History-Social Science

The EEI Curriculum contains 45 history-social science units that teach select standards to mastery while increasing environmental literacy.

The environment can provide depth to the study of history-social science, including the influence of geography on human settlements, the availability and conservation of natural resources, and the location of trade routes.
EEI Curriculum Unit Cover_Some Things Change and Some Things Stay the Same

Some Things Change and Some Things Stay the Same

Reading Grade: Kindergarten

Students become familiar with the idea that history relates to events, people, and places of other times.

EEI Curriculum Unit Cover_On the Move

On the Move

Reading Grade: First Grade

With a focus on transportation changes, students learn how the methods of the past and present rely on ecosystem goods and services provided by natural systems.

EEI Curriculum Unit Cover_People and Places

People and Places

Reading Grade: First Grade

Human activities can change natural systems and these changes can affect how people live.

EEI Curriculum Unit Cover_California's Lands: Then and Now

California’s Lands: Then and Now

Reading Grade: Second Grade

This unit focuses on land use patterns in California and how these patterns have changed over time.

EEI Curriculum Unit Cover_From Field to Table

From Field to Table

Reading Grade: Second Grade

This unit teaches students about food production and consumption, both long ago and today.

EEI Curriculum Unit Cover_The Dollars and Sense of Food Production

The Dollars and Sense of Food Production

Reading Grade: Second Grade

Food production depends on the availability of limited natural resources. Decisions about what to produce and what to consume can be affected by the quality, quantity, and reliability of the resources provided by natural systems.

EEI Curriculum Unit Cover_California Indian People: Exploring Tribal Regions

California Indian People: Exploring Tribal Regions

Reading Grade: Third Grade

Explore the interactions between the California Indian nations (peoples) and the components and processes of the natural systems in their local region.

EEI Curriculum Unit Cover_California's Economy: Natural Choices

California’s Economy: Natural Choices

Reading Grade: Third Grade

Local producers have used and are using natural resources, human resources, and capital resources to produce goods and services.

EEI Curriculum Unit Cover_The Geography of Where We Live

The Geography of Where We Live

Reading Grade: Third Grade

This unit uses a series of wall maps to help students learn about their local region: the deserts, mountains, valleys, hills, coastal areas, oceans, and lakes.

EEI Curriculum Unit Cover_California Indian Peoples and Management of Natural Resources

California Indian Peoples and Management of Natural Resources

Reading Grade: Fourth Grade

Students compare the ecosystem goods and services available to California Indian people of the past, their worldviews, how they used and manage resources, and how they established trade networks to access goods from far-off regions.

EEI Curriculum Unit Cover_Cultivating California

Cultivating California

Reading Grade: Fourth Grade

This unit provides an environmental framework for discussing the role of the Franciscan missionaries in changing the economy of California.

EEI Curriculum Unit Cover_Reflections of Where We Live

Reflections of Where We Live

Reading Grade: Fourth Grade

Different aspects of human activity reflect the physical features of the environment in which they live.

EEI Curriculum Unit Cover_Witnessing the Gold Rush

Witnessing the Gold Rush

Reading Grade: Fourth Grade

The search for gold and the influx of settlers influenced the natural environment (rivers, forests, mountains, valleys), and placed great demands upon our state’s natural and social resources.

EEI Curriculum Unit Cover_Human Settlement and the Natural Regions of the Eastern Seaboard

Human Settlement and the Natural Regions of the Eastern Seaboard

Reading Grade: Fifth Grade

Explore the human settlement and natural features of the eastern seaboard, including the physical locations of the American Indian nations and the 13 colonies from the 1600’s to 1763.

EEI Curriculum Unit Cover_Nature and Newcomers

Nature and Newcomers

Reading Grade: Fifth Grade

Uncover connections between the natural environment (natural systems and resources) and the built environment (the ways that human beings attempt to influence the natural world).

EEI Curriculum Unit Cover_Agricultural Advances in Ancient Civilizations

Agricultural Advances in Ancient Civilizations

Reading Grade: Sixth Grade

Learn about the importance of nature and natural cycles as well as the development of political, economic, religious, and social structures of the early civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Kush.

