Preparation for PRAXIS Specialty in Social Studies
The Social Studies specialty tests need to be treated seriously – you need to do thorough preparation. (The PRAXIS representative stated that students need to see these exams in the same light that Law students see their Bar exams.)
1. General information about Praxis is available online.
2. Read very carefully the test descriptions – see links in next section.
3. Know all the terms listed in the PRAXIS Content Outline for Social Studies (see links below)
2 Tests:
1. Content Knowledge (0081)
2. Pedagogy (0084)
Content Knowledge
130 Multiple Choice questions in two hours. Questions cover all the social
sciences (only 22% are US History). You must be familiar with the content
knowledge in economics, geography and behavioral sciences.
50% of the US History and World History questions are on WW1 to present.
Pedagogy
Two five-part questions in one hour. Note how much each part is
worth as you allocate your time.
Question 1
Be clear on the difference between subject
matter topic and social studies
concept
Be familiar with metaphor, analogy and historical parallel
Question 2
(Part 3) asks you to identify a teaching
strategy Interpret this as describe the main components of your
lesson. (I would include a focus, teacher input and guided practice)
(Part 4) asks you to write one clear
essay examination question. Essay is being used broadly for any
writing assignment e.g. newspaper editorial.
(Part 5) Another method
of evaluation. This can be either another way to evaluate if you did
not use the essay. Otherwise the assignment could be one students would complete for homework.
CONTENT OUTLINE SOCIAL STUDIES ASSESSMENT
US History
World History
Government
Economics
Geography
Sociology
Anthropology
Psychology
A. Physical Geography of
1. Location in the world
2. Rivers, lakes, and important land features (e.g., mountain ranges,
plains)
3. Broad climate patterns and physiographic regions
B. Native American Peoples
1. Tribes in the different regions
2. Political, economic, social, and cultural life
C. European Exploration and Colonization
1. European exploration
a. Causes
b. Explorers
c. Consequences of early contacts
with/for Native Americans
2. European colonization (e.g., Spanish, Dutch, French)
3. The English colonies (1607-1776)
a.
b. Mercantilism
c. Development of the slave system
d. Role of women and family
e. Relations with the colonies of
other European powers
f. Interaction with Native American
peoples
D. Establishing a New Nation (1776 -1791)
1. The American Revolution
a. Causes
b. The Declaration
of Independence and other revolutionary documents
c. Leaders and events
d. Results
2. First government of the
a. The
Articles of Confederation
b. Political and economic issues
under the Articles (e.g., organization of
3. Writing and adopting the Constitution
a. Drafting the Constitution:
debates and compromises; structure and content
b. The Bill of Rights and ratification
E. Early Years of the New Nation (1791-1829)
1. Political development
a. First presidential
administrations
b. Political precedents (e.g.,
President's cabinet, congressional committees)
c. Development of political parties
d. Establishment of the federal
judiciary
e. Foreign policy issues (e.g.,
Louisiana Purchase,, War of 1812, Monroe Doctrine)
2. Economic development
a.
b. Tariffs
c. Changes in agriculture, commerce,
and industry
3. Social and cultural development
a. Immigration and the frontier
b. Family life and the role of women
c. Religious life
d. Nationalism and regionalism
F. Continued National Development (1829-1850's)
1. Political development
a.
b. Extension of suffrage
c. The nullification crisis:
Calhoun and states' rights
d. Continued development of
political parties
e. Manifest Destiny
f. The Mexican War
and Cession, and the
2. Geographic expansion and economic innovation
a. Technological and agricultural
innovations (e.g., steamboat, cotton gin)
b. The
transportation network
c. Industrialization and the early
labor movement
d. Displacement of Native Americans
3. Social and cultural developments
a. Slavery and race in a democratic
society
b. Nativism
c. The abolitionist movement
d. Women's economic and family
roles: the influence of the frontier
e. Women's rights (e.g., the Seneca
Falls Convention)
f. Other reform movements (e.g.,
temperance, prison reform)
G. The Civil War Era (1850-1870's)
1. Growing sectionalism: North, South, and West
2. Political compromises (e.g., Missouri Compromise (1820),
Compromise of 1850, Kansas-Nebraska Act)
3. The abolitionist movement (including the role of
African Americans and women)
4. Failure of political institutions in the 1850's
a. The Kansas-Nebraska Act:
