Grade 8 Social Studies: how to help at home
What your child learns in Grade 8 social studies in the Alberta Curriculum, and simple things to try at home.
The Big Ideas this year
- Historical Models of Societies is the Grade 8 focus
- 8.1 Japan: how Japan's land, values and history shaped it before and after the Tokugawa and Meiji periods
- 8.2 Renaissance Europe: how new ideas in art, learning and trade changed Europe
- 8.3 The Spanish and the Aztecs: what happened when the Spanish met the Mexica, who are living peoples with living cultures
Easy ways to practise social studies at home
- Follow a current event together and ask who is affected and why people see it differently.
- Build a timeline of a family event or a historical topic they are studying.
- Use an atlas or online map to trace a trade or travel route.
- Ask “Whose voice is missing from this story?” when reading about the past.
What each unit covers
Japan: Land, Beliefs & Values
Japan's islands and mountains, its farming and fishing, and the Shinto, Buddhist and Confucian ideas that helped shape how people lived and what they valued.
Tokugawa Japan & Isolation
How Japan was ruled by shoguns for about 250 years, how its class system worked, why the government limited contact with other countries, and what life in Edo was like.
From Isolation to Adaptation
How American ships arrived in 1853, how Japan opened to the world, and how the Meiji government built railways, schools and industry while keeping parts of its own culture.
Where the Renaissance Began
Why Italian city-states such as Florence became centres of wealth and learning, what patrons and humanists did, and how the Renaissance worldview differed from the Middle Ages.
Renaissance Art, Printing & Science
Famous Renaissance artists and builders, how the printing press spread ideas, and how astronomers and scientists began to test old ideas with observation.
Renaissance & Reformation
The rebirth of art and learning in Italy, how the printing press spread ideas, the Reformation, and how questioning led to new science.
The Mexica & Tenochtitlan
How the Mexica built Tenochtitlan on an island in Lake Texcoco, grew food on chinampas, traded and collected tribute, and how Nahua peoples and the Nahuatl language continue today.
Spain & the Age of Exploration
What motivated Spain's rulers and explorers (faith, wealth and glory), the technology they brought, and how plants, animals and diseases crossed the Atlantic in both directions.
Contact & Conquest in Mexico
How the Spanish and many Indigenous allies came into conflict with the Mexica between 1519 and 1521, why the outcome had several causes, and how Nahua peoples and culture continue today.
Worldviews & Historical Sources
What a worldview is, how to tell primary from secondary sources, and how to read a source for point of view. Applies to all three Grade 8 case studies: Japan, Renaissance Europe and the Spanish and Mexica.
What the report card levels look like at home
- Beginning
- Just getting started with this idea. Short, regular practice with lots of support helps most.
- Approaching
- Understands parts of it and is building confidence. Keep practising the tricky parts.
- Meeting
- Has it! Mixed review now and then keeps it strong.
- Exceeding
- Applies it confidently, even in new or harder situations. Try challenge mode and real-life problems.
Your child’s teacher decides the level on the report card. Read the Alberta report card guide.
Common questions
How can I help my Grade 8 child with social studies?
Follow a current event together and ask who is affected and why people see it differently. Build a timeline of a family event or a historical topic they are studying. Keep sessions short, about 10 to 15 minutes, and stop on a success.
What does my child learn in Grade 8 social studies in Alberta?
The Alberta Curriculum Grade 8 social studies units include japan: land, beliefs & values, tokugawa japan & isolation, from isolation to adaptation, where the renaissance began, renaissance art, printing & science, renaissance & reformation.
Free printable Grade 8 social studies practice sheet
Questions from every unit, with an answer key.