With the History-Social Science Framework for California Public Schools as a guide to the eras and civilizations to study, these standards require students not only to acquire core knowledge in history and social science, but also to develop the critical thinking skills that historians and social scientists employ to study the past and its relationship to the present. Students will learn to distinguish the important from the unimportant, to recognize vital connections between the present and the past, and to appreciate universal historical themes and dilemmas.

Through the use of biographies, original documents, diaries, letters, speeches, and other narrative artifacts from our past, we foster students’ understanding of historical events by revealing the ideas, values, fears, and dreams of the people associated with them. Found in archives, museums, historical sites, and libraries across California, these original materials are indispensable resources.

Focusing on these skills, students are prepared to navigate the 21st century through their use of technology as well as learning to determine for themselves what is fact or fiction.