"Bleeding
b. The Dred Scott decision
c. Realignment of political parties
5. The Civil War (1861-1865)
a. Immediate causes: crisis of
secession
b. Leaders and events
c. Emancipation Proclamation
6. Reconstruction.
a. Plans for Reconstruction:
Lincoln's, Johnson's, and the radical Republicans'
b. 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments
c. Impeachment of Andrew Johnson
d. Compromise of 1877
H. The Emergence of the Modern
1. Expansion and imperialism
a. Displacement of Native Americans
b. Development of the West (e.g.,
mining, farming)
c. International policy and
involvement (e.g., Spanish American War, Panama Canal, and the Open Door
Policy)
2. Industrialization
a. Technological changes
b. Location and use of
resources
c. Corporate
consolidation
d. Government's role in
economic affairs
e. Labor and labor unions
f. Impact on women,
minorities, and immigrants
3. Urban development
a. Rural to urban migration
b. Location of major cities
c. Immigration
d. Urban
life: problems and solutions
4. Political, cultural, and social movements (e.g., populism, women's rights,
Social Darwinism)
I. The Progressive Era through the New Deal (1900-1939)
1. Developments during the Progressive Era
a. Political (e.g., direct ballot)
b. Economic (e.g., antitrust,
Federal Reserve)
c. Social (e.g., the settlement
house movement)
2. World War I
a. Causes for Unites States
participation
b. Consequences at home and abroad
3. Life in the Roaring Twenties
a. Political (e.g., Red Scare,
immigration restrictions)
b. Economic (e.g., boom and stock
market crash)
c. Social (e.g., Prohibition and its
effects)
d. Cultural (e.g., Jazz Age)
e. Harlem Renaissance
4. Developments during the Great Depression and the New Deal
a. Political (e.g., Civilian
Conservation Corps, Tennessee Valley Authority, Works Progress Administration)
b. Economic (e.g., role of
government, Keynesian economics)
c. Social (e.g., Dust Bowl, migration)
J. World War II and the Postwar Period (1939-1963)
1. World War II
a. Causes for
b. Consequences at home and abroad
2. Cold War Developments
a. Domestic (e.g., McCarthyism,
military-industrial complex)
b. Foreign (e.g.,
3. Life in the 1950's
a. Political (e.g., Brown vs.
Board of Education of Topeka)
b. Economic (e.g., American
Dream)
c. Social (e.g., development
of suburbia, baby boom)
d. Cultural (e.g., rock and
roll)
K. Recent Developments (1960's-Present)
1. Political
a. War in
b. The imperial presidency:
the shift in power from Congress to the president
c. Extension of suffrage (e.g.,
"one man, one vote", the 18-year-old vote)
d. Antiwar
movement
2. Economic
a. United States relations
with the developing world
b. Inflation and recession
c. Changing industrial structure
(e.g., the decline of unions and traditional manufacturing, growth of the
service sector)
d. OPEC and United States energy
policy
e. Environmental issues
f. Other economic
issues (e.g., budget deficits, corporate consolidation, tax reform, deregulation)
3. Social
a. The
civil rights movement
b. The
Great Society and the War on Poverty
c. The
women's movement
d. The
gay and lesbian rights movement
4. Cultural
a. The counterculture:
the sexual revolution, drugs, and rock and roll
b. The
changing American family
c. Changing population
composition (e.g., Hispanic and Asian minorities)
5. International
a. Changing
role of the
b. Areas in conflict:
the
c. Change in United
States-Soviet relations: from enemies to potential partners
A. Prehistory to Approximately 3000 B.C.
1. Hunting and gathering societies
2. Development of agriculture (e.g., the Neolithic revolution, development of
farming)
B. Development of City Civilizations
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
C. Ancient Civilizations: Philosophy, Religion, Art, Literature,
Government
1.
2.
3. Asian civilizations (e.g.,
D. Feudal Societies (Circa A.D. 400-1400)
1.
2. Medieval
F. Islamic Civilization (circa A.D. 600-Present)
1. Origins of Islam
2. Achievements of Islamic civilizations
3. Expansion of Islam
G. The Rise and Expansion of
1. Transition from subsistence agriculture to a market
economy
2. The rise of the centralized state
3. Cultural diffusion (movement of peoples, goods, and
ideas)
4. Patterns of cultural contact
a. Transplantation of
European culture to
b. Rejection of European
culture by
c. Disruption of African
culture (slavery)
d. Interaction of
cultures in
H. Europe: Renaissance, Reformation, and Revolution
1. The Renaissance
2. The Reformation (the rise of Protestantism)
3. The scientific revolution (e.g., Copernicus,
4. The Enlightenment (e.g., the French Revolution)
I. The Industrial Revolution
1. Resource and land use
2. New technologies
3. Population expansion
4. The factory system and the emergence of the working class
5. New ideologies (liberalism, socialism, Marxism)
J. Nationalism and Imperialism in the Eighteenth to Twentieth Centuries
1.
2. The unification of
3. Imperialism and colonialism
4. The changing geopolitical map of the world
(1880-1914)
5. The First World War (1914-1918)
K. Conflicts, Ideologies, and Revolutions in the Twentieth Century
1. The Mexican Revolution
2. Growth of the welfare state (e.g., social and medical insurance, income?support programs)
3. The Russian Revolution and communist
4. The rise of fascism:
5. World War II and the Cold War
6. The Chinese Revolution and communist
7. Nationalism in
L. Current Trends
1. The new
2. The emergence of the
3. Regional and global economic interdependence (e.g.,
trading blocs, multinational corporations)
4. Environmental issues
5. The spread of Western culture and reactions to it
III. GOVERNMENT/CIVICS/POLITICAL SCIENCE
A. Basic Political Concepts
1. The need for government (e.g., conflict resolution, collective decision?making)
2. Political theory (e.g., Hobbes, Locke, Marx)
3. Fundamental political concepts (e.g., legitimacy,
power, authority, responsibility)
4. Political orientation (e.g., liberal, radical, conservative)
B.
