Alabama standards alignment

• USG.3

  Covered

  Analyze major features of the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights for purposes, organization, functions, and principles, including rule of law, federalism, limited government, popular sovereignty, judicial review, separation of powers, and checks and balances.

  Covered by

  • US Constitution 101: The Document That Builds the Government
  • State vs Federal Power: How American Government Is Divided
  • US Civics 101: How American Government Works

  • · US Constitution 101, Lessons 2-9 · the Constitution analyzed article by article
  • · US Constitution 101, Lesson 6 · Separation of powers and checks & balances
  • · US Constitution 101, Lesson 7 · Federalism: state and federal power
  • · State vs Federal Power, Lesson 1 · What is federalism, and why split power at all?
  • · US Constitution 101, Lesson 9 · Changing the Constitution: Article V and key later amendments
  • · US Constitution 101, Lesson 8 · The Bill of Rights (Amendments I to X)
  • · US Civics 101, Lesson 4 · The courts and judicial review (Marbury v. Madison)

  Note: The named principles are the spine of the civics ladder: the Constitution worked article by article, separation of powers and checks and balances, federalism, the Article V amendment process, the Bill of Rights, and judicial review through Marbury v. Madison.

• USG.13

  Covered

  Evaluate constitutional provisions of the judicial branch of government of the United States, including checks by the judicial branch on other branches of government, limits on judicial power, and the process by which cases are argued before the United States Supreme Court.

  Covered by

  • The Supreme Court & the Judicial Branch
  • US Civics 101: How American Government Works
  • The Bill of Rights: Know Your Rights

  • · The Supreme Court & the Judicial Branch, Lesson 1 · The federal judiciary: from district courts to the Supreme Court
  • · The Supreme Court & the Judicial Branch, Lesson 7 · Checks on the Court
  • · US Civics 101, Lesson 4 · The courts and judicial review (Marbury v. Madison)
  • · The Supreme Court & the Judicial Branch, Lesson 2 · How a judge gets there: nomination and confirmation
  • · Know Your Rights, Lessons 2-5 · speech, religion, press, assembly, including at school and online
  • · Know Your Rights, Lessons 6-8 · the 4th Amendment: searches, stops, and your digital life
  • · The Supreme Court & the Judicial Branch, Lesson 5 · Writing the opinion: majority, concurrence, dissent, and precedent

  Note: The federal judiciary's structure and independence, the checks on it, how justices are nominated and confirmed, how a case reaches the Court, the impact of landmark cases on constitutional interpretation (Marbury and Tinker among them), and how precedent works are taught across The Supreme Court & the Judicial Branch, US Civics 101, and Know Your Rights.

• USG.14

  Covered

  Describe the role of citizens in American democracy, including the meaning, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship; due process and other rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States; and participation in the election process.

  Covered by

  • Citizenship & Naturalization Basics
  • Jury Duty & the Courts (the citizen's side)
  • Voting & Elections 101
  • The Bill of Rights: Know Your Rights
  • State vs Federal Power: How American Government Is Divided

  • · Citizenship & Naturalization Basics, Lesson 1 · Who is a U.S. citizen? Birthright and the 14th Amendment
  • · Citizenship & Naturalization Basics, Lesson 3 · Becoming a citizen: naturalization eligibility
  • · Citizenship & Naturalization Basics, Lesson 7 · Rights and responsibilities of citizenship
  • · Jury Duty & the Courts · the whole course (the citizen's side of the court system)
  • · Voting & Elections 101, Lesson 1 · Registering to vote
  • · Know Your Rights, Lesson 2 · Freedom of speech: what's protected, and what isn't
  • · Know Your Rights, Lesson 5 · Speech and religion at school, and online
  • · Know Your Rights, Lesson 7 · Police stops, reasonable suspicion, and your privacy
  • · State vs Federal Power, Lesson 1 · What is federalism, and why split power at all?

  Note: The meaning, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship (Citizenship & Naturalization Basics), due process and the constitutional rights and their limits (Know Your Rights), jury service (an entire course), and participation through registering and voting are all taught as practice.

