Demonstrate effective communication skills.Standard 2 Students will use nutrition and fitness information, skills, and strategies to enhance health.Objective 1 Describe the components and benefits of proper nutrition.Identify the primary nutrients and describe their functions.Explain how the United States Department of Agriculture’s Seven Dietary Guidelines and the most recent Food Pyramid can enhance proper nutrition.Recognize ways to make healthy food choices (e.g., reading food labels, calculating calorie intake).List school and community nutritional resources.Objective 2 Analyze how physical activity benefits overall health.List the elements of physical fitness (e.g., muscular strength and endurance, cardio- vascular endurance, flexibility, body composition).Examine the benefits of maintaining life-long fitness and the consequences of inactivity.Identify and investigate available fitness resources.Create individual fitness goals.Objective 3 Recognize the importance of a healthy body image and develop appropriate weight management behaviors.Explain how weight control is affected by caloric intake and energy expenditure.Explore the short and long term effects of poor nutrition and inactivity (e.g., obesity, chronic diseases).Describe the strengths and weaknesses of various body-weight indicators (e.g., Body Mass Index [B.M.I.], waist circumference, body fat percentage calculators).Examine the causes, symptoms, and the short and long-term consequences of eating disorders.Analyze the influence of media on body image.Standard 3 Students will demonstrate health-promoting and risk-reducing behaviors to prevent substance abuse.Objective 1 Examine the consequences of drug use, misuse, and abuse.Define the short and long term effects of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs (e.g., steroids, inhalants, stimulants, depressants, prescription painkillers).List guidelines for the safe use of medicine (e.g., over the counter drugs, prescription drugs, herbal supplements).Recognize the legal consequences of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug abuse.Identify ways to recognize, respect, and communicate personal boundaries.Examine the impact of alcohol, tobacco and other drug abuse on individuals, families, and communities.Objective 2 Analyze the risk and protective factors that influence the use and abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.List risk and protective factors associated with the use and abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.Examine the impact of peer pressure on alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use/abuse.Identify practices that help to support a drug-free lifestyle.Analyze media and marketing tactics used to promote alcohol, tobacco, and other drug products.Practice interpersonal and communication skills (e.g., assertiveness, refusal skills, negotiation, conflict management).Objective 3 Access information for treatment of addictive behaviors.Recognize the signs of addiction.Explain the need for professional intervention for those affected by addictions.Identify community resources available to support individuals impacted by substance abuse.Standard 4 Students will demonstrate the ability to apply prevention and intervention knowledge, skills, and processes to promote safety in the home, school, and community.Objective 1 Identify personal behaviors that contribute to a safe or unsafe environment.Recognize unhealthy or potentially dangerous situations and their consequences.Identify ways to avoid dangerous situations.Discuss safety guidelines for a variety of activities at home, school, and in the community. (e.g., indoor and outdoor sports activities, recreational outings in various seasons, technology).Develop strategies to enhance personal safety (e.g., use of helmets, protective gear, seatbelts).Objective 2 Recognize emergencies and respond appropriately.Explain how immediate response increases a victim’s chance for survival.Demonstrate proficiency in basic first-aid, practice Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) as outlined in national standards, and describe the purpose and use of an Automated External Defibrillator (AED).Create personal disaster safety plans (e.g., fire, earthquakes, floods, terrorism).Objective 3 Identify and respond appropriately to harassment and violent behaviors.Identify abusive behaviors (e.g., threats, harassment, bullying, assault, domestic abuse).Recognize sexual harassment and identify methods to stop it.Describe ways to prevent and report violence at home, in school, and in the community.Investigate resources to assist those affected by abusive behaviors.Objective 4 Examine the dangers of inappropriate use of current technology.Identify the use and misuse of current technology (e.g., Internet, email, websites, instant messaging, cell phones).Discuss the short and long term dangers of sharing private information using current technology devices.Investigate personal and legal consequences for the inappropriate use of technology and discuss school and LEA policies.Analyze violence in the media and how it impacts behavior.Standard 5 Students will understand and summarize