SEVENTH GRADE U.S. HISTORY
Overview of Course
Seventh Graders spend the year studying U.S. History. Our class is not simply about names and dates, but about the diversity of the United States and the lives of the people living here. Students analyze the historical events that span from the Reconstruction following the Civil War through the present. They examine the nation as it transforms from a nation sworn to isolationism to a world power following the two world wars. Students will study the Reconstruction, Western Movement, the American Industrial Revolution, Inventors and Entrepreneurs of the late 1800's, Overseas Expansion, World War I, the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, World War II, the Cold War, Korean War, Vietnam War, Civil Rights Movement, and the End of the Cold War.
Current Unit of Study: Growth and Change
Seventh Grade will begin the year by adapting to and practicing the Harkness method. Students will spend the fall reading and thinking critically about the growth and change the United States experienced in the late 19th century. Students will discuss how former slaves adapted to their freedom and the discrimination they faced, how the Native Americans and white settlers fought over land and broken treaties, and how immigrants adjusted to life in the United States. In addition, they will examine the effects of a shift from and agrarian to an industrial country.
Seventh graders will engage in Harkness discussions regularly throughout the week. Students will have a chance to read, write, reflect, and discuss in pairs and as a whole group about U.S. History, beginning with the Reconstruction Period.
Seventh graders will engage in Harkness discussions regularly throughout the week. Students will have a chance to read, write, reflect, and discuss in pairs and as a whole group about U.S. History, beginning with the Reconstruction Period.
U.S. Geography
Seventh Graders will spend the year reinforcing their U.S. geography. Knowledge of the location of each state will help students understand why history happened where it did, when it did.
The following website has games related to the geography of the fifty states:
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/web_games.htm
The following website has games related to the geography of the fifty states:
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/web_games.htm
Spring Decade Study
In the spring we take a break from the regular course of study and examine our nation's past through a decade study. This will be the one major research project this year. Students will be taught the research process of developing guiding questions, researching, taking notes, writing a rough draft, revising, writing a final draft, citing sources, and designing a creative project. We will have a "Decade Day" celebration at the end of this study. More details to come. . .
19th and 20th Century American Quotes
"Great ideas often receive violent opposition from mediocre minds." ~ Albert Einstein
"Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning." ~ Albert Einstein
"A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new." ~ Albert Einstein
"Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration." ~ Thomas Edison
"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
"Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning." ~ Albert Einstein
"A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new." ~ Albert Einstein
"Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration." ~ Thomas Edison
"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." ~ Eleanor Roosevelt