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Social Studies Lesson Plans - Grades 6 – 8

6th Grade - World History

The Daily Lives of Ancient Egyptians (06 African History SS 06 Whis LPQ1 020)
Students will work in small groups to research one aspect of daily life in ancient Egypt, such as food, housing, and religion.

Olmecs: MesoAmerican Civilizations (06 African History SS 06 WHis LPQ1 032)
The students will analyze evidence to support or refute the hypothesis that people from Africa migrated to Meso America around 1200 B.C

Africa Before European Exploration (06 African History SS 06 WHis LPQ1 025)
Students will learn ways in which the spatial organization of a society changes over time;
understand the environmental consequences of people changing the physical environment in various world locations; use mental maps to organize information about people, places, and environments; identify cause and effect relationships in text.

Great Pharaohs & Queens of Egypt (06 African History SS 06 WHis LPQ1 029)
Students will identify important kings and queens and discuss their major contributions; compare and contrast the major duties and roles of the ancient and present day tribal chiefs; understand and appreciate the long, rich history of cultures and societies.  

Kingdoms of Western Africa (06 African History SS 06 WHis LPQ3 031)
Students will learn about the kingdoms of West Africa (Ghana, Mali, and Songhay) by creating ‘artifacts’ from the kingdoms and making inferences about the finished products.

Greeks and Romans in Africa (SS 06 WHis LPQ3 042)
Students will develop an understanding of how both Greek and Roman civilizations influenced Africa and how the African civilizations influenced Greeks and Romans.

African Languages (SS 06 WGeo LPQ4 036)
To analyze the languages of Africa by exploring their differences and similarities through the use of vocabulary, pronunciations, location, history, and maps.

African Eco-Challenge (SS 06 Geo LPQ4 019)
Students will understand issues confronting continental Africa including desertification and the scarcity of clean water, and examine these issues within the context of Africa's development and the environmental, economic, and personal impact it has upon its citizens. Includes several document analysis activities.

7th Grade - U.S. Civics

Revolution '67, Lesson 1: Protest: Why and How - Students will understand why people protest againstgovernment policies or laws, identify a variety of methods for protest (or peaceful assembly as mentioned in the 1st amendment), begin to analyze the conditions under which people choose to protest.

Revolution '67, Lesson 2: What Happened in July 1967? How Do We Know? - As an extension of Lesson 1 students will identify types of primary sources, analyze primary sources, describe the events referred to as the Newark riots, and begin to uncover the causes for the unrest, all while evaluating the reliability of primary and secondary sources.

Women’s Suffrage: Why the West First? - Students will discuss women’s suffrage and the 19th Amendment in the United States. Students will identify women involved in the Western suffrage movement and research their backgrounds. Students will finally develop an argument, supported by historical evidence, as to whether or not a single theory can explain why the Western states were the first to grant full voting rights to women.

Picturing Freedom: Selma-to-Montgomery March, 1965 - The students will explain the role of photojournalists and media in the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and describe how this photograph captures the spirit of the 1960's civil rights movement.

Slavery: No Freedom, No Rights - The students will examine the history of slavery in the United States. Trace the development and expansion of slavery in the 19th century and learn about the conflicts and compromises that occurred prior to the Civil War and the abolition of slavery.

Civil War & Reconstruction - Students will understand the Civil War and Reconstruction Era brought about the end of slavery and the expansion of civil rights to African Americans through the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments. Compare the Northern and Southern states, discover the concepts of due process and equal protection, and understand how the former Confederate states reacted to the Reconstruction Amendments.

Jim Crow - Students will use primary documents and images to discover the ways state and local governments restricted the newly gained freedoms of African Americans after the Civil War. Compare, contrast, and analyze post-war legislation, court decisions (including Plessy v. Ferguson), and a political cartoon by Thomas Nast to understand life in Jim Crow states.

8th Grade - U.S. History

Africans In America (08 African American History SS 08 AHis LPQ1 023)
Students will analyze the reasons for development of chattel slavery using people from Africa; understand the impact of slavery on development of Americas understand the impact of slavery on people from Africa.

Juneteenth (08 SS LPQ4 103)
Students will describe the origins and significance in history of Juneteenth celebrations. Students will identify customs, celebrations, and traditions from American history that impact us today.

Haitian Connection to Louisiana Purchase (08 African American History SS 08 AHis LPQ3 022)
Students will analyze the events that occurred during the end of the 18th Century and beginning of 19th Century in France, Haiti, and the United States which resulted in the Haitians declaring their independence, France re-evaluating their global strategy, and the United States gaining the Louisiana Territory.

Slave Trade in the U.S. 1789 – 1861 (08 African American History SS 08 AHis LPQ2 024)
Students will analyze the slave trade as part of United States history from the time period 1789 to 1861. They will use primary sources to understand the economic, social, and cultural impact of the slave trade on American history.

Abolitionism in the U.S. (08 African American History  SS 08 AHis LPQ4 039)
Students will analyze the role of abolitionists in the United States from 1789 to 1861. Emphasis will be placed on the use of primary sources to understand abolitionism in America and how it affected our society. This lesson should create an understanding of how abolitionists affected slavery as an institution and in the public opinion of the country as a whole.

Civil War Amendments (08 African American History SS 08 AHis LPQ4 027)
Students will understand the impact and application of the Civil War amendments on American society;
use online references to define vocabulary words and create a document which includes text and visuals arranged in a specific manner; attach meanings of vocabulary words through visuals as well as through context within written articles

African Americans in the Civil War (08 African American History SS 08 AHis LPQ4 030)
Students will learn the major ways that African Americans served in the Civil War; understand the impact of African Americans on the outcome of the Civil War and the changing goals of Reconstruction.

Booker T Washington and W.E.B. DuBois (08 African American History SS 08 AHis LPQ4 038)
Students will compare and contrast the differing positions of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois regarding full citizenship for African Americans. Students will interpret the positions of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois within the context of the late Nineteenth Century.

The Nation of Haiti (SS WGeo LPQ2 038)
Students will understand the political and economic status of Haiti within the Caribbean Basin region; identify the impact of the Haitian Revolution on Haiti’s political, economic and cultural development; identify the push-and-pull factors that influence Haitian migration and immigration patterns; compare and contrast economic and social indicators for five Caribbean countries and the United States.