Syllabus
8th Grade Social Studies
Mrs. McMahon
Welcome to U.S. History!
Over the coming year, we will examine American history by focusing primarily on politics,
historical events, geography, economics, and sociology. The knowledge you have gained
through studying World History and World Cultures in 6th and 7th grade will help you as we now
look at U.S. History from 1860 through present time. Our goal is to learn from the past in order
to develop a strong foundation of knowledge for understanding the possibility in the future.
Content Information:
First Quarter:
Reshaping the Nation/Reform and Empire (1865-1919)
 The Civil War
 Reconstruction and the New South
 Opening the West
 The Industrial Age
 An Urban Society
 The Progressive Era
Second Quarter:
Change and Conflict (1920-1945)
 Rise to World Power
 WWI
 The Stock Market Game
 The Jazz Age
 The Depression and the New Deal
Third Quarter: A Geopolitical Look
Challenges at Home and Abroad (1945-Terrorism)
 Genocide
 WWII
 The Cold War Era
 The Vietnam Era
Fourth Quarter: A Cultural Look
America in a Modern Era (1950’s-Present)
 The Cold War Era (1960s/1970s)
 The Civil Rights Era
 America in the 1970s
 New Challenges 1980s/1990s
Projects we may complete in class:
 Design an early 1900s city
 SmithBarney Stock Market Game
 Create your own Spanish American War newspaper article
 Build 3-D maps and weaponry based on WWI
 Create a group PowerPoint on the settlement in the West
 Create a Cold War book (children’s, picture, or trade) or presentation
 Research and present information on WWII
 Pop-up timeline on Vietnam
 “Progressive” ads (visual or auditory)


1930s Radio Show
Skits on the Jim Crow Era
Materials Needed:
 1 Class 3 subject class notebook- this will be used for class notes/activities, daily journals, and
geographical maps.
 Book:
The American Journey: Modern Times (Provided by teacher)
Class Work:
Daily: This consists of reading, note taking, participation, current event assignments, varied homework
assignments, and journal responses.
Projects: Throughout the year you will be taking on individual, partner, and group projects. Project
assignments will vary in topic and range from research based papers to creativity based skits.
Extra Credit: “Chances” give students the opportunity to earn additional points throughout the school
year. You are awarded one chance per quarter. Students can either bring in an item relevant to the topic
we are discussing in class, give a speech to the rest of the class based on a historical figure, or go on a
personal field trip and bring back a souvenir for “show and tell.” Students will be awarded up to 10 points
dependent on effort/difficulty level.
Quizzes/Tests: Throughout the year, we will have current event and subject matter quizzes, as well as unit
tests to assess each student’s learning of the content material.
Classroom Guidelines
Expectations:
1. Come to class on time and prepared with the necessary class materials.
2. Be prepared to learn.
3. Make-up work is a student’s responsibility. The student has two calendar days to make up any
homework or tests missed for every day of excused absence.
4. Homework is completed on time or an academic accountability sheet is filled out (1 st semester
only).
5. If absent, assignments and quizzes/ tests not issued to the student before he/she left will need to be
made up upon returning to school.
6. Class time is to be used for Social Studies related work.
7. Be ENTHUSIASTIC and MODIVATIED to understand the changes our nation has gone through.
Assignments and Grades
All assignments will be posted on my website assignment page. This will be updated daily. The website
can be accessed by going to the MSN faculty page on the Middle School North website. Students who are
absent should look to this page for what they have missed. Additionally, we will use Moodle at different
points in the year, a software package for producing internet-based courses and websites. Each student will
have his/her own log-in and password. Finally, new grades will be available for students every Monday on
E-School Home Access.
I look forward to an exciting new school year!
Mrs. Lindsay McMahon
We have read the syllabus and classroom guidelines.
Student Signature_______________________________________________________
Parent Signature________________________________________________________