7th Grade Curriculum Map
Unit / Essential
Standard
Concept / Pacing
Essential Questions
Essential Information / Resources
What is Social
Studies?
Inquiry
Why do we study the past?
Can the past truly be known?
What skills best help us uncover the past?
What role do the five strands play in social
studies?
What is the difference between history and social
studies?
Why is the study of interpretation of political
cartoons important to the understanding of social
studies?
What part do images play in social studies?
Focus on the Modern World (1492 – Present)
Is it true that those who do not learn from
history are doomed to repeat it?
5 Themes Survivor Lesson Plan (set up under old standards,
but can be applied to current standards)
http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/careerstartgrade6/2634
7.H.1.1, 7.H.1.2,
7.H.1.3
Is history the story told by the "winners" or
“losers”?
Instruction Ideas
5 Themes of Geography Poster (define and
illustrate with captions and photographs)
(use of stixy.com)
What will your artifacts say about our current
culture? (students come up with 5 artifacts that a
future archaeologist would uncover. Based on
these artifacts, what conclusions would an
archaeologist make about our current society?
How does it relate to the five themes
Primary and Secondary PowerPoint (teacher
creates a PowerPoint with images that are
primary and secondary sources). Have students
view a PowerPoint presentation and have them
5 Themes of Geography
Primary Sources
Secondary Sources
Oral History
Perspective and Bias
5 Strands (Culture, Geography and Environmental Literacy,
Civics and Governance, History, Economics and Financial
Literacy)
http://www.studentsfriend.com/aids/curraids/whylessn.ht
ml (why study history lesson plan)
http://www.historians.org/pubs/Free/WhyStudyHistory.htm
(why study history essay)
http://www.historians.org/pubs/archives/whmcneillwhystu
dyhistory.htm (why study history essay – different author)
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/usingprimarysources/
(primary vs secondary sources)
select if a particular image is a primary or
secondary image.
Perspective and Bias
(Have students view two opposing images or
written interpretations on an issue - have
students debate which perspective is most
accurate. Examples: Samurai vs Japanese
Modernization or Apple I-Pads vs Chinese Factory
Workers)
Image Illusion - Have students view an image that
can be seen in two different ways.
Discovery and
Exploration
7.H.2.3
Discovery and
Exploration
What’s the importance of exploration/discovery?
What were the differing perspectives and effects of
exploration?
How are explorers viewed by the natives?
How did advances in science fuel exploration?
Why do humans fell compelled to “discover?”
What are similarities and differences between
various explorations across different time periods?
How have people developed unique ways of
adapting to their environments to meet their basic
needs?
In what ways are humans still exploring?
Things to consider or each exploration: [Economic and
social issues pushing exploration / Tools and technology /
global factors / the leaders / the positive and negative
ramifications]
Famous Explorations Colombian Exchange (exchange of plants, animals, diseases,
human populations - including slavery)
East India Trade
Vikings
Marco Polo
Phoenicians (Algeria, modern alphabet)
Why do many humans feel the need to explore?
Christopher Columbus and other European explorers
Resources
http://www.cln.org/themes/explorers.html
http://www.mnh.si.edu/vikings/ - overview on the
Vikings.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/24/arts/24iht-
Tools of the early explorers (caravel ships, compass,
cartography, astrolab)
Admiral Zheng (1405--1423 may have visited America, China
Lewis and Clark, and Sacajawea
chinam.html?pagewanted=all) – great article on
Admiral Zheng
http://www.pbs.org/opb/conquistadors/home.htm great site examining the conquest of the new
world.
http://www.thinkquest.org/pls/html/think.library search site under “Explorers”
Global Challenges
and Attempts to Help
(population,
economics resources)
7.G.1.1 , 7.G.1.2,
7.G.1.3, 7.H.2.2
Global
Challenges
Captain Cook (Australia)
Modern connection:
GPS
Race to the Moon (1968 USA lands)
Race to the North and South Pole
Modern alphabet (Phoenicians)
What determines distribution of global resources?