concepts related to health promotion and the prevention of communicable and non-communicable diseases.Objective 1 Explain the transmission and prevention of communicable diseases.Identify pathogens and how they are transmitted.Discuss symptoms of common communicable diseases.Describe methods of prevention and treatment for communicable diseases (e.g., personal hygiene, immunization, balanced diet, exercise, rest, natural body defenses, abstinence from high risk behaviors).Objective 2 Identify the effects of non-communicable diseases.Recognize common non-communicable diseases (e.g., arthritis, cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, asthma, allergies).Identify risk factors for common non-communicable diseases (e.g., environment, age, gender, family history, diet, body mass, risky behaviors).List signs and symptoms of common non-communicable diseases.Describe risk reduction and prevention methods, including breast and testicular self exams, for common non-communicable diseases.Objective 3 Analyze the impact of sexually transmitted diseases including human immuno-deficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) on self and others.Identify common sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) (e.g., HIV/AIDS, chlamydia, gonorrhea, herpes, syphilis).Recognize symptoms, modes of transmission, including the absence of symptoms, and associated pathogens for common sexually transmitted diseases. Terms of a sensitive or explicit nature may be used in discussions.Determine risk-reducing behaviors in the prevention of STDs while discussing the advantages of abstinence over other methods of preventing sexually transmitted diseases.Recognize the importance of early detection and testing for sexually transmitted diseases.Objective 4 Examine the impact of disease on self and society.Determine the economic, physical, mental, social, and emotional impact of communicable diseases.Identify the economic, physical, mental, social, and emotional impact of non-communicable diseases.Identify preventive measures for communicable and non-communicable diseases.Standard 6 Students will demonstrate knowledge of human development, social skills, and strategies to encourage healthy relationships and healthy growth and development throughout life.Objective 1 Describe physical, mental, social, and emotional changes that occur throughout the life cycle.Explain the anatomy and physiology of the male and female reproductive systems.Recognize the impact of heredity and environment on growth and development.Describe the development and maturation of the brain and its impact on behavior.Identify the mental, social, and emotional developmental changes that occur from infancy through adolescence.Objective 2 Describe the interrelationship of mental, emotional, social, and physical health during adolescence.Identify qualities and strategies for developing healthy relationships including healthy ways to manage or adapt to changes.Analyze how self-image, social norms (e.g., age, gender, culture, ethnicity), and personal beliefs may influence choices, behaviors, and relationships.Identify ways to recognize, respect, and communicate personal boundaries for self and others.Develop and use effective communication skills including being able to discuss questions on sexuality with parents and/or guardians.Develop strategies to manage inappropriate comments or advances from others.Objective 3 Explain the processes of conception, prenatal development, birth, and the challenges created by teen and unwanted pregnancies.Identify appropriate ways to show interest and express affection for others.Describe the benefits of sexual abstinence before marriage (e.g., personal and relationship growth, preventing early or unintentional pregnancy and/or sexually transmitted diseases), and strategies that support the practice.Predict the impact of adolescent parenting (e.g., relationships, finances, education).Identify adoption as an option for unintended pregnancy and discuss the Newborn Safe Haven Law.Core Standards of the CourseStandard 1 (Reading Comprehension): Students will use vocabulary development and an understanding of text elements and structures to comprehend literary and informational grade level text.Objective 1 (Word Analysis, Vocabulary Development): Determine word meaning through word parts, definitions, and context clues.Identify common prefixes and suffixes to determine meanings of words (see chart, Appendix A).Extend the meanings of words through understanding of connotation.Determine word meaning through definition or explanation context clues.Distinguish between commonly confused words (i.e., capital /capitol; cell/sale/ sell; choose/chose; emigrate/ immigrate; farther/further; knew/new; loose/lose; passed/past; quiet/quit/quite; their/they're/there; weak/week).Objective 2 (Comprehension of Informational Text): Comprehend and evaluate informational text (i.e., textbooks, biographies/autobiographies, persuasive essays, letters, graphs, charts).Use external text features to enhance comprehension (i.e., headings, subheadings, pictures, captions, sidebars, annotations, italics, bolded words, graphs, charts and