Comparing The Iowa Core And National Curriculum Standards

Social Studies is a subject in which affects everyone’s lives. My job as a future educator will be to teach my students the fundamental information about social studies and the importance of why they need to know social studies. A will be using to great resources in guiding my teaching for social studies which will be the Iowa Core (IC) and the National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies (NCSS). The Iowa Core Social Studies Standards are similar to the National Curriculum Standards but they also differ in a few ways. Both the Iowa Core and National Standards define social studies as, “Social studies is the integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence.” There are appendixes in both that provide us with additional information. The ten themes of the National Curriculum Standards are within the Iowa Core Standards. Another similarity I noticed was that the section in the National Curriculum Standards marked as knowledge is very similar to the essential

The Iowa Core is marked by grade level or subject which is more specific than the NCSS. The NCSS is marked into three sections the early grades, middle grades, and high school. The IC of social studies is categorized into five different areas where as the NCSS is categorized into ten different themes. Another difference I found was the NCSS has more guidance because it gives examples on how to carry out a standard. The IC is mostly viewed online but you can print out a PDF form however the NCSS can only be found in print. Teachers use the NCSS and IC for many purposes. Teachers use both the IC and NCSS as a framework for teaching. They also use these standards as a way to check students understanding and to assess students. Teachers can use these standards to acquire ideas for expectations and instruction, to guide development in their courses, and to evaluate their