20th Century Global Problems: (World War I, World War II,
What are today’s global challenges?
How does a global society tackle global
challenges?
Compare and contrast successful attempts at
helping global crisis vs unsuccessful attempts.
What rights and responsibilities do we have in
our world today?
What are essential human rights?
the Cold War, the Korean and Vietnamese conflicts, dynamic
Asian economies)
Population-effects of growth and attempts to control growth
such as China’s one child policy
Scarcity of resources and how this has led to conflict (Middle
East, Africa)
National Debt
European Union
What are students’ rights and responsibilities in
this interconnected world?
Health Care
What civic responsibilities do humans have to
one another in the modern world?
Poverty
What challenges and opportunities have resulted
from global trade?
Clean Drinking Water
What challenges and opportunities have
resulted from the spread of democracy?
Racism/Genocide/Ethnic Cleansing
What challenges and opportunities have resulted
from the influence of technology?
Environmental challenges (global warming)
What challenges and opportunities have resulted
from environmental awareness?
Rights of Women
Groups such as the U.N., Peace Corps, Red Cross
Diseases
Human Trafficking
Drone Warfare
War and Conflict
War and Conflict
7.H.2.1
What factors seem to be constant in global war?
What is the global impact of global war on a
society?
Technology Complications
Causes and Results of WW1
-Ottoman Empire
-League of Nations
-U.S. involvement
Treaty of Versailles
Compare and contrast various aspects of two wars
(reasons for war / human, environmental, and
Causes and Results of WW2
financial cost / major leaders / outcomes /
-Holocaust
treaties)
-European and Asian campaigns
-U.S. involvement
Are civilian casualties the inevitable outcome of
war?
Is the accidental killing of civilians in a military
campaign morally equivalent to the deliberate
killing of civilians in a terrorist attack?
Is there such a thing as a “just” war?
Do wars ever produce good?
How can wars and conflicts be avoided?
Cold War
-Korean War
-Vietnam War
-Spheres of Influence
-Nuclear Arms Race
-U.S. involvement
Atomic Age
-Advances in Science
-Regulations
-Disarmament
Modern Connections: Iran, Terrorism
HumanEnvironmental
Interaction
HumanEnvironmental
Interaction
What is human-environmental interaction?
How do humans depend on the
environment?
7. G.1.1, 7.G.1.3
How do people adapt to the environment?
How do people change the environment
around them?
Recycling
Drilling for Oil
The Panama Canal
The Blue Ridge Parkway
The building of a dam (Three Gorges dam along the Yangtze
River)
Building Neighborhoods
Nuclear Power
Wind Power
Cars and Roads
What are the positive and negative consequences
of human environmental interaction?
What responsibility do humans have for protecting
the environment?
Can laws aiming to protect the environment have
negative effects for humans and if so, should these
rules be changed?
Resources:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGhazUS9jtI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen
&v=0zPcR7wgh0c&NR=1
Read aloud The Lorax by Dr. Seuss. The story
presents an interesting example of humanenvironment interaction. Discuss the different
characters, who they symbolize, their
interactions and students' reactions to them.
How is each character affected by the Onceler? Who is the Somebody? What is his
purpose?

Give students a copy of the lyrics for "Big
Yellow Taxi" by Joni Mitchell and/or
play the song for them. Ask them to join
in a general discussion about the singer's
message. (Any other song with a similar
message could be used; e.g., "If a Tree
Falls" by Bruce Coburn.)
Healing and protecting animals
Human started fires
Pollution
Animal Hunting
Deforestation
Then have groups of students compare various authors'
viewpoints. Some selections that students could read
include: Earth's Green Mantle by Rachel Carson; Our Forest
Industry Includes Clear-Cutting....or does it? by Rod Crow; All
this Great Variety of Life by Betty Miles: Modern Edifices by
Maria Holod; Autumntime by A. Lentini; The Earth by Russell
Schweikart; I belong by A. Whiterock; The Fragile Land by
Janice Hamilton; Drawing the Line in the Vanishing Jungle by
David M. Schwartz; Song of the Earth Spirit-Traditional
Navajo; Paradise Lost by Elizabeth Vitton; If I Forget Thee,
Oh Earth...by Arthur C. Clarke.
