Social Studies — Grade 8

Spain and America: From Reconquest to Conquest

In Prehistory, contact, and the Lost Colony, page 3.1

In 1491, no European knew that North and South America existed. By 1550, Spain -- a small kingdom that had not even existed a century earlier -- controlled the better part of two continents and had become the most powerful nation in Europe. In half a century of brave exploration and brutal conquest, both Europe and America were changed forever.

Format: article

By David Walbert.

Smallpox

In Prehistory, contact, and the Lost Colony, page 5.4

Smallpox is a serious, contagious, and sometimes fatal infectious disease caused by the variola virus. Historically, smallpox had a mortality rate of as much as 30 percent. In the Americas, it killed as much as 90 percent of the indigenous population after contact with Europeans introduced the disease. Smallpox is now eradicated after a successful worldwide vaccination program.

Format: article

The importance of rice to North Carolina

In Colonial North Carolina, page 6.2

Rice was a very profitable crop in the late 1600s. People in foreign lands were already familiar with it, and it was gaining popularity as a food for the growing slave trade. Rice production helped support North Carolina's economy for many years, relying largely on slave labor. The abolition of slavery marked the beginning of the end of rice plantations in North Carolina.

Format: article

By Keri Towery.

The importance of one simple plant

In Prehistory, contact, and the Lost Colony, page 2.10

In Colonial North Carolina, page 6.1

The natives of America could trace the history of maize to the beginning of time. Maize was the food of the gods that had created the Earth. It played a central role in many native myths and legends. And it came to be one of their most important foods. Maize, in some form, made up roughly 65 percent of the native diet. When European settlers reached the New World, they learned to cultivate Indian corn from their native neighbors.

Format: article

By Terry L. Sargent.

Disease and catastrophe

In Prehistory, contact, and the Lost Colony, page 5.3

Of all the kinds of life exchanged when the Old and New Worlds met, lowly germs had the greatest impact. Europeans and later Africans brought smallpox and a host of other diseases with them to America, where those diseases killed as much as 90 percent of the native population of two continents. Europeans came away lucky -- with only a few tropical diseases from Africa and, probably, syphilis from the New World. In America, disease destoyed civilizations.

Format: article

By David Walbert.

The De Soto expedition

In Prehistory, contact, and the Lost Colony, page 3.3

Hernando De Soto’s expedition through the southeastern United States in 1539–43 was one of the earliest of the early contacts between Europeans and native peoples. While historical documents tell the story of do Soto's journey, advances in both history and archaeology have enabled researchers to reconstruct the de Soto route.

Format: article/primary source

The Columbian Exchange at a glance

In Prehistory, contact, and the Lost Colony, page 5.2

Countless animals, plants, and microorganisms crossed the Atlantic Ocean with European explorers and colonists in the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries. This chart lists some of the organisms that had the greatest impact on human society worldwide.

Format: article

The Columbian Exchange

In Prehistory, contact, and the Lost Colony, page 5.1

When Christopher Columbus and his crew arrived in the New World, two biologically distinct worlds were brought into contact. The animal, plant, and bacterial life of these two worlds began to mix in a process called the Columbian Exchange. The results of this exchange recast the biology of both regions and altered the history of the world.

Format: article

By J.R. McNeill.

Africans before captivity

In Colonial North Carolina, page 4.1

Most Africans who came to North America were from West Africa and West Central Africa. This article describes some of the cultures and history of those regions prior to the beginning of the slave trade.

Format: article

What does it mean?

In Teaching about North Carolina American Indians, page 2.7

Introduction Visual symbols can be important ways of communicating ideas. Individuals, corporations, communities, and organizations use logos, seals, flags, icons, and other visual symbols to represent their values, share their histories, and send...

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 and 8 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Gazelia Carter.

Understanding the Columbian Exchange

In Two worlds: Educator's guide, page 5.1

This lesson will help students think about the effects of the Columbian Exchange, particularly the exchange of disease as it affected the psychology of the Europeans and Native populations in the early settlement of the Americas.

