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Social Studies

Social Studies

Welcome to Rio Vista Middle School’s Social Studies Department page! The Social Studies curriculum is driven by the California Department of Education’s content standards.

Sixth Grade Social Studies

Sixth Grade Social Studies curriculum focuses on Ancient History and the Civilizations. Some of the civilizations that are studied are:

  1. The Paleolithic era
  2. Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Kush civilizations
  3. Ancient Hebrews
  4. Early civilizations of India
  5. Ancient China
  6. Ancient Greeks
  7. The development of Rome

     

Seventh Grade Social Studies

In Seventh Grade Social Studies, students study Europe, Africa, the Americas, and Asia in the years 500 A.D. through 1789. Some of the areas studied are:

1st Semester

  1. Islam in the Middle Ages
  2. China in the Middle Ages
  3. The sub-Saharan civilizations of Ghana and Mali in Medieval Africa
  4. Medieval Japan
  5. Meso-American and Andean civilizations
  6. The Renaissance
  7. The Reformation
  8. The Scientific Revolution, and
  9. The Age of Exploration, the Enlightenment, and the Age of Reason

2nd Semester

  1. Disintegration of the Roman Empire
  2. Medieval Europe

     

Eighth Grade American History

The goal of the social studies program is to help students become productive and involved citizens. Through a study of United States growth and conflict from 1783 to 1914, students will learn about American national identity, Constitutional heritage and civic values, rights and responsibilities. They will be involved in individual and group activities, simulations, textbook reading, as well as integrated activities with language arts and computer-aided instruction.  Common Core Standards will transcend within cross-curricular expectations with a greater focus related to both verbal and written expression.  Indeed, “History is a story well told.”

Eighth grade American history covers the period from the framing of the Constitution up to World War I. Some of the essential areas are:

  1. The Revolution
  2. The Constitution
  3. The Jefferson Era
  4. National and Regional Growth
  5. The Jackson Era
  6. Manifest Destiny
  7. The Growth of the West
  8. The Civil War
  9. Reconstruction