US GOVERNMENT:
- Levels of government (state, federal, local)
- Three Branches of Government (Legislative, Executive, Judicial)
- Purpose of checks and balances
- Different types of governments (Democracy, Dictatorship, Monarchy, Oligarchy, Republic, Constitutionalism, Anarchy, Theocracy)
- Different economic systems (Mixed economy, Socialism, Communism, Capitalism, etc.)
- Duties of the different branches and levels of government
- Purposes of a citizen
- Importance of the Bill of Rights (first 10 of our 27 amendments)
- Purpose of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights
- How a bill becomes a law
- Election process
- Political Parties
Native Americans - First People
- Research the different Native American regions
- Explain how the different groups adapted to their environments
- Discover the cultures in each region
- Explain what stereotyping is
- Understand why it is important not to stereotype individuals, groups, or cultures
- Determine the difference between primary sources and secondary sources
- Ask questions like a historian - explore, discover, make inquiries
European Exploration
- Impact of European exploration on the Native American way of life
- Explain what colonization is
- Identify and research well known explorers
- Analyze exploration from different points of view (Native, European, Explorer, African)
- Explain the Columbia exchange and its impacts on three continents (Africa, Europe, and the Americas)
- Understand the different types of governments occurring during the time of explorers
- Explain the slave trade and its lasting consequence
- Understand how technology allowed for the age of exploration
Early American Settlements and the Thirteen Colonies
- Explain the hardships of early European settlements including Jamestown and Plymouth
- Identify the different reasons for European migration to the Americas
- Research the three major regions of the colonies (northern, middle, and southern colonies)
- Understand the economic, government, and religious differences between the three regions
- Analyze interactions between the settlers and Native Americans
American Revolution:
- Explore the different cause and effect events that led up to the revolution
- Understand the differences in ideas between colonists and Europeans (particularly King George III)
- Explain the outcomes of important Revolutionary battles
- Research important Revolutionary War characters
- Explain the purpose of the Declaration of Independence
- Identify the offensive and defensive pros and cons to both armies (Colonial and British)
- Understand the differences in governments and country ideals