7th Grade Historical Literacy consists of two 43 minute class periods. Writing is one 43 minute block and reading is another. The teacher has picked themes based on social studies standards, and a read-aloud novel based on social studies serves as the mentor text for writing and reading skills. More social studies content is addressed in reading through teaching nonfiction reading skills and discussion.
Standards reflect CCSS ELA, Reading, and Social Studies Standards.

Students form literature circles, read "Esperanza Rising" or "Becoming Naomi Leon" by Pam MuĐoz Ryan, use a Critical Thinking Map to discuss social issues, and use a class wiki.

This unit begins by inviting students to tell the story of their community using artifacts from Washington's history. This allows them to reflect on shared values as well as how people have organized to advocate for those values. Then, students explore how rights are established in their community by analyzing the Washington State Constitution, the Puyallup Tribe Constitution, and the Treaty of Medicine Creek. Next, students investigate four different historic examples of how people have advocated for their rights and values in their community and choose one to research in further depth. In the final phase of the unit, student teams develop an advocacy campaign for a right that is currently being challenged. They conduct research on an issue of their choice, create and execute an action plan, and participate in an advocacy fair to campaign for change in their community. Finally, students draw on what they've learned to answer the unit driving question: "Why do people advocate for issues in their community?"

Poster shows a man and woman with bags of hoarded flour and sugar looking at the silhouette of a policeman walking by their blind-covered window. A Canada Food Board statement, detailing fines for hoarding, hangs on the wall. Title from item.

Students will examine how patriotism comes in many forms through an analysis of the short film "Patriotism and Protest." In the film, experts and Minidoka survivors highlight how the infamous "loyalty questionnaire" during WWII divided the Japanese American community.   

Students use Library of Congress primary sources to examine the Civil War and American industrialization.

Students learn about the controversial history of a mural in Anacortes, WA, and consider what it would take to create a more inclusive and accurate mural in Anacortes today. Then students learn about the tribes, immigrants, and settlers in the region where they live and how their stories are represented in local murals in public spaces. Students draw on what they have learned to respond to the unit driving question: What decisions and whose stories define Washington state? Then, drawing on local resources such as tribal members, historical societies, and museums, students work in teams to propose a new mural that tells an inclusive story of the people and place where they live.

Students use Library of Congress primary sources to examine the forced acculturation of American Indians through government-run boarding schools.

This activity emphasizes the importance of teaching reading and writing strategies for students to use with informational text.

Every media source has a story to tell--a driving purpose. The media that people consume largely shapes their world views. The US public is becoming more divided partially due to the consumption of increasingly biased news. As a critical consumer of media, It is important to be able to separate fact from opinion. In this unit, adapted from the high school version, students will become critical consumers of news, by identifying media bias in order to become better informed citizens.  NOTE: This unit has been adapted for use at the middle school level from the resource Identifying Media Bias in News Sources by Sandra Stroup, Sally Drendel, Greg Saum, and Heidi Morris.

Coastal wetlands bring many benefits to ecosystems including their ability to sequester carbon and mitigate fluctuations in sea levels. Students will understand the ecosystem benefits of coastal wetlands with a focus on the potential of estuaries for climate related planning.

In the accompanying lesson plan (found in the Support Materials) students will gain an understanding of the Shoshone tribe while learning about the Shoshone Parfleche from the WyomingPBS video.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

students will write 3-4 sentences stating/explaining how the Shoshone Parfleche is used.
Students will create an individual parfleche, designed with a line of symmetry, the use of a meter stick for specific measurements and the ability to use creativity to choose their own designs.

During this problem-based learning unit, students will explore dystopian societies of past and in short stories in order to identify dystopian elements in today’s society.  In turn, students will have a choice between multiple product outputs in which they will apply what they have learned to modern day life and provide ideas of how to improve our society by combating these dystopian elements.*Students will need some prior knowledge of Nazi Germany, Civil Rights America in 1930’s, Present Day China, and Sierra Leone in order to make connections to why these societies have dystopian elements.