tables of contents).Comprehend text using internal text structures and their appropriate cue words and phrases (i.e., question/answer, comparison/contrast).Infer meaning from explicit information in text.Distinguish fact from opinion.Objective 3 (Comprehension of Literary Text): Comprehend literature by differentiating the uses of literary elements in narrative texts.Determine which incidents are important to moving the plot forward and to making predictions (e.g., flashback, foreshadowing)Describe a character's traits based on what other characters think, say, and do.Identify themes in literary works.Define and describe settings in literature (e.g., place, time, and customs).Compare types of figurative language (i.e., simile, metaphor, and symbolism).Distinguish between free verse and rhyme.Standard 2 (Writing): Students will write informational and literary text to reflect on and recreate experiences, report observations, and persuade others.Objective 1 (Writing to Learn): Evaluate information, interpret ideas, and demonstrate thinking through writing.Organize events and ideas in order of importance.Focus written facts or events around a clearly stated, unifying idea.Connect text to self, text to world and text to text.Objective 2 (Extended Writing): Write to identify and reflect on feelings to recreate experiences. (Emphasize short biographies, narratives, or memoirs. Students should use the entire writing process to produce at least one extended piece per term, not necessarily limited to the type of writing emphasized at individual grade levels.)Convey a unifying theme or idea.Order events effectively and experiment with flashback or foreshadowing.Use narrative details (e.g., dialogue, description, imagery, symbolism).Objective 3 (Revision and Editing): Revise and edit to strengthen ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency and conventions.Evaluate and revise for:Ideas: Specific and relevant details that support the idea.Organization: An introduction, body, and conclusion with a controlling idea, topic sentences, and supporting details.Voice: Appropriate tone and voice.Word Choice: Words appropriate to audience.Sentence Fluency: Varied sentence structure.Edit for conventions:Correct grade-level spellingCorrect use of quotation marks and commas in dialogue.Correct verb tenses.Correct use of relative pronouns.Correct agreement of pronouns and antecedents.Correct capitalization of titles of books, poems, etc., and titles of courses (e.g., History 202).Standard 3 (Inquiry/Research/Oral Presentation): Students will understand the process of seeking and giving information in conversations, group discussions, written reports, and oral presentations.Objective 1 (Processes of Inquiry): Use the process of inquiry to focus thinking toward understanding an idea or concept.Formulate text-supported, open-ended questions for inquiry (i.e., literal, interpretive inferential, evaluative).Choose information that best supports the focus of inquiry.Distinguish between reliable and unreliable sources of information.Distinguish primary from secondary sources.Objective 2 (Written Communication of Inquiry): Write to demonstrate understanding of an idea or concept.Select an appropriate format to demonstrate understanding.Gather information from more than one source.Report information by paraphrasing, summarizing, and/or quoting from sources.Use informal citation to support inquiry.Objective 3 (Oral Communication of Inquiry): Participate in and report on small group learning activities.Determine the purpose for small group learning activities (e.g., to respond to writing, to acquire information, to present ideas, to clarify understanding).Identify and assume responsibility for specific group tasks, including asking relevant questions.Respond appropriately to group members’ questions and contributions.Present group reports.
For the 1986 Italian film, see Camorra (A Story of Streets, Women and Crime).
| Camorra |
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Map highlighting the location of Campania in Italy
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| Structure |
| History |
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The Camorra is an Italian Mafia-type[1] crime syndicate, or secret society, that originated in the region of Campania and its capital Naples. It is one of the oldest and largest criminal organizations in Italy, dating back to the 18th century. Unlike the pyramidal structure of the Sicilian Mafia, the Camorra's organizational structure is more horizontal than vertical. Consequently, individual Camorra clans act independently of each other, and are more prone to feuding among themselves.
One of the Camorra’s strategies to gain social prestige is political patronage. The familial clans became the preferred interlocutors of local politicians and public officials, because of their grip on the community. In turn, the clan bosses use their political sway to assist and protect their clients against the local authorities. Despite the Camorra's origins, the organization presently has important ramifications in other Italian regions, such as Lombardy,Piedmont and Emilia-Romagna.
