8th Grade U.S. History Syllabus 2024-2025  

Welcome to 8th grade and U.S. History! This will be a very exciting year for you, and we are grateful to have you in our classes. This document includes the content we will be covering in this course, course policies, conduct, grading, and the specific standards you will learn from the Tennessee Department of Education. If you ever have questions about anything in this course, please reach out to us.

Lynna Bingham - [email protected]  David Koth - [email protected]  Ashley Winkle - [email protected]

Course Content

We will progress through these units chronologically as they are listed. Each unit will have at least 1 assessment in the form of a unit test. These tests will contain 10-20% review items from previous units. In addition to tests, each 9 weeks students will complete a cumulative exam including test items covering all content learned that 9 weeks.

Quizzes will be given periodically to assess student learning of individual standards within Units.

Broken down by 9 week terms, the following units will be covered:

*The units covered in each 9 weeks may change. Check Canvas for specific dates.

Specific dates for unit assessments and common assessments will be communicated if/when dates are decided. Any additional major assignments, projects, or assessments will have specific information and dates on Canvas.

8th Grade Social Studies Tennessee State Standards

https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/education/standards/ss/Social_Studies_Standards.pdf

Assignments

Assignments will be distributed in Canvas through Modules. Each module contains instructional content and activities for a standard or cluster of standards and will have a header with the date for that module. Almost all assignments should be completed in class, so in most cases there are no assignments for homework if students are in attendance and work as directed in class. Students will need to study for assessments at home 2-3 nights a week.

History Journal and Notes

All students need a composition book to be used as a History Journal. This journal will be used daily for starters, notes, and other activities. Students are expected to maintain their History Journal. This means both using it for all required activities and being responsible to keep up with it whether at home or at school. 

Participation in class including taking notes in their History Journals will be a part of students’ grade. Note taking is an essential skill we expect all of our students to improve on over the course of the year. This especially means identifying important concepts and summarizing the information in students’ own words. All of our content is available online so there is no reason or need to copy all presented information in class, but students must use the opportunity to practice their analyzing and summarizing skills. Many lessons will incorporate a graphic organizer or a guided notes “foldable” that is printed and provided for that day’s lesson in class. PDF versions of any foldables are available on Canvas for students who lose theirs, miss class, or otherwise need to access a foldable outside of class, and teachers can provide replacement copies upon request.

Accessing Canvas

Parents can access Canvas by going to k12k.com and using the drop down menu underneath the Student tab.  Choose the Canvas link and sign in.

*Specific Dates for assignments can be viewed on the Weekly Agenda.  Directions are as follows:

Download the app, create an account, locate Kingsport City Schools, enter student’s login information. Click on the course