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Skills available for Tennessee seventh-grade social studies standards

Standards are in black and IXL social studies skills are in dark green. Hold your mouse over the name of a skill to view a sample question. Click on the name of a skill to practice that skill.

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Social Studies Practices

  • SSP.01 Collect data and information from a variety of primary and secondary sources, including: printed materials; graphic representations; artifacts; media and technology sources; oral history.

  • SSP.02 Critically examine a primary or secondary source in order to: extract, summarize, and paraphrase significant ideas and relevant information; distinguish the difference between fact and opinion; recognize author's purpose and point of view, and potential bias; draw logical inferences and conclusions; assess the strengths and limitations of arguments.

  • SSP.03 Synthesize data from multiple sources in order to: recognize differences among multiple accounts; establish validity by comparing and contrasting multiple sources; frame appropriate questions for further investigation.

  • SSP.04 Construct and communicate arguments by citing supporting evidence to: demonstrate and defend an understanding of ideas; compare and contrast viewpoints; illustrate cause and effect; predict likely outcomes; devise new outcomes or solutions; engage in appropriate civic discourse.

  • SSP.05 Develop historical awareness by: recognizing how and why historical accounts change over time; perceiving and presenting past events and issues as they might have been experienced by the people of the time, with historical empathy vs. present mindedness; evaluating how unique circumstances of time and place create context and contribute to action and reaction; identifying patterns of continuity and change over time, making connections to the present.

  • SSP.06 Develop geographic awareness by: using the geographic perspective to determine relationships, patterns, and diffusion across space at multiple scales; determining the use of diverse types of maps based on their origin, structure, context, and validity; analyzing locations, conditions, and connections of places and using maps to investigate spatial relationships; analyzing interaction between humans and the physical environment; examining how geographic regions and perceptions of the regions are fluid across time and space.

Byzantine Empire: 400–1500s AD

  • 7.01 Identify the continuation of the Eastern Roman Empire as the Byzantine Empire including its use of Greek culture, and describe the diffusion of Christianity and the preservation of the Latin language.

  • 7.02 Explain the importance of Justinian's political, social, and architectural achievements, including: expanding the empire; spreading Christianity; the role of Theodora; Justinian Code; the Hagia Sophia.

  • 7.03 Analyze the importance of regional geography, trade, and the location of Constantinople in maintaining European culture.

Southwest Asia and North Africa: 400–1500s AD

West Africa: 400–1500s AD

East Asia: 400–1500s AD

  • 7.16 Identify and locate on a map the geographical and political features of East Asia, including: China; Gobi Desert; Himalayan Mountains; Japan; Korean Peninsula; Pacific Ocean; Plateau of Tibet; Sea of Japan (i.e., East Sea); Yangtze River; Yellow River.

  • 7.17 Describe the reunification of China during the Sui Dynasty, including the spread of Buddhism and the building of the Grand Canal.

  • 7.18 Describe the developments (e.g., gunpowder and the reopening of the Silk Road) during the Tang Dynasty, including the expansion of Confucianism.

  • 7.19 Describe the developments (e.g., fast-ripening rice and mariner's compass) during the Song Dynasty, and examine the role of Neo-Confucianism in instituting merit-based civil service exams.

  • 7.20 Examine the rise of the Mongol Empire, including the conquests of Genghis Khan and Kublai Khan's establishment of the Yuan Dynasty.

  • 7.21 Summarize the effects of the Mongolian empires on the Silk Roads, including the importance of Marco Polo's travels on the spread of Chinese technology and Eurasian trade.

  • 7.22 Analyze the achievements of the Ming Dynasty and reasons for its isolationism, including building projects (e.g., the Forbidden City and reconstruction of the Great Wall) and Zheng He's sea voyages.

  • 7.23 Describe the origins and central features of Shintoism: key person(s): None; sacred texts: no sacred text; basic beliefs: localized tradition that focuses on ritual practices that are carried out with discipline to maintain connections with ancient past; animism and Kami.

  • 7.24 Explain how Japanese culture changed through Chinese and Korean influences (including Buddhism and Confucianism) as shown in the Constitution of Prince Shotoku and the adoption of the Chinese writing system.

  • 7.25 Describe how the Heian aristocracy contributed to the development of a Japanese national culture, including politics, art, language, and literature (e.g., Tale of Genji as the world's first novel).

  • 7.26 Analyze the rise of a military society in the late 12th century, and the role of the shogun and samurai in Japanese society.

Middle Ages in Western Europe: 400–1500s AD

  • 7.27 Identify and locate on a map geographical features of Europe, including: Alps; Atlantic Ocean; English Channel; Iberian Peninsula; Mediterranean Sea; North European Plain.

  • 7.28 Describe the role of monasteries in the preservation of knowledge and the spread of the Catholic Church across Central and Western Europe.

  • 7.29 Explain how Charlemagne shaped and defined medieval Europe, including his impact on feudalism, the creation of the Holy Roman Empire, and the establishment of Christianity as the religion of the Empire.

  • 7.30 Describe the development of feudalism and manorialism, and their influence on the medieval European economy (i.e., the role of the manor and the growth of towns).

  • 7.31 Explain the Battle of Hastings and the long-term historical effects of William the Conqueror on England and Northern France, including the impact on language and the spread of feudalism.

