Middle School
Social Science Essential Skills
©2010-2011 Sweetwater Union High School District
Middle School: Synthesis
WRITING
7th
OBJ: Students will be able to synthesize the
teachings of Muhammad as they pertain to
Judaism and Christianity.
MDM:
- Essay comparing and contrasting
elements of the Islamic faith with those
of Judaism and Christianity. These can
include, but are not limited to
monotheism, prophets (e.g. Abraham,
Moses, Jesus of Nazareth, and
Muhammad), prayer and worship
practices, almsgiving, holidays and
traditions, and pilgrimages and holy
lands (e.g. Jerusalem, Mecca,
Bethlehem).
-
8th
Standards/CST Relevance
OBJ: Students will be able to analyze the
similarities and differences between the three
monotheistic faiths: Islam, Judaism and
Christianity.
Standards: 7.2.2: Trace the origins of Islam
and the life and teachings of Muhammad,
including Islamic teachings on the connection
with Judaism and Christianity.
MDM:
- Triple Venn-diagram that compares and
contrasts Judaism, Christianity, and
Islam.
CST Relevance:
Standard 7.2.2 – A – High Emphasis
-
Read and summarize texts on the life
and teachings of Muhammad by
creating a no-staple book.
Biographical essay on the life and
teachings of Muhammad
OBJ: Students will be able to synthesize the
writings of Thomas Jefferson and the
Declaration of Independence.
MDM:
- Write a letter from the point of view of
Thomas Jefferson after returning from
France and learning about the
enlightenment.
-
READING
Persuasive essay defending which
document - the Magna Carta, the
English Bill of Rights, or the Mayflower
Compact - most shaped American
beliefs and government.
OBJ: Analyze the Declaration of
Independence and compare and contrast it
with the Magna Carta, Mayflower Compact
and English Bill of Rights.
MDM:
- Foldable describing the key words and
phrases of the Magna Carta, Mayflower
Compact and English Bill of Rights.
-
Word map of key terms and phrases
from the Declaration of Independence.
-
Create a triple Venn-diagram comparing
and contrasting the primary sources.
Standards 8.1.2: Analyze the philosophy of
government expressed in the Declaration of
Independence, with an emphasis on
government as a means of securing individual
rights
8.2.1: Discuss the significance of the Magna
Carta, the English Bill of Rights, and the
Mayflower Compact.
CST Relevance:
8.1.2 – A – High Emphasis
8.2.1 – C – Low Emphasis
Middle School: Support Opinion/Argument
WRITING
7th
READING
OBJ: Students will be able to write a
persuasive essay from ideas of the Protestant
Reformation and the Catholic CounterReformation. Students will choose opinions
from the Reformation or CounterReformation and defend them.
OBJ: Students will read, analyze and
compare ideas from the Protestant
Reformation and the Catholic CounterReformation.
MDM:
- Persuasive essay defending the opinions
of either one of the Protestant leaders of
the Reformation (e.g. Luther, Calvin,
Erasmus, Henry VIII) or the Catholic
Counter-Reformation to include
counter-arguments for the opposing
views.
MDM:
- Triple Venn-diagram comparing and
contrasting opposing views of the
Protestant Reformation and how those
views effected the development of
Protestant Churches, as well as the
policies the Catholic Church changed
and did not change during the CounterReformation.
-
Read primary and secondary sources on
Martin Luther and Ignatius of Loyola to
develop position statements (students
prepare to defend the theological
positions of Ignatius of Loyola or
Martin Luther in a debate and must also
include counter-arguments)
Standards/CST Relevance
Standards: 7.9.2 – Describe the theological,
political, and economic ideas of the major
figures during the Reformation (e.g.
Desiderius Erasmus, Martin Luther, John
Calvin, William Tyndale).
Standards 7.9.5 – Analyze how the CounterReformation revitalization the Catholic
church and the forces that fostered the
movement (e.g. St. Ignatius of Loyola and the
Jesuits, the Council of Trent).
CST Relevance:
7.9.2 – A – High Relevance
7.9.5 – B – Medium Relevance
Middle School: Support Opinion/Argument
8th
OBJ: Students will be able to defend the
views of the Federalist Papers or those of the
Anti-Federalists.
OBJ: Students will compare and contrast the
philosophies unpinning the Constitution by
reading and analyzing excerpts of the
Federalist Papers as well as excerpts from the
Anti-Federalist speeches.
MDM:
- Create a Historical Federalist/AntiFederalist pamphlet
MDM:
- Oral position statement that summarizes
the arguments to support either the
Federalist or Anti-Federalist Positions.
Students will be split into two groups:
one group representing the views of the
Federalists, and the other group
representing the views of the Antifederalists. In groups, students keep a
list of arguments to support their
position.
