Welcome to the 8th Grade.  Remember, THE ONLY EASY DAY WAS YESTERDAY.  With a lot of GRIT everyone will be successful.

Supplies Needed
1. Paper
2. Pencils
3. Headphones
4. Binder (does not have to be strictly for just Social Studies)
5. Colored Pencils

8th Grade Social Studies Standards
 
Academic standards, chosen by the Tennessee State Board of Education, provide a common set of expectations for what students should know and be able to do at the end of a specific grade or course.  Local school districts determine the order in which these state-mandated standards are addressed in their schools.  For a breakdown of standard pacing and course objectives for 8th grade Social Studies students in the Clarksville Montgomery County School System, please visit the Academic Resources link under the Students & Parents tab on the CMCSS homepage.
 
It is the policy of the Clarksville Montgomery County School System to follow the dictates of state statues in the selection and use of all instructional materials.  Parents or legal guardians may request to review any instructional materials used in the classroom of the parent or legal guardian’s child following the guideline set forth in Instructional Policy INS-A073 found at: https://portal.cmcss.net/iso.aspx?doc=INS-A073.pdf
 
The chart below outlines the units of study for 8th grade Social Studies and possible major assignments or field trips that could be used to enhance student learning or solidify mastery of standards in each unit.  This chart is not inclusive of every assignment for 8th grade Social Studies, as additional or different assignments may be created based on the needs of students.  Specific details for major assignments will be shared with students and parents or legal guardians as the standards related to the assignments are addressed in class.
 

 
Unit

 
Topic

Areas of Focus and Possible Major Assignments

Possible Field Trips

1

Colonization

Diagram push and pull factors of English colonization
Compare motives for founding of colonies
Analyze Jamestown location, hardships, accomplishments – rise of plantation economy
Rise of representative government – House of Burgesses, Bacon’s Rebellion
Origins of American slavery
Religious Reasons for Founding Colonies:  Plymouth, Mass Bay, Pennsylvania
Map colonies major geographic features and tie to development of economy and culture
Identify major figures in colonial history and their significance
Trace Dutch influence in Hudson Valley and the rise of New York
Carolina colonies – tobacco, rice, indigo – recognize Tidewater influence
Founding of Georgia – motive as a buffer colony and haven for debtors
Trace the extent of French occupation of Canada and move into the Ohio Valley
Identify impact of European colonization on American Indians
Explain the Navigation acts and mercantilism
Compare the New England, Middle, and Southern Colonies
Close reading on the geography of the colonies; foundational documents like the Mayflower Compact
Map Triangular Trade
Close reading on Middle Passage or African experiences as slaves (Equiano)
Text dependent writing assignments on various topics

2

The American Revolution

Compare French and British colonization in the New World
Analyze effect of salutary neglect policies and enforcement of mercantilism
List accomplishments of Benjamin Franklin
Analyze first political cartoon – Albany Union
Close reading – Zenger Trial
Graphic organizer Causes of French and Indian War and Effects of French and Indian War
Trace events in early TN history – important figures and effect of Am Rev
Sequence Events in the Pre-Revolutionary Period
Close reading and analysis of Declaration of Independence
Close reading of Common Sense excerpts and The Crisis
Close reading of Speech to VA Convention – Patrick Henry
Graphic organizer of factors leading to Am victory (including major battles)
Outcomes of Treaty of Paris 1783
Text dependent writing assignments on various topics

Fort Defiance

3

The New Nation

Trace origins – Magna Carta, Locke, Montesquieu
List features and weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation
Analyze impact of the Land Ordinance and Northwest Ordinance
Identify important figures and their roles at Constitutional Convention
Graphic organizers – types of powers – delegated, shared, reserved, implied
Identify and explain major compromises and their impact – Great Compromise, 3/5 Compromise, Slave Trade Compromise
Compare views of Federalists and Anti-Federalists
Close reading of excerpts from the Federalist Papers
Analyze the Preamble (recommended students memorize)
Analyze the principles of the Constitution
Diagram checks and balances
Construct scenarios of checks and balances
List the rights and protections in the Bill of Rights
Identify Washington’s goals as President, his cabinet members, and problems he faced and resolved
Categorize and analyze the parts of Hamilton’s Financial Plan
Compare views of Hamilton and Jefferson that led to first political parties
Identify outcomes of the Election of 1796 and problems facing John Adams
Impact of Napoleonic Wars on the U.S.
Close reading Farewell Address excerpt
Text dependent writing assignments on various topics
Analyze the statehood of Tennessee (and first constitution)

