Middle School Social Studies is an exciting trip through history for the students at Bishop Noland Episcopal Day School. They will experience American History and Louisiana History. Students participate in the EDS Social Studies Fair with an opportunity to enter the Region V Social Studies Fair.
The American Republic to 1877
The seventh grade will concentrate on American History and its exciting time of exploring the amazing journey of a Republic. Students will examine America from the Early People to the Reconstruction period, and WWII. We have incorporated the popular Broadway play, Hamilton, into our early America unit. With the use of music and higher order questions, Hamilton helps us bring our “New Nation” unit to life. There is a heavy emphasis on the Constitution with an ample mixture of geography, political schematics and economics. Hands-on projects and research projects are incorporated throughout each unit, along with Socratic Seminars that encourage discussion and higher order thinking. We use Document Based Question sets to teach document analysis, and essay construction. Students also read two class novels that break down historical events into interactive stories and personal accounts. The seventh grade students take a field trip to one of the only preserved Civil War battlefields at Port Hudson. There they participate in re-enactment activities and learn through real-life experiences.
Louisiana, The History of an American State
The eighth grade social studies course will cover the state from early Native Americans to current governors, from festivals and culture to geography and weather, and from statehood to the role of Louisiana in national as well as world history. Students take part in a two week project that includes field trips around the city to learn about the history of Lake Charles and its people. We use Document Based Question sets to teach civics and government, both state and national. The DBQ’s include primary documents and essay components. Students take part in Socratic Seminars to deepen their knowledge on our everyday lives in America and Louisiana. Socratic Seminar topics include the Electoral College, the Patriot Act, border crisis, and the U.N.’s involvement in international affairs.