Seventh Grade Humanities Course Description 2015-16
Social Justice in a Democratic Society: Identity, Power, Equality and Freedom
Units/Themes/Key Questions
Literature/Texts/ Primary Source
Documents/Media
Unit 1: Identity—Who Are We?
Who am I? How do experiences and
circumstance shape one’s life choices and
opportunities? Do individuals in the US
“escape the box” of circumstance? What
factors are involved for those who
successfully negotiate the boundaries of
American life?
- "Theme for English B"--Langston Hughes
Can we define American identity?
- “Black, White, and Jewish”—Rebecca Walker
How has American identity evolved?
- “Crickets" –Robert Olen Butler
-American Born Chinese –Gene Luen Yang
-"Alone and All Together" –Joseph Geha
- "High Yellow White Trash" –Lisa Page
- “American History”—Judith Ortiz-Cofer
How does racism and discrimination affect
one’s life choices and opportunities?
- This American Life--"Escaping the Box: An
American Girl Turns Eighteen"
Unit 2: Cultures in Context and Conflict
Who were the first people living in
America?
Who were the European explorers? What
were their motivations?
Who were the colonists?
How did slavery begin in America?
-Excerpts from the journals of Christopher
Columbus and Bernal Diaz’s The Conquest of
New Spain
- “The First Virginians”—excerpt from The
History of US: Making Thirteen Colonies by
Joy Hakim
- “Slavery in Virginia”—excerpt from
Eyewitness and Others
How did colonists live day to day? How did
colonists interact with Native Americans
- “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”--and with their new environment?
excerpt by Jonathan Edwards
How did the environment shape the
colonists, and how did they try to
manipulate their world?
What role did religion play in the lives of
the colonists?
- “On Being Brought from Africa to
America”—Phillis Wheatley
- Selections from The Captive –Mary
Rowlandson
Unit 3: Seeds of Rebellion
What is rebellion? What are the dangers of
rebellion? When is it important to stand up
for one's beliefs?
- Animal Farm –George Orwell
- Declaration of Independence
- “Harrison Bergeron”—Kurt Vonnegut
What was the experience of war for young
American colonists?
- “Common Sense”--- excerpt by Thomas Paine
How did the question of slavery play a role
in both the Revolutionary War and the
founding of the new nation?
Unit 4: Liberty: The American
Revolution and Slavery
What is Revolution?
What were the events leading up to the
America Revolution?
How did the colonies' experiences with
Great Britain influence the creation of the
ideas espoused in the Declaration of
Independence and Common Sense?
- Selections from We the People--Center for
Civic Education
- “A Kind of Destiny” by Albert Marrin
- Excerpts from A Young Patriot – Jim Murphy
- “Sympathy” by Paul Laurence Dunbar
- Chains --Laurie Halse Anderson
Unit 5: Creating a New Government: The
Price of Freedom
How did the Enlightenment and the
limitations in the Articles of Confederation
lead to the structure of the Constitution?
- Excerpts from We, the People: The Citizen
and the Constitution
- The Articles of Confederation
What role does each American play in
defending the Bill of Rights?
- The United States Constitution
- The Bill of Rights
- The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Unit 6: Manifest Destiny: Moving West
What were the experiences and perspectives
of different groups of people as the U. S.
expanded westward? (Native Americans,
American Settlers, Mexicans, Slaves)
- 1830 State of the Union Address: Andrew
Jackson (excerpt)
- Lewis and Clark—documentary
- Excerpts from Undaunted Courage by
Stephen A. Ambrose
How did the Louisiana Purchase influence
the exploration and growth of America?
- 500 Nations--documentary
- The Journals of Lewis and Clark--Excerpts
What happened to the Native people in the
Untied States?
- “A Psalm of Life---What The Heart of the
Young Man said to the Psalmist”--- Henry
Wadsworth Longfellow
-“Henry Thoreau Goes to Jail” (excerpt from
Eyewitnesses and Others)
What was the idea of Manifest Destiny?
