Possible Application of a Unit on the Holocaust to the Arkansas Social Studies Standards
A Color Key:
Blue:  A link to the USHMM teacher’s guide web page.
Black: Directly quoting a state’s social studies standard.
Red:  The correlation of studying the Holocaust to the standards.
Brown:  Other information. 		If a secondary teacher would decide to teach a unit on the Holocaust, it would be highly recommended to first read "Guidelines for Teaching about the Holocaust" created by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum which can be found at <http://www.ushmm.org/education/foreducators/>

From the Arkansas Social Studies Standards Rationale: Teachers may seek greater specificity in subject content of the standards and judge them as less useful than detailed subject-based standards, but the Arkansas social studies standards were intended to be broad and more general than specific so that teachers can easily fit their respective content into the overall strands and concepts.

    With this approach to standards, the teacher should feel comfortable in teaching an extended unit on the Holocaust. All strands and standards can easily be covered. Strands and content standards for grades 9-12 are looked at below with some example how they can be covered by teaching the Holocaust.


Strand 1: Time, Continuity, and Change
Content Standard 1:
Students will demonstrate and understanding of the chronology and concepts of history and identify and explain historical relationships.

    In studying the Holocaust it is imperative that the student have a very good grasp of the chronology of the important events that lead to the concentration and death camps. The history of racism, anti-Semitism, intolerance and how these got out of control. These are broad ways this standard can be met. Specifics in the Student Learning Expectations would easily be covered in the specifics of the Holocaust studies.


Strand 1: Time, Continuity, and Change
Content Standard 2:
Students will demonstrate an understanding of how ideas, events, and conditions bring about change.

    What a better way to bring home this standard than studying the Holocaust. The cause and effect of events is a constant. Various historical perspectives can be compared and discussed. What happens in German society, Polish and Polish Jewish societies from 1930 to 1945 can be analyzed. Other genocides can be compared to the Holocaust. And other....


Strand 2: People, Places, and Environments
Content Standard 1:
Students will demonstrate and understanding that people, cultures, and systems are connected and that commonalties and diversities exist among them.

    Just one example from the Holocaust that would cover all Student Learning Expectations: A detailed study of the East European Jewish society before the Nazi invasion and during the Nazi occupation.
Strand 2: People, Places, and Environments
Content Standard 2:
Students will demonstrate and understanding of the significance of physical and cultural characteristics of places and world regions.
    By looking at the various victims, where they were from, how they lived in their environments and cultures, and their common experience in the various types of camps would cover most of the Student Learning Expectations. Also one could study the belief system of the Nazis, how it twisted earlier belief systems, how it tried to justify itself.
Strand 3: Production, Distribution, and Consumption
Content Standard 1:
Students will demonstrate an understanding that different economic systems and limited resources influence cooperation and conflict in decision making.
    The German pre-war and war economy can be looked at in detail. The use of slave labor, camp labor, etc. The unique economy that came into existence with the death camps can also be look at in detail. All Student Learning Expectations would be touched upon.


Strand 4: Power, Authority, and Governance
Content Standard 1:
Students will demonstrate an understanding of the ideals, rights, and responsibilities of participating in a democratic society.
Content Standard 2:
Students will demonstrate an understanding of the commonalties and differences of various systems of government.

A look at the totalitarian system, the camp system students should be made more aware of the ideals, rights, and responsibilities of democratic society and what happens when these are taken away.


Strand 5: Social Science Processes and Skills
Content Standard 1:
Students will demonstrate critical thinking skills through research, reading, writing, speaking, listening, and problem solving.
Content Standard 2:
Students will demonstrate the ability to use the tools of the social sciences.

    All Student Learning Expectations listed in both standards above are needed and should be taught and reinforced with the teaching of a unit on the Holocaust.