• USG.2

  Partially covered

  Summarize the significance of the First and Second Continental Congresses, the Declaration of Independence, Shays' Rebellion, and the Articles of Confederation of 1781 on the writing and ratification of the Constitution of the United States of 1787 and the Bill of Rights of 1791.

  Covered by

  • US Constitution 101: The Document That Builds the Government

  • · US Constitution 101, Lesson 1 · Why a constitution? From the Articles of Confederation
  • · US Constitution 101, Lesson 8 · The Bill of Rights (Amendments I to X)

  What we do and don't cover: Partial: why the Articles of Confederation failed and how that produced the 1787 Constitution and the Bill of Rights is taught squarely (US Constitution 101). The Continental Congresses, the Declaration of Independence, and Shays' Rebellion the standard also names are not taught as their own content.

• USG.4

  Partially covered

  Explain how the federal system of the United States divides powers between national and state governments.

  Covered by

  • State vs Federal Power: How American Government Is Divided
  • US Constitution 101: The Document That Builds the Government

  • · State vs Federal Power, Lesson 1 · What is federalism, and why split power at all?
  • · State vs Federal Power, Lesson 2 · Three kinds of power: enumerated, implied, reserved
  • · State vs Federal Power, Lesson 3 · The enumerated powers: Article I, § 8 (the Necessary and Proper Clause)
  • · State vs Federal Power, Lesson 6 · Concurrent powers: what both levels share
  • · State vs Federal Power, Lesson 7 · McCulloch v. Maryland (1819): implied powers and supremacy
  • · US Constitution 101, Lesson 6 · Separation of powers and checks & balances
  • · US Constitution 101, Lesson 7 · Federalism: state and federal power

  What we do and don't cover: Partial: how power is divided is taught in full (State vs Federal Power: enumerated, implied, reserved, and concurrent powers, with McCulloch v. Maryland). The standard's sub-points on obligations to the states, admitting new states, cooperative federalism, and interstate relations are not treated systematically.

• USG.5

  Partially covered

  Compare specific functions, organizations, and purposes of local and state governments, including implementing fiscal and monetary policies, ensuring personal security, and regulating transportation.

  Covered by

  • Alabama Civics: How Your State Government Works
  • US, State & Local Government: Who Does What

  • · Alabama Civics, Lesson 1 · The longest constitution in the world (and the 2022 recompile)
  • · Alabama Civics, Lesson 2 · Weak home rule and Alabama's large plural executive
  • · Alabama Civics, Lesson 3 · The Legislature and Alabama's partisan-elected judiciary
  • · Alabama Civics, Lesson 4 · Local government and how to take part
  • · US, State & Local Government, Lesson 5 · What LOCAL government handles (and why it VARIES)
  • · US, State & Local Government, Lesson 7 · The governments you forget: special districts & boards

  What we do and don't cover: This is Alabama's own-government standard, and it is where the Alabama flagship lands 1:1: the 1901 constitution the standard names by title, weak home rule, the large plural executive, the Legislature, the partisan-elected judiciary, Alabama's lawmaking and amendment path, and its 67 counties. Partial because the standard's named functions (fiscal and monetary policy, ensuring personal security, regulating transportation) and the influence of special-interest groups are not the lessons' focus.

• USG.6

  Partially covered

  Analyze the expansion of suffrage for its effect on the political system of the United States, including suffrage for non-property owners, women, African Americans, and persons eighteen years of age.

  Covered by

  • The Great Migration: How Six Million People Remade America

  • · The Great Migration, Lesson 2 · The Jim Crow South: what people were fleeing
  • · The Great Migration, Lesson 12 · The long shadow, and the return
  • · The Great Migration, Lesson 11 · Politics & civil rights

  What we do and don't cover: Partial: the denial of the vote under Jim Crow (what the Great Migration fled) and the Black urban electorate the Migration created, with its civil-rights politics, are taught in depth. A systematic account of suffrage expansion for women, non-property owners, and eighteen-year-olds, and the standard's Selma-to-Montgomery March and Voting Rights Act of 1965 examples, is not covered.

• USG.7

  Partially covered

  Describe the process of local, state, and national elections, including the organization, role, and constituency of political parties.

