GRADES 7-9
Overview

Students in Grades 7, 8, and 9 can be characterized as learners who are enthusiastic, impressionable, and independent.  They are developing an interest in personal, national, and global issues and are beginning to see clearer connections between themselves and people and events around the world.

In the seventh grade, students express curiosity about how society works and the role they play in their community and the world.  They question the balance and differences between rights and responsibilities.  They are interested in distant places, their locations, and environments.  These issues and others are explored in two one-semester courses in Grade 7.  The Citizenship course addresses democracy; liberty; law; personal economics; and local, state, and national civic responsibility.  The Geography course addresses physical geography of the world and cultural geography of the Eastern Hemisphere.

In Grades 8 and 9, students are engaged in a two-year sequence of courses involving the chronological history of the world.  These courses incorporate the strands of economics, geography, history, and political science with an emphasis on the history and geography strands.  The content of these courses emphasizes the knowledge and skills necessary for developing a geographic perspective of the world and its people and events.  Geography is a strong component of the content for these grades, as students are required to become knowledgeable about the development and diffusion of civilization.  Students use geographic tools and technologies to pose and answer questions about spatial distribution and patterns on Earth, use mental maps to answer questions, and compare and map dominant land-use patterns.

Effective teachers utilize a variety of classroom instructional techniques and assessment strategies.  The classroom environment, activities, assignments, and assessments foster the skills of acquiring information and manipulating data; developing and presenting policies, arguments, and stories; constructing new knowledge; and participating in groups.  Technology is used as a component of instruction to enable students to compete in a rapidly changing world.  Internet access, computer software, videos, and television programs provide opportunities for students to explore historical as well as geographic concepts.  Because understanding contemporary events and relating them to the past are essential to any social studies course, current events is a vital component of the social studies content for Grades 7 through 9.

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Below is the complete Eighth Grade Social Studies curriculum from the website of the Alabama Department of Education. Added are notes relating to the novel: GETORIX: The Eagle and The Bull, by Judith Geary to that curriculum.

EIGHTH GRADE
World History to 1500

Students in the eighth grade can be described as curious and independent learners who are discovering who they are and determining their place in the world.  They are asserting their independence from adults and are becoming more reliant on their peers.  These students need to be allowed to develop their independence with a great amount of guidance.  Through exposure to various media and first-hand experiences, students are becoming more aware of events on a global scale and are learning how these events affect them.

The study of world history in Grade 8 addresses the time period from prehistoric man to the 1500s.  Content standards for this grade incorporate the strands of economics, geography, history, and political science, with an emphasis on the history and geography strands.  This course covers the migrations of early peoples, the rise of civilizations, the establishment of governments and religions, the growth of economic systems, and the ways in which these events shaped Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas.  Unique to this course are the experiences that provide for the study of the ways human beings view themselves over time.  The prevailing use of terms to describe the Gregorian calendar is B.C. (before Christ) and A.D. (Anno Domini, Latin for “in the year of our Lord”).  The terms B.C.E. (before the Common Era) and C.E. (in the Common Era) are beginning to appear in some schools of theology, state and national assessments, and in national history standards.  The use of the abbreviations B.C.E. and C.E., also based on the Gregorian calendar, does not, in any way, diminish/negate the importance of the abbreviations B.C. and A.D.

To address the independent and curious nature of eighth graders, instruction is designed to actively involve students in critical thinking and exchange of ideas, including critical evaluation, interpretation, reasoning, and deduction.  Instruction of this nature can best be accomplished through the use of electronic media such as the Internet, videos, and television as well as by participation in small-group and individual activities.

EIGHTH GRADE
World History to 1500

(*Notes relating to the novel: GETORIX: The Eagle and The Bull, by Judith Geary, are identified with an asterisk.*)

Students will:

E	G	H	PS		1.	Explain how artifacts and other archaeological findings provide evidence of the nature and movement of prehistoric groups of people.	

Examples:	cave paintings, Ice Man, Lucy, fossils, pottery

•	Identifying the founding of Rome as the basis of the calendar established by Julius Caesar, which was used in early Western civilization for over a thousand years * The novel is set in the year 101 B.C.E. or around 653 auc (ab urbe condita – from the founding of Rome), during the consulship of Gaius Marius, at the pivot point between the Republic and the Empire.
•	Identifying the birth of Christ as the basis of the Gregorian calendar used in the United States since its beginning and in most countries of the world today, signified by B.C. and A.D.
•	Using vocabulary terms other than B.C. and A.D. to describe time
Examples:	B.C.E., C.E. * auc -  (ab urbe condita – from the founding of Rome)
•	Identifying terms used to describe characteristics of early societies and family structures *Roman society was modeled on the “nuclear family,” with the father, or “pater families” as head. During the republic, the senators were referred to as “conscript fathers.”
Examples:	monogamous, polygamous, nomadic

E	G	H	PS		2.	Analyze characteristics of early civilizations in respect to technology, division of labor, government, calendar, and writings.	

•	Comparing significant features of civilizations that developed in the Tigris-Euphrates, Nile, Indus, and Huang He River valleys
Examples:	natural environment, urban development, social hierarchy, written language, ethical and religious belief system, government and military institutions, economic systems
* Examples from the novel include the water system of Rome, the arch, use of concrete for construction, structure of the early calendar (included in the author’s notes), the social structure of the family including slaves and the role of women, the republican system of elected leadership (included in the complete curriculum and on the author’s website) 
•	Identifying on a map locations of cultural hearths of early civilizations
Examples:	Mesopotamia, Nile Valley, *Rome 

E	G	H	PS		3.	Compare the development of early world religions, philosophies, and their key tenets.	

