Grade 8 Social Studies

    Course Introduction

    Welcome to eighth grade U.S. History. This year we will study the issues and turmoil that led to our Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War; how we became a nation under the U.S. Constitution; how we struggled to survive as a country in those early days (War of 1812); our expansion into the western frontier; and finally, what almost tore us apart -- the Civil War and Reconstruction. In ninth grade U.S. History you will pick up from the time of Reconstruction and continue onward into the 21st century.

    Units of Study

    Unit 1
    Democracy: Political System of the People 1763 - 1783
    Unit 2
    Creating a National Political System and Culture 1783 - 1815
    Unit 3
    Expanding Geography Challenges Sectional Economies 1815 - 1850
    Unit 4
    A Nation Divided and Rebuilt 1850 - 1877

    Textbooks

    Three textbooks are used in this class. One will be assigned to keep at home.
    Creating America (McDougal Littel)
    America’s Past and Promise (McDougal Littel)
    A History of US (Oxford University Press)