California: A Changing State
Immigration, diversity, economy, growth, specific milestones and CA within the U.S.
- The coordinate grid system of latitude and longitute to determine absolute locations
- Distinctions between the North and South Poles; the equator and the prime meridian; the tropics; and the hemispheres using coordinates to plot locations
- California's state capital and the various regions of California, including how their characteristics and physical environments (e.g., water, landforms, vegetation, climate) affect human activity
- The locations of the Pacific Ocean, rivers, valleys and mountain passes and their effects on the growth of towns
- Maps, charts and pictures that describe how communities in California vary in land use, vegetation, wildlife, climate, population density, architecture, services and transportation
4.2 EARLY PEOPLE
-Major nations of California Indians, their economic activiities, legends, religious beliefs, and their relationship to the land
- European settlers and their routes
- Spanish exploration and colonization of CA
- Mapping and impact of Spanish Missions
- Peoples of the presidios, missions, ranchos and pueblos
- Effects of the Franciscans on the agricultural economy\
- Effects of the Mexican War for Independence on Alta California including its effects on the territorial boundaries of North Ameria
- Period of Mexican Rule of CA - land grants, secularization of missions, rancho economy
4.3 ESTABLISHMENT AND EARLY DEVELOPMENT
- Locations of Mexican settlements and others, including Fort Ross and Sutter's Fort
- How and why people came to CA and their routes: James Beckworthy, John Bidwell, John C. Fremont, Pio Pico...
- Women who helped build CA, including Biddy Mason
- How CA became a state and differences in governance among CA, Spanish and Mexican
4.4 CA AS AGRICULTURAL AND INDUSTRIAL POWER AND TRANSFORMATION SINCE THE 1850'S
- The story and lasting influence of the Pony Express, Overland Mail Service, Western Union and the building of the transcontinental railforad, including the contributions of Chinese workers to its construction
- How the Gold Rush transformed the economy of California, including the typoes of products produced and consumed, changes in towns (Sactramento, San Francisco, etc) and economic conflicts between diverse groups of people
- Immigration and migration to California between 1850 and 1900 and the peoples, places of origin, conflicts between and among them
- Rapid American immigration, internal migration, settlement and the growth of towns and cities, such as Los Angeles
- The effects of the Great Depression, the Dust Bowk and WWII on California
- The development and locations of new industries since the turn of the century, such as the aerospace industry, electronics indistry, large-scale commercial agriculture and irrigation projects, the oil and auto industries, communications and defense undustries and important trade links with the Pacific Basis
- The evolution of California's water system into a network of dams, aqueducts and reservoirs.
- The history and development of California's public education system, including univversities and community colleges
- The impact of 20th-century Californians on the nation's artistic and cultural development, including the rise of the entertainment industry (e.g., Louis B. Meyer, Walt Disney, John Steinbeck, Ansel Adams, Dorothea Lange, John Wayne)
4.5 STRUCTURES, FUNCTIONS AND POWERS OF LOCAL, STATE AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENTS AS DESCRIBED BY THE U.S. CONSTITUTION
- What the U.S. Constitution is and why it is important (i.e., a written document that defines the structure and purpose of the U.S. government and describes the shared powers of federal, state and local governments)
- The purpose of the California Constitution, its key principles and its relationship to the U.S. Constitution
- The similarities (e.g., written documents, rule of law, consent of the governed, three separate branches) and differences (e.g., scope of jurisdiction, limits on government powers, use of the military) among federal, state and local governments
- The strucures and functions of state governments, including the roles and responsibilities of their elected officials
- The components of California's governance structure (e.g., cities and towns, Indian rancherias and reservations, counties, school districts)