Starting with the Fall of Rome and ending with The Scientific
Revolution, the 8th graders will embark on an in depth study of life in
The Middle Ages and The Renaissance. The students will pick up with Age
of Enlightenment in Grade 9 at the high school; this year serves as a
foundation for some of the larger themes they will continue to analyze
next year. 8th grade historians will be thinking about how cultures are
formed and how both conflicts and achievements provoke social,
political, and intellectual change.
The students will soon begin reading a Newbery Medal historical fiction reading, Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!
by Laura Schlitz and Robert Byrd. With this assignment, they will learn
to hone in on research skills and be asked to perform, as a way to
think more critically about the past. They, too, will become historical
fiction writers!
8th grade history will offer students an
opportunity to increase their reading, thinking, and writing of
expository texts and literacy within a content area. It is a time to ask
important questions, discuss ideas, and develop critical thinking. Our
work in 8th grade social studies is a bridge to a broader literacy and
greater global understanding.