Social Studies
Social Studies in 7th and 8th grade are focused on the events of American History. Our Curriculum is based off of McDougal Littell: Creating America.
7th Grade Social Studies
7th grade social studies will start with a geography handbook. Students will be immersed in the landscape of American, themes of geography, map basics, physical geography of the United States, and the human geography of the United States.
After gaining basic concepts of the geography, students will then start at the formation of the 13 colonies. We will follow how the colonies developed and began their own identity which led to the American Revolution. 7th graders will spend a great deal of time learning about the American Revolution through text, video, and hands-on activities.
After the Revolution, students will go into the expansion and growth of our nation. Students will work on a simulation in which they get to travel on the Oregon Trail. They will learn about George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Andrew Jackson.
As the nation grows and expands, students will learn how the states began to develop differently. They will explore the issue of slavery and how it began to define political parties. They will learn through debate and other authentic activities. Students will begin to learn about Abraham Lincoln, the great debates, and how he won the presidency.
Students will then study the Civil War. We will start with the nation falling part with tensions in the north and south. Students will learn what life was like in the Union and the Confederate Army. They will gain an understanding into the Emancipation Proclamation. Students will go over how the North won the Civil War and the legacy of what happened after the war.
8th Grade Social Studies
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8th graders will begin in the 1860's and learn about the Industrial Revolution. We will learn about the growth of industry and the way the railroad transformed the nation. Students will begin to discuss about the rise of big business and robber barons such as Rockerfeller, Carnegie, and Morgan.
They will transition to learn about the Progessive Era. This will include instruction on Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson. We will discuss about each one's presidency and its effect on progressivism. The main focus will be on progressivism and the program asociated with it.
Students will receive key instruction on both World War I and World War II. We will discuss how each war begins and how the United States became involved with each one. Students will go online to read through artifiacts and other unique items from each war. Students will read text and watch documentaries to gain additional understandings and perspectives. They will also be involved in discussions about how each war ended and the rammificiations to all the nations involved.
Lastly, all 8th grade students will receive instruction on the United States Constitution and the Illinois State Constitution. Students will read through daily passages and gain a deeper understanding of both Constitutions. They will get to form their own political parties complete with a name, platform, party symbol, party color, and party slogan. They will get a small dose of political debates when they research and have a debate in the classroom. Both Constitution units will end in testing for knowledge and the subject matter learned.