  • 7.32 Describe how political relationships both fostered cooperation (i.e., Charlemagne and Pope Leo III) and led to conflict (i.e., Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII) between the Papacy and European monarchs.

  • 7.33 Analyze the impact of the Magna Carta, including limiting the power of the monarch, the rule of law, and the right to trial by jury.

  • 7.34 Analyze the overarching causes, effects, and key people of the Crusades, including Pope Urban II, Saladin, and Richard I.

  • 7.35 Explain how the Crusades impacted Christian, Muslim, and Jewish populations in Europe, with emphasis on the increasing contact with cultures outside Europe.

  • 7.36 Describe the economic and social effects of the spread of the Black Death (i.e., Bubonic Plague) from Central Asia to China, the Middle East, and Europe, and its impact on the global population.

  • 7.37 Analyze the importance of the Black Death on the emergence of a modern economy, including: agricultural improvements; commerce; decline of feudalism; growth of banking; growth of towns; a merchant class.

  • 7.38 Describe the significance of the Hundred Years War, including the roles of Henry V in shaping English culture and language, and Joan of Arc becoming a symbol of French pride and cultural identity.

  • 7.39 Describe the rise of Spanish and Portuguese kingdoms in the Iberian Peninsula, and explain the significance of the Reconquista and Inquisition.

Early Modern Europe: 1400–1700s AD

  • The Renaissance

    • 7.40 Describe the Moorish (i.e., Muslim) and Jewish influences on the Renaissance in cities such as Toledo, Cordoba, and Granada.

    • 7.41 Explain how the location of the Italian Peninsula impacted the movement of resources, knowledge, and culture throughout Italy's independent trade cities.

    • 7.42 Identify the importance of Florence, Italy, and the Medici Family in the early stages of the Renaissance, including the role of patronage.

    • 7.43 Define humanism, and explain how maintaining a balance between faith and reason influenced Renaissance thinkers.

    • 7.44 Analyze the development of Renaissance art, including the significance of: Leonardo da Vinci (e.g., Last Supper, Mona Lisa); Michelangelo (e.g., Sistine Chapel, The David); Filippo Brunelleschi (e.g., Florence Cathedral Dome, linear perspective); William Shakespeare (e.g., literature, language, and plays).

  • The Protestant Reformation

    • 7.45 Analyze Johannes Gutenberg's printing press and William Tyndale's translation of the Bible into the English language as vehicles for the spread of books, growth of literacy, and dissemination of knowledge.

    • 7.46 Explain the significant causes of the Protestant Reformation, including the Catholic Church's taxation policies, the selling of indulgences, and Martin Luther's 95 Theses.

    • 7.47 Analyze the development of the Protestant Reformation and the split with the Catholic Church, including the emphasis on scripture alone, salvation by faith, and predestination (e.g., John Calvin).

    • 7.48 Explain the political and religious roles of Henry VIII, Mary I, and Elizabeth I in England's transition between Catholicism and Protestantism.

    • 7.49 Examine the Golden Age of the Tudor dynasty (i.e., Queen Elizabeth I), including the defeat of the Spanish Armada and the rise of English power in Europe

    • 7.50 Analyze how the Catholic Counter-Reformation emerged as a response to Protestantism and revitalized the Catholic Church, including the significance of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the Jesuits, and the Council of Trent.

  • The Scientific Revolution

    • 7.51 Compare and contrast scientific theories of the Greeks (i.e., geocentric), Copernicus (i.e., heliocentric), and Kepler (i.e., elliptical orbits).

    • 7.52 Examine Galileo Galilei's theories and improvement of scientific tools, including the telescope and microscope.

    • 7.53 Explain the significance of the following in regards to the Scientific Revolution: Sir Francis Bacon in establishing the scientific method and Sir Isaac Newton's three Laws of Motion.

Indigenous Civilizations of the Americas: 400–1500s AD

The Age of Exploration: 1400–1700s AD

  • 7.59 Describe Prince Henry the Navigator's influence on exploration, voyages, cartographic improvements, and tools related to exploration (i.e., compass, caravel, astrolabe) during the Age of Discovery.

  • 7.60 Analyze why European countries were motivated to explore the world, including religion, political rivalry, and economic gain (i.e., mercantilism).

  • 7.61 Explain the significance of the voyages and routes of discovery of the following explorers by their sponsoring country: England: Henry Hudson; France: Jacques Cartier; Portugal: Vasco da Gama, Bartolomeu Dias; Spain: Christopher Columbus, Hernando de Soto, Ferdinand Magellan, Amerigo Vespucci.

  • 7.62 Identify on a map French, Spanish, English, Dutch and Portuguese colonies in the Americas, and describe how the distributions of religions (e.g., Catholic and Protestant) in Europe affected the distribution of religions and colonization in the New World.

  • 7.63 Explain the impact of the Columbian Exchange on people, plants, animals, technology, culture, ideas, and diseases among Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas in the 15th and 16th centuries, and examine the major economic and social effects on each continent.

  • 7.64 Describe how the Aztec and Inca empires were eventually defeated by Spanish Conquistadors (i.e., Hernan Cortes and Francisco Pizarro).

  • 7.65 Explain the impact of Spanish colonization in the Americas, including the introduction and spread of Christianity, the mission system, the encomienda system, and the role of Bartolome de la Casa.