  Covered by

  • Voting & Elections 101
  • Alabama Civics: How Your State Government Works

  • · Voting & Elections 101, Lessons 1-3 · registration, primaries and caucuses, how you vote
  • · Voting & Elections 101, Lesson 7 · Counting, canvassing, and certifying the vote
  • · Voting & Elections 101, Lesson 8 · Verify your own registration and rules
  • · Voting & Elections 101, Lesson 4 · The Electoral College: how it works
  • · Voting & Elections 101, Lesson 5 · Why the Electoral College exists
  • · Alabama Civics, Lesson 4 · Local government and how to take part

  What we do and don't cover: Partial: national and state election procedures are taught thoroughly (registration through counting and certifying, the Electoral College) with an Alabama-specific lesson on photo ID, absentee rules, and voting on many amendments. The organization, role, and constituency of political PARTIES the standard names is not taught.

• USG.11

  Partially covered

  Evaluate constitutional provisions of the legislative branch of the government of the United States, including checks by the legislative branch on other branches of government.

  Covered by

  • US Constitution 101: The Document That Builds the Government
  • How a Bill Becomes Law (Federal): From Idea to Public Law
  • US Civics 101: How American Government Works

  • · US Constitution 101, Lessons 3-6 · Articles I-III and checks & balances
  • · How a Bill Becomes Law (Federal) · the whole course, introduction to public law
  • · US Civics 101, Lesson 3 · How a bill becomes a law
  • · US Constitution 101, Lesson 6 · Separation of powers and checks & balances
  • · US Constitution 101, Lesson 7 · Federalism: state and federal power

  What we do and don't cover: Partial: the constitutional provisions of the legislative branch, its checks on the other branches, and the whole legislative process from a bill's presentation to presidential action are taught in full (US Civics 101; How a Bill Becomes Law). The standard's sub-points on Congressional leadership hierarchy (Speaker, President Pro Tempore, whips) and committee types are not the lessons' focus.

• USG.12

  Partially covered

  Evaluate constitutional provisions of the executive branch of the government of the United States, including checks by the executive branch on other branches of government and powers, duties as head of state and head of government, the electoral process, and the Twenty-fifth Amendment.

  Covered by

  • US Constitution 101: The Document That Builds the Government
  • Voting & Elections 101

  • · US Constitution 101, Lessons 3-6 · Articles I-III and checks & balances
  • · US Constitution 101, Lesson 6 · Separation of powers and checks & balances
  • · US Constitution 101, Lesson 7 · Federalism: state and federal power
  • · Voting & Elections 101, Lesson 4 · The Electoral College: how it works
  • · Voting & Elections 101, Lesson 5 · Why the Electoral College exists

  What we do and don't cover: Partial: the executive branch's constitutional provisions, its checks on the other branches, and the electoral process (the Electoral College) are taught. The standard's informal presidential powers, White House staff and Cabinet, and the Twenty-fifth Amendment are not treated as their own content.

• USG.15

  Partially covered

  Explain the role and consequences of domestic and foreign policy decisions, including scientific and technological advancements and humanitarian, cultural, economic, and political changes.

  Covered by

  • BVC: Sugar — The Sweet Revolution

  • · Ep 18 · Bolivia's Bet (Bolivia's legal coca model against U.S.-funded eradication)
  • · Ep 18 · The Balloon Effect
  • · Ep 17 · Where the Poppy Grows (Afghanistan and the Golden Crescent)
  • · Ep 16 · The Justice Gap
  • · Ep 4 · The Hidden Costs of Cheap Sugar

  What we do and don't cover: Partial: specific domestic and foreign policy decisions and their consequences are analyzed in depth — the War on Drugs (including its foreign-policy arm and the balloon effect) and the U.S. sugar program (import quotas, tariffs, price supports, and their cost). The standard's grand foreign-policy doctrines (isolationism versus internationalism, containment, détente, the war on terrorism) are not taught.

• ECON.3

  Partially covered

  Describe different economic systems used to allocate scarce goods and services.

