Focus:
This unit explores the creation and central ideas of the United States Constitution. Students learn how the Founding Fathers, confronted by the shortcomings of the Articles of Confederation, worked to form a new government following America’s independence from England.
Led by the thinking of James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, delegates at the Constitutional Convention grappled with several critical issues. They focused on defining the power of the central government and determining how that government should be structured, giving states fair representation regardless of their population, balancing power between the central government and the states, and dealing with the divisive issue of slavery. Students learn why the Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution, and they explore reasons why the Constitution has survived as the guiding document of government in the United States. Some lessons present primary source documents and additional activities examining key principles of the Constitution, including the Bill of Rights. Much of the content of this unit is tied to the “Pathway to Citizenship,” an array of civics-focused knowledge, questions, and activities.
Number of Lessons: 10
Instruction Time:
45 minutes (Each lesson may be divided into shorter segments.)
Additional Search Terms:
social studies • geography • civics • map skills • nonfiction • informational text • Declaration of Independence • Shay’s Rebellion • George Washington • three branches of government: executive, legislative, judicial • Supreme Court • checks and balances • separation of powers • republican government • “Three-Fifths” Compromise • Preamble to the Constitution • “We the people” • Federalist Papers
Focus:
This unit introduces the succession of dynasties that ruled China for nearly two thousand years. Students learn about the Qin dynasty and the first emperor, Shihuangdi, who began construction of the Great Wall; about the Han dynasty, when trade in silk and spices flourished along the Silk Road; about the Tang and Song dynasties, which witnessed important inventions including the compass and gunpowder; about the Mongol invasion led by Chinggis Khan and the Yuan dynasty founded by Kublai Khan; and, about the Ming dynasty, which established the capital at Beijing and built the Forbidden City. Students also become familiar with Chinese art, including silk scrolls, calligraphy, and porcelain.
Number of Lessons: 10
Instruction Time:
45 minutes (Each lesson may be divided into shorter segments.)
Additional Search Terms:
Genghis Khan • Golden Horde • Zheng He • Marco Polo
NOTE: The resources for this unit are in the second part of Early Islamic Civilizations and African Kingdoms.
Focus:
This unit begins with an overview of the varied geography of Africa, including tropical rainforests, savanna (grasslands), and deserts. Students learn about the early African kingdoms of Kush and Aksum, and about the medieval trading kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai. Students explore the city of Timbuktu as a center of trade and learning. Students are also introduced to African works of art, including the ritual, ceremonial, or celebratory purposes of many artworks.
Number of Lessons: 8
Instruction Time:
45 minutes (Each lesson may be divided into shorter segments.)
Additional Search Terms:
Nile • Sahara • Kalahari • Ibn Battuta • Aksum • Sundiata Keita • Mansa Musa • Askia Muhammad • Benin
NOTE: The resources for this unit are in the first part of Early Islamic Civilizations and African Kingdoms.
Focus:
This unit explains the historical significance of Muhammad and the origins of Islam in the Arabian Peninsula. Students learn about the importance of the Koran and the Five Pillars of Islam. Students also learn about the achievements of Muslim scholars and artists and the growth of Muslim empires. The unit concludes with a brief account of the Crusades, the long series of wars during the Middle Ages in which European Christians attempted to retake control of the Holy Land and other formerly Christian territories in the Middle East.
Number of Lessons: 5
Instruction Time:
45 minutes (Each lesson may be divided into shorter segments.)
Additional Search Terms:
Mecca • Ibn Sina (Avicenna) • Saladin • Richard the Lionhearted
NOTE: The resources for this unit are in the second part of Native Americans and Westward Expansion: Cultures and Conflicts.
Focus:
This unit explores the ways of life of diverse Native American peoples and goes on to examine how their cultures were disrupted, displaced, and profoundly altered by westward expansion and American government policies and practices during the 1800s. Students learn about the diverse ways of life of Native American peoples in the Great Basin and Plateau regions, the Northern and Southern Plains, and the Pacific Northwest. Students explore how the lives of Plains dwellers were changed by the introduction of the horse and the near extinction of bison. Students learn about the devastating effect of diseases brought by settlers moving westward, about American government policy and actions to move Native Americans from their lands and force them onto reservations, as well as government programs to break down tribal life and compel assimilation. Students also learn how the Sioux, Nez Percé, and other Native Americans fought to maintain their lands, their independence, and their ways of life. Some of the content of this unit is tied to the “Pathway to Citizenship,” an array of civics-focused knowledge, questions, and activities.
Number of Lessons: 8
Instruction Time:
45 minutes (Each lesson may be divided into shorter segments.)
Additional Search Terms:
social studies • map skills • nonfiction • informational text • primary sources • Bannocks • Shoshone • Utes • Paiutes • shamans • Coyote tales • hunter-gatherers • Nez Percé • Arapaho • Cheyenne • Tlingits • potlatch • totem poles • Bureau of Indian Affairs • Carlisle School • Indian Wars • Sand Creek Massacre • Battle of Little Bighorn • Crazy Horse • Sitting Bull • Custer’s Last Stand • Wounded Knee • Ghost Dance
NOTE: The resources for this unit are in the first part of Native Americans and Westward Expansion: Cultures and Conflicts.
