This parent guide supports parents in helping their child at home with the 8th grade Social Studies content.

This resource accompanies our Rethink 8th Grade Social Studies course. It includes ideas for use, ways to support exceptional children, ways to extend learning, digital resources and tools, tips for supporting English Language Learners and students with visual and hearing impairments. There are also ideas for offline learning. 

Containing more than 50 articles from the award-winning Tar Heel Junior Historian magazine and over 40 lesson plans, this multidisciplinary Educator Notebook will enrich your exploration of North Carolina and American history with diverse perspectives. This resource's link takes you to a very short form that gives you free downloadable access to the complete PDF book.

This collection of primary resources and corresponding activities sheds light on the endurance of peaceful protesters in Montgomery, Ala., who overturned an unjust law.

Take a trip to the Cherokee Indian Reservation to see and hear how the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has regained and maintained its heritage despite losing its homeland to oppressive government action.

In this lesson, students will review and summarize questions about the struggle for equality and apply them to other civil rights struggles. Students will also devise a timeline regarding other civil rights struggles.

In this activity, students take action on a local or national cause they care about by creating a campaign.

Students will discuss the various types of resistance used in colonial times and compare them with the forms of resistance that take place in the twentieth century.

In this lesson, students will learn about the role of county commissioners in local government. After identifying the ways counties can elect commissioners, they will work in groups to rank county priorities and develop a political platform for a county commissioner running for election. Finally, the class will explore the local campaign process by participating in a mock county commissioner election.

In this lesson, students will explore the contributions African Americans have made to North Carolina by examining the “SERVICE” mural commissioned by the School of Government at UNC-Chapel Hill. The mural, which depicts key African-American leaders in North Carolina, is a stunning visual for teaching students about our state’s history. After examining and interpreting the mural in small groups and through class discussion, students will choose and research one of the figures pictured in the mural. Students will then apply what they have learned by writing a monologue in which this figure speaks about his/her life in first person. The project will culminate with students dressing as their chosen figure and “bringing the mural to life” by presenting a 3-4 minute monologue in the character of their historical figure.

This presentation is intended for use with the lesson "Exploring African American Leadership and Service in North Carolina." In this lesson, students will explore the contributions African Americans have made to North Carolina by examining the "SERVICE" mural commissioned by the School of Government at UNC-Chapel Hill. The mural, which depicts key African-American leaders in North Carolina, is a stunning visual for teaching students about our state's history. After examining and interpreting the mural in small groups and through class discussion, students will choose and research one of the figures pictured in the mural. Students will then apply what they have learned by writing a monologue in which this figure speaks about his/her life in first person. The project will culminate with students dressing as their chosen figure and bringing the mural to life by presenting a 3-4 minute monologue in the character of their historical figure.

In this lesson students do a close reading of “Learning to Read,” a poem by Francis Watkins Harper about an elderly former slave which conveys the value of literacy to blacks during and after slavery. The activities also prompt students to examine the nature of literacy in the 21st century and the value they put upon it.

This interactive site provides primary resources and curator interviews designed to focus on the lunch counter as an object in historical context. Also provided are a lesson plan and annotated links to other online resources to expand student understanding of the topic.

In this activity, students will watch and discuss a 22-minute video of a theater presentation created by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. The activity could also include an in-classroom simulation, extension activities, and a sing- along performance of a freedom song.

In this lesson, students will discuss the concept of democracy and through this lens, analyze the unjust Jim Crow laws that dominated the South. Through discussion, readings and the examination of primary sources, students will gain an understanding of how the period immediately following World War II set the stage for numerous challenges to Jim Crow, one of which was the 1947 Journey of Reconciliation. Students will culminate this lesson by creating a historical marker that honors the Journey of Reconciliation’s riders and educates the public about this important period of history.

This resource supports English language development for English language learners. In this lesson, students will identify clues to and ask questions about Rosa Park’s story from a sculpture and a primary source photograph. Students will then read more about Rosa Parks and the Montgomery County Bus Boycott. Then students will draw pictures and create skits to demonstrate their learning.

This resource supports English language development for English language learners. In this lesson, students describe the steps people took to eliminate segregation in U.S. schools. Students use a graphic organizer to analyze primary source photographs as a class, in pairs, and individually. After comparing their work in groups, students write a paragraph citing evidence from their graphic organizer to explain their understanding.

In this activity, students review various approaches citizens might use to influence the political process and make sure that their voice is heard. A set of discussion questions is provided.

In this lesson, students will explore what it means to be an active, engaged citizen by sharing moments from their own lives. Students will then explore a tumultuous period of southern history, the Jim Crow Era, when it took numerous active, engaged citizens and community members to fight against the inequality and injustice of southern laws. This lesson will culminate with students teaching classmates about an historical figure representative of an active, engaged citizen by creating a “living” museum exhibit. (Teacher Note: The “living” museum activity can be used with any historical time period or theme throughout your curriculum.)

This Educator Notebook provides information on Women’s History in North Carolina for teachers to use as a resource, either as stand-alone units, or integrated into standard curriculum. Included is research from museum curators and educators, and articles published in the Tar Heel Junior Historian magazine which are written for students in grades 4-12. Lesson plans and suggested activities complement many of the topics. Adaptable to multiple ages, they meet curriculum goals set forth by the NC Department of Public Instruction and connect to classes in national and world history, geography, economics, and the arts, and can be part of any unit of social studies. This resource's link takes you to a very short form that gives you free downloadable access to the complete PDF book.