Social Studies — Grade 8

Understanding Culpeper's Rebellion

This lesson will allow students to present their understanding of a critical event in the history of colonial Carolina by analyzing the article "Culpeper’s Rebellion," examining the causes and effects, and in groups developing and performing a skit that tells the story of the rebellion.

Format: lesson plan (grade 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.

Role plays from research on Native Americans

In Teaching about North Carolina American Indians, page 5.3

Introduction Dramatic role plays make history come alive. Research has a purpose! Students select a North Carolina American Indian to research. (I find students feel more connected if they do the selecting. Drawing names from a deck of 3x5 cards adds...

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 and 11 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Linda Tabor.

Provisions for Carolina: Comparing lists

In this lesson, students will compare and contrast two historical documents: A list of recommended provisions for colonists traveling to Virginia in 1622, and a similar list of recommended provisions for colonists traveling to Carolina in 1709. Students will infer what has changed and what has stayed the same between the publication of these two documents.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 Social Studies)

By Pauline S. Johnson.

"The present state of North Carolina": Making decisions

In this lesson, students read an excerpt from John Lawson's 1709 book A New Voyage to Carolina and use a graphic organizer to decide whether they would have emigrated to Carolina as a result of reading Lawson's book.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 Social Studies)

By Pauline S. Johnson.

Power sharing and the Lord Proprietors of North Carolina

This lesson examines the essential question: How did government instability under the Lord Proprietors effect the development of North Carolina? The lesson has been modified for novice low English language learners.

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

By Pamela Glover and Laura Packer.

North Carolina powwow

In Teaching about North Carolina American Indians, page 5.2

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)

By Linda Tabor.

North Carolina place names

In Intrigue of the Past, page 4.8

This lesson contrasts and compares the names that Native Americans living in North Carolina gave to their villages and places with the names that European and other settlers gave to theirs.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 Social Studies)

The Lumbee: Who are they?

In Teaching about North Carolina American Indians, page 3.4

Introduction This activity for middle school grades allows students to survey the various theories concerning the ancestry of the Lumbee. Students will read and analyze four threads that seek to chronicle the ancestry of North Carolina’s largest...

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

By Gazelia Carter.

Lumbee English

In Teaching about North Carolina American Indians, page 3.1

Introduction Linguist Walt Wolfram, a professor at North Carolina State University says, “The Lumbee English dialect bears the imprint of the early colonization by the English, Highland Scots, and Scots-Irish. Moreover, Lumbee American Indians’...

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

By Gazelia Carter.

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 8 Mathematics and Social Studies)

"Land and Work in Carolina" teaching strategies

These suggested teaching strategies, designed to accompany the article “Land and Work in Carolina,” will enable students to understand the concept of feudalism and its impact on the systems of labor and land ownership in colonial North Carolina.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 Social Studies)

By Pauline S. Johnson.

Inference by analogy

In Intrigue of the Past, page 2.12

Students will use historical sources and an archaeological site map to infer the use or meaning of items recovered from a North Carolina Native American site based on 17th-century European settlers' accounts and illustrations. They will also describe prehistoric lifeways based on archaeological and ethnohistoric information and explain why archaeologists use ethnohistoric analogy.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 Social Studies)

Cherokee lore and traditions

In Teaching about North Carolina American Indians, page 4.3

Length 9 Weeks Class Length: 45 minutes - Meets daily Learning outcomes Promotes life-long learning: appreciation of different cultures. Provides hands-on activities: making masks. Integrates with EOG testing: reading....

Format: lesson plan (grade 6 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Patricia Lancaster.

The Carolina colony: Comparing three perspectives

In this lesson, students compare three different primary sources written by early colonists, and consider the reasons the colonists had for moving to Carolina.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 Social Studies)

By Pauline S. Johnson.

Archaeobotany

In Intrigue of the Past, page 2.6

Students will use pictures of seeds, an activity sheet, and a graph to identify seven seeds and the conditions in which they grow. They will also infer ancient plant use by interpreting archaeobotanical samples and determine changing plant use by Native North Carolinians by interpreting a graph of seed frequency over time.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4–5 and 8 Science and Social Studies)

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

Myth and Truth: "The First Thanksgiving"

By exploring myths surrounding the Wampanoag, the pilgrims, and the first Thanksgiving, this lesson asks students to think critically about commonly believed myths regarding the Wampanoag Indians in colonial America. (Learn more)

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

Provided by: IRA/NCTE

From forest to farm and back again

How did pioneer farmers manage the landscape? Students will examine, interpret, and analyze physical and cultural patterns of forest use and management over a 300-year period. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 Social Studies)

Provided by: Forest History Society

Battling for liberty: Tecumseh's and Patrick Henry's language of resistance

This lesson extends the study of Patrick Henry's “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” speech to demonstrate the ways Native Americans also resisted oppression through rhetoric and action. (Learn more)

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

Provided by: IRA/NCTE