Wethersfield Public Schools

Enduring Understandings
Spring 2003

Art

CSDE Standards Addressed Students will understand that …

CSDE #1
1. Materials, process, and environment complement each other.

CSDE #2
2. Artists use elements and principles of design to organize visual
communication.

CSDE #3
3. Artistic progress is often characterized by cycles of experimentation.

CSDE #3
4. Art embodies the inner quest for self knowledge and reflects relationships between
humans and nature.

CSDE #3
5. Art can be used to record what one sees as well as what one feels.

CSDE #4
6. Artists of different cultures express meanings and ideas in different ways.

CSDE #4
7. Art reflects the time period, culture, geography, and status of a region’s inhabitants.

CSDE #5
8. The process of reflection enables one to understand and appreciate art.

CSDE #6
9. Art is a distinct form of communication that enriches the understanding of other
disciplines.

CSDE #6
10. Art is an inherent and integral part of our environment.

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Business Education

1. Personal Financial Awareness

Economically literate citizens have personal consumer economic skills, knowledge of social
and governmental responsibility, and an understanding of business operations.

2. Communication Skills
Written, oral, and aural communication skills are necessary for success in social,
professional, and business settings.

3. Technology
People need the ability to select and apply the tools of technology as they relate to personal,
professional, and business decision-making.

4. Economics
An economically literate citizen has an awareness and under-standing of the American
economic system and how it functions within the global economy.

Family & Consumer Science

1. Optimal nutrition and wellness contribute to the general well-being of individuals and
families across the life span.

2. Resources require managing to meet the material needs of individuals and families.

3. Responsible citizens and leaders in family, community, and work settings appreciate
human life and accept responsibility for their actions.

4. Personal, home, family, and work lives require balance.

Guidance
Students will be able to monitor and direct their own learning and personal development.

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Language Arts
Reading
CSDE Standards Addressed -Students will understand that …

CSDE #1, 4
1. Successful readers comprehend texts by reading fluently, strategically, accurately and
critically.

CSDE #1
2. Punctuation and grammar aid comprehension by guiding readers through the text.

CSDE #1, 4
3. Accomplished readers read from a wide range of literature/text, constructing meaning
and responding in personal, interpretive, and critical ways.

CSDE #1, 4
4. Accomplished readers construct meaning when reading all texts.

CSDE #1, 4
5. Reading is a way to explore personal interests, answer important questions, satisfy
one’s need for information, entertain and be entertained, and build understanding of
the many dimensions of human experience.

CSDE #1, 4
6. Everyone is entitled to his/her opinion about what a text means, but some opinions are
more supportable by the text than others.

CSDE #1, 4
7. Literature can reflect, clarify, criticize, and satirize the time, ideas, and cultures it
depicts.

CSDE #1, 4
8. Critical readers question the text, consider various perspectives and look for author’s
bias in order to think, live and act differently.

3
Language Arts
Writing
CSDE Standards Addressed Students will understand that …

CSDE #2, 3
1. Writing is a deliberate process of prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and
publishing. This process is essential to effective writing.

CSDE #2
2. Writers use a wide range of forms, genres and techniques to convey meaning
effectively.

CSDE #2, 3
3. Effective writing speaks to a specific audience and has a clear purpose. It is focused,
organized, elaborated, and fluent, and requires appropriate conventions.

CSDE #2, 4
4. Writing is a way to clarify or express thinking and knowledge in all content areas.

CSDE #3
5. Punctuation and grammar clarify and change the message.

Reading/Writing Connection

6. The reading/writing process produces more discriminating readers and more articulate
writers.

Speaking, Listening, Viewing

CSDE #4
7. Speaking, listening, and viewing are fundamental processes which people use to
express, explore, and learn.
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Mathematics
CSDE Standards Addressed Students will understand that….

Number sense
1. Numbers are necessary in our daily lives.

Operations
2. Operations with numbers are used to solve problems at all levels of mathematics.

Estimation and approximation

3. Estimating, approximating, and judging the reasonableness of answers are useful
tools in everyday life.

Ratios, proportions, and percents

4. Ratios, proportions, and percents are used to represent relationships between
quantities and measures and are applied in problem solving.

Measurement
5. Customary, metric, and non-standard units are used to approximate and compute
measurements and communicate their validity.

Spatial relationships and geometry

6. Basic concepts of geometry and spatial relationships are used to construct, draw,
describe, and compare geometric models and their transformations to solve problems.

Probability and statistics

7. Probability and statistics are used together to collect, organize, display, and analyze
data, simulate events, and test hypotheses.

Patterns
8. Patterns enable us to discover, analyze, describe, extend, and formulate concrete
understandings of mathematical and real world phenomena.

Algebra and functions

9. Algebraic skills and concepts enable us to describe real world phenomena
symbolically and graphically, and to model quantitative change.

Discrete mathematics
10. The processes of discrete mathematics are used to analyze and model real world
situations.

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Music
CSDE Standards Addressed Students will understand that...

CSDE #1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
1. Music is a form of communication.

