Essential Questions: What are the foundations of an American identity? How do Americans meet the challenge of creating a just society?
Synopsis: Through the lens of people fighting injustice our 8th graders will take the perspective of the American colonists that sparked a revolution in colonial New England. Beyond the story of the colonists we will delve into nature of justice and its fundamental role in the development of our national identity and fundamental to who we are as a country. Our students will research the nature of injustice not only in the past but where we see it right now in the world. We will look at injustices in literature to determine when justice is achieved and what happens when it is not. We will examine timely issues of justice in our New Haven community.
Essential Questions: Were all citizens actually “created equal”? How are our rights our anchor as a country?
Synopsis:
We will examine the power of the documents that have supported America and its development from the beginning, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Students will consider the path from Confederation to Constitution and see how our framework has been challenged over the years and continues to be tested. In particular each student will see how the Bill of Rights affects lives now through the consideration of specific cases and situations. Our culminating event will be a Constitutional Convention where our learners will simulate the experience by taking on the role of a specific American with a background different from their own.
Essential Questions: How did Westward Expansion reinforce, and contradict, the American Identity?
What was the impact of the Westward Movement on the lives of the native people living there?
Synopsis:
Our eighth grade historians will study the plight of Native American Removal during Westward Expansion. The country was growing, but in the process, Native American groups were being persecuted and stripped of rights and land. Students will examine whether this removal of Natives from their lands was necessary for the growth of a nation. In science, we will see the power and critical role of the land and the shifting landforms of the American West on the lives of the Native People. We will consider in our math classes the dramatic change in demographics of the native people over the past hundred years.