History Department

  • 8th Grade

    United States History & Geography: Growth and Conflict

    The 8th grade curriculum is a survey of early American history beginning with the exploration and colonization of our continent and progressing through the westward expansion of our country to the Civil War and on to the Industrial Revolution at the turn of the 20th century. Students will engage in reading and writing activities, role play, speeches, view documentaries and feature films, participate in online activities, and produce visual art projects.

    Faculty
    Mr. Ian Rowe (Onyx Core)
    Phone: (310)393-9227 Ext. 73503
    Email: irowe@smmusd.org

    California History—Social Science Standards

    • 8.1 Students understand the major events preceding the founding of the nation and relate their significance to the development of American constitutional democracy.
    • 8.2 Students analyze the political principles underlying the U.S. Constitution and compare the enumerated and implied powers of the federal government.
    • 8.3 Students understand the foundation of the American political system and the ways in which citizens participate in
    • 8.4 Students analyze the aspirations and ideals of the people of the new nation.
    • 8.5 Students analyze U.S. foreign policy in the early Republic.
    • 8.6 Students analyze the divergent paths of the American people from 1800 to the mid-1800s and the challenges they faced, with emphasis on the Northeast.
    • 8.7 Students analyze the divergent paths of the American people in the South from 1800 to the mid-1800s and the challenges they faced.
    • 8.8 Students analyze the divergent paths of the American people in the West from 1800 to the mid-1800s and the challenges they faced.
    • 8.9 Students analyze the early and steady attempts to abolish slavery and to realize the ideals of the Declaration of Independence.
    • 8.10 Students analyze the multiple causes, key events, and complex consequences of the Civil War.
    • 8.11 Students analyze the character and lasting consequences of Reconstruction.
    • 8.12 Students analyze the transformation of the American economy and the changing social and political conditions in the United States in response to the Industrial Revolution.