The Wisconsin Social Studies/Civics 6-8 Suggested Scope & Sequence is divided by grade. The writing team decided this because they wanted to be able to build upon previous learning, and if the three courses were listed at any grade, educators would not be able to count on what was happening the year before. Therefore, we offer the
following order of courses:
• 6th Grade: Geography & Cultures of the World: Yesterday and Today
• 7th Grade: Civics & Our Contemporary World
• 8th Grade: Wisconsin & U.S. Studies (Thematic, 1924 – Present Day)

Civics and Social Studies are integrative by nature. Focusing on themes over dates, names, and battles can help students visualize the connections between strands of social studies better and learn to see the bigger picture while still meeting our state standards and expectations. Instead of viewing events in isolation, a thematic approach allows
students to better see connections and patterns across time. In addition, it assists teachers in helping students make connections to their own lives, identities, and current issues.

Each course is thematic, based in inquiry, has a civics lens, and is aligned to the Wisconsin Standards for Social Studies and the National Council for the Social Studies Themes of Social Studies. The courses all have the same units, focused on the strands of social studies (Inquiry, Behavioral Sciences, Economics, Geography, History, Political Science) in a thematic manner through the subject area. Every year starts with an inquiry unit to build inquiry skills and dispositions.

Each unit is further divided into planning ideas tied to middle school indicators from the Wisconsin Standards for Social Studies (2018). These planning ideas include:
• Potential Essential Questions, aligned to the standards
• NCSS theme of this unit
6-8 Social Studies/Civics: Suggested Scope and Sequence 8
• Focusing Questions for the Topic
• Recommended Inquiry Topics
• Specific Social Studies Indicators met with this unit
• Important Terms and Points to Consider
• Supporting Resource Providers to Consider

The essential and focusing questions are meant to help guide instruction and determine quality resources and lessons for use in the classroom. The recommended inquiry topics are provided to assist specific content choices for the unit.

We recognize this work is not as complete as the K-5 recommended scope & sequence. Where the K-5 team started with a framework similar to this document, the 6-8 started from scratch. We anticipate a more robust 6-8 document similar to the current released K-5 to be released by summer 2024.

Ancient History Encyclopedia is a non-profit educational website with a global vision: to provide the best ancient history information on the internet for free.

Survey of the social, cultural, and political development of western Europe between 500 and 1300. Topics include: the Germanic conquest of the ancient Mediterranean world; the Carolingian Renaissance; feudalism and the breakdown of political order; the crusades; the quality of religious life; the experience of women; and the emergence of a revitalized economy and culture in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.

This course is an investigation of the Roman empire of Augustus, the Frankish empire of Charlemagne, and the English empire in the age of the Hundred Years War. Students examine different types of evidence, read across a variety of disciplines, and develop skills to identify continuities and changes in ancient and medieval societies. Each term this course is different, looking at different materials from a variety of domains to explore ancient and mideveal studies. This version is a capture of the course as it was taught in 2012, and does not reflect how it is taught currently.

The engineering question would be how to create a tool to throw (or roll) the ball farther. Students would test initial throws (or rolls) Then they would be tasked with planning an investigation - creating criteria and constraints (if in grade 5). Students would then be introduced to the news article about the birdstone found in Door County. They would read the wikipedia article about the theories of birdstones, look at a map of where birdstones were said to be found and the tribes that were present. Then students would design an investigation to test how the atlatl worked (the science of energy quantities and transference of energy - depending on the grade) using pictures and art from history and the present. They create an atlatl-type tool and test it against their original throws or rolls. They look at two extensions of the atlatl, one a game that the cherokee played using the atlatl as a symbol and another from modern times, the chuckit. They then discuss whether attributions of the chuckit should be given to the first nations who actually invented the idea. (Criticality)

Website Description:
Teach your students about democracy with examples from the very beginning! In this lesson, students learn about Athens’s direct democracy and Rome’s republic. Students explore how these governments took shape and key features of their structure, and then try their hands at comparing and contrasting each to U.S. government today.

Student Learning Objectives:
* Describe democracy in Athens and Rome
* Differentiate between democracy and other forms of government
* Identify characteristics of direct and representative democracy
* Compare and contrast democracy in Athens and Rome to the U.S. government today
* Analyze arguments against democracy

This teaching guide from the OER Project outlines their courses, PD, and other resources.