EEI Curriculum Unit Cover_Egypt and Kush: A Tale of Two Kingdoms

Egypt and Kush: A Tale of Two Kingdoms

Reading Grade: Sixth Grade

The unique geography of the Nile Valley region and its myriad of natural resources supported extensive cultures and a vast network of trade.

EEI Curriculum Unit Cover_Paleolithic People: Adapting to Change

Paleolithic People: Adapting to Change

Reading Grade: Sixth Grade

Compare the lifestyles of different Paleolithic cultures and the ecosystem goods and services upon which they depended.

EEI Curriculum Unit Cover_Paleolithic People: Tools, Tasks, and Fire

Paleolithic People: Tools, Tasks, and Fire

Reading Grade: Sixth Grade

Explore the essential characteristics of scavenger/hunter-gatherer societies, including the development of tools and the use of fire.

EEI Curriculum Unit Cover_River Systems and Ancient Peoples

River Systems and Ancient Peoples

Reading Grade: Sixth Grade

Learn to connect cycles, flow, and the role of rivers in ecosystems to the rise of the world’s oldest cities in ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt.

EEI Curriculum Unit Cover_The Rivers and Ancient Empires of China and India

The Rivers and Ancient Empires of China and India

Reading Grade: Sixth Grade

Geographic and climatic factors contributed to the rise of great dynasties in India and China and the people depended on the ecosystem goods and services provided by the rivers.

EEI Curriculum Unit Cover_Arabic Trade Networks: Growth and Expansions in the Middle Ages

Arabic Trade Networks: Growth and Expansions in the Middle Ages

Reading Grade: Seventh Grade

Students explore the relationships between components of the natural system and the social systems of Arabia, specifically those related to trade and commerce.

EEI Curriculum Unit Cover_Broken Jade and Tarnished Gold

Broken Jade and Tarnished Gold

Reading Grade: Seventh Grade

Building on students’ understanding of the diverse and resource-rich regions of Central and South America, this unit explores the rise and fall of the Aztec and Inca empires.

EEI Curriculum Unit Cover_Genius Across the Centuries

Genius Across the Centuries

Reading Grade: Seventh Grade

Chinese inventions and discoveries have influenced the natural and human systems of medieval China as well as the modern world.

EEI Curriculum Unit Cover_Managing Nature's Bounty: Feudalism in Medieval Europe

Managing Nature’s Bounty: Feudalism in Medieval Europe

Reading Grade: Seventh Grade

Feudalism served as a mechanism for controlling access to and the use of ecosystem goods and services in medieval Europe.

EEI Curriculum Unit Cover_Sun Gods and Jaguar Kings

Sun Gods and Jaguar Kings

Reading Grade: Seventh Grade

The diverse geography and natural resources of Central and South America set the stage for the rise of the first urban societies in this part of the world. (Maya, Aztec, and Inca civilizations).

EEI Curriculum Unit Cover_Agricultural and Industrial Development in the United States (1877–1914)

Agricultural and Industrial Development in the United States (1877–1914)

Reading Grade: Eighth Grade

Examine the influence of urbanization and renewed industrialization at the turn of the century on natural systems and in defining the course of the United States into the 20th century.

EEI Curriculum Unit Cover_America Grows

America Grows

Reading Grade: Eighth Grade

Explore human dependence upon ecosystem goods and services provided by natural systems by focusing on immigration from Northern Europe to the United States during the first half of the 19th century.

EEI Curriculum Unit Cover_Industrialization, Urbanization, and the Conservation Movement

Industrialization, Urbanization, and the Conservation Movement

Reading Grade: Eighth Grade

Students look closely at global economic imperative of the late 19th and early 20th century and its influence on the natural world through the development of the San Francisco Bay Area during this time.

EEI Curriculum Unit Cover_Land, Politics, and Expansions in the Early Republic

Land, Politics, and Expansions in the Early Republic

Reading Grade: Eighth Grade

This unit teaches students about the physical landscape of the United States, political divisions, and territorial expansion during the terms of the first four US Presidents.

