Course Overview

The 7th and 8th grade social studies curriculum is in sequence with each other.  In 7th grade the students will begin the year with a review of the United States.  We will cover U.S. history from the Civil War through WWI for the remainder of the year.  In 8th grade, the students will begin the year with a review of the United States by studying the U.S. and IL Constitutions.  After that, we will review WWI and will progress through major events of U.S. history through the Vietnam Era.  

Current events will be explored in both classes and students will need to pay attention to reputable news sources at home in order to participate in discussions and/or assignments in class.  Students will also use the Junior Scholastic magazine to help us examine current events connected to our current unit of study.  In the 7th grade classes a weekly current events assignment will be due every other Friday and in 8th grade, a weekly GOAL (Google Online Academic Lessons) assignment will be due every Friday.  7th grade will be exploring different types of news stories as they connect past events to the present; while the 8th grade classes will be analyzing and extending on topics related to class discussions and debating issues.  Both 7th and 8th grade will be completing these assignments using Google Classroom and they will be due whether we are in school or not.