8th Grade United States History Curriculum guide

Units and approximate time / Content Topics
Unit I: the Great Convergence
4-5 weeks / The First Americans
-The earliest peoples in America
- Cities and Empires
*Aztecs
*Incas
* Mayas
-North American Cultural
-Regions
Geography of the America
-Geographic Regions
-Climatic Regions
-Geography Tools
*maps
*globes
*projections
*charts
*graphs
-Five Themes of Geography
Europeans Explore the Americas
-A Changing World
*Crusades
*Renaissance
*Reformation
-Early Exploration
-Spain in America
-Columbus
-Conquistadors
-Columbian Exchange
-Exploring North America
Unit II: Colonial America
4-5 Weeks / Colonial American
-Early English Settlers
-New England Colonies
-Middle Colonies
-Southern Colonies
-Other European Settlements
Slavery in the Colonies
-Triangular Trade
-Life of the slave
The Colonies Grow
-Life in the colonies
-Government, Religion, and Culture
The French and Indian
-England and France clash in American
Unit III: American Revolution
4-5 weeks / Road to Independence
-Taxation without representation
-Building colonial unity
-Moving toward independence
The Declaration of Independence
The American Revolution
-The early years of war
-The war in the south and west
-Winning the war
Unit IV: Civics and Constitution
4-5 weeks / A “More Perfect” Union
-The Articles of Confederation
-Constitutional Compromise and multiple compromises
-Writing the Constitution
-Ratifying the Constitution
The Constitution of the United States
-Goals of the Constitution
-Underlying democratic principles
-Types of power
The Federal Government
-The Legislative Branch
-The Executive Branch
-The Judicial Branch
-Balance of Power
The Bill of Rights
Rights and Responsibilities of citizens
Unit V: Federal Period
3-4 weeks / The New Nation
-The first presidents
-The first political parties
The Jefferson Era
-Louisiana Purchase
-Lewis and Clark
-Economic challenges
-War of 1812
Growth and Expansion
-Economic Growth
-Moving to the west
-Unity and sectionalism
-The Monroe Doctrine
The Jackson Era
- Jacksonian democracy
- Indian removal
-Conflicts over tariffs and banks
Unit VI: Westward Expansion
3-4 weeks / Physical Geography of the West
-Physical
-Political
Manifest Destiny
-The OregonTerritory
-Oregon Trail
-TexasIndependence
-Texan annexation
-Mexican American War
-California and the gold rush
Unit VII: Sectionalism, Civil War, and Reconstruction
6-7 weeks / Sectionalism
-people from the North
-economy of the North
-people of the South
-economy of the South
Age of Reform
-Education and mental illness
-Abolitionism
-Woman’s rights
Causes of the Civil War
-Slavery in the west
-Challenges to slavery
-Election of 1860 and succession
The Civil War
-The armed forces of the North and South
-Battles and campaigns of the war
-The role of African-Americans and emancipation
-Life on the home front
-Victory for the North
Reconstruction
-Lincoln’s plan and assassination
-Congressional reconstruction
-The South during reconstruction
-Reconstruction ends