Category: Grade 7 Social Studies

A Nation Divided

Unit description: In this unit, students will study westward expansion and how the industrialization of the North, and the increase of slavery in the South contributed to the growth of sectionalism. Students will investigate Constitutional conflicts between advocates of states’ rights and supporters of federal power and how this increased tensions in the nation. In addition, students will explore how attempts to compromise ultimately failed to keep the nation together, leading to the Civil War and the outcome and lasting effects of this historic battle. 

Download the complete Grade 7 Social Studies Unit 8 framework to customize for your own planning.

Standards 

Standards: 1, 3, 4; Themes: TCC, GEO, GOV, ECO

Essential Questions and Big Ideas

Big idea of the unit: Westward expansion, the industrialization of the North, and the increase of slavery in the South contributed to the growth of sectionalism.

How did regional economic differences and values create tensions between states’ rights advocates and supporters of a strong federal government?

• Early United States industrialization affected different parts of the country in different ways. Regional economic differences and values, as well as different conceptions of the Constitution, laid the basis for tensions between states’ rights advocates and supporters of a strong federal government.

How did the Missouri Compromise, the Compromise of 1850, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act affect new territories? 

• As the nation expanded geographically, the question of slavery in new territories and states led to increased sectional tensions. Attempts at compromise ended in failure.

How did perspectives of the Civil War vary by geographical region?

• Perspectives on the causes of the Civil War varied based on geographic region, but the election of a Republican president was one of the immediate causes for the secession of the Southern states.

What issues caused the secession of the southern states and what role did New York play?

• Perspectives on the causes of the Civil War varied based on geographic region, but the election of a Republican president was one of the immediate causes for the secession of the Southern states.

How did the Civil War impact the United States?

• The Civil War affected human lives, physical infrastructure, economic capacity, and governance of the United States.

Westward Expansion

Unit description: Driven by political and economic motives, the United States expanded its physical boundaries to the Pacific Ocean between 1800 and 1860. This settlement displaced Native Americans as the frontier was pushed westward. In this unit, students will study how Native Americans lost land and were forced to move and will also explore the physical westward expansion of the United States and the extensive outcomes, opportunities and negative effects that came from this time period.

Download the complete Social Studies Grade 7 Unit 6 framework to customize for your own planning.

Standards

Standards: 1, 3; Themes: ID, MOV, TCC, GEO

Essential Questions and Big Ideas

• Big idea of the unit: Driven by political and economic motives, the United States expanded its physical boundaries to the Pacific Ocean between 1800 and 1860.
• What were the driving factors behind the desire for westward expansion in the United States?
  • American values and beliefs, such as Manifest Destiny and the need for resources, increased westward expansion and settlement.
• What opportunities were offered to some people through Westward Expansion?
  • The Erie Canal as a gateway to westward expansion that resulted in economic growth for New York State, economic opportunities for Irish immigrants working on its construction, and its use by religious groups, such as the Mormons, to move westward.
  • There was growth of suffrage for white men during Andrew Jackson’s administration.
• What harm was done to Native American people through Westward Expansion?
  • The Seminole Wars and Cherokee judicial efforts were a result of Westward Expansion.
  • Andrew Jackson forced the removal of the Cherokee, known as the Trail of Tears.
  • The policies of New York State toward Native Americans at this time, and its efforts to take tribal lands, particularly those of the Oneidas, and exercise jurisdiction over those communities

Unit Title

Unit description: The United States Constitution serves as the foundation of the United States government and outlines the rights of citizens.The Constitution is considered a living document that can respond to political and social changes. The New York State Constitution also has been changed over time. In this unit, students will study how the Constitution outlined a federalist system of government and also established three branches of government as well as a system of checks and balances. Students will also explore how the New York State Constitution changed over time and the foreign and domestic disputes tested the strength of the Constitution.

Standards

Standards: 1, 5; Themes: TCC, GOV, CIV

Essential Questions and Big Ideas

• Big idea of the unit: The United States Constitution serves as the foundation of the United States government and outlines the rights of citizens.
• How does the Constitution outline distribution of governmental power?
  • The Constitution outlined a federalist system of government that shares powers between the federal, state, and local governments.
• What check and balances system was developed in the Constitution?
  • The Constitution established three branches of government as well as a system of checks and balances that guides the relationship between the branches.
• How are the individual rights of citizens protected by the Bill of Rights?
  • Individual rights of citizens are addressed in the Bill of Rights.
• How did New York State’s Constitution change during the 19th century and what is the process for those changes?
  • The New York State Constitution changed over time, with changes in the early 19th century that made it more democratic.
• What events in the early nation tested the strength of the Constitution?
  • Foreign and domestic disputes tested the strength of the Constitution, particularly the separation of powers, the system of checks and balances, and the issue of States rights.
  • The United States sought to implement isolationism while protecting the Western Hemisphere from European interference.

