8th Grade Social Studies Common Syllabus
Northwood Middle School
2025-2026
Contact Information:
Team 8.1:
Joe McCall
jmccall@greenville.k12.sc.us
355-7054
Team 8.2:
Rebekah Carnahan
rcarnahan@greenville.k12.sc.us
355-7055
Team 8.3:
Becky Pope
bpope@greenville.k12.sc.us
355-7047
Course Description:
Students will study the history of South Carolina within the context of United States History in grade eight. Instruction should utilize inquiry, historical thinking skills, and themes as outlined in the 2020 South Carolina Social Studies College and Career Ready Standards for grade eight. The historical thinking skills are aligned to the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate and will continue to build the world-class knowledge and skills necessary to prepare students for college and careers. The themes allow for connections to be made between content when taught chronologically. Students are expected to learn through inquiry and project-based learning.
Materials and Supplies
Loose-leaf paper (please replenish throughout the year)
I-inch 3-ring binder
Pencils/pens
Colored pencils
highlighters
wired headphones (no Bluetooth)
Units of Study
Unit 1:
Settlement
Unit 2:
Colonial Development
Unit 3:
Revolution
Unit 4:
Foundation
Unit 5:
Compromise
Unit 6:
Conflict
Unit 7:
Reconstruction
Unit 8:
Progressivism and WWI
Unit 9:
Economics and Global Politics
Unit 10:
Progress
Historical Thinking Skills
CO: Comparison- Utilize multiple characteristics of historical developments to create a comparative analysis.
CE: Causation- Identify and compare significant turning points, including the related causes and effects that affect historical continuity and change.
P: Periodization- Utilize significant turning points to justify the historical narrative of a time period.
CX: Context- Explain how historical themes are used to determine context when analyzing significant events.
CC: Continuities and Changes- Analyze significant turning points and theme-based patterns of continuities and changes within a period of time.
E: Evidence- Identify,
interpret, and utilize different forms of evidence, including primary and secondary sources, used in an inquiry-based study of history.
Tentative Course Guide found on Page 5
Course Evaluation:
50%- Major
50%- Minor
Students' progress will be assessed every quarter based on two major areas. They are as follows:
Minor:
Daily lessons, quizzes, Ed Puzzles, short-writing assignments, short reads, rough drafts, and online interactive assignments.
Major:
Unit Projects will be assigned after every Unit of Study. Each quarter will have three Unit Projects, tests, extended-writing assignments, selected-book reads, and oneline interactive assignments.
Grading Scale
The following scale is used to assign grades:
A 90-100
B 80 – 89
C 70 – 79
D 60 – 69
F 50 - 59
NHI Make Up Policy
If absent, students will have five-school days to make up any NHIs. Students should check the Social Studies online calendar to verify any dates.
Procedures for Make-Up Work
All students with excused absences may make up work. It is the student’s responsibility to arrange with his/her teacher(s) a method of making up missed school work. The work should be made up within five (5) days after the student returns to school. If a test or other project has been previously announced before the student’s absence, the student should be prepared to complete the assignment on his/her return to school. When a student is absent, it is his/her responsibility to get the assignment from me at the end of class.
Discipline Plan
Rules for student behavior and violation consequences are located in the student’s agenda on pp. 9 - 14 (NMS website) On the first day of attendance, teachers went over the rules of student behavior and violation consequences with students at that time.
If a student chooses to break rules, the following consequences will be imposed:
1. Warning - speak with student (First Nine Weeks Only)
2. Warn Student and Parent Contact (Letter, Phone Call, or E-Mail)
3. Lunch Detention
4. Referral to Administrator and every time after 4.
SEVERE CLAUSE : Severe disruptions or violations will be referred immediately to an administrator.
Included in this discipline plan are ways to positively reinforce students who behave appropriately. In addition to using frequent praise, I will reward students with written notes, positive phone calls home, and/or special rewards/privileges.
Procedures for non-instructional routines:
Assemblies : Students will line up, exit the classroom, and walk to the appropriate location. During assemblies, students will sit as a class. Appropriate behavior is expected and enforced.
Class Change: Students have four minutes between each class. Students are expected to take care of bathroom breaks at this time. Teachers stand at their doors during class change to monitor student behavior. My students will line up in the hallway outside of my class and wait until I allow them to enter.
