History / Social Studies

Students will learn about the significant change in human history from our pre-historic hunter-gatherer origins, through the agricultural revolution, to the development of civilization itself, and eventually to the building of ancient empires. Students will study the geography and history of the ancient cultures of Mesopotamia, Egypt and Kush, Israelites, India, China, Greece, and Rome (to its fall). They will learn about the social, political, religious, and economic systems of these ancient cultures and how each of these societies developed structures to meet their needs. Students will encounter past to present connections as they learn to acknowledge, appreciate, and value the contributions of these diverse civilizations to our modern world.

Students will study selected major culture groups in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas from approximately 100 A.D. through 1700 A.D. They will learn about social, political, religious, and economic systems, and how various societies have developed these systems in order to meet their particular needs and wants. Students will learn that contemporary cultures are the descendants of earlier civilizations and are influenced by historical events. They will learn why we should appreciate and value the ethnic and cultural diversity in our own society.

Students will connect their past learnings of Colonial and Revolutionary War America to studies of United States geography, the Constitution and the beginning of the new Republic, and the social, economic, religious, and political growth of the new nation. Students will learn about the conflicting forces, which led to events such as the War of 1812, the growth of political parties and sectionalism, the Westward Movement ("Manifest Destiny"), the Civil War, Reconstruction, the Industrial Revolution, and the Progressive Era. They will learn about the diverse groups that immigrated to America, and how they influenced America's development. By studying the ethical, social, political, and economic questions Americans have dealt with historically, they will be more aware of, and sensitive to, the social issues facing Americans today.