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SS- 8th Grade
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Social Studies Benchmarks

8th Grade

A. Geography: People, Places, and Environments

SS.A.8.1

Explain how the five themes of geography affected the building of ancient civilization (i.e. proximity to water, natural resources, climate) (A.8.1, 3,5,7,8) (A.12.1, 3)

SS.A.8.2

Compare and contrast the ancient civilizations of the Middle East, Europe, Africa, North America, South America and Asia (i.e. history, geography, culture, society, language, religion, leaders) (A.8.1, 2,3,7,8,9) (A.12.1, 3,8)

SS.A.8.3

Identify ways ancient civilizations have impacted our lives today (i.e. political philosophy, religious beliefs, art, math, science, entertainment) (A.8.9)

SS.A.8.4

Locate the major physical features and modern political regions of Western and Southern Europe (A.8.1, 2) (A.12.1, 3)

SS.A.8.5

Explain how the five themes of geography affected the development of early civilization in Western and Southern Europe. (A.8.1, 3,5,7,8) (A.12.1, 6,8)

SS.A.8.6

Explain the effect of geography on the growth of civilization in Western and Southern Europe (i.e. climate, resources, physical features, proximity to water) (A.8.1, 3,5,7,8) (A.12.1, 6,8)

SS.A.8.7

Explain the effect of geography on the growth of Mesoamerican Civilization. (A.8.1, 3,5,7,8) (A.12.1, 6,8)

SS.A.8.8

Explain how the five themes of geography affected the development of early civilization in North and South America. (A.8.1, 3,5,7,8) (A.12, 1,6,8)

SS.A.8.9

Locate the major physical features and modern political regions of the Middle East and North Africa. (A.8.1, 2) (A.12.1, 3)

SS.A.8.10

Explain the impact of the five themes of geography on the growth of civilization in the Middle East and North Africa. (A.8.1, 3,5,7,8) (A.12.1, 6,8)

SS.A.8.11

Explain how early African civilizations adapted to their geographic locations (i.e. Mali, Benin, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia) (A.8.8)

SS.A.8.12

Describe how early African civilizations made contact with other parts of the world and assess the impact on their culture (i.e. travel, trade, exploration, conquest, pilgrimages, slavery) (A.8.3, 7,8)

SS.A.8.13

Locate the major physical features and modern political regions of Africa (A.8.1, 2) (A.12.1, 3)

SS.A.8.14

Explain the impact of the five themes of geography on the growth of civilization south of the Sahara. (I.e. physical features, climate, resources, proximity to water) (A.8.1, 3,5,7,8) (A.12.1, 6,8)

SS.A.8.15

Discuss how ancient Chinese inventions and products influenced other countries of the region and world. (I.e. paper, gunpowder, silk, spices) (A.8.7.9)

SS.A.8.16

Identify elements of Chinese and Indian culture that were adopted by South and East Asia (i.e. Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, art, music, architecture, language) (A.8.7, 9)

SS.A.8.17

Locate the major physical features and political regions of Asia (A.8.1, 2) (A.12.1, 3)

SS.A.8.18

Explain the impact of the five themes of geography on the growth of civilization Asia (i.e. physical features, climate, resource, proximity to water) (A.8.1, 3,5,7,8) (A.12.1, 6,8)

B. History: Time, Continuity, and Change

SS.B.8.1

Examine and determine the time relationship of the building of ancient civilizations (B.8.1, 12) (B.12.2, 13)

SS.B.8.2

Compare and contrast the ancient civilizations of the Middle East, Europe, North and South America, Africa, and Asia (i.e. history, geography, culture, society, language, religion, leaders) (B.8.1, 5,7,10,12) (B.12.2, 14,18)

SS.B.8.3

Identify several ways ancient civilizations have impacted our lives today (i.e. political philosophy, religious beliefs, art, math, science, entertainment) (B.8.8) (B.12.2, 14,18)

SS.B.8.4

Identify elements of Greek and Roman culture that have impacted the growth of civilizations around the world. (B.8.1, 7,12) (B12.2, 5,13,14)

SS.B.8.5

Explain how feudalism and manorialism affected the early European civilizations (i.e. isolation – European Union, social status, monetization, choice) (B.8.1, 2,7) (B.12.2, 5,9,13,18)

SS.B.8.6

Describe the role of the Christian Church in Western Europe during the Middle Ages (i.e. political, social, economic, educational, religious impact, Crusades, Inquisition) (B.8.1,3,4,5,7,12) (B.12.1,4,14,15)

SS.B.8.7

Discuss how the Eastern Slavic lands became isolated from Western Europe during the Middle Ages and assess the impact of this isolation on their culture and development (i.e. schism between Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Church, Mongol Conquest) (B.8.1, 2,7,8,10) (B.12.2, 3)

SS.B.8.8

Describe the role of the Christian Church in the Byzantine and Slavic societies of the Middle Ages (i.e. political, social, economic, religious) (B.8.1, 3,4,5,7,12) (B.12.1, 4,5,14,15)

SS.B.8.9

Identify the basic beliefs and practices of Islam and explain the global influence of this religion (i.e. monotheism, Five Pillars of Islam – faith, prayer, fasting pilgrimage) (B.12.14)

SS.B.8.10

Explain how the Islamic state expanded and then declined during the Middle Ages and the resulting impact on the culture of the region (i.e. Empire of the Caliphs, Seljuk Turks, Crusades, Ottoman Empire) (B.8.1, 2,3,7,8,10,12) (B.12.1, 2,5,13,14)

SS.B.8.11

Name the achievement of the Islamic state and explain how they were spread to other cultures (i.e. House of Wisdom, mathematics, science, medicine, art, architecture, literature) (B.8.8.12) (B.12.3, 13)