  Covered by

  • BVC: Guayusa & Kola Nut — Forest Wisdom
  • BVC: Kava — The Root of Peace
  • BVC: My Daily Altar — Season Synthesis

  • · Ep 5 · The Reciprocity Economy
  • · Ep 6 · Ceremony Meets the Market
  • · Ep 7 · Two Ways of Doing Economics

  What we do and don't cover: Partial: traditional (reciprocity) economies are contrasted with market economies directly and at length. The command and mixed systems the standard also names, and the three basic economic questions, are not taught.

• ECON.4

  Partially covered

  Describe the role of government in a market economy, including promoting and securing competition, protecting private property rights, promoting equity, providing public goods and services, resolving externalities and other market failures, and stabilizing growth in the economy.

  Covered by

  • BVC: Sugar — The Sweet Revolution

  • · Ep 4 · The Hidden Costs of Cheap Sugar

  What we do and don't cover: Partial: government intervention in a market is worked through one detailed case — the U.S. sugar program's import quotas, price supports, and tariffs, and their roughly $3.5bn/yr consumer cost. The other government roles the standard lists (property rights, public goods, externalities, stabilization) are not taught.

• ECON.6

  Partially covered

  Describe how specialization and voluntary exchange between buyers and sellers lead to mutually beneficial outcomes.

  Covered by

  • BVC: Coffee — The Daily Global Connection
  • BVC: Sugar — The Sweet Revolution
  • BVC: Tea — The Way of Tea
  • BVC: Chocolate — Food of the Gods

  • · Ep 1 · Price Shocks and Why You Keep Buying
  • · Ep 4 · From Luxury to the Cheapest Calorie
  • · Ep 1 · Follow the Money: Bean to Cup
  • · Ep 2 · Who Gets Paid, Tea and Coffee Compared
  • · Ep 3 · The Commodity Trap
  • · Ep 12 · The Jimador's Share
  • · Ep 14 · Pattern 3: Labor Captures the Smallest Share (the smile curve)
  • · Ep 21 · The Smile Curve, Confirmed

  What we do and don't cover: Partial: supply, demand, and price are taught through real commodity markets — inelastic coffee demand absorbing a price spike, and who is paid what along the value chain. It is not the general supply-and-demand, market-clearing-price unit the standard's circular-flow sub-points describe.

• ECON.8

  Partially covered

  Explain the impact of the labor market on the United States' economy.

  Covered by

  • The History of Unions: America and the World
  • Mexico: The Protection Contract, and the Trade Deal That Came for It
  • BVC: Coffee — The Daily Global Connection
  • BVC: Tea — The Way of Tea
  • BVC: Chocolate — Food of the Gods

  • · The History of Unions, Lesson 4 · Two ideas about who a union is for: the Knights and the AFL
  • · The History of Unions, Lesson 5 · Haymarket, 1886
  • · The History of Unions, Lesson 6 · Homestead, Pullman, and the weapon that actually broke strikes
  • · The History of Unions, Lesson 9 · 1935: the year organizing became a right (the Wagner Act)
  • · The History of Unions, Lesson 10 · The hole in the law: who the Wagner Act left out
  • · The History of Unions, Lesson 13 · Taft-Hartley, 1947: what the law took back
  • · The History of Unions, Lesson 14 · PATCO, 1981, and reading the decline honestly
  • · Mexico, Lesson 7 · Mexico rewrites its labor law, and the 68-year gap that explains why
  • · Mexico, Lesson 10 · The Rapid Response Mechanism: an international labor rule with teeth
  • · Mexico, Lesson 12 · The limits, honestly: the cases the United States lost
  • · Ep 1 · Follow the Money: Bean to Cup
  • · Ep 2 · Who Gets Paid, Tea and Coffee Compared
  • · Ep 3 · The Commodity Trap
  • · Ep 12 · The Jimador's Share
  • · Ep 14 · Pattern 3: Labor Captures the Smallest Share (the smile curve)
  • · Ep 21 · The Smile Curve, Confirmed

  What we do and don't cover: Partial: the standard's sub-point 'Tracing the history of labor unions and methods of contract negotiation' is taught in real depth (The History of Unions, from the Gilded Age through the Wagner Act, Taft-Hartley, and PATCO; the NAFTA-to-USMCA labor order). The general labor-market mechanics the standard leads with (how supply and demand set wages, unemployment and inflation) are not taught.

