CKHG: A History of the United States
Focus:
The student volumes provide traditional narrative text and high-quality images that recount important historical themes and events in world history. Interspersed with the text and images are three types of activity boxes—Think Twice, Find Out the Facts, and Writers’ Corner—that encourage students to think about the content, extend their knowledge through research, and express their understanding through writing.
Volume 1 covers such topics as
- The Americas were inhabited by diverse indigenous peoples.
- How the thirteen English colonies were established.
- How the Americans fought the British for liberty and justice.
- The creation of the Constitution and Bill of Rights took place soon after America’s independence from England, and the U.S. became the first country to create a government of the people.
- Compromise over the issue of slavery eventually led to the Civil War.
- The Westward expansion of the United States provided economic opportunity for many and contributed to the growth of the nation, but it came at the price of Native American sovereignty.
- The U.S. became a world power during the late 1800s and early 1900s, a period marked by immigration, industrialization, and urbanization.
Volume 2 covers such topics as
- The U.S. experienced economic, technological, scientific, and social changes during the 1900s.
- The U.S. supported the Allies in World War I.
- The U.S. during the Roaring Twenties, the stock market crash, and the Great Depression.
- The U.S. entered World War II after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor.
- The U.S. developed the atomic bomb.
- The U.S. and the Soviet Union competed for global influence during the Cold War.
- The 1960s and 1970s were decades of social change.
- The 1980s and 1990s saw economic growth and involvement in regional conflicts.
- The early 2000s brought economic, environmental, political, and international challenges, including 9/11 and the war in Iraq.
NOTE: These materials are designed to be used during a full year of middle school. The complete U.S. history text can be used in either seventh or eighth grade for schools following the Core Knowledge Sequence. Pacing Guides will be provided for use of the full program that includes both student volumes for a school year, or separate volume guides for use to complete only one volume for a school year.
Number of Lessons: 17
(Volume 1: 9 Lessons; Volume 2: 8 Lessons)
Instruction Time:
45 minutes
(The time is for each lesson. Each lesson may be divided into shorter segments.)
Additional Search Terms:
Mayflower Compact • banish • congregation • medieval • monopoly • Mongol • diplomatic mission • agrarian society • monetary economy • conquistador • isthmus • yellow fever • convert • mutiny • armada • joint-stock company • gentleman class, cash crop • indentured servitude • proprietary colony • debtor • buffer zone • inhumane • cargo • tropical latitudes • sanctuary • proclamation • taxes • “the rights of Englishmen” • burgess • quartering • boycott • repeal • “trial by jury” • intolerable • resolution • self-determination • natural rights • abolitionist • secede • arsenal, draft • “tide of battle” • blockade • impeach • “high crimes and misdemeanors” • chattel slavery • imperialism • nationalism • militarism • “interlocking alliances” • Central Powers • Allied Powers • moving assembly line • celluloid film • Prohibition • gangster • bootlegger • isolationist • League of Nations • stock market crash • GDP (gross domestic product) • Federal Reserve
