Course Syllabus

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Welcome to 8th grade U.S. History! I hope that you will find this class interesting, informative—and fun! You will be working very hard to develop new skills and understand new concepts this year. I strongly believe in challenging students through a variety of activities that will make history “come alive”. This syllabus will give you information about how to become a productive member of my classroom, so that you become your very best by doing your very best. I am looking forward to what we can accomplish this year. Please review this packet carefully.

CONTENT

This class is an exploration into the birth and development of America with special focus on the geography, economy, government, military, foreign affairs and the people who helped to shape the new nation. The class will begin with a look at Colonial America and the events that lead to revolution and independence from England. Students will examine the United States Constitution and the major debates that helped to shape the young Republic. Students will study Westward Expansion and the affects it had on Native Americans, the land and other nations. We will look at the causes and main events that lead to the American Civil War. Students will study the complex issues connected to American Reconstruction. Students will comprehend the economic and social factors that contribute to American Industrialization. Finally students will be asked to study the major concepts of Democracy. 

 

Length of Class: One year

Required Materials

Big Ideas-List the top five overarching ideas that a student MUST be able to support with content-related evidence.

  1. conflict
  2. compromise
  3. citizenship
  4. interdependence
  5. Change
  6. innovation

 

Prioritized Benchmarks

 

  • BS5 Understand current social issues to determine how the individual is able to formulate opinions and respond to those issues.
  • E1 Understand the role of scarcity and economic trade-offs and how economic conditions impact people’s lives.
  • E3 Understand how governments throughout the world influence economic behavior.
  • G3 Understand how human factors and the distribution of resources affect the development of communities & the movement of populations.
  • H2 Understand how and why people create maintain, or change systems of power, authority, and governance.
  • H5 Understand the effect of economic needs and wants on individual and group decisions.
  • H8 Understand cause and effect relationships and other historical thinking skills in order to interpret events and issues.
  • PS2 Understand how the government established by the Constitution embodies the principles of democracy.
  • PS3 Understand the purpose and function of the 3 branches of government established by the US Constitution.
  • PS7 Understand how various political systems throughout the world define the rights & responsibilities of the individual.

 

 

Essential Questions-List five interesting questions that will hook or entice your learner into the content learning.  Examples:  What does it mean to be a citizen of the United States? How does cell structure relate to the function of a city?

  1. Why do people rebel?
  2. When is compromise beneficial, and when is it a detriment?
  3. What does it mean to be a citizen?
  4. In a global economy, why is it necessary for nations to collaborate?
  5. How do groups and individuals affect change?
  6. How do new technologies make the world a smaller place?

 

Critical Tasks (Larger Units, Projects, Activities, or Assessments):  

 Units:

Pre-Columbian Native Americans

-Essay:  Were Pre-Columbian Native Americans worthy of respect?

European Exploration

-Columbian Exchange

European colonization of the Americas 

Historical Fiction Story

The Thirteen English Colonies

How did the Thirteen Colonies Become the Thirteen Colonies

The American Revolution

Causes of the American Revolution Game Board

Building a New Nation: The Constitution

Supreme Interpreters

The Industrial Revolution

Industrial Revolution research

Westward Expansion/Manifest Destiny

Manifest Destiny and Sectionalism

Reform

19th Century Reform Movements

Causes of the Civil War

Causes of the Civil War research

The Civil War

Across Five Aprils Newspaper Project

Reconstruction

Reconstruction Webquest

Civil Rights

Civil Rights Webquest

Course Summary:

Date Details Due