Core Curriculum

Utah Studies

Utah is a state diverse in landscape and people. This course is designed to help students
understand the state of Utah at a deeper level by reviewing Utah’s early history and particularly emphasizing Utah from statehood to the present. Students will understand the interaction between Utah’s geography and its inhabitants, as well as the formative contributions of Native American Indians, explorers, and Utah pioneers. The course will also investigate relationships between government and the people of Utah, the many opportunities people have to make a living in Utah, the diverse nature of Utah’s people and cultures, and the impact of contemporary events on the land and people of Utah. The Utah Studies core is designed to meet the needs of a semester-length course. Full-year Utah Studies courses may expand the scope and detail of this course to meet specific needs.

Core Curriculum

National Standards

Materials And Resources

The following are materials and resources that can be used to support the core curriculum.

Lesson Ideas

Books

  • Notable Trade Books for Young People
    The books that appear in these annotated book lists were evaluated and selected by a Book Review Committee appointed by National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) and assembled in cooperation with the Children's Book Council (CBC).

  • Missing Stories by Kelen and Stone (ISBN 0-87480-516-3)
    This book tells oral histories of ethnic and minority groups in Utah.

  • This Is the Place by Pat and Will Bagley (ISBN 1-885628-25-0)
    This book combines equal parts illustration, information, and fascination as Utah's past is uncovered through archaeology.

Teacher Resources

  • Utah State Office of Education Recommended Instructional Materials System (RIMS)
    Find instructional materials that have been adopted by the Utah State Office of Education

  • Origins of Utah Place Names - pdf
    Origins of Utah Place Names was compiled and written by the Utah Writer's Project and by its predecessor, the Federal Writer's Project. Because of the size of this document we have broken it apart. To get the entire document you will need to download all five of the following files.
    Introduction - Page 6, Pages 7 - 17, Pages 18-27, Pages 28 - 37, Pages 38 - 47

  • National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)
    Founded in 1921, National Council for the Social Studies has grown to be the largest association in the country devoted solely to social studies education. NCSS engages and supports educators in strengthening and advocating social studies. With members in all the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and 69 foreign countries, NCSS serves as an umbrella organization for elementary, secondary, and college teachers of history, geography, economics, political science, sociology, psychology, anthropology, and law-related education.

Internet

  • Utah State Legislature
    This is the official web site for the Utah State Legislature, House and Senate. You will find many resources as well as the Utah State Constitution.

  • MarcoPolo
    The Marcopolo program provides quality Internet curriculum for the K-12 teacher and classroom. The free online resources include panel-reviewed links to top sites, professionally developed lesson plans, classroom activities, materials to help with daily classroom planning, and comprehensive search engines.

  • Pioneer - Utah's Online Library
    Pioneer is Utah's Online Library. Access hundreds of full-text publications, the Wilson Biographies, World Book Encyclopedia, and Utah Newspaper archives.

  • Utah Education Network
    The Utah Education Network web site provides education tools, activities, lesson plans, curriculum guides and professional development for teachers and educators in the state of Utah. You can also find other UEN resources like KULC channel 9, EDNET, and distance learning resources here.

  • SURWEB
    SURWEB allows you to create online media shows as well as provides a great resource for photograph's for many topics.

  • Bank Jr
    Zion's Bank and KidsOnline.com have created the Bank Jr web site as the biggest and most comprehensive kid-friendly resource on the web for learning about finances.

 

For further information, contact Tom Sutton, State Social Studies Specialist - 801.538.7708; FAX 801.538.7769
This page last updated January 22, 2009