Contents
[hide]Background[edit]
The origins of the Camorra are not entirely clear. It may date back to the 16th century as a direct descendant of a Spanishsecret society, the Garduña, founded in 1417. Officials of the Kingdom of Naples may have introduced the organization to the area, or it may have grown gradually out of small criminal gangs operating in Neapolitan society near the end of the 18th century.[2]
The first official use of the word dates from 1735, when a royal decree authorised the establishment of eight gambling houses in Naples. The word is almost certainly a blend of "capo" (boss) and a Neapolitan street game, the "morra".[2][3] (In this game, two persons wave their hands simultaneously, while a crowd of surrounding gamblers guess, in chorus, at the total number of fingers exposed by the principal players.)[4] This activity was prohibited by the local government, and some people started making the players pay for being “protected” against the passing police.[2][5][6]
The Camorra first emerged during the chaotic power vacuum in the years between 1799-1815, when a Neapolitan Republic was proclaimed on the wave of the French Revolution and the restoration of the Bourbon dynasty. The first official mention of the Camorra as an organisation dates from 1820, when police records detail a disciplinary meeting of the Camorra, a tribunal known as the Gran Mamma. That year a first written statute, the frieno, was also discovered, indicating a stable organisational structure in the underworld. Another statute was discovered in 1842, including initiation rites and funds set aside for the families of those imprisoned. The organisation was also known as the Bella Società Riformata, Società dell’Umirtà or Onorata Società.[7][8]
The evolution into more organized formations indicated a qualitative change: the Camorra and camorristi were no longer local gangs living off theft and extortion; they now had a fixed structure and some kind of hierarchy. Another qualitative leap was the agreement of the liberal opposition and the Camorra, following the defeat in the 1848 revolution. The liberals realized that they needed popular support to overthrow the king. They turned to the Camorra and paid them, the camorristi being the leaders of the city’s poor. The Camorra effectively had developed into power brokers in a few decades.[7]
The Camorra was never a coherent whole nor a centralised organization. Instead, it has always been a loose confederation of different, independent groups or families. Each group was bound around kinship ties and controlled economic activities which took place in its particular territory. Each family clan took care of its own business, protected its territory, and sometimes tried to expand at another group’s expense. Although not centralized, there was some minimal coordination, to avoid mutual interference. The families competed to maintain a system of checks and balances between equal powers.[9]
One of the Camorra’s strategies to gain social prestige is political patronage. The family clans became the preferred interlocutors of local politicians and public officials, because of their grip on the community. In turn, the family bosses used their political sway to assist and protect their clients against the local authorities. Through a mixture of brute force, political status, and social leadership, the Camorra family clans imposed themselves as middlemen between the local community and bureaucrats and politicians at the national level. They granted privileges and protection, and intervened in favour of their clients in return for their silence and connivance against local authorities and the police. With their political connections, the heads of the major Neapolitan families became power brokers in local and national political contexts, providing Neapolitan politicians with broad electoral support, and in return receiving benefits for their constituency.[9]
Activities[edit]
Compared to the Sicilian Cosa Nostra's pyramidal structure, the Camorra has more of a 'horizontal' than a 'vertical' structure. As a result, individual Camorra clans act independently of each other, and are more prone to feuding among themselves. This however makes the Camorra more resilient when top leaders are arrested or killed, with new clans and organizations germinating out of the stumps of old ones. As the Galasso clan boss Pasquale Galasso once stated in court;"Campania can get worse because you could cut into a Camorra group, but another ten could emerge from it."[10]
In the 1970s and 1980s Raffaele Cutolo made an attempt to unify the Camorra families in the manner of the Sicilian Mafia, by forming the New Organized Camorra (Nuova Camorra Organizzata or NCO), but this proved unsuccessful. Drive-by shootings by camorristi often result in casualties among the local population, but such episodes are often difficult to investigate because of widespread Omertà (code of silence). According to a report from Confesercenti, the second-largest Italian Trade Organization, published on October 22, 2007 in the Corriere della Sera, the Camorra control the milk and fish industries, the coffee trade, and over 2,500 bakeries in the city.[11]