4

Growth of a Young Nation

Close reading of excerpts from Cooper, Irving
Identify leaders and events in early TN history
Analyze important Supreme Court cases – Marbury v. Madison, etc.
Map and analyze impact of the Louisiana Purchase
Trace the route and impact of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
Close reading – journal excerpts Lewis and Clark
Text dependent writing assignments on various topics
Graphic organizer – causes and effects of the War of 1812
Close reading excerpt from the Monroe Doctrine
Map expansion of the U.S. to include treaties and purchases
Text dependent writing assignments on various topics

5

The Jacksonian Era

Analyze key Supreme Court decisions (reading excerpts): Gibbons v. Ogden, McCulloch v. Maryland, Worcester v. Georgia
Examine the elections of 1824 and 1828
Explain the importance of Jackson’s actions on the Bank of the U.S. and the Nullification Crisis
Describe and map out the Indian Removal Act and the Trail of Tears
Close reading of excerpt from Jackson’s Indian Removal Speech
Write narrative piece on Trail of Tears
Reading excerpts and analyzing the 1832 Tennessee State Constitution

6

Sectionalism and Reform

Map transportation in early U.S. – canals, early railroads, roads
Push and pull factors for immigration Irish and German)
List important reformers of the period
Close reading excerpts from literature, suffrage movement, reform movements
Southern geography and impact on culture
Describe the importance of the cotton gin and the agrarian economy of the South
List ways in which slaves adapted to and resisted slavery prior to the Civil War (including Nat Turner’s revolt)
Analyze various components of the Industrial Revolution: interchangeable parts, trade unions, textile industry, Lowell System and how this affected Northern industry
Close readings on the Second Great Awakening and its impact on reform
Close readings and biographical analysis on women’s suffrage movement: Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Stanton, Sojourner Truth
Analyze the importance of abolitionists (Garrison, Douglass, Tubman)
 

7

Expansion and Division of the Nation

Review Northwest Ordinance and trace events affecting slavery – MO
Trace Texas Independence and Mexican War events and impact
List accomplishments of James K. Polk
Close reading – Manifest Destiny
Trace routes of Fremont, Oregon Trail, and other western routes
Sequence events in U.S. expansion including Gold Rush, Oregon Trail, Mormons
List parts of Compromise of 1850 – analyze impact of Fugitive Slave Law
Close reading excerpt Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Analyze reasons for and impact of Kansas-Nebraska Act
Analyze newspaper story and cartoons of Crime Against Kansas Speech
Close reading excerpt from Dred Scott Decision
Identify important points of the Lincoln-Douglas Debates
Review visuals and documentary excerpts about conditions for slaves in the South prior to the Civil War
Text dependent writing assignments on various topics

8

Civil War

Map southern and northern states on eve of Civil War
Compare cultural, economic characteristics of the two sections
List candidates and explain the outcome of the Election of 1860
Analyze division of TN over the issue of war, secession, slavery
Identify key Confederate leaders
Close reading of excerpts about soldier hardships
Compare advantages/disadvantages of the North and South in the war
Track the major battles – places, impact
Analyze the role of the border states
Close reading of excerpt from Emancipation Proclamation
Describe African American involvement in the Army (54th Mass. Regiment and 13th Colored Troops)
Analyze impact of Lincoln’s assassination
Text dependent writing assignments on various topics

Fort Donelson

9

Reconstruction

Identify and analyze impact of the 13th, 14th, 15th amendments
List problems faced by Andrew Johnson
Compare Lincoln’s 10% Plan with the Radical Reconstruction plan
Analyze impact of Black Codes, Freedmen’s Bureau, and disfranchisement methods
Video clips on KKK, Carpetbaggers, conditions for freedmen
Reconstruction issues in TN (know Governor William Brownlow)
Analyze impact of the disputed election of 1876 and the Compromise of 1877
Trace routes and settlements of Exodusters and First Great Migration (beginning)
Explain sharecropping and “New South” economy changes
Text dependent writing assignments on various topics