Virginia SOL S.WG.e

Social Studies8th Grade

The Standard

comparing and contrasting historical, cultural, economic, and political perspectives

Virginia Standards of Learning for History and Social Science

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students examine two or more accounts of the same event or issue and identify agreements and differences. They use evidence to explain how background, interests, time, and power shape each viewpoint.
What Mastery Looks Like: Given several sources, students accurately summarize each viewpoint without treating one account as automatically true. They cite specific details and explain why the accounts differ.
Common Misconceptions: Students may confuse perspective with fact or opinion, or assume that every difference proves dishonesty. They may list differences without explaining how the source's background, goals, or circumstances shaped them.
How to Assess It: Give students two short accounts of the same event. Ask them to name one agreement, one difference, and one source detail that may explain the difference.

Lesson moves

Source card sort: Teams place four accounts of one event on a continuum, then attach evidence notes explaining each placement.
Write a CER response to the prompt, Which speaker sees the issue differently, and what experience or interest explains that view?
Perspective match: Students pair anonymous excerpts with stakeholder cards, earning a point only when they cite a clue from the text.
Compare two news reports about a local policy, then mark differences in quoted voices, word choice, and likely audience.

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