Skip to content

Skinny β€” US.6_12.5 Significant Contributions of People and Policy Β· Unit 9 The 1990s–2000s

Standard: US.6_12.5 β€” Analyze the significant contributions of people, policy, and the influence on an era. Unit: 9 β€” The 1990s–2000s (1991–present) NDSBL Era: Era 5: 2001-Present Grade: 10 Β· US History


Official proficiency scale β€” the source of truth for scoring

Scoring follows the official NDSBL US History Proficiency Scales β€” not the examples on this page. Proficient (3.0) for Era 5: 2001-Present means:

  • Connect the changing political and social climate to United States’ involvement as a global superpower.
  • Explain the social, cultural, and economic impact of changes because of technology.
  • Explain the social, political, and cultural influences on government policies regarding global immigration.

What This Standard Asks

How did specific people and policies shape this era, and how significant and lasting was their influence? β€” applied to The 1990s–2000s (1991–present).


Key Content β€” Unit 9: The 1990s–2000s

The Cold War's end left America in a 'unipolar moment.' Globalization, the internet/tech boom, and NAFTA reshaped the economy. Then 9/11 (2001) launched the War on Terror β€” the USA PATRIOT Act, wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and a sharp security-vs-liberty debate β€” followed by the 2008 financial crisis. The turning point β€” America's post-Cold War role and the digital, globalized, security-conscious present.


The Skill in This Unit

Weigh the influence of Bill Clinton or the USA PATRIOT Act (2001): what did they change, for whom, and how lasting was it? Significance is about impact, not fame.


What You Need to Know (Score 2.0 β€” Approaching)

Vocabulary such as: Analyze, Policy, Social, cultural, and economic impact, Global immigaration.

Basic processes such as: - Locate and describe world areas of geopolitical importance. - Identify examples in which technology has caused or enhances social, cultural, or economic change. - Locate and describe areas of the world in which population shifts are occurring due to immigration/migration. - Summarize the significant contributions of people and policy on events of this ear.


Meeting the Standard (Score 3.0 β€” Proficiency)

Proficiency on US.6_12.5 means applying Significant Contributions of People and Policy to this unit with no major errors β€” see the era targets in the callout above. Aim your Demo of Learning at that language, not at simply retelling the events.


Going Beyond (Score 4.0 β€” Advanced)

Advanced work extends the skill to a higher cognitive level (attainable, not perfection): - Formulate an argument which identifies a key figure or policy from this era of American History you believe has had the most impact (positive or negative). Such as Patriot Act, Civil Rights, Donald Trump, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, NAFTA, Paris Climate Accord, United Nations.


ELA Crosswalk

W.4 β€” argue significance from evidence Β· R.9 β€” analyze argument


Where to Go Next


US.6_12.5 Β· Unit 9 Skinny β€” SDA Commons Β· South High School Β· aligned to the official NDSBL US History proficiency scale