Department of History &
Social Sciences
8th Grade Orientation Program
• “Names, facts and dates: this is what history
has become for a lot of students. But the
funny thing is that when you ask historians
what they do, an entirely different picture
emerges. They see themselves as detectives
searching for clues to a puzzle that can never
entirely be solved.”
• Sam Wineburg, Professor of Education,
Stanford University
Students as Historians
What the classroom should look like
Analyzing Primary sources
• All Levels:
– What are the origins of this document? When was
it written? What type of source is it? Who created
it?
– What is the purpose of this document?
– What value does this document have for us as
students of history? What are the limitations of
this document?
Analyzing Historical
Documents
Reading Levels
Honors Level Text
Advanced Level Text
• “The West on the Eve of a
New World Order”
• “On the Eve of A New World
Order” 1700-1815
– Chapter Outline & Focus
Questions
– Questions to Guide Your Reading
& Outline
– In what ways were the
American Revolution, the
French Revolution, and the
seventeenth-century English
Revolutions alike? In what
ways were they different?
– What caused the American
Revolution, and what did it
accomplish?
– What were the long-term and
immediate causes of the French
Revolution?
– What were the major events of the
French Revolution from 1789 to
1799?
End of Chapter: Conclusion &
Suggested Readings
End of Chapter: Section Review
(locate, define, identify, recall, think
critically)
Reading Levels
Academic Level Text
Studies Level Text
• “Revolutions of Society and
State 1714-1815”
• “A War For Independence”
–
–
–
–
Understanding the Main Idea
Themes
Time Line
Section Focus
– End of Chapter: Section
Review includes vocabulary,
main idea, writing exercise,
and synthesis of material
–
–
–
–
–
–
Read to Find Out
Terms to Define
People to Meet
Places to Locate
Time Line
Storyteller
-End of Chapter: Chapter
Assessment includes self-check
quiz online, using key terms,
technology activity, reviewing
facts, critical thinking,
understanding themes, skill
practice
Develop & defend
a point of view.
Do original research.
Create effective
arguments in debate
& in writing.
Consider multiple
points of view.
Seek relevant
evidence in
research.
Understand & use
the habits of mind
in history.
Appreciate
the tentative nature
of history.
Use visuals, projects,
& technology to
demonstrate learning.
Develop a broad body of history knowledge.
Develop an
appreciation for
differences.
Analyze
primary
sources.
Understand that history is
a “foreign place.” They
did things differently
there.
Electives
•
•
•
•
IB Psychology
IB Research Methods
IB Economics
IB European History
• AP American Government &
Politics
• AP European History
• Western Civilization
• Economics
• American Government &
Politics
*************************
Semester Electives
• Sociology
• American Legal Systems
• Contemporary World Issues
• Anthropology
• American Government &
Politics - Academic Level