Course Description Document

Course name and abbreviation:

Social Studies 8, SOC8

Grade Level: 

Grade 8

Summary of course content and activities:

Historical Worldviews Examined

·          From Isolation to Adaptation: Japan

·          Origins of a Western Worldview: Renaissance Europe

·          Worldviews in Conflict: The Spanish and the Aztecs.

Grade 8 Social Studies students will examine issues related to contact between societies with differing worldviews.  They will explore elements of worldviews and how these views are expressed by people living in different times and in different places.  Through this inquiry, students will reflect on their own worldviews and assess the influence that the past has had on the present.  Examples will be drawn from Japan, Renaissance Europe and Spanish and Aztec societies.  A Biblical worldview will be reinforced with each concept.   

Who should be taking this course? For whom is this course designed and intended?      

A grade 8 student who has successfully completed Social Studies 7. 

Philosophy statement for and/or behind teaching this course:

Grade 8 students will learn how intercultural contact between societies leads to significant change and alters each society’s worldview. 

Major course goals:    

1.      Through an examination of Japan, students will demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of the ways in which beliefs, values, and knowledge shape worldviews and contribute to a society’s isolation or adaptation. 

2.      Through an examination of Renaissance Europe, students will demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of how the exchange of ideas and knowledge contributed to shaping the worldview of the Western world.

3.      Through an examination of Spanish and Aztec societies, students will demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of how intercultural contact affects the worldviews of societies.   

Pre-requisite(s):  

Students taking Social Studies 8 are presumed to have reached the acceptable standard or better in Social Studies 7. 

Number of credits that this course is worth:   

0

Materials and resources provided by NSA, purchased by student, and/or recommended:

Provided by NSA:

Textbook Worldviews: Contact and Change

Recommended but not required:

Atlas

Forecasted amount of time required to complete each week's lesson:

The Social Studies 8 program will require approximately 60-90 minutes of work each day, which includes reading and assignment work.  The weeks are divided into 4 days of work.   

Description of student evaluations, quizzes, and tests:

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