US+History

=Grade 8 US History=

B.8.1 Interpret the past using a variety of sources, such as biographies, diaries, journals, artifacts, eyewitness interviews, and other primary source materials, and evaluate the credibility of sources used B.8.2 Employ cause-and-effect arguments to demonstrate how significant events have influenced the past and the present in United States and world history B.8.3 Describe the relationships between and among significant events, such as the causes and consequences of wars in United States and world history B.8.4 Explain how and why events may be interpreted differently depending upon the perspectives of participants, witnesses, reporters, and historians B.8.5 Use historical evidence to determine and support a position about important political values, such as freedom, democracy, equality, or justice, and express the position coherently B.8.6 Analyze important political values such as freedom, democracy, equality, and justice embodied in documents such as the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, and the Bill of Rights B.8.7 Identify significant events and people in the major eras of United States and world history B.8.8 Identify major scientific discoveries and technological innovations and describe their social and economic effects on society B.8.9 Explain the need for laws and policies to regulate science and technology B.8.10 Analyze examples of conflict, cooperation, and interdependence among groups, societies, or nation B.8.11 Summarize major issues associated with the history, culture, tribal sovereignty, and current status of the American Indian tribes and bands in Wisconsin B.8.12 Describe how history can be organized and analyzed using various criteria to group people and events chronologically, geographically, thematically, topically, and by issues
 * The Grade 8 State Standards for History**

Previously, the 8th Grade United States History curriculum was presented in a linear manner by examining the cause and effect between events. Depending on time constraints, the curriculum usually began with the American Revolution and progressed sequentially through the time period of the early 21st Century. During the year, the students engaged in many project-based activities, particularly using multimedia software to present an idea or an explanation.
 * Philosophy**

During the 2007-2008 school year, we tried to personalize American History by having the students understand it through the process of [|storytelling]. The students began the year by telling digital stories about themselves or their family members. We would then connect national and world events to their stories. In addition, some historical concepts were presented in the form of a story, and the students would indicate understanding of the concepts by responding to the story that was presented to them. While this process had great possibility, the results were somewhat scattered. The students' comprehension of the material was sometimes insufficient to satisfactorily respond to topics, and some didn't feel confident in their ability to perform in this new format.

During the 2007-2008 school year, the students used wikis, [|blogs], [|online video sharing], and [|podcasts] to present their knowledge of American History and to tell personal stories of events in their lives. The students began developing a wiki textbook in which they were the primary contributors of information. The students also aggressively used the Internet to obtain primary and secondary source information which they used in a variety of exercises.

//**The textbook is rarely used.**//
 * Resources:**
 * US History Links **
 * [|Collection 1]
 * [|Collection 2]