Enlightenment and
Argument and Civil
Disobedience
7C&G.1.1
Enlightenment
and Argument
and Civil
Disobedience
Why do people question traditions and ideas of
institutions?
How did the Enlightenment philosophers impact
government and society?
What practices were enlightenment thinks
questioning?
Review the Renaissance and Reformation
Enlightenment Thinkers:
Rousseau “direct democracy”
John Locke – governments were created to protect natural
rights – life, liberty, and property
Montesquieu – “separation of powers”
Why did some of the findings during the Scientific
Revolution cause tension with the Church?
What recent traditions or practices have been
questioned and changed in the US and the world?
How might the Scientific Revolution have led to the
Enlightenment?
How did changes in various thought processes
benefit or hurt society?
Voltaire--civil liberties and separation of state
Scientific Revolution:
Copernicus-Earth revolves
Newton
Galileo
Darwinism--Theory of Evolution
Rise of capitalism – Adam Smith
Karl Marx - Communism
Is it easy for person or a group to confuse a
fundamental human principle versus a simple
personal desire?
Modern: Segregation, cloning, tax rates, global warming
What is civil disobedience?
Liberation for Women
Is protest healthy or unhealthy for a society?
Title IX
What types of things can someone taking part in a
protest do to bring recognition to their cause?
Simon Bolivar (South America)
What makes for a justifiable protest or act of civil
disobedience?
Can a protest movement go too far?
Does history view protestors differently than the
general society did at the time of the protest?
Push for democracy in the Middle East (Egypt)
Korea--Goryeo Dynasty
Japan--Meij Restoration
Diseases and
Epidemics
When do diseases become epidemic?
What helps a disease move successfully?
7.H.2.4
How do humans react when they learn they have
a disease?
Do people interact differently within a society
when faced with death?
What role does exploration or trade have in spreading
disease?
Did technology, including medical technology, stop
epidemics?
What was the “silver-lining?” Did society make
positive changes?
The Plague
Smallpox
Tuberculosis
Influenza
Typhoid Fever
Cholera
Anthrax
Malaria
SARS
Ebola
Syphilis
Cancer
AIDS
What causes these diseases? How many people died?
Where did the outbreak start and where did it spread? Did
humans find a cure?
Project Idea -
Resources:
http://pulse.pharmacy.arizona.edu/10th_grade/di
sease_epidemics/social_studies/index.html (high
school lesson plan, but this can be adapted for 6th
grade)
Personal Financial
Literacy
7.E.1.4
Personal
Financial Literacy
Why is a budget important for making personal
financial decisions and planning for the future?
Why is it important to distinguish between your needs
and wants?
What is the relationship between the timing of your
goals and the type of good or service that you want?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of using
credit?
What are the basic investment choices and
what factors might affect your investment choices?
6 Slide PowerPoint Creation
Slide 1 – Background of Disease
Slide 2 – Location
Slide 3 – How is Spread?
Slide 4 – Consequences
Slide 5 – If and how was it controlled?
Slide 6 – What did we learn from this epidemic and how did
it change a culture?
Topic 1: Personal Budgeting
Topic 2: Managing Money (checking, saving, and investing)
Topic 3: Risk Management: Debt, Protection, and Insurance
(no call list, reading the fine print contracts, divulging
information, credit score)
What are various investing strategies and
tax implications for their potential to build
wealth and lead to retirement?
How does properly managing a checking
and savings account contribute to the
financial well being of a person?
Natural and Human
Created Disasters
7.G.1.3
Natural and
Human Created
Disasters
What is a natural disaster?
What combinations of factors cause different
kinds natural disasters?
How do natural disasters affect people?
Is there anything our town should do to improve
our readiness for natural disasters?
When warned about an impending natural
disaster, some people choose to stay in that
location. Should they have that right?
If they do choose to stay and disaster occurs,
should the government rush in to help?
