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.

In accordance with Genocide Awareness Month, Facing History offers nine classroom resources educators can utilize to help their students think critically about the specific historical and contemporary conditions under which genocides occurred to effectively unite head, heart, and conscience.

Why did our ancestors who made cave paintings in France thrive while Neanderthals died out? What do our closest living ancestors have to teach us about what it means to be human? How do images of the human brain reveal our faculties for language, the use of tools and the ability to forge social bonds? These questions and more are examined in "The Human Spark," a three-part television series funded in part by NSF. In this background briefing, host Alan Alda and the producers of the series discuss their interactions with dozens of scientists to get at the sources of human uniqueness through the lenses of neuroscience, anthropology, human evolution, child development and primatology. The series premieres on PBS stations Jan. 6, 13 and 20, 2010.

You probably associate the so-called "War on Drugs" with the Reagans. Or maybe, more correctly, with the Nixon administration. But the government's anti-drug policies started decades before that.

And, as we discuss in this week's episode, those policies were often motivated by things other than public health and safety. Instead, they targeted - and continue to target - immigrants and communities of color.

This episode digs into the history of America's War on Drugs, featuring guests Jason Ruiz and Yasser Arafat Payne.

Using a reality tlevision show format, students are given thems from a certain novel and create storyboards upon which to create the reality TV show. Prior to the lesson , the teacher pulls the stick(s) from certain cups that are labeled with each of the ELA standards. This way students are focused on what standrd they are working on that class period.

This course applies the tools of anthropology to examine biology in the age of genomics, biotechnological enterprise, biodiversity conservation, pharmaceutical bioprospecting, and synthetic biology. It examines such social concerns such as bioterrorism, genetic modification, and cloning. It offers an anthropological inquiry into how the substances and explanations of biology—ecological, organismic, cellular, molecular, genetic, informatic—are changing. It examines such artifacts as cell lines, biodiversity databases, and artificial life models, and using primary sources in biology, social studies of the life sciences, and literary and cinematic materials, and asks how we might answer Erwin Schrodinger’s 1944 question, “What Is Life?” today.

Becoming Human is a fast-paced, irreverent introduction to evolutionary theory, especially human origins. The book is based on the Open2Study MOOC, 'Becoming Human,' created by Dr. Greg Downey and Open Universities Australia. The book discusses traces of evolution in our bodies, basic evolutionary theory from Darwin to the genomic revolution, sexual selection and reproduction, and how human brain development affects our evolution, including into the future. Copiously illustrated, with some interactive diagrams, videos of Dr. Downey presenting the material are also available through Open2Study.

This article discusses the CNN video report #Being13 which was a study of social networking and teens.  The article links to the video report and highlights some of the findings.

The Center for Civic Education helps students develop (1) an increased understanding of the institutions of constitutional democracy and the fundamental principles and values upon which they are founded, (2) the skills necessary to participate as competent and responsible citizens, and (3) the willingness to use democratic procedures for making decisions and managing conflict. Ultimately, the Center strives to develop an enlightened citizenry by working to increase understanding of the principles, values, institutions, and history of constitutional democracy among teachers, students, and the general public.

In this lesson, students will learn about the Los Angeles Chinese Massacre of 1871, and identify the causes by examining the attitudes and policies of the time. They will learn about and analyze other massacres that have occurred in the United States in order to gain a better and more nuanced understanding of how and why these acts of violence occur. Lastly, students will research the process for reparations and consider how to address and rectify the harm of such injustices.

Content Warning:
This lesson includes discussion of and materials discussing or depicting xenophobia, Sinophobia, and racial violence, including lynchings. Please let students know that this lesson will cover these topics and approach discussions with care.
Teaching these topics and having these discussions can be difficult. Here are two resources that may be helpful for planning and facilitating lessons and activities on difficult topics: Strategies for Facilitating Conversations About Race and Racism in the Classroom [run time: 00:04:59] and Let’s Talk! | Discussing Race, Racism and Other Difficult Topics with Students [24 pages].