In 1983, Italian law enforcement estimated that there were only about a dozen Camorra clans. By 1987, the number had risen to 26, and in the following year, a report from the Naples flying squad reported their number as 32. Currently it is estimated there are about 111 Camorra clans and over 6,700 members in Naples and the immediate surroundings.[12]Roberto Saviano, an investigative journalist and author of Gomorra, an exposé of the activities of the Camorra, says that this sprawling network of Camorra clans now dwarfs the Sicilian Mafia, the 'Ndrangheta and southern Italy's other organised gangs, in numbers, in economic power and in ruthless violence.[13]
In 2004 and 2005 the Di Lauro clan and the so-called Scissionisti fought a bloody feud which came to be known in the Italian press as the Scampia feud. The result was over 100 street-killings. At the end of October 2006 a new series of murders took place in Naples between 20 competing clans, that cost 12 lives in 10 days. The Interior Minister Giuliano Amato decided to send more than 1,000 extra police and Carabinieri to Naples to fight crime and protect tourists.[14] It didn't help much – in the following year there were over 120 murders.[citation needed]
In recent years, various Camorra clans have been forming alliances with Nigerian drug gangs and the Albanian Mafia, even going so far as to intermarry.[citation needed] For instance, Augusto La Torre, the former La Torre clan boss who became a pentito, is married to an Albanian woman. It should also be noted that the first foreign pentito, a Tunisian, admitted to being involved with the feared Casalesi clan of Casal di Principe. The first town that the Camorra gave over to be completely governed by a foreign clan was Castel Volturno, which was given to the Rapaces, clans from Lagos andBenin City in Nigeria. This allowed them to traffic cocaine and women indentured to sex slavery before sending them across the whole of Europe.[15]
Refuse crisis[edit]
Since the mid-1990s, the Camorra has taken over the handling of refuse disposal in the region of Campania, withdisastrous results for the environment and the health of the general population. Heavy metals, industrial waste, chemicals and household garbage are frequently mixed together, then dumped near roads and burnt to avoid detection, leading to severe soil and air pollution.
With the assistance of private businessmen known as "stakeholders", the numerous Camorra clans are able to gain massive profits from under-the-table contracts with local, legitimate businesses. These "stakeholders" are able to offer companies highly lucrative deals to remove their waste at a significantly lower price. With little to no overhead, Camorra clans and their associates see very high profit margins. According to author Roberto Saviano, the Camorra employs children to drive the waste in for a small price, who do not complain about the health risks as the older truckers might.
As of June 2007, the region has no serviceable dumping sites, and no alternatives have been found. Together with corrupt local officials and unscrupulous industrialists from all over Italy, the Camorra has created a cartel that has so far proved very difficult for officials to combat.[16]
Efforts to fight the Camorra[edit]
The Camorra has proven to be an extremely difficult organization to fight within Italy. At the first mass trial against the Camorra in 1911-12, Captain Carlo Fabroni of the Carabinieri gave testimony on how complicated it was to successfully prosecute the Camorra: "The Camorrist has no political ideals. He exploits the elections and the elected for gain. The leaders distribute bands throughout the town, and they have recourse to violence to obtain the vote of the electors for the candidates whom they have determined to support. Those who refuse to vote as instructed are beaten, slashed with knives, or kidnapped. All this is done with assurance of impunity, as the Camorrists will have the protection of successful politicians, who realize that they cannot be chosen to office without paying toll to the Camorra."[17]
The trial that investigated the murder of the Camorrista Gennaro Cuocolo was followed with great interest by the newspapers and the general public. It led to the conviction of 27 leading Camorra bosses, who were sentenced to a total of 354 years of imprisonment, including the head of the Camorra at the time, Enrico Alfano.[18][19]
Unlike Cosa Nostra, which has a clear hierarchy and a division of interests, the Camorra’s activities are much less centralized. This makes the organization much more difficult to combat through crude repression.[20] In Campania, where unemployment is high and opportunities are limited, the Camorra has become an integral part of the fabric of society. It offers a sense of community and provides the youth with jobs. Members are guided in the pursuit of criminal activities, including cigarette smuggling, drug trafficking, and theft.[21]
The government has made an effort to combat the Camorra's criminal activities in Campania. The solution ultimately lies in Italy’s ability to offer values, education and work opportunities to the next generation. However, the government has been hard pressed to find funds for promoting long term reforms that are needed to improve the local economic outlook and create jobs.[21] Instead, it has had to rely on limited law enforcement activity in an environment which has a long history of criminal tolerance and acceptance, and is governed by a code of silence or omertà that persists to this day.[22]