SS.B.8.12

Describe how early African civilizations made contact with other parts of the world and assess the impact on their culture (i.e. travel, trade, exploration, conquest, pilgrimages, slavery) (B.8.1, 2,7,8,10,12) (B.12.2, 3,5,13,14)

SS.B.8.13

Discuss how ancient Chinese inventions and products influenced other countries of the region and the world (i.e. paper, gunpowder, silk, spices) (B.8.1, 7,8,12) (B.12.2, 5,13)

SS.B.8.14

Identify elements of Chinese and Indian culture that were adopted by South and East Asia (i.e. Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism; art, music, architecture, language) (B.8.1, 7,12) (B.12.2, 5,13,14)

SS.B.8. 15

Describe the dynasty system found in the early Asian empires. (B.8.4.5) (B.12.4, 5)

C. Political Science and Citizenship: Power, Authority, Governance, Responsibility

SS.C.8.1

Compare and contrast the political/governmental structure and role of the people in the development of early civilizations in the Middle East, Europe, North America, South America, Africa, and Asia (i.e. history, geography, culture, society, language, religion, leaders) (C.8.3)

SS.C.8.2

Identify several ways ancient civilizations have impacted our lives today (i.e. political philosophy, religious beliefs, art, math, science, entertainment) (C.8.1, 3) (C.12.1, 2,5,15)

SS.C.8.3

Explain how feudalism and manorialism differ from the present day political and economic systems in Western Europe (i.e. isolation – European Union; social status, monetization, choice) (C.8.1) (C.12.1, 15)

SS.C.8.4

Discuss how Eastern Slavic lands became isolated from Western Europe during the Middle Ages and assess the impact of this isolation on their culture and development (i.e. schism between Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Church, Mongol Conquest) (C.8.3)

SS.C.8.5

Name the achievements of the Islamic state and explain how they were spread to other cultures (i.e. House of Wisdom, mathematics, science, medicine, art, architecture, literature) (C.8.3) (C.12.2, 5)

SS.C.8.6

Describe how early African civilization made contact with other parts of the world and assess the impact on their culture (i.e. travel, trade, exploration, conquest, pilgrimages, slavery) (C.12.15)

D. Economics: Production, Distribution, Exchange, Consumption

SS.D.8.1

Explain how geography affected the shaping of the economic systems of early civilizations (i.e. proximity to water, natural resource, climate (D.8.7)

SS.D.8.2

Compare and contrast the economies of the early civilization of the Middle East, Europe, Africa, North America, South America, and Asia, (i.e. history, geography, culture, society, language, religion, leaders) (D.8.1)

SS.D.8.3

Discuss how ancient Chinese inventions and products influenced other countries of the region and world (i.e. paper, gunpowder, silk, spices) (D.8.1)

E.  Behavioral Sciences: Individuals, Institutions, and Society

SS.E.8.1

Compare and contrast the ancient civilizations of the Middle East, Europe, Asia, Africa, North America and South America (i.e. history, geography, culture, society, language, religion, leaders) (E.8.2, 3,4,5,6,7,11,14) (E.12, 4,6,14)

SS.E.8.2

Identify several ways ancient civilizations have impacted our lives today (i.e. political philosophy, religious beliefs, art, math, science, entertainment) (E.8.3, 9,10,13) (E.12.14)

SS.E.8.3

Explain how feudalism and manorialism differ from the present day political and economic systems in Western Europe (i.e. isolation – European Union; social status, monetization, choice) (E.8.2, 3,4,5,6) (E.12, 4,6)

SS.E.8.4

Describe the role of the Christian Church in Western Europe during the Middle Ages and describe its lasting effect on the world (i.e. political, social, economic, educational, religious impart, Crusades, Inquisition) (E.8.7, 9,10,11) (E.12.11)

SS.E.8.5

Discuss how the Eastern Slavic lands became isolated from Western Europe during the Middle Ages and assess the impact of this isolation on their culture and development (i.e. schism between Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Church, Mongol Conquest) (E.8.3, 4,5,9,10,11,13) (E.12.4, 6)

SS.E.8.6

Describe the role of the Christian Church in the Byzantine and Slavic societies of the Middle Ages (i.e. political, social, economic, religious) (E.8.7, 9,10,11) (E.12.11)

SS.E.8.7

Identify the basic beliefs and practices of Islam and explain the global influence of this religion (i.e. monotheism, Five Pillars of Islam – faith, prayer, alms, fasting pilgrimage) (E.8.3, 5,10,11)

SS.E. 8.8

Explain how the Islamic state expanded and then declined during the Middle Ages and the resulting impact on the culture of the region (i.e. Empire of the Caliphs, Seljuk Turks, Crusades, Ottoman Empire) (E.8.3, 4,5,10,11) (E.12.4, 6,11,14)

SS.E. 8.9

Name the achievements of the Islamic state and explain how they were spread to other cultures (i.e. House of Wisdom, mathematics, science, medicine, art, architecture, literature) (E. 8.3,9,10,13) (E.12.14)

SS.E.8.10

Describe how early African civilizations made contact with other parts of the world and assess the impact on their culture (i.e. travel, trade, exploration, conquest, pilgrimages, slavery) (E.8.10)

SS.E.8.11

Discuss how ancient Chinese inventions and products influenced other countries of the region and world (i.e. paper, gunpowder, silk, spices) (E.8.9)

SS.E. 8.12

Identify elements of Chinese and Indian culture that were adopted by South and East Asia (i.e. Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, art, music, architecture, language) (E.8.3, 5,6,9,10,13)