Social Studies

MINNESOTA STUDIES 6 In sixth grade social studies, students will investigate U.S. History through the lens of the shared histories of the people, land, animals and resources in this land we now call Minnesota. We will examine many people and moments in Minnesota’s history such as its indigenous populations, the arrival of white Europeans in the 16, 17, and 1800s, the abolition movement, the Civil and Dakota Wars, immigration, the Industrial Revolution, the Rights Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, and modern Minnesota. Students will engage in inquiry through multiple modalities such as analyzing primary and secondary sources, embedding artistic analysis and design into our study of Minnesota history, and collaborating on project based learning and guided inquiry. We will take special care to view Minnesota’s history through the eyes of many multicultural stakeholders.

U.S. STUDIES 7 In seventh grade, U.S. Studies students will be exploring the importance of history in our own lives, how history contributes to moral understanding, how history provides identity, and why studying history is essential for good citizenship. Through inquiry-based study, students will be expected to formulate, grapple with, and evaluate their opinions based on factual information gathered from primary and secondary sources. We will view American History through a multiple perspective lens to help our future world citizens function with a more open mind. Students will be empowered by their increased knowledge of how their country operates and how they can impact and react to change. Our seventh grade US Studies course will focus on history in the United States as it unfolds in the early 1800s to the present day. The national History Day project is a major project of this class where students choose a topic to research and present in a competitive showcase.

WORLD STUDIES 8 In eighth grade World Studies, we will be studying the world from a variety of different angles and cultural perspectives. We will explore geography’s role in shaping both ancient and modern civilizations, and we will explore the historical, geographic, and cultural elements related to current issues in the world today. The class, following a “studies” model, includes multiple social studies disciplines, including history, civics, economics, and geography. Students will develop skills including reading and interpreting historical texts and maps, analysis of historical evidence and graphs, writing, research, and academic debate.