• ECON.12

  Partially covered

  Explain why individuals, businesses, and governments trade goods and services in the global economy.

  Covered by

  • BVC: Sugar — The Sweet Revolution
  • BVC: Coffee — The Daily Global Connection
  • BVC: Tea — The Way of Tea
  • BVC: Chocolate — Food of the Gods
  • BVC: Guayusa & Kola Nut — Forest Wisdom
  • BVC: Kava — The Root of Peace
  • BVC: My Daily Altar — Season Synthesis

  • · Ep 4 · The Hidden Costs of Cheap Sugar
  • · Ep 1 · Follow the Money: Bean to Cup
  • · Ep 2 · Who Gets Paid, Tea and Coffee Compared
  • · Ep 3 · The Commodity Trap
  • · Ep 12 · The Jimador's Share
  • · Ep 14 · Pattern 3: Labor Captures the Smallest Share (the smile curve)
  • · Ep 21 · The Smile Curve, Confirmed
  • · The Commodity Map itself, every episode pinned at its origin
  • · The Growing Belts map, production regions by latitude band and country
  • · Ep 1 · The Coffee Belt: Where Coffee Grows and Why
  • · Ep 3 · The Cacao Tree and the Narrowest Belt
  • · Ep 6 · Why Volcanic Soil Only
  • · Ep 7 · Who Captures the Value

  What we do and don't cover: Partial: why nations trade (the growing belts decide where commodities can grow, so trade follows), the advantages and disadvantages of global trade (the commodity trap and who captures value), and trade barriers (the sugar program's quotas, tariffs, and subsidies, and why countries impose them) are all worked. The comparative-advantage and exchange-rate mechanics the standard also names are not taught.

What we don't claim

A standards page is only worth reading if the omissions are honest too. We looked at these and left them out:

• Mathematics — nothing. This catalog does no mathematics instruction, so it meets no Alabama mathematics standard (the 2019 Alabama Course of Study: Mathematics, Alabama's own, not Common Core).
• English Language Arts — deferred, not denied. Alabama writes its own ELA standards (the 2021 Alabama Course of Study: English Language Arts, adopted after Alabama left Common Core). This catalog's media-literacy, rhetoric, argument-writing, and source-evaluation teaching would map to Alabama ELA — but our rule is fetch-or-don't-cite, and that document has not been retrieved and transcribed this pass, so we make no Alabama ELA claim yet.
• Science — deferred, not denied. Alabama is NOT an NGSS state. Alabama's science standards are the 2015 Alabama Course of Study: Science, built from the National Research Council Framework with Alabama's own codes — NOT the Next Generation Science Standards. We did not assume otherwise. That document has not been fetched and transcribed this pass, so we make no Alabama science claim; when it is, the two Earth-science claims used elsewhere (resources, hazards, and climate shaping human activity) would be the candidates.
• United States Government standards we checked and do NOT claim. USG.1 (historical and philosophical origins — the Magna Carta, Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu, and comparing limited and unlimited governments), USG.8 (special-interest groups, PACs, and Buckley v. Valeo), USG.9 (the media's impact on the political and election process — our media-literacy work is consumer protection, not political-media analysis), and USG.10 (the role of political parties) are not genuinely taught by these courses, so we do not claim them.
• Economics standards we checked and do NOT claim. ECON.1 and ECON.2 (scarcity, opportunity cost, and rational decision making as named concepts), ECON.5 (standard of living and productivity), ECON.7 (the organization and role of business, firm types, and market structures), ECON.9 (GDP, CPI, inflation, and unemployment measurement), ECON.10 (the Federal Reserve and monetary policy), and ECON.11 (fiscal policy, deficits, and the national debt) are financial- and macro-economics content this catalog does not teach.
• Health and Physical Education — out of scope for Social Studies this pass. Alabama publishes its own Health Education and Physical Education courses of study. This catalog's dental-health, body-data, and sport-knowledge courses could map to them, but those documents were not fetched this pass; per fetch-or-don't-cite we make no Alabama health or PE claim yet.