The eighth grade Honors United States History class is designed to foster development of skills and acquisition of knowledge in a rigorous environment.  Students will be challenged in reading, writing, and higher order thinking skills in order to prepare them for honors classes in high school and eventually college. Students will be asked to analyze political cartoons, paintings, and primary and secondary written documents, assess their relevance, determine their reliability and importance, and arrive at a conclusion based on an informal judgment.  Students will answer TDA and DBQ types of questions in a clear and persuasive essay format that will be used to gauge their acquisition of the information and ability to write about it.  In addition, students will read two historical novels throughout the course of the year.  The honors  course will cover United States history from the Constitution to Reconstruction. Recommendation for placement is based on information that includes formative and summative assessments, district test results, State test results,and student grades.