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
- States rights
- Evolving role of the President
- Evolving role of the government in business
- Evolving role of the government in peoples lives
- Womens 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
- Americas 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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