8th+Grade+Social+Studies+Unit+Plan

[8th Grade] [8th Grade Assignment Sheets] Language Arts] Math] Science] Social Studies] [Social Studies Unit Plan] Thematic Unit Timeline] Day 1] 2] 3] 4] 5] 6] 7] 8] 9] 10]

**__Unit Plan__** **Course**: Social Studies
 * Teacher(s):** Ms. Erica Edgewood & Ms. Victoria Van Dyke
 * Unit Title:** The Civil War
 * Duration of unit:** 10 days
 * Grade Level:** 8th grade

//Purpose of the unit// This unit is designed to develop students’ understanding of the events leading up to the Civil War, as well as the purpose and elements of the war. Additionally, we would like the students to be able to use different reading strategies to comprehend the information in their textbook. By the end of the unit, the students should have a clearer understanding of all the components of the war.

//Rationale of the Unit// This topic for the unit is important for building the students’ awareness and knowledge on a crucial event in history. In addition, it will provide the students with an understanding of the building blocks of our country, and perhaps make them more tolerable and accepting of other cultures. The basic understanding of the components of this war is imperative for the students to excel in their personal lives, as well as gain an interest in the literature surrounding this time. The collaborative learning lessons will present the students with many opportunities to verbalize their opinions, and cooperate with their peers.

//Goals of the Unit// 1. The students will learn how to predict key events of the Civil War, and be able to come to a conclusion. 2. The students will comprehend the information in their textbook by utilizing different reading strategies. 3. Understand what the life of a soldier was like, given their weapons and leaders. 4.Verbalize what they have learned. 5. Understand the lives all effected by this war, in addition to recognizing crucial elements to the Emancipation Proclamation.

//Instructional Objectives of the Unit// 1. The students will be able to predict key events of the civil war by working both individually and in small groups. 2. The students will be able to verbalize their conclusions of this time period with the class. 3. The students will be able to recall events from the Civil War given 15 minutes of reading. 4. The students will be able to produce their own Frayer Models(reading strategy) based on vocabulary from the reading sections. 5. The students will be able to demonstrate what they have learned thus far in a Socratic seminar. 6. The students will be able to compare and contrast their predictions from day 1’s class with their findings of today’s class on the life of an American during this era.

//Unit Overview// Throughout this unit, the students will develop an understanding of all the components of the Civil War. They will do so by reading from the textbook, utilizing reading strategies to help them comprehend the information, large and small class discussions, and lectures. Many forms of informal and formal assessments will be done in thus unit. The preassessment and the continuing assessment of their concepts will center on the following: 1. What events and elements lead up to the beginning of the Civil War? Students will understand these concepts and why the Civil War began, and what it did to our country. 2. Students will use information to form, explain, and support questions and predictions, and then check their understanding through the readings. 3. What was the life of a typical American like during this time? Through the textbook and primary documents, students will be able to understand visualize the typical life of citizens in our country during this time.

//Assessment of Student Achievement// For this unit, assessment will be both formative and summative. Formative evaluation will be done daily by checking student behavior, comprehension, and abilities. Summative evaluation will be based on the following criteria: 1. Exit slips 2. Student participation in class discussions 3. 4-2-1 strategy/chart 4. (Unit test during week 3)