Format: lesson plan (grade 7–8 Social Studies)

By Pauline S. Johnson.

Teaching suggestions: African and African American storytelling

These teaching suggestions present a variety of ways to work with an article about African and African American storytelling traditions in the context of American slavery. Suggested activities span a wide range of possibilities and offer opportunities for a variety of learning styles.

Format: /lesson plan (grade 7–8 Social Studies)

By Pauline S. Johnson.

Slavery and bias in historic West Africa: A case of he said, he said

In this lesson, students will examine three primary source documents concerning West African history, and will work to discover the similarities and differences between the documents. Students will discover the biases revealed by the authors of the documents.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 Social Studies)

By Shane Freeman.

Reading guide: Spain and America

In Two worlds: Educator's guide, page 3.2

These terms and questions will guide students as they read "Spain and America: From Reconquest to Conquest." Filling in the chronological list of dates will enable students to understand the order in which events unfolded in Spain and in America, and answering the questions will encourage students to think critically about the readings in the chapter.

Format: /lesson plan (grade 8–12 Social Studies)

By Pauline S. Johnson.

North Carolina powwow

In Teaching about North Carolina American Indians, page 10.2

Introduction American Indians who have lived in North Carolina have contributed to and continue to contribute to the development of the state. Correcting the stereotypes found in movies & inaccurate literature is necessary for thinking skills development....

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 Social Studies and Theater Arts Education)

By Linda Tabor.

Native Americans in North Carolina

In North Carolina maps, page 2.6

In this lesson, students create a PowerPoint presentation giving the history and impact of one of the six major Native American tribes of North Carolina. They will show understanding of population movement, different perspectives, and the roles the Native Americans played in the development of the state.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Jennifer Job.

Language families

In Intrigue of the Past, page 4.7

Students will identify and locate the three language families of contact period North Carolina and calculate the physical area covered by each language family.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 and 7–8 Mathematics and Social Studies)

Graphic organizer: John Lawson's assessment of the Tuscarora

This graphic organizer will aid students' comprehension as they read a primary source account detailing an English traveler's encounters with the Tuscarora Indians in 1700-1701.

Format: chart/lesson plan (grade 8 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Pauline S. Johnson.

Educator's guide: Spain and America

In Two worlds: Educator's guide, page 3.1

The article "Spain and America: From Reconquest to Conquest" introduces a lot of information and a number of issues that may be new to students. These suggestions will help you use the article in a way that best fits the needs of your class.

Format: /lesson plan (grade 8–12 Social Studies)

By Pauline S. Johnson.

Comparing creation stories

In Two worlds: Educator's guide, page 1.5

In this activity, students compare creation stories from three peoples -- Cherokee, European, and West African -- that met in colonial North Carolina.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8–12 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Pauline S. Johnson.

Comparing and contrasting colonial rice and tobacco agriculture

This graphic organizer will help students understand the processes of growing rice and tobacco in colonial North Carolina after reading two related articles from the North Carolina digital history textbook — "The...

Format: document/worksheet

Africans before captivity: Graphic organizer

This activity provides a way for students to further their comprehension as they read an article about the regions of Africa from which most American slaves originated. Students will complete a graphic organizer and answer a series of questions.

Format: worksheet/lesson plan (grade 9–12 Social Studies)

By Pauline S. Johnson.

Resources on the web

Native Americans in North Carolina

In this lesson, students create a PowerPoint presentation describing the history and impact of one of the six major Native American tribes of North Carolina. The lesson requires them to demonstrate understanding of population movement, different perspectives,... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 Social Studies)

Provided by: UNC Libraries

Mapping the past

Students gain experience in working with historical maps as cultural artifacts that reflect the views of particular times and places. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 7–8 Social Studies)

Provided by: National Endowment for the Humanities