Focus:
This unit continues the story begun in Unit 10, Westward Expansion Before the Civil War, and focuses on the causes and effects of the westward movement of Americans in the latter 1800s, which often led to conflict with Native Americans displaced from lands they had long inhabited. Students learn how the prospect of gold or silver lured many adventurers westward, while millions of settlers were drawn by the Homestead Act, passed by Congress to encourage western settlement. Students consider how transcontinental railroads accelerated the settlement of the West by providing transportation for people and goods, opening new agricultural markets. Students also explore the myths and realities of cowboy life and the “Wild West.” Students learn how the United States purchased Alaska from Russia, which provided the nation with a vast territory teeming with wildlife and rich in natural resources. Students also consider the late-nineteenth century idea of the “closing of the American frontier.” Some of the content of this unit is tied to the “Pathway to Citizenship,” an array of civics-focused knowledge, questions, and activities.
Number of Lessons: 7
Instruction Time:
45 minutes (Each lesson may be divided into shorter segments.)
Additional Search Terms:
social studies • map skills • nonfiction • informational text • primary sources • Mark Twain • Golden Spike • telegraph • cattle drives • Chisholm Trail • Great Plains • stagecoach • Billy the Kid • Jesse James • Annie Oakley • Buffalo Bill • manifest
Focus:
This unit explores the causes and consequences of one of our nation’s greatest crises, the Civil War. Students learn how arguments over slavery and states’ rights, along with the election of Abraham Lincoln, led to Southern secession and armed conflict. Students consider the influence of Frederick Douglass and other abolitionists, the Dred Scott decision, Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and the Emancipation Proclamation. Students explore important battles, new technologies (such as ironclad ships), and major leaders, including Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, and especially President Lincoln. Students engage with selections from primary sources, including the Gettysburg Address and Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address. Students learn about Lincoln’s assassination and the divisive struggles of the Reconstruction era. Some content is tied to the “Pathway to Citizenship,” an array of civics-focused knowledge, questions, and activities.
Number of Lessons: 24
Instruction Time:
45 minutes (Each lesson may be divided into shorter segments.)
Additional Search Terms:
social studies • map skills • nonfiction • informational text • Mason-Dixon Line • John Brown and Harpers Ferry • Lincoln-Douglas debates • Yankees and Rebels • Jefferson Davis • Stonewall Jackson • Robert Gould Shaw and Massachusetts 54th Regiment • William Tecumseh Sherman • Andrew Johnson • Freedmen’s Bureau
Focus:
This unit explores how and why Americans moved west from the early to mid-nineteenth century. Throughout the unit, students study many geographical features of the U.S. Opening lessons introduce early explorers, including Daniel Boone, Zebulon Pike, and Lewis and Clark, who were aided by Sacagawea. Students learn how new developments in transportation (such as canals, steamboats, and railroads) spurred westward expansion. Students are introduced to Tecumseh as a leader of Native American resistance to settlers and government officials who broke treaties and pushed Native Americans off their homelands. Students learn how the concept of Manifest Destiny was used to justify acquisitions of territory by the U.S. from the 1850s onward. Students also learn about the Indian Removal Act and the Seminole resistance led by Osceola. Students explore how the annexation of Texas gave the U.S. additional territory, fueled the controversy over slavery, and provided a pretext for war with Mexico. Students also explore westward movement along the Oregon Trail, the experiences of the Brigham Young and the Mormons, and the gold rush that drew many people to California. Some content is tied to the “Pathway to Citizenship,” an array of civics-focused knowledge, questions, and activities.
Number of Lessons: 10
Instruction Time:
45 minutes (Each lesson may be divided into shorter segments.)
Additional Search Terms:
social studies • map skills • nonfiction • informational text • Louisiana Territory • Continental Divide • Appalachian and Rocky Mountains • Great Plains • Missouri and Mississippi Rivers • Robert Fulton • Erie Canal • Rio Grande • Stephen Austin • General Antonio López de Santa Anna • Sam Houston • The Alamo • Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” • Mountain Men
Focus:
This unit reinforces map and globe skills as students learn about the geographic characteristics of different regions of the United States: New England, Mid-Atlantic, South, Midwest, Great Plains, Rocky Mountain, Southwest, and West Coast. Students explore each region’s climate, natural resources, culture, and other distinctive characteristics. Some content is tied to the “Pathway to Citizenship,” an array of civics-focused knowledge, questions, and activities.
Number of Lessons: 10
Instruction Time:
45 minutes (Each lesson may be divided into shorter segments.)
Additional Search Terms:
social studies • map skills • nonfiction • informational text • Alaska • Hawaii • Gulf Stream • fifty states and capitals • Caribbean Sea • Gulf of Mexico
NOTE: The resources for this unit are in the second part of Czars and Shoguns: Early Russia and Feudal Japan.
Focus:
This unit introduces students to the history of feudal Japan. Students first explore how Japan’s geography as an island nation influenced its culture and history, especially its long isolationism. Students learn about the rise of powerful feudal leaders called shoguns, and the role of the soldier-nobles called samurai, who lived by a code known as Bushido. Students also learn how the Tokugawa Shogunate closed Japan to most outsiders, and how Japan remained secluded until European powers and Commodore Matthew Perry of the United States compelled the Japanese to open their doors for trade. Students are also introduced to two important religions in Japanese history, Buddhism and Shinto.
Number of Lessons: 5
Instruction Time:
45 minutes (Each lesson may be divided into shorter segments.)
Additional Search Terms:
Ring of Fire • Pacific Rim • Tokyo • Mt. Fuji • typhoons • haiku
