Pittsford Central Schools

GRADE: 8

The eight grade curriculum includes a study of United States history form the Pre-Civil War era to the present, with and emphasis on the social history and development of contemporary America.

ECONOMICS:

Capitalism Pools Socialism
Rebates Communism Prosperity
Imperialism Inflation Deficit spending
Recession Depression Recovery
Stock market Stocks Bonds
Monopolies Trusts Laissez-faire
Trade Consolidation Tariffs
  • Installment buying and credit
  • Factors of industrialization
  • War-time economics
  • Supply and demand
  • Scarcity and surplus
  • Agriculture vs. manufacturing
  • Economic reforms (new Deal and Progressive Era)

CIVICS:

  • Impeachment process
  • Role of political parties
  • Constitutional amendments - related to Reconstruction, Progressive era and Civil rights
  • State’s rights
  • Evolving role of the President
  • Evolving role of the government in business
  • Evolving role of the government in people’s lives
  • Women’s suffrage
  • Political systems (capitalism, socialism, communism, dictatorship, totalitarian state)
  • Landmark Supreme Court cases
  • Roles of dissidents
  • United Nations

GEOGRAPHY:

  • United States — boundaries, bodies of water, physical features, 50 states
  • Countries and bodies of water (relevant to US history, 1865 – present):
  • Western and Eastern Europe
  • Central America
  • Caribbean
  • Pacific Rim
  • Use maps to demonstrate an understanding of the following:
  • Territorial expansion of the United States
  • United States Civil War
  • Settlement of western territories
  • United States Imperialism, 1867-1914
  • World War I, World War II, Cold War

AMERICAN HISTORY

Civil War

  • Causes - underlying and immediate
  • War
  • Strategies
  • Advantages
  • Battles
  • Effects - social, political and economic
  • Reconstruction
  • Social, political and economic changes

United States - 1865-1914

  • Western Settlement
  • Transportation
  • Occupations and lifestyles
  • Native American culture and conflicts
  • Industrialization
  • Growth of big business
  • Economics
  • Technology and Inventions
  • Captains of Industry
  • Labor issues
  • Immigration and Growth of Cities
  • Reasons for immigration
  • US immigration policies
  • America’s response to immigrants
  • Contributions of immigrants
  • Urban growth and problems
  • Progressive Era
  • Social, political and economic reforms
  • Methods of reform
  • Successes and failures of progressives
  • Government regulation
  • Imperialism
  • Territorial acquisitions
  • Foreign Policy
  • Spanish-American War
  • Effects - social, political and economic
  • Geography

United States - 1914-1945

  • World War I
  • Causes - underlying and immediate
  • Methods of warfare
  • Russian Revolution
  • League of Nations
  • Results
  • Roaring Twenties
  • Economy - prosperity
  • Foreign policy - isolation
  • Social changes and issues
  • Great Depression
  • Causes - underlying and immediate
  • Effects - social, political and economic
  • New Deal
  • Global impact
  • World War II
  • Causes - underlying and immediate
  • Political comparisons
  • Strategies and battles
  • Methods of warfare
  • Home front
  • Results

United States - 1945-1980

  • Cold War
  • Rise of superpowers
  • Communism v. Democracy
  • Domino theory
  • Cold war conflicts - Korea, Vietnam
  • Nuclear threat
  • Events leading to end of Cold War

1950s

  • Post-war domestic changes
  • Economics
  • Changing lifestyles

1960s

  • Civil Rights Movement
  • Political Unrest
  • Changing lifestyles

1970s

  • Energy crisis
  • Political issues - Watergate
  • Arab-Israeli conflict

SKILLS:

  • Read and interpret thematic maps
  • Create graphs and tables
  • Read and interpret historical documents
  • Interpret political cartoons
  • Effectively communicate in written form short answer responses
  • Using the writing process, compose an expository essay
  • Using multiple resources, gather information relevant to a research topic
  • Identify pertinent information in a reading
  • Understand and identify historical cause and effect relationships

Library Component:

  • Evaluate different types of sources in the library using self and teacher generated criteria.
  • Prepare a proper formal bibliography
 

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archived project by Peter Pappas 
Former Social Studies Coordinator Pittsford Central Schools

 Peter Pappas 

Twitter: edteck
Blog: www.peterpappas.com 

Copyright © 1999-2014, Peter Pappas

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