8th grade Social Studies: how to help at home
What your child learns in 8th grade social studies in the Maine Learning Results, and simple things to try at home.
Focus areas this year
- United States history from the founding to Reconstruction
- Maine and the nation, 1820 to 1865
- The Constitution, rights and sources
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
Founding Ideas
Ideas the Founders drew from Greece and Rome, the Enlightenment and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, why the Articles of Confederation failed, and the compromises and debates of the Constitution.
Rights & Amendments
What the first ten amendments protect, the Reconstruction Amendments, and why rights come with limits and responsibilities.
Factories & Reformers
The Industrial Revolution in the North, canals, roads and railroads, immigration, public schools, and the abolition and women's rights movements before 1861.
Reconstruction
Reconstruction from 1865 to 1877 as a bridge to high school US history: the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments, Black officeholders, the violence that opposed them and how gains were later rolled back.
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.
Sources & Evidence
Children practice choosing and judging sources, reading artifacts and art, comparing accounts and drawing conclusions from evidence.
Maine and the Nation
Maine in United States history from 1820 to Reconstruction: statehood and the Missouri Compromise, the Aroostook War, the Maine Law and reform, Mainers in the fight over slavery (Stowe, Russwurm, Lovejoy, Hamlin), the 20th Maine and the Civil War, and the Reconstruction amendments.
From Independence to Reconstruction
Ordering events in United States and Maine history from 1776 to 1877 (the founding, expansion, Maine statehood, the road to the Civil War, the war and Reconstruction) and working out how far apart they are.
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 Maine 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 Maine Learning Results 8th grade social studies units include Founding Ideas, Rights & Amendments, Factories & Reformers, Reconstruction, Maps, Graphs & Data, Sources & Evidence.
Free printable 8th grade social studies practice sheet
Questions from every unit, with an answer key.