8th+Grade+Social+Studies+Thematic+Unit+Timeline

[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]

Day 1: Students will participate in an ice breaker activity where they will each decorate a puzzle piece using pictures, words, and slogans that describe their personalities. Each student will present their puzzle piece to the class. Afterwards, all the puzzle pieces will be put up on a bulletin board to show that even though everyone is different, all the students will come together to learn in this social studies class. After the ice breaker activity, students will complete the “K” and “W” parts of a KWL activity based on the information they know or want to know about the events leading up to the Civil War. Students will discuss what they put in each of the columns. As an endnote, students will write down five things they want to learn throughout the class.

Day 2: Students will write in their journals everything they can remember about the Missouri Compromise. Once finished, students will discuss what they could remember as a class. Any important information that is left out will be supplied by the teacher. Students will then use the popcorn method to read through the first section of the chapter and complete a double-sided notes worksheet. Before leaving class, students will predict why popular sovereignty didn’t work.

Day 3: At the beginning of class students will take a quiz where they will need to write down five things that were discussed in class the previous day. After the quiz, students will discuss the things that they wrote down for their quiz. Students will then read section 2 of the chapter on their own and fill out their double-sided notes worksheet. After discussing the topics on the worksheet, students will be divided into Northerners and Southerners. Students will then compose a letter addressed to the President of the United States declaring whether or not they agree with the Fugitive Slave Act. Those students who are Southerners would agree with the act and those who are Northerners would disagree.

Day 4: Students will begin class by responding to the journal prompt: Why did the South fight so hard to keep slavery? After the discussion of the journal, students will have the opportunity to read their letters out loud to the class. Students will then be divided into small groups where they will read section 3 of the chapter and fill out the double-sided notes sheet. As an endnote, students will write down three things they learned during class and one question they still have about the material.

Day 5: When students come into class they will respond to the following journal prompt: Explain why Lincoln was so careful with the words he used in his debates with Douglas. After discussing the journal, students will read the final section of the chapter in small groups. Once finished, each student will be given a blank map of the U.S. in 1860. Students must color code the map to show which states were free and which were slave states before the war.

Day 6: Students will look at 3 primary documents from The Civil War era(all letters are from soldiers from the war and their point-of-views). The teacher will put the first letter on the overhead projector & read it aloud. Ask the students: What can you learn about geography, daily life, and historical events from this letter? This will be a brief brainstorm/ large class discussion. Next, the teacher will split the students into small groups and give them copies of the 2nd letter. Have them get out a piece of paper and create three columns. Columns are headed Geography, Daily Life, and Historical Events.. Have each group find pertinent information and write it down (under appropriate category) Then, have each group share what they discovered with the class. Last, give each student a copy of the 3rd and final letter. Have them write on the back of it the columns: Geography, Daily Life, and Historical events. Have them write down any references in each column, and then have volunteers share their discoveries w/ the class. This will be a good introduction to this war and allows the students to see first-hand accounts of the war before diving in to the textbook.

Day 7: If previous days’ activity needs to be continued, allow time. Brief power point lecture of the fundamentals of the Civil War, popcorn reading of section 1 & 2(if time allows)—“The Call to Arms” & “Early Years of the War”. The teacher will explain how the reading strategy, The Frayer Model, works by using an example of a basic vocab. Term. The students will then get this graphic organizer to complete at least 2 words per section on. (This will help them understand the vocab. Terms from each section). These will be collected for points at the end of the unit. The student should work on these during and after their reading of these sections.

Day 8: Finish popcorn reading of section 2 and allow students to have time to work on their Frayer-Model/reading strategy charts. The class will get in a Socratic Seminar and allow the students to take control over the discussion; if the class needs help guiding their discussion, the teacher will jump in, but it should mostly be the students talking about the first 2 sections of this chapter. The teacher will also discuss the importance of weapons during the Civil War and how they were more deadly than previous American wars. Also discussed—major leaders of the war, such as Ulysses S. Grant and McClellan.

Day 9: Section 3: “The Emancipation Proclamation.” & Section 4: “The Civil War and American Life.” Students will be partnered up to read aloud section 3 to their partners (taking turns). After completing the reading, students will receive a worksheet with approximately 5 essential questions on it. They will have to work individually on the questions, and once completed, partake in a “think-pair-share” with their assigned partner. After they collaborate, they will share their answers w/ the class to form a large group discussion this way. The discussion will include day 1’s activity relating to the letters to see if their predictions based off the letters were accurate w/ the book. Section 5 will be homework to read individually & continue filling in vocab. Words on their Frayer-Model charts.

Day 10: The students will do a “Carousel Graffiti” activity as a review on chapter 15. The teacher will place large sheets of paper around the room with important vocabulary words, people, events, etc. relating to the chapter and the students will have to brainstorm all that they know about this on the sheet, and rotate to the next sheet when told. After, the teacher will go around to each slip and this will be the way the students/teacher have a discussion on review. After, the students will be told to brainstorm the one major idea they learned from Ch.15 as a whole. Next, the students will be placed in groups of 4 and complete another reading strategy—“4,2,1.’ Here, the students will fill in the chart and narrow it down to one synthesized major idea from the 4 “different” ones. The students will also receive a review Crossword Puzzle(!) to help reinforce the major concepts of this chapter.