Humanities
By the 8th Grade, students have stopped asking, “Will I fit in?” but have started to ask “What does it mean to fit in?” and “Who decides?”
To ask critical questions and have the courage to ask these questions is at the very heart of Humanities in 8th Grade. If we practice these actions each day, we will discover the side of American history that is filled with hope and possibility; we will discover that Claudette Colvin, age 15, refused to give up her seat on a segregated Alabama bus months before Rosa Parks. We will discover the truth from people just like ourselves.
And just as history reveals moments of hope, fiction also unfolds truths of what it means to be a person. Through other sets of lenses, we’ll dive into stories, poetry, plays, speeches and essays so that we may discover other worlds and eventually, ourselves.
The overarching question this year is “What are my rights and responsibilities.” This is considered through the context of:
- Colonialism, Declaration of Independence, Revolution
- Bill of Rights, Constitution, Branches of Government
- Manifest Destiny, Slavery, Industrial Revolution
- Reform Movement, Transcendentalism, Mexican-American War
- Economics Project, “The Cost of Living”
- Growing Sectionalism of the North and South
Learn more about our Humanities program in the Curriculum Guide.
