8th grade Social Studies
7 units matched to the Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards.
Focus areas
- Theme: Global Studies
- Governments, economies and human rights around the world
- Population, migration and cities
- Global trade and beliefs
Units
Unit 1
Human Rights Around the World
Practices what human rights are and looks at selected examples of human rights issues around the world.
Benchmark: 8.1.3.1 · the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and how rights are protected
Unit 2
World Beliefs
Where and when major religions and philosophies began (Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, Christianity, Islam), their key figures, texts and ideas, described respectfully and factually.
Benchmark: 8.4.19.2 · the variety of religious and spiritual beliefs in the world
Unit 3
Maps, Graphs & Data
Reading map scales and legends, choropleth maps, scatter graphs and correlation (and why correlation does not prove cause), and what population pyramids say about a country's age and growth. The data in the questions are made up for practice.
Benchmark: 8.3.13.1 · using maps, graphs and data to answer geographic questions
Unit 4
Forms of Government
Practices the main forms of government around the world (democracies and republics, monarchies, dictatorships and others), what a constitution does, and how the US system compares with other countries' systems.
Benchmark: 8.1.2.1; 8.1.4.1 · different systems of government around the world, and how the US compares
Unit 5
Economies & Global Trade
Practices traditional, command, market and mixed economies, what GDP and economic growth measure, why countries trade, and how consumer, producer and government choices affect society.
Benchmark: 8.2.8.1; 8.2.7.1; 8.2.11.1; 8.2.12.1; 8.2.10.1 · economic systems and development, economic growth, global trade, and how economic decisions affect society
Unit 6
Population & Migration
Practices how populations change, urbanization, cultural diffusion and diasporas, push and pull factors in migration, and the immigrant and refugee communities who have made Minnesota home since the 1950s.
Benchmark: 8.3.15.1; 8.3.15.4; 8.4.21.1; 8.5.23.1; 8.5.23.3; 8.5.24.1 · population change, urbanization, diasporas, migration to Minnesota and immigrants' contributions
Unit 7
The World Since 1945
Practices the world since World War II: the United Nations and human rights, independence movements and the challenges of new nations, the end of apartheid, the Cold War and its end, alliances, and how media and technology connect cultures.
Benchmark: 8.4.18.1; 8.4.18.3; 8.1.3.1; 8.1.5.1; 8.4.19.1; 8.4.22.1 · newly independent countries, revolutions and independence movements, human rights, alliances, and media and culture
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