Social Studies

Unit Rationale: The Thinking Like a Historian unit allows seventh-grade students to reflect on the concepts that they learned in sixth-grade and prepare to learn more about world history through the modern era. Students will review primary and secondary sources, geographic knowledge, timelines and the importance of studying history. These skills will prepare them for the remainder of the course while also providing an opportunity to remediate and enrich prior skills. 

Unit Rationale: The Age of Exploration and Global Exchange unit allows students to contextualize the historic importance of the Age of Exploration and its impacts on globalization. Students will understand how overseas exploration emerged, and how this exchange of culture and competition for resources influenced the development of the modern world. Students will know the main explorers, trade routes and factors motivating exploration. 

Unit Rationale: The Age of Colonization and Global Empires was influenced by the Age of Exploration. Imperialism encouraged global empires to emerge. This unit unit explores the impacts that the Columbian Exchange, Atlantic Slave Trade, the Middle Passage and the Dutch East India Company had on the history of the world and emerging world powers. Students will analyze the impacts that colonization had on the colonizing country and the indigenous country, and be able to contextualize the social, economic, military and political conflicts that colonization/imperialism had on the world. 

Unit Rationale: The Age of Revolutions is a time period marked by demonstrations of civil unrest. Following the Age of Enlightenment, citizens in various societies fought for change in government, notably the transition from absolute monarchy to constitutionalist states and republics. From the late 1700s to the mid 1800s, revolutionary movements happened in many parts of Europe and America.

Unit Rationale: The industrial revolution changed the way society and technology interact in the modern age. Daily life changed drastically during this period, and by the end closely resembled daily life now (work week, middle/working classes, urbanization). Science and technology expanded their influence on all people, especially with transportation (steam engine, trains) and communication. The economies of developed nations shifted from an agricultural model to a manufacturing model changing the way we created and distributed goods. 

Unit Rationale: The M.A.I.N. causes of World War I were militarism, alliances, imperialism and nationalism, as well as the immediate cause of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. World War I lasted from 1914-1918, and was between the Allied Powers (the main members were France, Britain and Russia) and the Central Powers (the main members were Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire). The technological advances that occurred during World War I encouraged the development of industrialized warfare, thus changing the way that future wars were fought. The Treaty of Versailles brought an end to the war, placing harsh sanctions on Germany. 

Unit Rationale: The Interwar Period describes the period of time between the end of World War I and the start of World War II (1919-1939). The Treaty of Versailles, the peace treaty that brought World War I to an end, left European countries like Germany economically crippled, and resulted in re-drawn borders and economic depression. This paved the way for dictators to rise in countries like Italy, the Soviet Union, Japan and Germany. Propaganda was commonly used to influence the public. The extremist nature of the political ideologies in Europe would eventually fuel conflict leading to World War II. 

Unit Rationale: This unit emphasizes the origins of World War II, the course of the war, and the impacts of the war on European citizens and society. After the rise of dictators during the Interwar Period, war broke out in part because of a continuation of unsettled disputes following World War I. The main combatants in World War II were the Axis Powers comprising Germany, Italy and Japan, and the Allied Powers mainly comprised the United States, France, Britain and the Soviet Union. 

Unit Rationale: This unit follows the aftermath of World War II, as the United States and USSR emerge as global superpowers with rising tensions due to political differences. Students will understand that the United States made every attempt to combat the spread of communism as its rise was encouraged in Asia (the USSR, China, etc.). The Cold War was characterized by proxy wars that were fought between the United States and the USSR, named a “cold” war because the powers never directly fought each other. Rather, the United States would support countries fighting against communist nations, such as South Vietnam’s war against communist North Vietnam in the Vietnam War and South Korea’s war against communist North Korea in the Korean War. This time period also marked a significant number of new nations, resulting in the migration of various religious groups. 

Unit Rationale: This unit largely focuses on modern day conflicts, many of the conflicts stemming from human rights violations. Students will be familiar with modern-day genocides and refugee crises, the spread of diseases such as AIDS, the impacts of natural disasters on modern societies, and the positive and negative implications of technological advances. Students will also briefly experience a personal finance simulation to understand how personal financial decision-making impacts quality of life.