Download the complete Grade 7 Social Studies Unit 5 framework to customize for your own planning.

Historical Development of the Constitution

Unit description: The newly independent states faced political and economic struggles under the Articles of Confederation. These challenges resulted in a Constitutional Convention, a debate over ratification, and the eventual adoption of the Bill of Rights. In this unit, students will study how colonies struggling to address their differing social, political, and economic interests and to establish unity led to the writing of the Articles of Confederation and eventually the Constitution, which established a democratic republic with a strong central government. Students will investigate the people’s division on issues such as states rights, role/limits of federal power, and guarantees of individual freedoms.

Standards

Standards: 1, 5; Themes: GOV, CIV

Essential Questions and Big Ideas

• Big idea of the unit: The newly independent states faced political and economic struggles under the Articles of Confederation
• What were some of the issues that led to the writing of the Articles of Confederation?
  • Throughout the American Revolution, the colonies struggled to address their differing social, political, and economic interests and to establish unity.
  • The Articles of Confederation created a form of government that loosely united the states, but allowed states to maintain a large degree of sovereignty.
• What was the issue with the Articles of Confederation and what solution was devised?
  • The lack of a strong central government under the Articles of Confederation presented numerous challenges. A convention was held to revise the Articles, the result of which was the Constitution. The Constitution established a democratic republic with a stronger central government.
• What were some of the issues that advocates were divided on for and against a strong central government?
  • Advocates for and against a strong central government were divided on issues of States rights, role/limits of federal power, and guarantees of individual freedoms. Compromises were needed between the states in order to ratify the Constitution.

Download the complete Grade 7 Social Studies Unit 4 framework to customize for your own planning.

American Independence

Unit description: Growing tensions over political power and economic issues sparked a movement for independence from Great Britain. New York played a critical role in the course and outcome of the American Revolution. In this unit students will study how conflicts between France and Great Britain in the 17th and 18th centuries in North America altered the relationship between the colonies and Great Britain. Students will investigate how American colonial leaders outlined their grievances against British policies and actions in the Declaration of Independence. In addition, students will examine how the outcome of the American Revolution was influenced by military strategies, geographic considerations, the involvement of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) and other Native American groups in the war.

Standards

Standards: 1, 4, 5; Themes: TCC, GOV, ECO

Essential Questions and Big Ideas

• Big idea of the unit: Growing tensions over political power and economic issues sparked a movement for independence from Great Britain.
• What altered the relationship between the colonies and Great Britain in the 17th and 18th centuries?
  • Conflicts between France and Great Britain in the 17th and 18th centuries in North America altered the relationship between the colonies and Great Britain.
• What was the colonial response to the British government enacting and attempting to enforce new political and economic policies in the colonies?
  • Stemming from the French and Indian War, the British government enacted and attempted to enforce new political and economic policies in the colonies. These policies triggered varied colonial responses, including protests and dissent.
• What ideas and influences lead to the writing of the Declaration of Independence?
  • Influenced by Enlightenment ideas and their rights as Englishmen, American colonial leaders outlined their grievances against British policies and actions in the Declaration of Independence.
• What factors impacted the outcome of the American Revolution?
  • The outcome of the American Revolution was influenced by military strategies, geographic considerations, the involvement of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) and other Native American groups in the war, and aid from other nations.

Download the complete Grade 7 Social Studies Unit 3 framework to customize for your own planning.

Reform Movements

Unit description: Social, political, and economic inequalities sparked various reform movements and resistance efforts. Influenced by the Second Great Awakening, New York State played a key role in major reform efforts. In this unit, students will define and explore the Second Great Awakening and the strong presence of reform movements during this time, with an emphasis on the abolitionist movement which worked to raise awareness of and generate resistance to the institution of slavery. Students will also investigate the presence of women in these movements as they fought for more rights.

Download the complete Grade 7 Social Studies Unit 7 framework to customize for your own planning.