Examples:	Judaism, Hinduism, Confucianism, Taoism, Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Greek and Roman gods

•	Identifying cultural contributions of early world religions and philosophies
Examples:	Judaism, Hinduism, Confucianism, Taoism, Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Greek and Roman gods, Phoenicians *Religious and philosophical issues are debated by the young protagonists of the novel. Greek and Roman gods and myths as well as Celtic myths and festivals are included. 

E	G	H	PS		4.	Identify cultural contributions of Classical Greece, including politics, intellectual life, arts, literature, architecture, and science.	

E	G	H	PS		5.	Describe the role of Alexander the Great in the Hellenistic world.	
					
Examples:	serving as political and military leader, encouraging cultural interaction, allowing religious diversity

•	Defining boundaries of Alexander the Great’s empire and its economic impact
•	Identifying reasons for the separation of Alexander the Great’s empire into successor kingdoms
•	Evaluating major contributions of Hellenistic art, philosophy, science, and political thought

E	G	H	PS		6.	Trace the expansion of the Roman Republic and its transformation into an empire, including key geographic, political, and economic elements.	
					
•	* The novel is set in the year 101 B.C.E. or around 653 auc (ab urbe condita – from the founding of Rome), during the consulship of Gaius Marius, at the pivot point between the Republic and the Empire. The interactions between the historical characters: Gaius Marius, Lucius Cornelius Sulla, Quintus Lutatius Catulus and Gaius Julius Caesar (father of the dictator) hint at the social unrest that lead to the breakdown of the Republic, the civil wars and the military dictatorships that characterized the Empire.  

Examples:	expansion—illustrating the spread of Roman influence with 	charts, graphs, timelines, or maps;
transformation—noting reforms of Augustus, listing	effects of Pax Romana

•	Interpreting spatial distributions and patterns of the Roman Republic using geographic tools and technologies

E	G	H	PS		7.	Describe the widespread impact of the Roman Empire.	
					
Example:	spread of Roman law and political theory, citizenship and slavery, architecture and engineering, religions, sculpture and paintings, literature, and the Latin language

* Many of these elements of Roman culture were present at the apex of the Republic – the setting of the novel.

•	Tracing important aspects of the diffusion of Christianity, including its relationship to Judaism, missionary impulse, organizational development, transition from persecution to acceptance in the Roman Empire, and church doctrine
•	Explaining the role of economics, societal changes, Christianity, political and military problems, external factors, and the size and diversity of the Roman Empire in its decline and fall

E	G	H	PS		8.	Describe the development of a classical civilization in India and China.	
					
Examples:	India—religions, arts and literature, philosophies, empires, 	caste system;
China—religions, politics, centrality of the family, Zhou 	and Han Dynasties, inventions, economic impact of the 	Silk Road and European trade, dynastic transitions

•	Identifying the effect of the monsoons on India
•	Identifying landforms and climate regions of China
Example:	marking landforms and climate regions of China on a map

E	G	H	PS		9.	Describe the rise of the Byzantine Empire, its institutions, and its legacy, including the influence of the Emperors Constantine and Justinian, and the effect of the Byzantine Empire upon art, religion, architecture, and law.	

•	Identifying factors leading to the establishment of the Eastern Orthodox Church

E	G	H	PS		10.	Trace the development of the early Russian state and the expansion of its trade systems.	

Examples:	rise of Kiev and Muscovy, conversion to Orthodox Christianity, movement of peoples of Central Asia, Mongol conquest, rise of czars

E	G	H	PS		11.	Describe early Islamic civilizations, including the development of religious, social, and political systems.	

•	Tracing the spread of Islamic ideas through invasion and conquest throughout the Middle East, northern Africa, and western Europe

E	G	H	PS		12.	Describe China’s influence on culture, politics, and economics in Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia.	

Examples:	culture—describing the influence on art, architecture, 	language, and religion;
politics—describing changes in civil service;
economics—introducing patterns of trade

E	G	H	PS		13.	Compare the African civilizations of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai to include their geography, religions, slave trade, economic systems, empires, and cultures.	

•	Tracing the spread of language, religion, and customs from one African civilization to another
•	Illustrating the impact of trade among Ghana, Mali, and Songhai
Examples:	using map symbols, interpreting distribution maps, creating a timeline

E	G	H	PS		14.	Describe key aspects of pre-Columbian cultures in the Americas including the Olmecs, Mayans, Aztecs, Incas, and North American tribes.	

Examples:	pyramids, wars among pre-Columbian people, religious rituals, irrigation, Iroquois Confederacy

•	Locating on a map sites of pre-Columbian cultures
Examples:	Mayan, Inca, Inuit, Creek, Cherokee

E	G	H	PS		15.	Describe military and governmental events that shaped Europe in the early Middle Ages (600-1000).	

Examples:	invasions, military leaders

•	Describing the role of the early medieval church
•	Describing the impact of new agricultural methods on manorialism and feudalism

E	G	H	PS		16.	Describe major cultural changes in Western Europe in the High Middle Ages (1000-1350).	

Examples:	the Church, scholasticism, Crusades

•	Describing changing roles of church and governmental leadership
•	Comparing political developments in France, England, and the Holy Roman Empire, including the signing of the Magna Carta
•	Describing the growth of trade and towns resulting in the rise of the middle class

E	G	H	PS		17.	Explain how events and conditions fostered political and economic changes in the late Middle Ages and led to the origins of the Renaissance.	

Examples:	Crusades, Hundred Years’ War, Black Death, rise of middle class, commercial prosperity

•	Identifying changes in the arts, architecture, literature, and science in the late Middle Ages.