(1) The benchmark for social studies content standard 4 for a student at the end of grade 8 is the ability to:

(a) interpret the past using a variety of sources (e.g., biographies, documents, diaries, eyewitnesses, interviews, internet, primary source material) and evaluate the credibility of sources used;

(b) describe how history can be organized and analyzed using various criteria to group people and events (e.g., chronology, geography, cause and effect, change, conflict, issues) ;

(c) use historical facts and concepts and apply methods of inquiry (e.g., primary documents, interviews, comparative accounts, research) to make informed decisions as responsible citizens;

(d) identify significant events, people, and important democratic values (e.g., freedom, equality, privacy) in the major eras/civilizations of Montana, American Indians, United States, and world history;

(e) identify major scientific discoveries and technological innovations and describe their social and economic effects on society;

(f) explain how and why events (e.g., American revolution, battle of the Little Big Horn, immigration, women's suffrage) may be interpreted differently according to the points of view of participants, witnesses, reporters, and historians; and

(g) summarize major issues affecting the history, culture, tribal sovereignty, and current status of the American Indian tribes in Montana and the United States.