Standards

Standards: 1, 5; Themes: SOC, CIV, GOV

Essential Questions and Big Ideas

• Big idea of the unit: Social, political, and economic inequalities sparked various reform movements and resistance efforts.
• What is the Second Great Awakening and how did it inspire people during this time period?
  • The Second Great Awakening, which had a strong showing in New York State, inspired reform movements.
• What are some of the major reform movements sparked during this time period and the circumstances that lead to them?
  • The abolitionist movement worked to raise awareness of and generate resistance to the institution of slavery.
  • Women joined the movements for abolition and temperance and organized to advocate for women’s property rights, fair wages, education, and political equality.
  • The Anti-Rent movement in New York State was an attempt by tenant farmers to protest the land ownership system.
• What were some of the ways the abolitionist movement worked to make change?
  • Enslaved Africans organized and resisted their conditions.
  • William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass, and Harriet Tubman worked to abolish slavery.
  • Uncle Tom’s Cabin on the public perception of slavery.
• What was New York’s role in the abolitionist movement?
  • Harriett Tubman worked to set up stations of the Underground Railroad in New York State.
  • The seizure of the ship, La Amistad, carrying enslaved Africans, off the coast of Long Island and the resulting Supreme Court decision in United States v. The Amistad (1841)
• How did women advocate for more rights and political equality?
  • Women joined the movements for abolition and temperance and organized to advocate for women’s property rights, fair wages, education, and political equality.

Colonial Developments

Unit description: Students will analyze how the American colonies were established for a variety of reasons and developed differently based on economic, social, religious and geographic factors. They will compare and contrast the social, economic, and scientific improvements that helped European nations launch an Age of Exploration. Students will investigate the varied relationships and interactions Europeans had with Native American societies they encountered and the losses Native American societies suffered, and begin to investigate slavery over the 17th and 18th centuries and its growth among the colonies.

Standards

• (Standards: 1, 2, 3, 4; Themes: MOV, GEO, ECO, TECH, EXCH)

Essential Questions and Big Ideas

• Big Idea: European exploration of the New World resulted in contributions that were long lasting to the Americas during the Age of Exploration.
• What are the reasons European exploration?
  • Social, economic, and scientific improvements helped European nations launch an Age of Exploration
• What were the effects of interactions between European groups and Native American societies during this time of exploration?
  • Different European groups had varied interactions and relationships with the Native American societies they encountered. Native American societies suffered from loss of life due to disease and conflict and loss of land due to encroachment of European settlers and differing conceptions of property and land ownership.
• What effect did the natural habitat of different areas of the Americas have on the development of different economies?
  • Differences in climate, physical features, access to water, and sources of labor contributed to the development of different economies in the New England, Middle, and Southern Colonies.
• How did the initial interaction between Europeans and Native Americans lay the foundation for future race relations in America?
  • Over the course of the 17th and 18th centuries, slavery grew in the colonies. Enslaved Africans utilized a variety of strategies to both survive and resist their conditions.

Prerequisite Skills

This unit represents unifying themes of social studies – Colonial Development, Exploration and “Doctrine of Discovery” and enduring issues of social studies such as Impact of Colonization, Impact of Cultural Diffusion, Conflict. Students develop their skills to explain the significance of the technological developments and scientific understandings that improved European exploration; examine the voyage of Columbus, leading to the Columbian Exchange and the voyages of other explorers; investigate other Indigenous societies and their interactions with Europeans; assess the effects of contact on the Indigenous Peoples and Europeans.

Download the complete Grade 7 Social Studies – Colonial Developments framework to customize for your own planning.

Native Americans

The physical environment and natural resources of North America influenced the development of the first human settlements and the culture of Native Americans. Native American societies varied across North America. The unit may utilize local history. The unit will take approximately 3-4 weeks to complete.

Note: Lessons will vary in length, depending on the amount of time you have with students, the resources that you choose to accompany the unit, the level of rigor within each learning target, and any other factors that may contribute to the pacing of your learning progressions. It is recommended that you adjust the pace and length of each learning progression(s) accordingly in response to these factors.

Download the complete Grade 7 Social Studies Unit 1 framework to customize for your own planning.

Standards

• (Standards: 1, 2; Themes: ID, MOV, GEO)

Essential questions and big ideas of the unit

• Big Idea of the Unit: Throughout history, indigenous cultures have adapted to their environment.
• How did geography influence cultural development and shape cultural identity?
  • Early Americans settled in geographical areas that provided sources of food and water.
  • Geography and climate influenced the beliefs and daily routines of early Americans which helped to develop their cultures.
• What is the lasting impact of Indigenous People on North American culture?
  • Cultural symbols and practices of Indigenous People in North America continue to be present as symbols of America.
• How did geography affect the formation of Native American groups in North America?
  • Native Americans in differing areas of America developed differing daily routines, diets and practices due to the geography of the areas where they settled.

Download the complete Grade 7 Social Studies Unit 1 framework to customize for your own planning.