Age of Technological
Advances
Is new technology always better than what it will
replace?
7.H.2.3
How have technological advancements changed
societies?
What are the different ways cultures can be
innovative?
How have technological advances altered lifestyles
and cultures worldwide?
How do changes in technology affect
economic, political, and social
systems?
What can be the negative effects of
technological advances?
2010 Haiti Earthquake
2011 US Tornado Season
2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami
1931 China Floods
Fires
Diseases and Plagues
Great Irish Famine
BP Oil Spill
Three Mile Island Nuclear Meltdown
Chernobyl - Russian Nuclear Meltdown
Japanese Nuclear Reactor Meltdown
The Holocaust – 1933 - 1945
Rwanda – 2004
Social Media
Positive and negative affects of the Internet
Military weapons (drones, biological warfare, etc.)
Types of technology that have led to a global economy
Comparisons between the Industrial Revolution and the
Technological Revolution
Industrial Revolution
Agra farming (cheaper
food, but less healthy)
Genetically modified food
Medical Field
What have been some of the unexpected or
unintended changes that came from
technological advances?
Social Studies Project Ideas
ORAL
Announcements
Audiotape
Campaign speech
Comedy act
Debate
Dialog
Discussion
Documentary
Eulogy
Group discussion
Interactive slides
Lecture
Mock interview
Mock trial
Monologue
News broadcast
Oral report
Panel discussion
Rap
Role-play
Seminar
Speech
TV Commentary
KINESTHETIC
Ballet
Characterization
Charades
Collage
Comedy sketch
Dance
Demonstration
Diorama
Display
Dramatization
Experiment
Field trip
Game
Map
Mobile
Model
Pantomime
Performance
Puppet show
Quilt
Relief map
Sculpture
Simulation
Sports event
Storytelling
Suitcase of artifacts
Talent show
VISUAL
WRITTEN
Advertisement
Banner
A Travelog
Bookmark
Brochure
Bulleted chart
Bulletin board
Cartoon
Chart
Collage
Comic strip
A Timeline
Crossword puzzle
Dictionary
Family tree
Flag
Flannel board
Flip chart
Flow chart
Graph
Greeting card
Hidden picture
Hieroglyphic
Storyboard
Jigsaw puzzle
Map
Mosaic
Mural
Painting
Photo album
Photo essay
Political cartoon
Poster
Quote chart
Scrapbook
Scroll
Biography
A Survey
Booklet
Characterization
Classified ad
Comic book
Creative writing
Critique
Database
Dictionary
Editorial
A Resume
Evaluation checklist
Evaluation grid
Fable
Fact file
Fairy tale
Glossary
Guidebook
Job description
Journal
A Recipe
List
Lyrics
Magazine
Manual
Memoir
Metaphor
Musical score
Newscast
Newspaper
Parody
Patent
Play
Poem
Questionnaire
Useful Resource Internet Links
http://teachinghistory.org/ - The following link will take you to a site that was designed by George Mason to help teachers with American
history topics. There is on-line professional development, teaching ideas, and all sorts of historical information. George Mason got a sevenmillion dollar grant from the US Government.
http://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/flASH/ (newspaper headlines from across the globe).
All of this teacher’s videos are posted on this YouTube link:
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=historyteachers#g/u - You Tube is an excellent website for raps, documentaries, and history clips.
Submit a lesson plan for money! Or get lesson plan ideas – some are free and some cost a small amount of money.
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Browse/5-Dollars-or-Less-Store/?seltype=3&gd=0&gdl=5&sb=42&vw
Excellent US History Lesson Plans that are connected with primary sources:
http://sheg.stanford.edu/?q=node/45
NY Regents - http://www.nysedregents.org/ - Excellent source for US, World, and Civics standardized questions.
The Civics Consortium - http://www.civics.unc.edu/ Great website for lesson plans and resources for civics and history
http://www.gilderlehrman.org – Primary and secondary US history resources and lesson plans.