1. The constitutional foundation of the United States government
a. Meaning of democratic theory
b. Basic content and structure of
the United States constitution: limited government, enumeration and separation
of powers, federalism, and republicanism
c. Interpreting the Constitution
d. Amending the Constitution
e. Individual rights - Bill of
Rights
f. Individual rights -Fourteenth
Amendment and related legislation on due process and equal protection
2. Political institutions: constitutional
a. Legislative branch
b. Executive branch
c. Judicial branch
d. Relationships among the branches
(e.g., checks and balances)
3. Political institutions: nonconstitutional
a. Political parties
(e.g., formation and operation)
b. Interest groups (e.g.,
lobbying)
c. Media
d. Public opinion: sources,
nature, and influence
4. State and local government
a. Reserved powers
b. Concurrent powers
5. Political behavior: individual and group
a. Voting, campaigns,
and elections
b. Other forms of
political participation
c. Responsibilities of
citizenship
C. Other Forms of Government
1. Monarchy
2. Dictatorship
3. Obligarchy
4. Military government
5. One?party system
6. Parliamentary system
D. International Relations
1. International relations in theory and practice
2. International organizations
3. International law
A. Themes
1. Location: relative and absolute (e.g., position on the Earth's surface)
2. Place: physical and human characteristics
3. Human-environment interactions
4. Movement (e.g., migration, trade, spread of ideas)
5. Regions
B. Skills:
1. Map types (e.g., globe, political, thematic, satellite)
2. Distance and direction
3. Latitude and longitude
4. Recognizing and describing patterns (e.g.,
population density)
5. Using a legend or key
6. Locating physical features (e.g., continents, countries, bodies of
water, region)
7. Spatial distortion from map projection
C. Physical Geography
1. Landforms and water
2. Climate
3. Vegetation
4. Natural resources
5. Human impact on the environment
D. Human Geography
1. Cultural geography (e.g., religion and language)
2. Economic geography (e.g., trade, import, export,
developing economies, subsistence economies)
3. Political geography (e.g. borders and political
units)
4. Population geography (e.g., overpopulation and migration)
E. Regional Geography
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6. The countries of the former
7.
8.
A. Fundamental Concepts
1. Scarcity and choice
2. Productive resources (e.g., land, labor, capital,
entrepreneurship)
3.
4. Productivity and ways to increase productivity
5. Comparative economic systems
6. Economic institutions (e.g., businesses,
households, labor unions)
7. Economic incentives (e.g., wages, profits, and
interest rates)
8. Money, exchange, and interdependence
9. Economic goals (e.g., growth, full employment, price stability,
freedom, equality, efficiency, and security)
B. Microeconomics
1. Market and prices
2. Supply and demand
3. Degree of competition and types of market structure
(e.g., monopoly)
4. Income distribution
5. Market failure (e.g., spillover costs, such as
pollution, from market activity; rationale for public goods)
6. The role of government and types of taxes (e.g., progressive,
regressive, proportional)
C. Macroeconomics
1. Gross domestic product/Gross national product
2. Aggregate supply and demand
3. Unemployment
4. Inflation and deflation
5. Monetary policy
6. Fiscal policy
D. International Economic Concepts
1. Absolute and comparative advantage (rationale for
international trade)
2. Barriers to trade (e.g., tariffs, quotas)
3. Balance of payments (e.g., trade, investment)
4. International aspects of growth and stability
(e.g., economic development, foreign aid, cooperation in global economy)
5. Exchange Rates
E. Current Issues and Controversies (e.g., regulation of business, budget deficit, trade deficit)
A. Socialization
1. The role of socialization in society
2. Positive and negative sanctions in the socialization process
B. Patterns of Social Organization
1. The concept of role
2. Primary and secondary groups and group norms
3. Folkways, mores, laws, beliefs, and values
4. Conformity and deviance
5. Social stratification (e.g., class and gender)
C. Social Institutions
1. Family (e.g., different forms of family)
2. Education
3. Government
4. Religion
5. Economy
D. The Study of Populations and of their Impact on Society (e.g. , the consequences for the
society of aging, different population distributions, migration, and
immigration)
E. Multicultural Diversity
1. Ethnocentrism and cultural relativity
2. Race, ethnicity, and religion
3. Discrimination and prejudice
4. Pluralism
F. Social Problems
A. Human Culture
1. Enculturation (the process of learning societal
roles
2. Language and communication
3. Social stratification (e.g., caste, class)
4. Subcultures within the dominant culture
B. How Cultures Change: Invention (e.g., the role of technology), Innovation, Cultural Diffusion, Adaptation Acculturation, Assimilation, and Extinction
A. Basic Concepts (e.g., definition of psychology, learning,
perception, cognition, biological
influences on behavior)
B. Human Growth and Development (e.g., stage concepts, maturation,
cognitive development,
social development)
C. Personality and Adjustment (e.g., theories of personality, problems in adjustment, assessment, prevention and intervention)
D. Social Psychology (e.g., group processes, attitudes, social
cognition, self?esteem)