Social Studies

Students are working on real issues they want solved in today's world. They are working in groups where they had to first vote on a topic, construct lists of why they want the issue stopped, construct a list of how they could try to solve this issue peacefully. They are showing team work, cooperation and respect. I am very proud of how they work together. Rubric can be found under forms and worksheets in the Social Studies folder.

Unit One: Colonial Times: Essential Question:

Where are you from?

"European nations came to the Americas to increase their wealth and broaden their influence over world affairs. The Spanish were among the first Europeans to explore the New World and the first to settle in what is not he United States. By 1650, however, England had established a dominant presence on the Atlantic coast. The first colony was founded at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607. Many of the people who settled in the New World came to escape religious persecution. The Pilgrims, founders of Plymouth, Massachusetts, arrived in 1620. In both Virginia and Massachusetts, hte colonists flourished with some assistance from the Native Americans. New World grains such as corn kept the colonists from starving while, in Virginia, tobacco provided a valuable cash crop. By the early 1700s enslaved Africans made up a growing percentage of the colonial population. By 1770, more than 2 million people lived and worked in Great Britian's 13 North American Colonies."

Students will understand how we settled in the New World and discover where they are really from; and learn so much about their culture and where their ancestors originated.

Unit Two: The American Revolution Essential Question:

How did America come to be its own county?

"American Revolution, also called the United States War of Independence or American Revolutionary War, (1775-83) insurrection of which 13 of Great Britian's North American colonies won political independence and went on to form the United States of America. The war followed more than a decade of growing estrangement between the British crown and a large and influential segment of its North American colonies that was caused by British attempts to assert greater control over colonial affairs. Until early in 1778 the conflict was a civil war within the British Empire; afterward it became an international war as France (in 1778), Spain (in 1779), and the Netherlands (in 1780) joined the colonies against Britian. From the beginning sea power was vital in determining the course of the war, lending to British Strategy a flexibility that helped compensate for the comparatively small amount of troops sent to America and ultimately enabling the French to help bring about the final British surrender at Yorktown."

Students will understand how we became free from Britian with exploring all the major events and battles that impacted the colonist to fight for their independence. The Students will research the important events that happened in their life that impacted them in a significant way.

Unit Three: Declaration of Independence:

"What were the colonists complaints and negotiations with the King of England?

The Declaration of Independence is the founding document of the American political tradition. It articulates the fundamental ideas that form the American nation: All men are created free and equal and possess the same inherent, natural rights. Legitimate governments must therefore be based on the consent of the governed and must exist "to secure these rights". As a practical matter, the Declaration of Independence announced to the world the unanimous decision of the thirteen American colonies to separate themselves from Great Britain. But its a true revolutionary significance-then as well as now-is the declaration of a new basis of political legitimacy in the sovereignty of the people. The Americans' final appeal was not to any man-made decree or evolving spirit, but to rights inherently possessed by all men. These rights are found in eternal "Laws of Nature and of Nature's God." As such, the Declaration's meaning transcends the particulars of time and circumstances. The Circumstaces of the Declaration's writing make us appreciate its exceptionalist claims even more. The war against Britain had been raging for more than two years when the Continental Congress, following a resolution of Richard Henry Lee on June 7, 1776, appointed a committee to explore the independence of the colonies from Great Britain. John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston turned to their colleague Thomas Jefferson to draft a formal declaration which they then submitted, with a few corrections, to Congress. On July 2nd Congress voted for independence and proceeded to debate the wording of the Declaration, which was, with the notable deletion of Jefferson's vehement condemnation of slavery, unanimously approved on the evening of July 4th. Every Fourth of July, America celebrates not he actual act of independence (proclaimed on July 2nd) but rather the public proclamation of the principles behind the act. "

Students will learn about the parts of the Declaration and how colonists took a stand in what they believed in. Students will brainstorm their today situations that they would like to be changed and create a declaration of independence to convey how they feel about the topic they chose. They will take a stance and revolt for a change of what they believe in.