-Selections from Walden- Henry David Thoreau
How can Romanticism and the notion of the
Gothic help us to understand American
expansion and individual reactions to
growth and expansion, from both a national
and local perspective?
- “The Black Cat” - Edgar Allan Poe
-”The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky” - Stephen
Crane
Various examples of murals and prints related
to Manifest Destiny, as well as examples of
Romantic and Neo-Gothic art and architecture
Student selection from a list of historical fiction
on various topics from The West, Pioneers,
Native Americans, Women, Gold Rush
Unit 7: The American Civil War: A
House Divided
What was life like for slaves?
-Excerpts from Narrative of the Life of Frederick
Douglass--Frederick Douglass
- Unchained Memories—HBO series
How did slaves resist?
- Excerpts from Commander in Chief:
Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War—Albert
Marrin
What was the basis of abolitionist rhetoric?
- “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”---
Ambrose Bierce
What were some of the key issues and
events of the Civil War, and how can we
understand them using Lincoln’s speeches?
- “O Captain, My Captain”--- Walt Whitman
- Emancipation Proclamation
- Gettysburg Address
- Lincoln's first and second inaugural addresses
- Reconstruction Amendments
Unit 8: Pursuing the American Dream
What human rights documents have been
based on the Declaration of Independence?
- The Great Migration: An American Story—
paintings by Jacob Lawrence
- A Raisin in the Sun--- Lorraine Hansberry
How have the values and promises of the
Declaration of Independence and Bill of
Rights been supported? How have they
been undermined or compromised? What
groups bear the burden of the unrealized
promises of the Declaration?
How did the Great Migration to Chicago
illustrate some of the issues of promises and
dreams that were or were not fulfilled?
What obstacles to achieving their dreams
did some groups (particularly AfricanAmericans) face after moving to Chicago?
- "The Lesson"--Toni Cade Bambara
- Our America --LeAlan Jones and Lloyd
Newman excerpts
- Ghetto Life 101 and The 14 Stories of Eric
Morse—NPR Radio Program
- The Promised Land—video documentary
excerpts
- “We Wear the Mask”--- Paul Laurence
Dunbar
-”Kitchenette Building” - Gwendolyn Brooks
Excerpts from Black Boy - Richard Wright
Other Curricular Experiences and Skills
Discussion –
Fictional and historical texts
Students will continue to practice the
basics of "Harkness" discussions that they
learned in 6th grade and will build upon
those skills in formal, teacher-facilitated
discussion.
Feedback from teacher and other students
Simulations -Student will participate in a mock
“Constitutional Convention” in order to
debate the issues of slavery and voting
rights.
Use of primary sources
Popular Media Analysis—In conjunction
with Animal Farm students will listen to
popular protest songs to analyze their
message and effectiveness.
Web research, listening skills
Mapping—interpreting maps, making
maps, states and capitals of the U.S.
United States History Atlas
Historical research
Graphic Narratives – Students will have
Internet and library research
several opportunities to write their own
graphic narratives using both historical and Use of primary sources
fictional material for the stories they create.
Journal writing
Literary Terms and Analysis
Students will learn to define and become
conversant with literary tropes, understand
genres and genre conventions, and will
determine authorial of point-of-view and
bias.
Presentation
Students will present historical context and
primary source analysis in the context of
our examination of the Civil War.
Organization
Use of Visual Aids (powerpoint or other
devices)
Leading Discussion
Historical Research—Students will
research historical questions related to the
themes and topics of the course. Students
will learn to cite sources, write
bibliographies, take notes, and draw
Internet and Library Use
Primary Source Searches
conclusions based on historical evidence.
Writing Skills and Processes
Poetry (writing and reading), narrative
writing, creative writing, note-taking and
listening, journaling, drafting process.
Active reading/annotating skills
Development of thesis, evidence-based
analysis and synthesis
Use of active and vivid language
Conventions of various forms of creative
writing
Aims and processes of pre-writing and
revision
Writing Grammar and Mechanics
Lessons on parts of speech, punctuation,
sentence structure, and conventions of
usage.