EEI Curriculum Unit Cover_Struggles with Water

Struggles with Water

Reading Grade: Eighth Grade

Students learn about the role the great rivers and other fresh water resources played in the United States in the early 1800’s.

EEI Curriculum Unit Cover_Britain Solves a Problem and Creates the Industrial Revolution

Britain Solves a Problem and Creates the Industrial Revolution

Reading Grade: Tenth Grade

Students analyze ways that natural resources, entrepreneurship, labor, and capital combined to produce key events and processes in the Industrial Revolution.

EEI Curriculum Unit Cover_Growth of Population, Cities, and Demands

Growth of Population, Cities, and Demands

Reading Grade: Tenth Grade

This unit teaches students about the relationship between the Industrial Revolution and the growth of urban centers around the world.

EEI Curriculum Unit Cover_New Imperialism: The Control of India's and South Africa's Resources

New Imperialism: The Control of India’s and South Africa’s Resources

Reading Grade: Tenth Grade

This unit focuses on colonial experiences in India and South Africa during British hegemony.

EEI Curriculum Unit Cover_New Imperialism: The Search for Natural Resources

New Imperialism: The Search for Natural Resources

Reading Grade: Tenth Grade

Investigate the decision-making processes used by industrializing nations in the mid-1800’s.

EEI Curriculum Unit Cover_Many Voices, Many Visions_ Analyzing Contemporary Environmental Issues

Many Voices, Many Visions: Analyzing Contemporary Environmental Issues

Reading Grade: Eleventh Grade

This unit focuses on the wide range of considerations and decision-making processes affecting natural resources management policies.

EEI Curriculum Unit Cover_Mass Production, Marketing, and Consumption in the Roaring Twenties

Mass Production, Marketing, and Consumption in the Roaring Twenties

Reading Grade: Eleventh Grade

Students explore the “Roaring Twenties” to understand the dynamics of economic change and its social, political, and environmental consequences.

EEI Curriculum Unit Cover_Postwar Industries and the Emerging Environmental Movement

Postwar Industries and the Emerging Environmental Movement

Reading Grade: Eleventh Grade

Examine the economic boom that followed World War II, especially in agriculture and energy industries. Explore how technological changes after World War II resulted in increased demands for natural resources.

EEI Curriculum Unit Cover_The United States and Mexico: Working Together

The United States and Mexico: Working Together

Reading Grade: Eleventh Grade

Students learn about treaties and agreements between the United States and Mexico related to environmental concerns.

EEI Curriculum Unit Cover_Active Voices: Civil Society and the Environment

Active Voices: Civil Society and the Environment

Reading Grade: Twelfth Grade

Examine how citizens have influenced governmental issues in ways other than voting.

EEI Curriculum Unit Cover_Government and the Economy: An Environmental Perspective

Government and the Economy: An Environmental Perspective

Reading Grade: Twelfth Grade

This unit focuses on understanding the role of government in a free-market economy from the perspective of addressing environmental concerns.

EEI Curriculum Unit Cover_Making and Implementing Environmental Laws

Making and Implementing Environmental Laws

Reading Grade: Twelfth Grade

This unit examines lawmaking processes and roles of federal, state, and local governments related to environmental and public health.

EEI Curriculum Unit Cover_Private Property and Resource Conservation

Private Property and Resource Conservation

Reading Grade: Twelfth Grade

Students explore economic issues as they relate to resource conservation.

EEI Curriculum Unit Cover_Sustaining Economies and the Earth's Resources

Sustaining Economies and the Earth’s Resources

Reading Grade: Twelfth Grade

Students study “sustainable economics,” an economic system with a focus of sustaining ecosystem goods and services over a long period of time.

EEI Curriculum Unit Cover_This Land Is Our Land

This Land Is Our Land

Reading Grade: Twelfth Grade

Explore California-specific laws, regulations, policies, and decision-making processes related to environmental decisions and individual rights.