SYLLABUS/ PACING GUIDES

Wilson Grade 8 Social Studies Syllabus

General Course Description:

8th grade students will explore American history from colonization to modern-day, with North Carolina history and events woven into the course.  Students will investigate the impacts of conflicts, the role of leadership decisions, how technology changed society, the development and role of government, the access various groups had to democratic rights and freedoms throughout American history, the actions taken by citizens to create change, personal financial literacy, and the contributions of various cultural groups in the United States and North Carolina.

Class Expectations: 

• Exhibit positive behavior.  Be courteous and respectful to your peers and teachers.

• Be seated quickly and quietly and start your warm up. (first five minutes)

• Get Involved.  Raise your hand and wait to be called on.  

• Take responsibility for your learning.  Don’t let others keep you from being successful.

• Complete all assigned work to the best of your ability.

• Be prepared and organized.  Come to class every day with the following supplies:

  1. Something to write with (pens and/or pencils)  

  2. Something to write on (notebook/paper)

  3. Chromebook & charger

  4. Something to keep your materials organized (binder & backpack)

Grading Policy:  

Homework (10% of total grade) Classwork (20%) Quizzes (30%) Tests (40%) Each grading period will include a minimum of assignments from each category.  

Late Work Policy:  For every week a classwork or homework assignment is late, the student will receive a 10 point reduction to the final grade of the assignment.  Students can lose up to 50% of the overall grade for major assessments (projects, tests, etc.) that are turned in late prior to the end of the marking period.  After the end of the marking period, all assignments not turned in will result in a zero barring judgment from the teacher and administration.

Negative Behavior Consequences:

1. Positive redirect/verbal warning

2. Teacher’s choice intervention

3. Teacher/Student intervention

4. Bounced to another classroom

5. In-Person parent conference

6. Administrative office referral

Tehcnology:

• No phones, earbuds, or smart watches

• Students will be expected to place all their electronic devices in the “cell phone bags” provided by the county ($30 if lost/misplaced)

• If a phone or electronic device is seen, it will be confiscated and turned into the front office with an administrative office referral

What will you learn this year?  Look below to find out!

Unit Overviews:

Foundational Skills

This unit will introduce students to foundational skills that they will use during this course: including analyzing primary and secondary sources, timelines and maps; evaluating sources for bias; and understanding the regional characteristics of North Carolina and the United States.

Settlement to Colonies

This unit focuses on successful and unsuccessful attempts to settle North America by Europeans, the establishment of the British colonies and impacts of these attempts on the world.

Road to Revolution

This unit focuses on the American colonists’ conflicts with England which led to the Revolutionary War and the impact of the war on the development of the United States. 

Forming the Nation

This unit examines the founding documents and  formation of the governmental structure of the United States. Students evaluate how democratic ideals, conflict, citizen action, and negotiation shaped the formation of the government of the United States and NC, including the Constitution and the powers of the three branches.

Affirming the Nation

This unit will examine ways that the validity and strength of the newly created United States of America was tested by both foreign entities as well as from within.  Many precedents were set during this period that would define the scope of  federal power afforded by the Constitution.

Physical Expansion

This unit will analyze and evaluate reasons for American Expansion to the West, ways in which new land was obtained by the United States, and the impact of Westward Expansion on the government, economy,  physical geography, human geography, and interactions between groups of people.

Civil War & Reconstruction

This unit will analyze sectionalism in the United States, causes of the Civil War, turning points of the Civil War,  and the political, social and economic impacts of the Civil War and Reconstruction as the nation worked to rebuild in the years that followed.  

Industrialism & Its Impact

Students will evaluate the rise of Industrialism in the United States and its impact on the  physical and human geography of the United States as well as the impacts on the government, economy, and people. 

Progressivism

In this unit, students will analyze the reasons for and the many ways in which Americans sought to improve economic, political, and societal conditions for themselves and others and the changes that were made as a result. 

Modern Wars and Foreign Affairs

This unit will examine America's stance on foreign policy and  interaction with other nations, as well as evaluate the impact of American involvement on major world conflicts on their resolutions, and the impact on the American government, economy and people.