8th Grade: Social Studies

Congress and the Bill of Rights in History and Today

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In this resource, students will explore the protections and limitations on authority contained in the Bill of Rights and the process by which the First Congress created it. They will do this by compiling a list of their rights as students, analyzing the Bill of Rights, and studying primary source documents to trace the origin and development of the first ten amendments. Students will then consider how the Bill of Rights might be updated to reflect 21st century circumstances.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Author: U.S. National Archives

The Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee

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This lesson introduces students to the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), one of the "big 5" civil rights organizations (the other four were: the Urban League, NAACP, SCLC, and CORE). The SNCC is credited with having led the student portion of the civil rights movement and with helping initiate the movement's transition to the Black Power phase of the late 1960s. Students will understand the motivation of African-American students in organizing the sit-in in Greensboro and the formation of the SNCC, how the generational differences between members of SNCC and other civil rights groups led to a difference in emphasis in the organizations, and the ideological transition to Black Power in the late 1960s.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Integrating Literature and Social Studies with Fever 1793

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In this lesson, students are drawn into post-Revolutionary Philadelphia during the midst of the infamous yellow fever epidemic of 1793 by reading Laurie Halse Anderson's novel Fever 1793. Use this novel as supplemental reading to assist students in developing their understanding of and interest in colonial times, while heightening their reading skills and ability for higher order thinking.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Author: Carolina K12