-
Persuasive essay urging Americans to
support the main ideas from Federalist
Papers or those of the Anti-Federalist
(e.g. Patrick Henry).
Standards: 8.2.4 – Describe the political
philosophy underpinning the Constitution as
specified in the Federalist Papers (authored
by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and
John Jay) and the role of such leaders as
Madison, George Washington, Roger
Sherman, Governor Morris, and James Wilson
in the writing and ratification of the
Constitution.
CST Relevance:
8.2.4 – B – Medium Relevance
Middle School: Change and Continuity
7th
WRITING
READING
OBJ: Students will be able to follow the
change and continuity of democracy and
natural rights from the Roman Republic to the
Enlightenment via timeline.
OBJ: Over the course of a semester, students
will trace the change and continuity of
democracy and “natural rights” by comparing
reading notes from multiple texts as well as
writings from the Enlightened Thinkers (e.g.,
Locke, Montesquieu, Voltaire).
Standards 7.11.4: Explain how the main
ideas of the Enlightenment can be traced
back to such movements as the
Renaissance, the Reformation, and the
Scientific Revolution and to the Greeks,
Romans, and Christianity.
MDM:
- Time line tracing the development of
democracy from the Roman Republic,
Middle Ages, Protestant Reformation,
Scientific Revolution, and the
Enlightenment (including graphics,
specific philosophies -Erasmus, Luther,
Calvin, Locke, Montesquieu, &
Voltaire, primary sources - the English
Bill of Rights, the Magna Carta, and the
writings and research of Copernicus,
Galileo, Kepler & Newton)
7.11.5: Describe how democratic thought
and institutions were influenced by
Enlightenment thinkers (e.g., John Locke,
Charles-Louis Montesquieu, American
founders).
MDM:
- Expository essay describing the
development of democracy from the
Roman Republic to the Enlightenment,
using examples and supporting details
which include, but are not limited to
Roman ideas of “natural rights,” the
English Bill of Rights, ideas of church
self-government (e.g. Erasmus, Luther,
Calvin and Tyndale); ideas from the
Scientific Revolution (e.g. Copernicus,
Galileo, Kepler, Newton), as well as
writings from the Enlightened thinkers
(e.g. Locke, Montesquieu, Voltaire).
-
No-staple book on the evolution of
democracy and natural rights from the
Roman Republic to the Enlightenment.
Standards/CST Relevance
CST Relevance:
7.11.4 – Not ranked for emphasis, but has
historical relevance to:
7.11.5 – CST emphasis – A - High
Middle School: Change and Continuity
8th
OBJ: Students will compare and contrast the
change and continuity of democracy and
natural rights from the Magna Carta, English
Bill of Rights and the Mayflower Compact to
the Articles of Confederation, Constitution
and Declaration of Independence.
OBJ: Students will compare and contrast the
change and continuity of democracy and
natural rights by analyzing the Magna Carta,
English Bill of Rights, the Mayflower
Compact, Articles of Confederation, US
Constitution and Declaration of
Independence.
MDM:
- Non-Staple book on the “Evolution of
Democracy”
MDM:
- Tableau vivant representing the main
claims from the Magna Carta, English
Bill of Rights and Mayflower Compact.
-
Expository essay describing the
development of democracy from the
signing of the Magna Carta to the
signing of the Declaration of
Independence using their timeline of
democracy.
-
Timeline following the development of
democracy from the Magna Carta to the
Declaration of Independence. The
timeline should include graphics and
specific philosophies from key
characters and primary sources of the
process.
Standard 8.2: Students analyze the political
principles underlying the U.S. Constitution
and compare the enumerated and implied
powers of the federal government.
1. Discuss the significance of the Magna
Carta, the English Bill of Rights, and
the Mayflower Compact.
2. Analyze the Articles of Confederation
and the Constitution and the success
of each in implementing the ideals of
the Declaration of Independence.
CST Relevance:
8.2 – 4 questions
8.2.1 – C – Low Emphasis
8.2.2 – B – Medium Emphasis
Middle School: Cause and Effect
WRITING
7th
OBJ:
Students will be able to write an expository
essay about the many reasons for the decline
of feudalism in Medieval Europe including
the Magna Carta, the English Bill of Rights,
Model Parliament, the Hundred Year War and
the Crusades.
MDM:
- Persuasive essay on the three major
causes for the decline of feudalism
(students defend why they chose those
causes over others by using logical
reasoning and understanding of the
effects the three causes had on
feudalism in Medieval Europe)
-
Expository essay on the causes and
effects of the Crusades
READING
Standards/CST Relevance
OBJ: Students will analyze text and primary Standards 7.6.5: Know the significance of
sources that discuss the reasons for the decline developments in medieval English legal and
of feudalism in Medieval Europe.
constitutional practices and their importance
in the rise of modern democratic thought
MDM:
and representative institutions (e.g. Magna
- Read adopted text History Alive! The Carta, parliament, development of habeas
Medieval World and Beyond and take corpus, and independent judiciary in
Reading Notes on Chapter 5, “The England.