CSDE #1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
2. Music is a unique way of expressing, experiencing and knowing life.

CSDE #1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
3. Meaningful contact with music expands an individual’s understanding of history and
culture.

CSDE #1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
4. Specific musical knowledge enhances the aesthetic perception and experience of
music.

CSDE #1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
5. Everyone can perform, create, and respond to music in significant and meaningful
ways.

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Physical Education
Page 7

CSDE Standards Addressed Students will understand that….

CSDE #1
1. Practice in a variety of physical activities can lead to skill proficiency and
competence.

CSDE #1, 2, 6
2. Physical movement can be creative, enjoyable and individually rewarding.

CSDE #3
3. There is a direct correlation between level of fitness and heart health.

CSDE #3, 6
4. A healthy lifestyle requires daily physical activity and proper nutrition.

CSDE #4, 5
5. Cooperation, communication, and responsible behavior lead to an enjoyable and
rewarding experience in physical activities.

CSDE #5
6. Participation in physical activities can provide an opportunity for developing an
understanding of and respect for differences among people.

CSDE #6
7. Physical activity can provide opportunities for personal enjoyment, challenge, self-
expression and social interaction.

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Science
CSDE Standards Addressed Students will understand that….

CSDE #1, 4, 14, 15

1. The purpose of science is to investigate and understand how the universe works.

CSDE #2, 3, 4
2. There are universal methods, protocols, tools, habits of mind, and technologies that
should be used when conducting a scientific experiment to learn about our universe.

CSDE #1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
3. Science content areas and disciplines interrelate and interconnect.

CSDE #8, 16
4. Mathematics is the language of science since it can express relationships efficiently
and accurately.

CSDE #6, 7, 8, 15-20

5. Scientists construct and use models to generate knowledge and to advance
understanding.

CSDE #1, 6, 7, 8, 10
6. Constancy, patterns, and change are found in all systems.

CSDE #5, 8-13

7. All organisms and their environment are interdependent.

CSDE #5, 8, 14, 17-20

8. Movement of matter and energy through living and non-living systems follows laws,
principles, and patterns.

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Social Studies
CSDE Standards Addressed Students will understand that….

CSDE #1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
1. Democratic citizenship requires active and responsible participation in local, national, and
world constitutional systems.

CSDE #1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
2. People can create and change different structures of power and government to affect
individual rights and societal needs.

CSDE #1, 2, 3, 4
3. The study of the continuum of human civilization reveals the ideals, beliefs, values, and
institutions of its people.

CSDE #1, 2, 3, 4
4. The application of historical thinking skills and historical knowledge has relevance and
impact on the lives of individuals and the world in which they live.

CSDE #3, 4, 7, 8, 11, 14, 15

5. People resolve conflicts by choosing among various responses including aggression,
compromise, and cooperation, each of which has immediate and long-term outcomes.

CSDE #8, 9, 11, 12, 15

6. As part of a global community, all people are increasingly interdependent, joined by
environmental, economic, social, cultural, and civic concerns.

CSDE #9, 10, 11, 12

7. Geographical factors influence a person’s culture, job opportunities, economic choices,
interests, skills, and life.

CSDE #1, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9
8. Global society is diverse, made up of various cultures which bring to interrelationships varied
perspectives, contributions, and at times challenges.

CSDE #8, 9, 11, 13, 14, 15

9. Decisions concerning the allocation and use of resources impact individuals and groups as
well as local, national, and international relationships.

CSDE #1, 3, 4, 12
10. Scientific and technological developments impact people’s lives and the environment, and
transform societies.

CSDE #3, 9
11. Individuals grow and develop relationships within the context of a culture, and in turn, their
actions influence that culture.
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World Languages
CSDE Standards Addressed Students will understand that …

CSDE #1
1. Communicating in at least one other language in order to obtain information, express
feelings and exchange opinions is important.

CSDE #3, 4
2. Communicating in at least one other language is essential to gaining knowledge of
other cultures (traditions, products and
perspectives).

CSDE #3, 4
3. Interpreting spoken and written language is essential to good communication and
building rapport.

CSDE #2
4. Making interdisciplinary connections as one reads, writes, speaks, or listens in
another language allows one to acquire knowledge, reinforce concepts and gain
new perspectives.

CSDE #9
5. Participating in multilingual communities both within and beyond the school setting
leads to personal enjoyment and enrichment.

CSDE #7
6. Comparing English with others languages is important to understanding the nature of
language and other cultures.

CSDE #8
7. Appreciating and understanding the variety of cultures that exist in a society enriches
that society.

CSDE #4, 6
8. Gaining knowledge about and empathizing with other peoples and cultures leads to a
more tolerant society.
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Technology Education
CSDE Standards Addressed Students will understand that….

1. Technology is the application of math and science for specific purposes.

2. Technology is the use of knowledge, tools, skills, and materials to increase our
potential to solve practical problems and to modify our world.

3. Managed technology is flexible; when understood, it can be adapted and changed as

needed or wanted.
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