7th grade Social Studies: how to help at home
What your child learns in 7th grade social studies in the California Content Standards, and simple things to try at home.
Focus areas this year
- World history: medieval and early modern times
- Islam, China, West Africa, Japan, Europe and the Americas
- The Renaissance, the Reformation, the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment
Easy ways to practice 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
The Islamic World
The early Islamic world and its cities, scholars and discoveries (such as algebra and optics), the exchange of knowledge through trade and translation, and the Ottoman Empire.
Empires of Asia
China from the Tang to the Ming, the Mongol Empire, feudal Japan, the Mughal and Ottoman empires, Korea and the Khmer, and how technology and trade spread ideas.
African Kingdoms & Empires
Ghana, Mali, Songhai, Great Zimbabwe, the Swahili coast, Benin and Ethiopia from about 600 to 1900, trade across the Sahara and the Indian Ocean, the Atlantic slave trade and African resistance to colonization.
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.
Medieval Europe
How medieval Europe was organized (kings, nobles, knights and peasants), the role of the Church and guilds, the Magna Carta, the Black Death, and how change came to the feudal system.
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.
Age of Revolutions
The Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment, revolutions in England, America, France, Haiti and Latin America, the Industrial Revolution, and the end of slavery and serfdom.
Rome's Fall & Byzantium
Rome's lasting contributions, why the Western Empire fell, Constantine and Constantinople, Justinian and the Byzantine Empire, and the split between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches.
Maya, Aztec & Inca
How the Maya, Aztec (Mexica) and Inca arose, their cities, farming, achievements in mathematics and astronomy, and how the Aztec and Inca empires were defeated by Spain. Maya, Nahua and Quechua peoples are living communities today.
Exploration & Exchange
The great voyages, the ships and tools that made them possible, mapmaking, the Columbian Exchange and the rise of colonial empires and mercantilism.
Science & the Enlightenment
Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler and Newton, the scientific method, the roots of the Scientific Revolution, and the Enlightenment thinkers whose ideas about rights and government shaped the American founding.
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 practicing 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 California report card guide.
Common questions
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.
The California Content Standards 7th grade social studies units include The Islamic World, Empires of Asia, African Kingdoms & Empires, Japan: Land, Beliefs & Values, Medieval Europe, Renaissance & Reformation.
Free printable 7th grade social studies practice sheet
Questions from every unit, with an answer key.