Middle School Social Studies - Eighth
Grade
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Overview of the Year
Trimester 1 | Trimester 2 | Trimester 3
The topics and projects listed in the
following overviews are samples of what has been done in the past and
should be regarded as an indication rather than a guarantee of what may
be done in the future. Since all middle school classes keep an eye
pointed towards current events and the interests of both students and
teachers, the curriculum for a given trimester may be altered to
increase relevance. Additionally, it is the philosophy of the MS History
Department to provide opportunities for both the teachers and the
students to utilize their individual talents to the best of their
abilities. Consequently, students at the same grade level may be
exploring different topics and not all will be exposed to the identical
material. Teachers throughout the department do work together though to
make sure that each student will have the opportunity to receive a
thorough, basic understanding of key issues in History, both in this
country and throughout the world.
Trimester
One
=== |
| Topics |
-
Introduction: Elections
-
The Origins of the United States and
Colonial Life
-
The Birth of a Country: The American
Revolution
|
| === |
== |
| Period |
Pre-19th
century |
| |
=== |
| Content
Highlights |
- Where is history still relevant today?
- How do elections work and why do those people do such
strange things to get elected? What roles do we play?
- So where did this current situation come from?
- Why did people come to the English colonies? What did they
hope to find? What troubles did they face? How’d they do?
- What made the colonies think they could be independent?
Why did they want to?
- How did the war go? What did the new country end up with?
- What were the ripples of the Revolution over time?
|
| Connection
to Language Arts |
Short
Stories |
| Project
Menu |
Historical
simulations, dramatic production/video, field trips, creation
of a museum, anthology, and/or scrapbook, creation of
websites, PowerPoint presentations and interviews/oral
reports, among other student options. |
| |
|
| Year-end
Assessment |
Two-day
objective & essay in-class final exam |
Trimester
Two
= |
| Topics |
-
Now What?: The Constitution Through the
Years
-
Growing Pains and Growing Apart: The 1800’s
Until the Civil War
-
The Civil War and Reconstruction
-
And Then What Happened? The United States
from 1870 to 1920
|
| === |
== |
| Period |
19th
century |
| |
=== |
| Content
Highlights |
- Why did the Constitution come about? What does it say? How
does it work? How has it been adapted, changed, and
interpreted?
- How’d the country get so darn big? What did they do with
all that land? In what ways did the country regionalize
itself, what were the regions like, and why didn’t they
agree? Who and what caused all the uproar?
- How did the country nearly fall apart? Why was the Civil
War so significant – even today?
- How did it go from "The United States are" to
"The United States is" and was this process
effective?
- How did the West develop?
- How did technology and industry alter the nature and
economy of the country?
- How did the changing face of the U.S. population come
about?
|
| Connection
to Language Arts |
Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men
Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet
|
| Project
Menu |
Historical
simulations, dramatic production/video, field trips, creation
of a museum, anthology, and/or scrapbook, creation of
websites, PowerPoint presentations and interviews/oral
reports, among other student options. |
| |
|
| Year-end
Assessment |
Two-day
objective & essay in-class final exam |
Trimester
Three
=== |
| Topics |
-
The Twentieth Century: The Changing Face
of the United States
|
| === |
== |
| Period |
20th
century |
| |
=== |
| Content
Highlights |
- What role did the U.S. play (or not play) in the world?
- How has the role of the United States changed in the 20th
Century?
- What changes have people brought about in international
relations, domestic policies, economics/technology and
culture?
|
| Connection
to Language Arts |
Lee,
To Kill a Mockingbird
Cisneros, House on Mango Street |
| Project
Menu |
Historical
simulations, dramatic production/video, field trips, creation
of a museum, anthology, and/or scrapbook, creation of
websites, PowerPoint presentations and interviews/oral
reports, among other student options. |
| |
|
| Year-end
Assessment |
Two-day
objective & essay in-class final exam |
|
