Building on the social studies skills developed in the elementary grades, students in the middle school years begin with a study of people, cultures, and ideas in the Western Hemisphere and move from there to explorations of the Eastern Hemisphere, ending with the early history of the United States. In each grade, students investigate historical events, examine geographic features and resources, consider economic decision-making processes, and understand types of governments and civic responsibility.
History: Locate and evaluate multiple historical sources with different points of view to investigate a historical question and to formulate and defend an argument; examine the historical eras, individuals, groups, ideas and themes in regions of the Eastern Hemisphere and their relationships with one another.
Geography: Use different types of geographic tools such as maps, globes, diagrams, charts, and geographic data and technologies to make inferences and predictions about the differing perspectives and issues within regions in the Eastern Hemisphere.
Economics: Explain how economic systems address the problems of scarcity. Personal Financial Literacy: Investigate the role of consumers within the Eastern Hemisphere.
Civics: Analyze the relationships of different nations in the Eastern Hemisphere and their systems of government.