From the Asian American Education Project

Chinese immigrants began arriving to the United States in the early 1800s to fill the need for cheap labor. Soon, white workers began to see them as a source of competition. Amidst a climate of anti-Chinese sentiment, the U.S. passed several pieces of legislation to exclude Chinese immigrants from entering the country beginning in the 1870s. In 1882, the U.S. passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, the first in a series of laws explicitly used to limit immigration based on race. Other immigration laws followed to exclude additional Asian groups. In this lesson, students will examine the causes and effects of exclusion laws targeting early Asian immigrants. They will research related events and legislation to explore the historical and political contexts of the anti-Chinese exclusion acts.

Content Warning:
This lesson will include discussions and depictions of xenophobia, Sinophobia, race-based hate, and racial violence. If needed, provide a content or a trigger warning so that students are aware of potentially traumatic material. Also, allow students time to process and provide them an opportunity to journal their thoughts and feelings. If available, work with your school’s mental health professionals to provide counseling as needed.

From the Asian American Education Project

In 1884, Joseph and Mary Tape sued the San Francisco School District for the right to public education, arguing that their daughter Mamie Tape deserved the right to attend public school. The California Supreme Court ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment protected the rights of citizens and thus, Mamie, a U.S. citizen, could not be denied the opportunity to attend school. However, the Court ruled that segregated schools were not against the law, which led the San Francisco Board of Education to build separate schools for Chinese students. In this lesson, students will examine how the California Supreme Court Case of Tape v. Hurley (1885) reinforced the Perpetual Foreigner Stereotype. They will analyze a primary source document to understand how this landmark civil rights case set the foundation for ending school segregation.

This lesson was produced as part of the New York City Department of Education's Hidden Voices curriculum. Content was created by The Asian American Education Project and this version is owned by The Asian American Education Project. As such, users agree to attribute work to The Asian American Education Project.

The day after Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed, a teacher in a small town in Iowa tried a daring classroom experiment. She decided to treat children with blue eyes as superior to children with brown eyes. FRONTLINE explores what those children learned about discrimination and how it still affects them today.

A 2018 TIme Magazine Article that explores the evidence for early European Exploration throughout North America.

With dreams of having a better life, thousands of Chinese risked their lives across the Pacific Ocean to join in the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad from 1863 to 1869. These Chinese laborers worked under extreme and hazardous environments. Due to their ethnic appearance and language barriers, the Chinese were greatly taken advantage of by their employers. These Chinese laborers became pioneers in the collective labor actions of American labor history, while also contributing to the economies of the U.S. and China.

From the Asian American Education Project

This course examines computers anthropologically, as artifacts revealing the social orders and cultural practices that create them. Students read classic texts in computer science along with cultural analyses of computing history and contemporary configurations. It explores the history of automata, automation and capitalist manufacturing; cybernetics and WWII operations research; artificial intelligence and gendered subjectivity; robots, cyborgs, and artificial life; creation and commoditization of the personal computer; the growth of the Internet as a military, academic, and commercial project; hackers and gamers; technobodies and virtual sociality. Emphasis is placed on how ideas about gender and other social differences shape labor practices, models of cognition, hacking culture, and social media.

The goal of this lesson developed by Pacer's National Bullying Prevention Center is to help elementary-age students understand what bullying is and the role they can plan in stopping it. It includes a detailed lesson plan as well as links to video segments which may be useful. It also includes scenarios that students could role play as they consider how they might act in stopping bullying.

This assignment ties thematically into texts concerning Mob Mentality, Cliques, and Groupthink. Students are asked to evaluate the psychology behind groupthink and relate it to written and world texts they have encountered.

This lesson plan occurs over the course of multiple class periods in order to scaffold a cultural understanding of the Hmong people and their experiences in the Secret War. Using this extended time can address multiple standards associated with historical thinking and analysis as well as ELA in Social Studies standards. Additionally, the refugee story contained in this lesson is a translation of an oral story told in the Hmong language - for this reason, the quantitative readability is on the lower end of the scale.

Educators use formative assessment to continually reflect and improve their skills related to these practices. The Formative Assessment video is a resource that can be used to support educators' professional development related to assessment literacy. Use the Video Supplement & Resource Guide to enhance your facilitation of this professional development opportunity.