Middle School History

This year in my classroom I hope that the discipline of history will help the students learn how to think independently, logically, and critically; becoming discerning consumers of the society around them. The students will have the opportunity to analyze decisions of the past to discover fundamental principles of what it means to be a human person and what it means to live in community with others.

 

These principles will span beyond the subject of names, dates, and battles, to application in current events and the student’s daily living. To this end, students will make use of maps and charts, analyze biographies, interpret political cartoons, apply material across the curriculum, interpret primary source documents, and recognize and analyze bias. These tools of clear thinking and articulation are all facets of seeing the world with a Catholic mind. It is my hope that the subject matter of history will allow students to see the past as meaningful and even awe-inspiring at times.

 

In sixth grade, we will be studying world history and early American history. The first semester will focus primarily on ancient civilizations around the world. The focus will gradually transition to history of the western world and the ideas which form the foundations for American history. In the second semester we will then study the founding of the United States and its government.

 

In seventh grade, we begin with early American history starting with the expansion of our country, the development of an American identity, and the economic and cultural differences of the North and South leading up to the Civil War. Later in the year we will study the growth of America after the Civil War, its industrialization, urbanization, and its growing role in the world stage.

 

In eighth grade, students will pick up where they left off last year. We will review industrialization and America's growing influence  in the world. We will then transition to studying different regions around the world and major world events that formed the modern world.