8th Grade U.S History

Year-Long Compelling Question: Has the meaning of freedom changed over time?

As Michigan students study United States History and Geography, they will learn about the American experience over time and space. They will encounter powerful and sometimes conflicting ideas while learning about people and events in different places and times. They will investigate our diverse and common traditions, and work to understand the complex interactions among various environmental, human, and social forces that have influenced and continues to influence America and Americans. Studying United States History and Geography connects us to people and events across time and space, illuminating the range and depth of human experience on grand as well as local scales. It involves an analytical study of the nation’s political ideals, or times and places where people or events challenged, violated, or expanded those ideas.

Eighth grade students continue their study of United States History from the writing of the Constitution through Reconstruction. Geographic, civics/government, and economics content is integrated within the historical context. Using significant content knowledge, research, and inquiry, the students analyze an issue and propose a plan for civic action. They develop reasoned arguments and write a persuasive civic essay addressing issues from the past within a historical context. Where appropriate, they make comparisons to relevant contemporary issues.

About the Curriculum

The 8th Grade U.S. History curriculum enables teachers to:

• Concentrate on the craft of teaching, including customizing materials for student needs, instead of searching for resources and designing curriculum;
• Embed explicit reading and writing strategies in an inquiry-oriented course that prepares students for the demands of college-level study in the social sciences;
• Shift the teaching of U.S. History survey course from presentational to inquiry mode, so that students perceive history not as a story to be memorized, but as events to be interpreted using documentary evidence;
• Engage and motivate students by exploring genuine, challenging historical questions (that U.S. historians still grapple with);
• Complicate conventional stories and take a clear-eyed look at injustice, social conflict, and change so that students can better understand their present world, how it got that way, and what might be done to influence its trajectory.

Pacing Calendar