8Th Grade US History: Semester Class (Spring - Part 2)
A 16-week course exploring US history from the Gilded Age to the War on Terror.
Nelson Vargas, JD; Law/Hist. Professor
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5.0
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What's included
16 live meetings
14 hrs 40 mins in-class hoursHomework
1-2 hours per week. Completion of several worksheets and essay questions will be required. Reading assignments will be assigned weekly.Assessment
Assessment will be by letter grade. There will be two graded exams and several quizzes. Upon completion there will be a written report with a final grade for the course.Grading
includedClass Experience
US Grade 8
This is a semester course that meets once a week for 1 hour. This class examines United States history, starting with the Gilded Age and concluding with the war on terror. The class is a lecture- and discussion-based course. Participation is required. The course will provide multiple perspectives, including the historical perspectives of women, and Native Americans, as well as exploring the experiences of racial and ethnic groups, including African American and migrant history. No prior knowledge is required. This course follows the California history and social science standards for US history. Students will study the ideas, issues, and events from the Spanish American War up to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the United States. After reviewing the development of America’s democratic institutions, students will learn about the challenges facing the United States. The curriculum will be as follows: Week 1: American Foreign Policy, 1890-1914 The Spanish-American War and Overseas Empires Roosevelt's Rough Riders Economic Imperialism in East Asia Roosevelt’s “Big Stick” Foreign Policy Taft’s “Dollar Diplomacy” Week 2: WW1 Causes of the Great War Archduke Francis Ferdinand Assassination Austria-Hungary declares war Invasions First Battle of the Marne Week 3: WW1 Naval blockade Gallipoli Peninsula The Lusitania Italy Attack on Verdun. Week 4: WW1 War tech Naval Battle of Jutland Battle of the Somme The United States declares war General John J. Pershing, Week 5: WW1 America Joins the war Russia armistice with Germany Battle of Cantigny Crossing the Marne River Battle at St. Mihiel salient and Meusse-Argonne End of the War Pandemic of 1918 Week 6: The Stock Market Crash of 1929 President Hoover’s Response The Depths of the Great Depression Assessing the Hoover Years on the Eve of the New Deal Week 7: The Rise of Franklin Roosevelt The First New Deal The Second New Deal Week 8: The rise of fascism Imperial Japan Anti-Comintern Pact Japan invades China Hitler annexes Austria into Germany Week 9: Germany invades Poland France and Britain declare war Invasion of Denmark and Norway Blitzkrieg Battle of Britain Tripartite Pact creating the Axis Alliance Week 10: Germany and the Axis Powers attack Russia Pearl Harbor US enters World War II Battle of Midway Allies invade Sicily Italy surrenders Week 11: Holocust Mussolini escapes D-day and the Normandy invasion Invasion of France Paris liberated Battle of the Bulge US Marines invade Iwo Jima President Franklin Roosevelt dies/President Truman Hiroshima/Nagasaki End of the War Week 12: The Challenges of Peacetime The Marshall Plan The Cold War The American Dream Popular Culture and Mass Media The African American Struggle for Civil Rights Week 13: The Kennedy Promise Lyndon Johnson and the Great Society The Civil Rights Movement Marches On Challenging the Status Quo Week 14: Identity Politics in a Fractured Society Vietnam Watergate: Nixon’s Domestic Nightmare The OPEC crisis Jimmy Carter in the Aftermath of the Storm Week 15: The Reagan Revolution Political and Cultural Fusions A New World Order Bill Clinton and the New Economy Impeachment Bush v. Gore Week 16: September 11, 2001 The War on Terror The Domestic Mission New Century, Old Disputes Hope and Change New sources and contributions of large-scale immigration.
Other Details
Parental Guidance
The class will address armed conflicts. Class discussion will focus on the lasting legacy of these conflicts and how they continue to shape the world today. Students will be expected and required to respect different views and experiences. To this end, we will look at events from varying perspectives, with a focus on objective and provable facts.
Supply List
Students will be given pdfs each week that contains the in-class work and homework.
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Sources
Sources for the class include:
Source documents from the U.S. National Archive,
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services resource library,
The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
American Memory collection - historical collections for the National Digital Library, at the Library of Congress.
History Matters: The U.S. Survey Course on the Web. (n.d.)., from http://historymatters.gmu.edu.
Robert Kotlowitz (2010). Before Their Time, A Memoir. Anchor Books.
Eli Wiesel (2006). Night. Hill and Wang
William Manchester (2008). Goodbye, Darkness: A Memoir of the Pacific War. Little Brown and Company.
John Hershey (1989). Hiroshima. Vintage.
Strachan, H. (2013). The first World War. Penguin Books.
Colonial, Refugee and Allied Civilians after the First World War: Immigration Restriction and Mass Repatriation (Routledge Studies in First World War History) 1st Edition (2020)
Joined August, 2020
5.0
474reviews
Popular
Teacher expertise and credentials
2 Degrees
Juris Doctor in Political Science and Government from SUNY at Buffalo School of Law
Bachelor's Degree in Political Science and Government from SUNY at Albany
I have been teaching at Outschool for over 2 years. I have been a law professor in Washington DC for 3 years. I strive to teach social studies, civics, and history in a way that inspires and entertains while fostering curiosity and critical thinking.
I love teaching and Outschool allows me to share my passions for various subjects with young minds. I've taught (as a guest) both middle, elementary, and high school social studies, government civics, technology, and history. I’ve taught at the University of Maryland and am currently an adjunct law professor at Catholic University School of Law in Washington, DC. I have also taught at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, in Brunswick, Georgia and have published in several academic legal journals and publications Reviews
Live Group Course
$400
for 16 classes1x per week, 16 weeks
55 min
Completed by 4 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 13-14
3-6 learners per class
