Middle School Curriculum

Course Overview: All students will acquire the knowledge and skills to think analytically and systematically about how past interactions of people, cultures, and the environment affect issues across time and cultures. Such knowledge and skills enable students to make informed decisions as socially and ethically responsible world citizens in the 21^st century. Throughout this course, students will learn to assess the reliability and importance of sources, events, and people. This course will also focus on critical reading, writing, and note-taking strategies. The areas of study will include The Paleolithic and Neolithic Eras, Ancient River Valley Civilizations, and the Classical Civilizations.

Concepts Addressed

• Prehistory (Stone Age Cultures)
• River Valley Civilizations (Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, China)
• Judaism
• Classical Civilizations (Greece- Rome)

Course Overview: The 7^th grade history program is designed to bridge the “historical gaps” between World History 6 and United States History 8. The first marking period of this course is a continuation of the 6^th grade World History curriculum with an added focus on the growth of civilizations in Asia and Africa. This semester will focus on the concepts of cultural diffusion, the growth of civilizations, identifying misconceptions, the relationships between humans and the environment and proto economic systems. The second marking period of this course is an introduction to civics and United States government. 7^th Grade Civics is designed to analyze the factors which led to the creation of the US Government as we know it today. This section also examines the rights and responsibilities of US citizens with a particular focus on the rights of minors. The repeat periods of both semesters will focus on current events. Current events will be covered in a way that focuses on nonfiction texts and the skills which correlate. Particularly students will read closely and cite text, analyze how ideas develop and interact, interpret words and phrases, assess how points of view shape a text and analyzing multiple texts to build working knowledge. Materials and overall scope of this unit are aligned to the Amistad Curriculum in accordance with state mandates

Concepts Addressed:

Quarter 1

• West Africa
• Japan/ China
• Early/ Late Middle Ages

Quarter 2

• Civics/ Citizenship
• Constitution/ Bill of Rights
• Current Events

Course Overview: Students will be studying American history from the First Global Age (1490) through Reconstruction (1877). The goal of this course is to introduce the concepts, materials, and tools employed in the discipline of history through the refinement of critical reading, writing, and note-taking strategies. Each unit of study requires students to examine the individuals, concepts, achievements, and cause- effect relationships that have guided America’s ascent from colonial possession to global superpower. Materials and overall scope of this course are aligned to the Amistad Curriculum in accordance with state mandates. Concepts Addressed:

• Exploration/ Colonization
• Colonial America- American Revolution
• Early Republic
• Industrialization- Jacksonian Democracy
• Western Expansion- Civil War Causes
• Civil War- Reconstruction