8th grade Social Studies: how to help at home
What your child learns in 8th grade social studies in the Washington State Learning Standards, and simple things to try at home.
Focus areas this year
- United States history and government, mainly the 1800s
- The Constitution and rights
- Westward expansion, the Civil War and Reconstruction
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
Sources & Evidence
Children practice choosing and judging sources, reading artifacts and art, comparing accounts and drawing conclusions from evidence.
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.
Founding Ideals
The Magna Carta and Enlightenment ideas, the Declaration of Independence, and the principles of the Constitution: popular sovereignty, rule of law, federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances.
Rights & Amendments
What the first ten amendments protect, the Reconstruction Amendments, and why rights come with limits and responsibilities.
A New Nation
The first presidents and parties, judicial review, the Louisiana Purchase, Lewis and Clark, the War of 1812 and early foreign policy.
Westward Expansion
Manifest Destiny, Indian removal and the Trail of Tears, Texas and the Mexican-American War, the Gold Rush and the transcontinental railroad, told accurately for the people who moved and the nations who lost their lands.
Factories & Reformers
The Industrial Revolution, canals and telegraphs, immigration, and the abolition, women's rights and school reform movements before 1861.
The Civil War
How the conflict over slavery led to secession and war, key events and people from Fort Sumter to Appomattox, and how enslaved people helped win their own freedom.
Reconstruction
Reconstruction from 1865 to 1877: the Freedmen's Bureau, the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments, Black officeholders, the violence that opposed them and how gains were later rolled back.
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 Washington 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 Washington State Learning Standards 8th grade social studies units include Sources & Evidence, Maps, Graphs & Data, Founding Ideals, Rights & Amendments, A New Nation, Westward Expansion.
Free printable 8th grade social studies practice sheet
Questions from every unit, with an answer key.