Daily Assignments: Assignments are posted daily for students to copy in their notebook. It is the responsibility of the student to copy posted assignments and announcements.
Dismissal: At the appropriate time, the teacher (not the bell) will dismiss students to go to their next class.
Emergency Procedures: Routine drills are conducted at specified intervals for fire, bomb, tornado, earthquakes, and bus evacuations. Evacuation routes are posted in each room and reviewed regularly. Lockdown and shelter-in-place procedures have been developed and are initiated by a code sentence over the intercom. Students practice these procedures periodically throughout the school year. During each drill, the teacher must account for all students and complete a People Locator sheet that is given to an administrator.
Homeroom : Announcements and any school business will take place in homeroom.
ID Badges: For safety reasons ID badges must be worn by all students, faculty and staff. At the beginning of the school year, students were given a picture ID badge. If a student does not have his/her ID badge at school, the homeroom teacher will send the student to the library at which time he/she will be given a temporary ID. The student will also be assigned lunch detention for the day.
Lockers: Students are assigned lockers; however, the purpose of the locker is to store phones, book bags, jackets and books.
Communication:
In order to have a successful year, there must be an open line of communication between the teacher and the parents. Several tools are used to communicate effectively with parents:
Conferences: Conferences are set up through guidance at the request of the teachers and/or the parents.
Course Syllabus: This explains the classroom rules and consequences, as well as provides parents and students with a course description, state standards, and the timeline for covering information.
E-Mail: Parents and students are encouraged to email comments, concerns, and questions to their social studies teacher. All contact information is at the top of this syllabus.
Phone Calls : If needed, I will call parents at home and/or work to discuss a student’s progress. Parents should feel free to contact me with any concern.
Progress Reports/Report Cards : Student grades are sent home regularly by the school to inform the parent of their child’s progress. Dates for progress reports and report cards are in the student agenda. Progress reports and report cards are to be signed by the parent and returned to the student’s homeroom teacher. Deadlines will be set by the teachers as to when these documents must be returned. Consequences will be imposed if students fail to meet the deadline.
Web Page: Parents and students are encouraged to use my web page.
Weekly Planners:
The weekly planner is available on your Social Studies teacher’s website and is updated every Monday morning.
Tentative Course Guideline
Quarter 1:
Unit 1: Settlement
Week 1: Procedures and expectations
Week 2: Native Americans of South Carolina
Week 3: Colonial Regions
Unit 1 Project
Unit 2: Colonial Development
Week 4: Economic structure of Carolina Colony
Week 5: Social Structure of Carolina
Week 6: Political Structure of Carolina
Unit 2 Project
Unit 3: Revolution
Week 7: Events leading to the Revolution
Week 8: Colonist Reactions
Unit 3 Writing Assessment
Quarter 2:
Unit 3: Revolution
Week 1: Events of the Revolution
Week 2: Effect of the Revolution
Unit 3 Project
Unit 4: Foundations
Week 3: Article of Confederation and its weaknesses
Week 4: Building of the Constitution
Unit 4 Project
Unit 5 Compromise
Week 5: King Cotton
Week 6: Compromises
Unit 5 Project
Quarter 3:
Unit 6: Conflict
Week 1: Goal of the Civil War
Week 2: Battles of the Civil War
Unit 6 Project
Unit 7: Reconstruction
Week 3: Reconstruction in SC
Week 4: End of Reconstruction
Unit 7 Project
Unit 8 Progressivism
Week 5: Sharecropping and Textile Mills
Week 6: The Progressive Era
Unit 8 Project
Quarter 4:
Unit 9: Economics and Global Conflict
Week 1: WWI
Week 2: Great Depression in SC and the New Deal
Week 3: WWII @ Home
Unit 9 Project
Unit 10: Progress
Week 4: Economic Impact of WWII on SC
Week 5: Civil Rights in SC
Week 6: Shifts in Political Parties
Week 9: Civil Engagement
Unit 10 Project
Vetted Book List:
What Is the Declaration of Independence?
by Michael C. Harris
What Was the Boston Tea Party?
by Kathleen Krull
What were the Roaring Twenties?
by Michele Mortlock
Textile Town
Spartanburg County, South Carolina
by the Hub City Writers Project, Betsy Wakefield Teter, editor