Frequently Asked Questions
   Frameworks for America's Past
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What is Frameworks for America's Past?

   Frameworks for America's Past is a 200 page interactive learning guide with a matching Internet site for middle school U.S. history students.  This edition draws broadly on the 2015 and the 2008 Virginia USII history Standards of Learning (SOL), covering the period from Reconstruction to the present.

   Frameworks for America's Past uses a graphics-rich and interactive design that helps students of all backgrounds build a solid foundation of knowledge and skills.  It has been used in hundreds of classrooms by thousands of students across Virginia and in other states.
 
   The project was developed by a veteran history teacher eager to make the subject more engaging and personally meaningful for students.  It favors a strategy that blends direct instruction of core knowledge with wide opportunities for student directed learning and skills development.


What academic skills does the book emphasize?

   Frameworks for America's Past emphasizes active student engagement in:

  • developing a core vocabulary of essential names, terms, and concepts.
  • developing skills for using Internet technology in historical studies.
  • developing geographic knowledge and map skills.
  • developing skills for learning from primary source documents.
  • developing higher level thinking skills and historical perspective.
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   Just as importantly, students practice all year long how to take notes and keep an academic notebook binder neatly and well organized.  It's a skill that is too often neglected in our digital era, but one that will help students enormously not just in your classes, but also in later grades and in college. 


Why do students enjoy working with this so much?

   Most students are interested in American history, but they want to be involved in the trip to explore the events and people of the past.

   With Frameworks for America's Past, students feel involved.  Students learn and practice taking concise notes, on graphics-rich pages that help them visualize their lessons.  They finish maps with color pencils, and make graphs of important historical trends using statistical data.

   With the matching Internet support site, they also explore an engaging collection of historical photographs, videos, primary source readings, and other resources.

   You, of course, are the classroom leader, and the lessons you build around the pages and topics in Frameworks for America's Past are an essential ingredient for student success.


Where can I see the pages of the study guide?

   You can see all the pages, as they look with the notes, maps, and charts completed, on this web site.  Look for the Teacher Key links in each unit listed on the home page.

What support is available for teachers and students using this?

   The Internet support site has a full set of Teacher Key pages in each section.  These are sized so they can be projected on a large screen for the note taking parts of your classes, and for activities and class discussion based on the pages.

  There are also extensive resources on the site that you and your students will enjoy using, including historical photograph sets and links to interesting online video clips.

   Be sure to see the Tips for Teachers page on this web site.  There is a link to it from the Information Page for this title.


Does it match the 2023 USII revised Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL)?

   Our Second Edition is largely based on the 2015 Virginia SOL for this subject and its matching curriculum framework that was approved in 2016.  Like our earlier edition, it also includes additional material to flesh out topics more effectively.  It does include the majority, but not all, of the listed items in the revised SOL.  For the reasons cited below, we will hold off on revising this title and web site until the Virginia Department of Education has time to gather teacher feedback to the new SOL documents and consider making some changes.

   Unfortunately, the 2023 revision committee process resulted in participants stuffing many new historical topics, names, issues, and events into the USII SOL.  With all these additions, the revised SOL would be a challenging list even for an AP level high school class to cover thoroughly in any meaningful depth.  In fact, very few college educated adults - outside of U.S. history majors - have the breadth and depth of knowledge the 2023 USII SOL imagines 12 and 13 year old children will master in a two semester course.

   Overstuffed Standards of Learning lists may look impressive on paper, but they don't improve instruction.  Instead, they force teachers into a tedious, superficial dash through the content, leaving no time for engaging activities, projects, and class discussions.  As every experienced traveler knows, signing up for a tour that races through too many destinations is a big mistake.  It means never really getting to experience life and culture in different places, or learn much about anything.  An overstuffed tour schedule, like an overstuffed SOL list, actually ruins the whole trip for everyone.

   In our opinion, the 2023 revised USII SOL should be rolled back to the 2015 version if the goal is to have a realistic guide for actual teachers and students.  The 2015 USII SOL and its framework documents established academically solid goals for middle school students.  Even with that framework, many teachers find themselves rushing through the final units as the end of the school year approaches.  We believe adding substantial new content requirements - as the 2023 SOL does - will not expand student learning, but hurt student success, if teachers attempt to jam it all in.

   Our advice: Teachers should make their classroom decisions based on what they believe will best help their students succeed and enjoy what should be, if well taught, the most interesting class on their schedule.


What about the cost?

   Announcement: All sections of Frameworks for America's Past are now available to individual teachers and parents as free PDF downloads, and include permission to photocopy the pages for use with their own students.

   Please see the Ordering / Downloading link on this title's Information Page for more details.


May we place a link to pages on this web site?

   Teachers are welcome to place links from their own teacher web pages to this title's home page, to a section main page, or to other specific pages.  You may not, however, take or copy content to transfer to your web pages.  (Just like in a museum: You may visit and have your students visit, but you are not allowed to steal the exhibits!)

   For more copyright information, please click here.


How can I get more information?

    Please contact our office in Springfield, Virginia, by phone at:  (703)  644 - 4612, or by email at:  ftm.contact@verizon.net

Click here for the main index page to see our other titles.