Developed through a broad-based national consensus building process, the national history standards project has involved working toward agreement both on the larger purposes of history in the school curriculum and on the more specific history understandings and thinking processes all students should have equal opportunity to acquire over 12 years of precollegiate education. Divided into 3 chapters, this document presents the national standards developed for grades K-4. The first chapter is on developing standards in history for students in grades K-4. It discusses the significance of history for the educated citizen, definition of standards, basic principles in development of standards for K-4, integrating historical thinking and historical understandings in standards for grades K-4, and questions concerning these standards. Policy issues discussed are: (1) ensuring equity for all students; (2) providing adequate instructional time for history; and (3) linking history to related studies in geography, civics, literature, and the arts in an integrated or interdisciplinary curriculum for grades K-4. The second chapter presents an overview of standards in historical thinking including chronological thinking, historical comprehension, historical analysis and interpretation, historical research capabilities, and historical issues analysis and decision making. Chapter 3 surveys eight standards organized under four topics: (1) living and working together in families and communities, now and long ago; (2) the history of students' own state or region; (3) U.S. history, democratic principles and values, people from many cultures who contributed to U.S. cultural, economic, and political heritage; and (4) history of peoples of many cultures around the world. An appendix lists contributors and participating organizations. (DK)