U.S. History
8th-Grade
This class is centered on the birth and development of America as a nation through a focus on geography, government, the military, foreign affairs, the economy, and the groups and individuals who helped to form this new nation. The class will begin with Colonial America and the events that lead to revolution and eventual independence from England. Students will examine the United States Constitution and the political debates, as well as the Westward Expansion and the effects it had on Native American populations. We will examine the causes of the American Civil War and the issues surrounding American Reconstruction. In the third trimester, we will work to understand the social and economic factors behind American Industrialization and the major concepts of a democratic government. Assignments in this class will be based on the History-Social Science Content Standards.Â
Course Overview: 8th-Grade U.S. History
Trimester I
Unit 1: European Expansion & Colonization
Chapters
1 - The First Americans
2 - European Exploration and Settlement
3 - The English Colonies in North America
Unit 2: Declaring Independence
Chapters
4 - Life in the Colonies
5 - Toward Independence
6 - The Declaration of Independence
7 - The American Revolution
Projects
Town Hall Debate: Loyalists vs. Patriots vs. Neutralists
Revolutionary War Timeline Project
Trimester II
Unit 3: Creating the Constitution
Chapters
8 - Creating the Constitution
9 - The Constitution: A More Perfect Union
10 - The Bill of Rights
Projects
U.S. Citizenship Mock Exam
Supreme Court Cases Project
Bill of Rights Debate
Unit 4: The Early Republic
Chapters
11 - Political Developments in the Early Republic
12 - Foreign Affairs in the Young Nation
13 - A Growing Sense of Nationhood
14 - Andrew Jackson and the Growth of American Democracy
Projects
Heroes and Villians in American History
Socratic Seminar: US Foreign Policy
Trimester III
Unit 5: Westward Expansion & Sectionalism
Chapters
15 - Manifest Destiny and the Growing Nation
16 - Life in the West
17 - Mexicano Contributions to the Southwest
18 - An Era of Reform
19 - The Worlds of North and South
20 - African Americans in the Mid-1800s
Projects
Manifest Destiny Commercials
John Brown Trial Analysis
Unit 6: Civil War & Reconstruction
Chapters
21 - A Dividing Nation
22 - The Civil War
23 - The Reconstruction Era
24 - Tensions in the West
25 - The Rise of Industry
Projects
Freedoms Journal
Personal Interview Project
Click here for information about the 8th-grade trip to our nation's capital!