Decline of Feudalism,”
Standards 7.6.6: Discuss the causes and
- Review and summarize causes for the course of religious Crusades and their
decline of feudalism in Medieval effects on the Christian, Muslim, and Jewish
Europe.
populations in Europe, with emphasis on the
increasing contact by Europeans with
- Cause and effect foldable which cultures of the Eastern Mediterranean
summarizes the central causes and world.
effects of the Crusades.
CST Relevance:
- Graphic organizer with causes on the 7.6.5 – B – Medium Emphasis
right side and effects, in chronological 7.6.6 – A – High Emphasis
order, on the left side
Middle School: Cause and Effect
8th
OBJ: Students will be able to write about the OBJ: Students will be able to analyze causes
cause and effects of the Civil War and its key and effects of the Civil War by reading and
events.
interpreting various primary sources.
Standard 8.10: Students analyze the
multiple causes, key events and complex
consequences of the Civil War.
MDM:
MDM:
- Expository Essay explaining three of the
- Cause and Effect Chart for each major
main causes or effects of the Civil War.
battle of the Civil War described in
Chapter 15 of Holt: United States
- Dialogue of 20-30 lines between a
History; Independence to 1914.
Northerner and a Southerner who
discuss three of the following events
- Word Map determining the key words
have impacted their life: Missouri
and phrases from the speeches and
Compromise, Fugitive Slave Act, Raid
writings of Daniel Webster and John C.
on Harpers Ferry, Compromise of 1850,
Calhoun; the doctrine of nullification
Kansas-Nebraska Act.
and secession.
CST Relevance:
3 of 6 sub-standards – A – High Emphasis
3 of 6 sub-standards – B – Medium
Emphasis
-
Conduct short research project to
examine the role of African American
soldiers in the Civil War, especially the
54th Massachusetts regiment.
-
Write a letter home from either a Union
or Confederate soldier.
-
Foldable summarizing the writings and
speeches of Abraham Lincoln (House
Divided, Gettysburg Address,
Emancipation Proclamation, and
inaugural speeches of 1861 and 1865).
-
T-Chart documenting the cause-andeffect relationship between events in
and in related speeches and writings
from the time period While reading
Chapter 14 of Holt: United States
History; Independence to 1914.
Middle School: Discriminate/Analyze Multiple Views, Facts and Opinions
WRITING
7th
OBJ: Students will be able to compare and
contrast the view of Muslims, Jews and
Christians during the Crusades.
MDM:
- Journal entries written as a person living
in Jerusalem during the Crusades from
the following points of view: Muslim,
Jewish and Christian
- Postcards sent from Jerusalem narrating
the details and events of the Crusades
from an Islamic, Jewish, and Christian
perspective
8th
OBJ: Students will be able to write an
expository essay analyzing the multiple
views, facts and opinions in the “early and
steady attempts to abolish slavery”.
MDM:
- Newspaper editorials that represent the
differing views of slavery from the point
of view of at least three key leaders of
the slavery debate.
- Expository essay on the early attempts
to abolish slavery
READING
OBJ: Students will analyze, compare and
contrast the views and opinions of key historical
figures of the Crusades, including but not limited
to Pope Urban, Saladin, and Jewish citizens of
Jerusalem.
MDM:
- Read and analyze multiple texts, expository
and primary sources, from an Islamic,
Jewish and Christian perspective by writing
Cornell notes on the readings.
- Read and summarize multiple texts from an
Islamic, Jewish, and Christian by
performing Tableau Vivant
OBJ: Students will analyze, compare and contrast
the early and steady attempts to abolish slavery.
MDM:
- Create a T Chart representing facts and
opinions found in excerpts of the LincolnDouglas debates.
- Read excerpts from Uncle Tom’s Cabin
- Word Web around the concept of Abolition
- Chain-of-Events Diagram on Chapter 14 in
Holt: United States History, Independence
to 1914.
- Foldable summarizing the differing point of
views of David Wilmot, Lewis Cass,
Jefferson Davis, Henry Clay, Daniel
Webster, and John C. Calhoun.
Standards/CST Relevance
Standard 7.6.6: Discuss the causes and
course of the religious Crusades and their
effects on the Christian, Muslim, and
Jewish populations in Europe, with
emphasis on the increasing contact by
Europeans with cultures of the Eastern
Mediterranean world.
CST Relevance:
7.6.6 – A – High Emphasis
Standard 8.9: Students analyze the early
and steady attempts to abolish slavery and
to realize the ideals of the Declaration of
Independence.
CST Relevance:
8.9. – Three of six sub-standards have
High Emphasis.