The purpose of this teaching guide and lesson packet is to provide curriculum that is consistent with the history and social science framework and that enable students to learn more about the people, economy, and environment of Humboldt County. The lesson narrative, activities, diagrams, and references are designed to fulfill elements of theHistory-Social Science Content Standards for Grades K-12 adopted by the State of California Board of Education. Two charts follow that clearly illustrate how the objectives of this lesson packet meet elements of the curriculum for grade eleven and twelve described in the Standards. (Please note that only the elements relevant to the lesson unit are listed.)

According to the Standards, students in grade eleven are studying United States History and Geography: Continuity and Change in the Twentieth Century. Throughout the course, students are called on to analyze major turning points in American twentieth century history. Topics range from social programs that blossomed during the Progressive Era to the growth of the middle class in the postwar era to the roots of environmental activism and legislation in the 1960's. At the conclusion of the unit students are expected to be able to discuss long-term trends and assess their meaning as well as see the relevance of history to their daily lives. The grade twelve curriculum is broken into two parts -- Principles of American Democracy and Economics. The Standards describe the first course as "the culmination of the civic literacy strand as students prepare to vote, participate in community activities, and assume the responsibilities of citizenship." The second course combines economic concepts with tools and skills such as graphing and the use of formulas. Students are expected to analyze a range of topics such as resource allocation, unemployment insurance, and externalities.

This lesson packet allows the students to learn about the elements of the Standards while they learn about their own community. The lesson packet emphasizes active learning by allowing the students to understand the connections between events in American history and their own lives as well as how they can participate in the democratic process in order to create history -- all in the context of the Standards.

Similar to the real world, this lesson unit uses a multidisciplinary approach to the topics. The themes of history, civics and economics overlap throughout. Some coordination and cooperation among teachers in grades 11 and 12 may help maximize the student’s learning opportunity. Even without an overt cooperation plan among teachers, however, this lesson unit can still be successfully implemented into any grade 11 or 12 history/social science classroom.