Primary Sources (a list of the top primary source websites) - http://teachingamericanhistory2011.wordpress.com/
http://www.historyteacher.net/ Great resource for PowerPoints, articles, and other social studies links. Information and
resources for almost every social studies content area.
I-Tunes University – video courses of all kinds of social studies subjects
http://www.procon.org/ - this site promotes critical thinking, education, and informed citizenship. It presents controversial issues in a straightforward,
nonpartisan, primarily pro-con format.
http://jeopardylabs.com – create a jeopardy game for your students.
http://www.learnnc.org/nchistory/ - A digital history of North Carolina – excellent history text. They are working on one for Civics.
http://life.time.com/history/ (Life Magazine history covers)
http://ascd.typepad.com/blog/2008/09/bookmark-this-f.html - The “100 Best Speeches in US History.” This site allows you to listen to each one.
National Archives - http://www.archives.gov/education
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/ - A Digital US History book…
http://www.wga.hu/index.html The Web Gallery of Art is a virtual museum and searchable database of European painting and sculpture of the
Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Neoclassicism, Romanticism and Realism periods (1100-1850), currently containing over 21.300 reproductions.
Picture commentaries, artist biographies are available. Guided tours, period music, catalogue, free postcard and other services are provided.
Follow the link below...
SAS Curriculum Pathways - Over 20,000 teachers in over 1,200 traditional schools and 40 charter schools are using SAS Curriculum Pathways online educational resources made available at no charge to schools. SAS Curriculum Pathways provides standards-based content for middle
and high schools in core academic disciplines - English, mathematics, social studies, science and Spanish. The product offers more than 1,200
academic resources, including lessons, engaging activities and interactive teaching tools, plus links to more than 4,000 academically appropriate
websites. For more information, including how to take advantage of this resource, visit
http://www.sas.com/govedu/edu/curriculum/index.html
http://www.icivics.org/games/supreme-decision - Excellent website on civics and economics – designed more for elementary students, but it
could be useful at the middle and high school levels. There are games and very good videos on the Constitution, Bill of Rights, the three
branches of government, and financial literacy.
http://www.curriki.org/ - Social Studies Lesson Plans
http://www.besthistorysites.net/ -
Digital History Map - This might be helpful for you and your students. It is a searchable database:
http://collections.lib.uwm.edu/cdm4/search.php?CISOROOT=/agdm
The Dirksen Congressional Center recently announced the completion of the Editorial Cartoon Collection project:
http://www.congresslink.org/cartoons/index.htm.
The editorial cartoons and related lesson plans from The Dirksen Center will teach
students to identify issues, analyze symbols, acknowledge the need for background knowledge, recognize stereotypes and caricatures,
think critically, and appreciate the role of irony and humor.
http://www.picturehistory.com/misc/about.html - An extensive collection of American History photographs.
http://www.socialstudies.org/
This site has a large collection of primary source documents and it also offers document based questions.
http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/pages/listdocumentpa.html
DonorsChoose.org - This website has made national news this year since the economy has turned sour. It was started by the Bill and Melinda
Gates Foundation and lots of teachers have received some much needed classroom resources.
This site offers an extensive collection of United States history primary source documents from 1400’s to the present.
http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/D/
Educator’s Reference Desk (maintained by the University of Washington) has Social Studies lesson plans, by subject area including service learning,
folklore, etc. – connected to all subject areas: http://www.eduref.org/cgibin/res.cgi/Subjects/Social_Studies
University of Missouri, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Missouri Department of Higher Education have
collaborated to produce programs and resources by topic: http://www.emints.org/ethemes/index.shtml
eTHEMES compiles websites as resources for student use – uses graduate students as scouts to evaluate appropriateness
http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/by-grade.shtml Listing of student appropriate websites by grade level and by theme/ subject
Free site that allows you and your students to make electronic flash cards
http://quizlet.com/
Here you will find resources to support the implementation of the new K-12 Social Studies Essential Standards, FAQs, and contact information
for the NCDPI K-12 Social Studies staff. This is not a collaborative site; however, you do not have to be a member in order to access the
information here: http://ssnces.ncdpi.wikispaces.net/Home