Despite the overwhelming magnitude of the problem, law enforcement officials continue their pursuit. The Italian police are coordinating their efforts with Europol at the European level as well as Interpol to conduct special operations against the Camorra. The Carabinieri and the Financial Police (Guardia di Finanza) are also fighting criminal activities related to tax evasion, border controls, and money laundering. Prefect Gennaro Monaco, Deputy Chief of Police and Chief of the Section of Criminal Police cites "impressive results" against the Camorra in recent years, yet the Camorra continues to grow in power.[23]
In 1998, police took a leading Camorra figure into custody. Francesco Schiavone was caught hiding in a secret apartment near Naples behind a sliding wall of granite. The mayor of Naples, Antonio Bassolino, compared the arrest to that of Sicilian Mafia chief Salvatore Riina in 1993.[24] Francesco Schiavone is now serving a life sentence after a criminal career which included arms trafficking, bomb attacks, armed robbery, and murder.
Michele Zagaria, a senior member of the Casalesi clan, was arrested in 2011 after eluding police for 16 years. He was found in a secret bunker in the town Casapesenna, near Naples.
The arrests in the Campania region demonstrate that the police are not allowing the Camorra to operate without intervention. However, progress remains slow, and these minor victories have done little to loosen the Camorra's grip on Naples and the surrounding regions.[21]
Outside Campania and Italy[edit]
Despite its origins, it presently has important ramifications in other Italian regions, like Lombardia,[25][26][27]Piedmont[28][29] and Emilia-Romagna,[30][31] in connection with the centers of national economic power. It has also spread outside the Italy's boundaries, and acquired a foothold in United Kingdom and United States.
Camorra in the United Kingdom[edit]
Scotland has had its brush with the Camorra. Antonio La Torre of Aberdeen, Scotland was the local "Don" of the Camorra. He is the brother of Camorra boss Augusto La Torre of the La Torre clan which had its base in Mondragone, Caserta. The La Torre Clan's empire was worth hundreds of millions of euros. Antonio had several legitimate businesses in Aberdeen, whereas his brother Augusto had several illegal businesses there. He was convicted in Scotland and is awaiting extradition to Italy. Augusto would eventually become a pentito in January 2003, confessing to over 40 murders and his example would be followed by many of his men.[32]
Two Aberdeen restaurateurs, Ciro Schiattarella and Michele Siciliano were extradited to Italy for their part in the"Aberdeen Camorra". A fourth Scottish associate named Brandon Queen who made history by becoming the first foreign member of the Camorra is currently serving a jail sentence in the UK.[citation needed] It has been reported that he also receives a monthly salary, legal assistance and protection, something only members of the Clans receive.[citation needed]Neapolitan writer and expert on the Camorra, Roberto Saviano, states that the Camorra has created a branch in Aberdeen and that it is the focus of the La Torre clan's British operations.[33][34]
Saviano alleges that from the 1980s, Italian gangsters ran a network of lucrative businesses in the city as well as many illegal rackets. Saviano said Scotland's third city, with no history of organized crime, was seen as an attractive safe haven away from the violent inter-gang bloodletting that had engulfed their Neapolitan stronghold of Mondragone. Saviano claims that before the Italian clans arrived, Aberdeen didn't know how to exploit its resources for recreation and tourism. He further states that the Italians infused the city with economic energy, revitalised the tourist industry, inspired new import-export activities and injected new vigour in the real-estate sector. It thereby turned Aberdeen into a chic, elegant address for fine dining and important dealings.[34]
The hub of La Torre's UK empire, Pavarotti's restaurant, now under different ownership, was even feted at Italissima, a prestigious gastronomic fair held in Paris. The restaurant was even advertised on the city's local tourist guides. Saviano further claims to have gone to Aberdeen and worked in a restaurant run by Antonio La Torre. The Camorristas operated a system known as "scratch" where they used to step up illegal activities if their legitimate ventures were struggling. If cash was short they had counterfeit notes printed; if capital was needed in a hurry, they sold bogus treasury bonds. They annihilated the competition through extortions and imported merchandise tax-free. The Camorra were able to run all sort of deals because the local police had virtually no experience in dealing with organized crime. Although they broke the law, there were never any guns or serious violence, due to lack of rivals.[34]
However, the suggestion that the city remains in the grip of mobsters has been strongly denied by leaders of the 300 strong Italian community in Aberdeen. Moreover, Giuseppe Baldini, the Italian government's vice-consul in Aberdeen denies that the Camorra still maintains its presence in Aberdeen.[34]
Camorra in the United States[edit]
The Camorra existed in USA between the mid-19th century and early 20th century. They rivaled the defunct Morello crime family for power in New York. Eventually, they melded with the early Italian-American Mafia groups.