This unit is focused on the examination of a single topic, in this case, the Native Americans of the inland Northwest and conflict that arose when other non-native people started to settle in the northwest, and to specifically address the native populations that lived in the inland northwest. The materials were created to be one coherent arc of instruction focused on one topic. The module was designed to include teaching notes that signal the kind of planning and thinking such instruction requires: close reading with complex text, and specific instructional strategies or protocols are described that support students’ reading and writing with evidence are described in enough detail to make it very clear what is required of students and how to support students in doing this rigorous work. Materials include summative assessment of content and process, central texts, key resources, and protocols that support and facilitate student learning.

Students use Library of Congress primary sources to examine continuity and change in the governing of the United States by looking at the Constitution and linking early legislative debates to issues of...

During WWII Monopoly game boards, along with other types of games were used to hide small undetectable items such as a tiny compass, files, and silk maps. POW's used the items to escape. When America entered the war, they used the British model to incorporate hidden escape tools into board games through the US Army's Escape and Evasion section, run by the expertise of a Civil Engineer turned Intelligence Officer, Captain, Robley Winfrey.

One way to introduce these documents would be:

1) To ask students to come up with a list of items that might be needed to escape from a POW camp.

2) After a list is generated, I would set out several board
games and ask students to design a way to hide the items within the game.

3) Then, after sharing their plans, I would use the
documents to reveal the actual way items were concealed
This could be done through a variety of formats: student research, power point, short film clip, etc.

Follow up discussion: technology and ingenuity used to develop for these tools

Learn how and when the Eastern Shoshone came to Wyoming, what are the Shoshone values, and what are the people of the Eastern Shoshone like? In the accompanying lessons plans (found in the Support Materials), students will gain an understanding of the Fort Bridger Treaty of 1868 including its importance to the state of Wyoming and the Eastern Shoshone Tribe in 1868 and today. The American Bison, or Buffalo as preferred by most tribes, has a significant existence among the Native American people. For thousands of years, the great American Buffalo roamed the Great Plains, migrating from north to south, searching for areas on which to thrive. The Shoshone people depended on the buffalo for many things that included food, clothing, and shelter. Every part of the buffalo was used and provided for the people.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

Students will study (Highlight, paraphrase and report) the Treaty of 1868 between the Eastern Shoshone Tribe and the United States Government.
Students will learn about the Eastern Shoshone people through the use of research and technology.
Students will understand that the history of the Shoshone people in the Wind River Mountains dates back thousands of years.
Students will understand that the circle of life continues in a perpetual cycle and is passed on through oral tradition. These stories often taught a lesson to young people.
Students will understand the indigenous perspective of interconnectedness. Students will understand how bison populations were devastated by western expansion.
Students will learn how to construct, read, compare and analyze different population graphs.
Students will understand how the diets of the Shoshone people varied depending on the areas in which they lived.
Students will acquire knowledge of the Wind River Reservation communities and be able to identify these locations on a map.
Students will be able to further describe how their culture has shaped them.
Students will be able to define the concept of culture.
Students will be able to explain some of the attributes of culture.

Learn about the treaty that estbalished the Wind River Reservation and the two tribes that inhabit it, the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone.

In the accompanying lesson plans (found in the Support Materials), students will watch a video about the Wind River Reservation and learn how the reservation came to exist, How the two tribes, the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho, come to share the reservation, and what are the people on the reservation like?

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

Students will demonstrate an understanding about the 1868 Fort Bridger Treaty.
Students will create a map of the sacred sites fo the Shoshone and Araphaho Tribes.
Students will analyze the different pre and post reservation events for the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes and evaluate why it is important for Wyoming state citizens to learn the history of the people of the Wind River Reservation
Students will gain an understanding of three spiritual sites in Wyoming.