Social Studies Curriculum Map

Seventh Grade

Draft

	ESSENTIAL QUESTION (optional)	CONTENT	SKILLS and ABILITIES	ASSESSMENT	RESOURCE
August	How does physical geography contribute to the political, economic, and cultural development of a particular civilization?	Five themes of geography; what constitutes a culture	Get information from a map, recognize elements of a culture; identify how people adapt to or alter environments, recognize similarities that comprise various regions.	Test of understanding of vocabulary; a student compiled booklet of local application of the Five Themes of Geography.
September	What stimulates the movement of goods, ideas, and services? How does trade affect culture? How do religion and government exercise authority over people?	Byzantine Empire and Islamic Civilization; Islam and its Golden Age	Analyze the different ways people use the environment; explain how the physical environment impacts how and where people live and work; identify how people develop their understanding of culture through the exchange of ideas, art, music, religious beliefs, natural resources, and goods and services; understand the importance of trade; recognize the purposes of government and how its powers are acquired, used, and justified.	Essay comparing the economic, cultural, political, intellectual successes of the Byzantine and Islamic cultures.
October	How do different economic systems affect people's daily lives? How and why does the rule of law develop in civilizations? How do religion and government exercise authority over people?	Medieval Europe	Analyze the development of the feudal system and describe how it affected the lives of each group within it. Analyze the development of maps and other navigational aids and their impact, both positive and negative, on exploration, trade and cultural diffusion. Understand the conflict and cooperation between the Papacy and European monarchs. Understand the decline of Muslim rule and the rise of Spanish and Portuguese kingdoms. Describe the political, economic, social, and educational power of the Catholic Church during the Medieval period. Explain the causes and consequences of the Crusades.	CBA- Analyzing Sources
November		African Kingdoms, Meso America, Andean civilization, Japan, and China	Chart, compare, and contrast at least two of these civilizations. Explain how physical geography affected the development of each civilization. Describe the types of trade that developed in each civilization and explain the effects of trade on culture. Describe the ways in which people made a living in this civilization. Analyze the effects of the trans Saharan trade routes on West African cities.
December				Student Projects to demonstrate their understanding of the previously studied medieval cultures.
January	What legacies have been left by ancient civilizations, in particular, on our society? What significant contributions were made that advanced science, technology, and the arts?	The Renaissance, Reformation, World exploration	Understand the decline of Muslim rule and the rise of Spanish and Portuguese kingdoms, Describe the political, economic, social, and educational power of the Catholic Church during the Medieval and Renaissance Periods. Explain the causes and consequences of the Crusades; Detail the impact of advances made in the arts, science, mathematics, cartography, engineering, and the understanding of human anatomy and astronomy
February	How has the physical geography affected the growth and development of the state? What impact did the development of Washington State have on different cultural groups?	Washington state Geography: physical regions, climate, early people	Describe the relative location and important characteristics of the five regions of Washington state. Ids tify how Pacific Northwest and Plateau tribal peoples used the physical geography to meet their basic needs past and present.	CBA : Needs and Wants
March	What impact did the development of Washington State have on different cultural groups?	European explorers, early traders, missionaries	Identify different tribes and tribal regions, challenges they encountered, and their contributions to our state. Identify different immigrant groups in Washington State: why they came, challenges they encountered, and their contributions to our state.	Test
April	How did Washington emerge from a territory ot achieve statehood? What is unique about the government of Washington State and what priorities does it reflect?	Early settlements, missions, communities	Describe the process by which Washington Territory achieved statehood. Describe the populist features of the Washington State constitution: initiative, referendum; recall, line-item veto. Describe the treaty negotiation process and its effects on tribal peoples as well as the development of Washington.
May	How did the people of Washington State respond to the political, economic, and social challenges of the Great Depression and World War II? What is the legacy of how those challenges were met? What significant political, economic, and social challenges affected Washington State in the post World War II era? How did these challenges impact individuals and groups of people?	Washington's role in WWII and the Great Depression.	Trace the development of major industries in Washington and the environmental, political, and cultural factors that encouraged or discouraged their development. Describe the causes for the emergence of labor organizations in Washington and the results of their actions. Compare the effects of the Great Depression and WWII on urban, rural, and migrant communities in Washington.
June	How did the communities of Blaine, Birch Bay, and Point Roberts develop?	Local History, family history		Family story