Many Camorra members and associates fled the internecine gang warfare and Italian Justice and emigrated to the United States in the 1980s. In 1993, the FBI estimated that there were 200 Camorristi in the United States. Although there appears to be no clan structure in the United States, Camorra members have established a presence in Los Angeles, New York and Springfield, Massachusetts.[35] The Camorra is the least active of all the organized crime groups in the United States.[36] In spite of this, the US law enforcement considers the Camorra to be a rising criminal enterprise, especially dangerous because of its ability to adapt to new trends and forge new alliances with other criminal organizations.[37]
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation:
- "In the 1970s, the Sicilian Mafia convinced the Camorra to convert their cigarette smuggling routes into drug smuggling routes with the Sicilian Mafia's assistance. Not all Camorra leaders agreed, leading to the Camorra Wars that cost 400 lives. Opponents of drug trafficking lost the war. The Camorra made a fortune in reconstruction after an earthquake ravaged the Campania region in 1980. Now it specializes in cigarette smuggling and receives payoffs from other criminal groups for any cigarette traffic through Italy. The Camorra is also involved in money laundering, extortion, alien smuggling, robbery, blackmail, kidnapping, political corruption, and counterfeiting. It is believed that nearly 200 Camorra affiliates reside in this country, many of whom arrived during the Camorra Wars."[38]
In 1995, the Camorra cooperated with the Russian Mafia in a scheme in which the Camorra would bleach out US $1.00 bills and reprint them as $100s. These bills would then be transported to the Russian Mafia for distribution in 29 post-Eastern Bloc countries and former Soviet republics.[35] In return, the Russian Mafia paid the Camorra with property (including a Russian bank) and firearms, smuggled into Eastern Europe and Italy.[37]
In 2012, the Obama administration imposed sanctions on the Camorra as one of four key transnational organized crimegroups, along with the Brothers' Circle from Russia, the Yamaguchi-gumi (Yakuza) from Japan, and Los Zetas fromMexico.[39]
In popular culture[edit]
- Camorra is a 1972 movie, directed by Pasquale Squitieri, starring Fabio Testi and Jean Seberg.
- Il Camorrista (1986), directed by Giuseppe Tornatore. Vaguely inspired by the real story of NCO boss, Raffaele Cutolo. Cutolo is played by Ben Gazzara, with the Italian voiceover done by Italian actor Mariano Rigillo.
- The 2006 book by Roberto Saviano, Gomorra, investigates the activities of the Camorra in Italy, especially in the provinces of Naples and Caserta. The book has also been adapted to film by Matteo Garrone in 2008.
- The opera The Jewels of the Madonna by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari features the Camorra as part of the plot.
- The story of Raffaele Cutolo also inspired one of the most famous songs of Fabrizio De André, entitled Don Raffaé (Clouds of 1990).
- In season 4 episode 11 of Archer, the Camorra are responsible for an assassination attempt on the pope.
- The American cable television series The Sopranos plot line describes the crime family depicted as Neapolitan American Camorra rather than Sicilian American Mafia.
- The series of Japanese light novels "Baccano!" involves the Camorra in the plot.