The OER Project is a coalition of educators and historians committed to boosting student engagement and achievement through transformational social studies programs. By empowering classroom teachers with better curricula, content, and a vibrant community, we deliver more compelling, impactful, and usable histories. “OER” stands for open educational resources. When you grab a free worksheet off Pinterest for your tenth graders, that’s an OER resource. We recognize the value of OER resources, but want to go beyond the typical content repository approach—we aim to improve OER by providing coherency, support, and community.

Currently, the OER Project offers two courses—Big History Project (BHP) and World History Project (WHP)—both of which are completely free, online, and adaptable to different standards and classroom needs. Unlike textbooks, lesson websites, and other commercial products, everything has been purposely built to truly empower teachers and leave traditional history courses in—sorry for the pun—the past. We also offer short, standalone courses for those who want to try the OER Project approach, but aren’t yet ready to take on a full history course. Our current standalone options include Project X, a course that uses data to explore historical trends to help make predictions about the future; Project Score, a course that uses writing tools and the use of Score, a free, online essay-scoring service to help support student writing; and Climate Project, an evidence-based overview of the global carbon problem that culminates in students developing a plan of action they can implement locally

The "Observe, Think, Wonder" sheet was written (along with other resources) from a grant from the Library of Congress. It is based off their 6-12 analysis of primary sources documents. This is geared more towards elementary primary source analysis.

A K-5 student can analyze appropriate primary sources such as photographs and maps. Using the "Observe, Think, Wonder", students can walk through age-appropriate analysis by taking some time to look closely at the source (observe) and write down what they see; then dig a little deeper into what they think is happening in the photo or reading (think) before finally writing down any questions they might have about the source (wonder). This is great practice for further analysis and evaluation as they get older.

This subject introduces the history of science from antiquity to the present. Students consider the impact of philosophy, art, magic, social structure, and folk knowledge on the development of what has come to be called "science" in the Western tradition, including those fields today designated as physics, biology, chemistry, medicine, astronomy and the mind sciences. Topics include concepts of matter, nature, motion, body, heavens, and mind as these have been shaped over the course of history. Students read original works by Aristotle, Vesalius, Newton, Lavoisier, Darwin, Freud, and Einstein, among others.

In this lesson, students examine classic Maya art and monumental inscriptions, as well as an excerpt from an Aztec encyclopedia, to explore how the ancient Mexican city of Teotihuacan influenced other Mesoamerican societies. Students also reason about contemporary scholars' commentary on the historical sources.

Aspects of the tragic as a mode of literature and a quality of lived experience pursued in readings that extend from the warfare of the ancient world to the experiences of modern life. Authors include Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Shakespeare, Balzac, Tolstoy, Ibsen, Conrad, Dinesen, Faulkner, and Camus. Includes viewing of at least two films. "Tragedy" is a name originally applied to a particular kind of dramatic art and subsequently to other literary forms; it has also been applied to particular events, often implying thereby a particular view of life. Throughout the history of Western literature it has sustained this double reference. Uniquely and insistently, the realm of the tragic encompasses both literature and life. Through careful, critical reading of literary texts, this subject will examine three aspects of the tragic experience: The scapegoat; The tragic hero; The ethical crisis. These aspects of the tragic will be pursued in readings that range in the reference of their materials from the warfare of the ancient world to the experience of the modern extermination camps.

Transgender people have long faced discrimination in employment, marriage, medical care, and other areas, and are far more likely to experience homelessness, unemployment, and mental illness than people whose gender identity matches the gender they were assigned at birth. Today, ​lawmakers across the country have introduced anti-trans legislation, seeking to bar transgender students from participating in sports and limiting access by minors to gender-affirming medical care. The movement that began nearly half a century ago still faces many obstacles.

Content Advisory:
This lesson covers historical and contemporary demands for equality by transgender people. The film and associated resources address sexuality, violence against transgender people, and other topics that may upset or offend some people.

Details: This lesson can be added to 5th Grade Amplify Patterns of Earth and Sky: Analyzing Stars on Ancient Artifacts, with Lesson 2.1 after looking for patterns, making observations, and reflecting on the Model.Pursuits addressed: Identity-Students will learn about constellations from their own cultural perspectives and recognize that people from all over the world have stories related to the stars in the sky.Skills-The students will research constellations from a cultural perspective and create a class book to share with the rest of the school about constellations and their stories from around the world.Intellect-Students will interview their families to find out if their families have any constellation stories or information related to their cultures.Criticality- Students will understand that there are more than Greek and Roman names and stories for the constellations. The stories  are told and retold  by those in power.