8th Grade Course Description
The 8th grade Social Studies course is designed to meet the New Jersey Student Learning Standards for Social Studies and to provide students with knowledge, skills, and values essential to understand world history. Students will focus on each part of the world and develop an ability to recognize characteristics distinguishing regions of the Mediterranean, Europe, Africa and Asia. This course will focus on the geography, economies, political systems, religious institutions, cultural achievements, technological advancements, and social relations amongst various civilizations including; Classical Civilizations of the Mediterranean and empires in Asia, Africa and Europe during the Middle Ages. The course will also focus on incorporating literacy strategies while learning the content. Students will improve their deep reading of informational text and their compositional skills through Document Based Questions and Free Response Questions. Close analysis of primary, secondary, and independent inquiry documents will be a focus. Writing assignments are related to content studied in class and through independent student research. The New Jersey Student Learning Standards in Social Studies 8 will frame the outcomes of this course.
2026-27 8th Grade Social Studies Class Syllabus
The class syllabus includes materials/resources needed, classroom expectations, SmartPass expectations, cell phone policy, Google Classroom, grading policy, late work policy, academic dishonesty, and absence policy.
7th Grade Course Description
During the first half of the school year, 7th grade students will engage in a full semester (two marking periods) of civics. The curriculum for 7th Grade Civics is written to help develop active and informed citizens by providing students with a knowledge and appreciation of their government, while at the same time offering them the skills necessary for participation in a democracy. To satisfy the New Jersey Student Learning Standards, the study of civic and political institutions includes concepts of the law, politics, and government that are essential to understanding the important institutions of society and the principles these institutions are intended to reflect. Participation requires learning about public issues and determining how and when to take action to address them. Deliberation requires civic dispositions, such as honesty, mutual respect, cooperation, and attentiveness to multiple perspectives that individuals should use when they interact with each other on public matters. Deliberation includes learning processes that enable citizens to engage in constructive, informed, and decisive dialogue about important public issues. Both participation and deliberation require an understanding of the diverse arguments regarding the underlying principles as well as founding documents and their meanings. Understanding democratic principles, such as equality, freedom, liberty, and respect for individual rights, and how they apply to both official institutions and informal interactions among citizens is a fundamental concept of being a citizen in a democratic republic. Processes and rules are how groups of people make decisions, govern themselves, and address public problems. This includes problems at all scales, from a classroom to local, state, and national public policy to the agreements among nations.
Additionally, this includes studying how various rules, processes, laws, and policies actually work, which requires an understanding of political systems and defining and addressing public problems. Human rights are universal, inalienable, and interdependent claims that derive from the inherent worth of every individual. They are the birthright of every human being regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status. Human rights include the right to life and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion and expression, the right to work and education, and many more. These universal rights are not granted by states or governments but are inherent to every person. Civic-mindedness is grounded in democratic principles and promotes civic virtues. Responsible citizens are informed and thoughtful, participate in their communities, act politically, and embrace civic dispositions. Important civic dispositions for a democratic society include civility, open-mindedness, compromise, and toleration of diversity. In a democratic society, individuals show concern for others’ rights and welfare, fairness, trust in humanity and political systems, and a sense of public duty. The belief that one’s own actions – alone or in combination with others – can make a difference is closely related to democratic principles and participation.
2026-27 7th Grade Social Studies Class Syllabus
The class syllabus includes materials/resources needed, classroom expectations, SmartPass expectations, cell phone policy, Google Classroom, grading policy, late work policy, academic dishonesty, and absence policy.
7th Grade Curriculum - US History