7th Grade World History
Seventh grade social studies classes are heterogeneously grouped, and teachers use a multi-disciplinary approach. Students study history, geography, economics, religions, and citizenship of the Eastern Hemisphere including Africa and Asia following state standards. The major emphasis of study is promotion of geographic literacy. The five themes of geography (location, place, human, environment and regions) are emphasized. Connections are made between the physical environment and human civilizations. Historical and modern regional studies of civilizations include how and why people migrated to different locations, and how the people in these places survived and advanced with the available resources of their region.
8th Grade US History
United States History 8 course objectives include developing a respect and understanding of the American way of life that has developed from the blending of many types of people from various parts of the world into a unified heritage with freedom as its core value. The study of U.S. history is designed to create active citizens who participate in our democratic society and use the study of the past to solve present day problems intelligently. The course begins with a reflection on the impacts of exploration, moves into the colonial period, the Revolution, the writing of the Constitution, the Jacksonian Era, expansion westward and Manifest Destiny, the impact of the Industrial Revolution, the spread of and debate over slavery, the Civil War, and Reconstruction.. Students will cover in-depth the last one hundred years of American history in high school. Since students were last exposed to a study of Indiana history in the fourth grade, every attempt is made during the year to infuse information about our own state and locality when appropriate. Elections units are taught every 4 years. Students also are introduced to the foundational skills and methods used to study history, including note-taking, reading and analyzing maps, active reading of historical documents, identifying and organizing main ideas, creating outlines, writing coherent paragraphs, and creating presentations.
US History 8 Honors
United States History 8 Honors covers the same material as the 8th grade U.S. history class more rigorously, and requires students to learn more content independently, to have a strong motivation to study history, and to have demonstrated a high level of critical thinking ability. It is recommended that students enrolling in this course be reading and writing at or above grade level based upon scores on standardized assessments from the previous year. Students should anticipate a significant amount of work outside of class including regular reading and writing assignments as well as three independent research projects outlined at the beginning of the course. Course objectives include developing a respect and understanding of the American way of life that has developed from the blending of many types of people from various parts of the world into a unified heritage with freedom as its core value. The study of U.S. history is designed to create active citizens who participate in our democratic society and use the study of the past to solve present day problems intelligently. The course begins with a reflection on the impacts of exploration, moves into the colonial period, the Revolution, the writing of the Constitution, the Jacksonian Era, expansion westward and Manifest Destiny, the impact of the Industrial Revolution, the spread of and debate over slavery, the Civil War, and Reconstruction. Students will cover in-depth the last one hundred years of American history in high school. Since students were last exposed to a study of Indiana history in the fourth grade, every attempt is made during the year to infuse information about our own state and locality when appropriate. Elections units are taught every 4 years. Students also are introduced to the foundational skills and methods used to study history, including note-taking, reading and analyzing maps, active reading of historical documents, identifying and organizing main ideas, creating outlines, writing coherent paragraphs, and creating presentations.