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Eighth Grade Social Studies Resources
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Source: Georgia Public Broadcasting
Resource Type: Videos
We have correlated the Georgia Standards of Excellence for social studies to our Georgia Stories video series. Select a standard code to see the aligned Georgia Stories episode.
Georgia Standards: all SS8
Georgia Studies Digital Textbook - Student Edition
Source: GPB Education
Resource Type: Textbook
Welcome to the Georgia Studies digital textbook for students. You can access the iPad version by downloading the free GPB Education app on iTunes.
Georgia Standards: all SS8
Georgia and the US Constitution
Source: GPB Education
Resource Type: Video
Just ten years after the Articles of Confederation was drawn up in 1777, representatives met in Philadelphia to write a new Constitution. Georgia sent four men, most notably University of Georgia founder Abraham Baldwin, who played a critical role in what came to be known as the “Great Compromise.”
Skill: Describe the foundations of Georgia’s government.
Georgia Standard: SS8CG1
Source: GPB Education
Resource Type: Video
The executive branch is the largest of Georgia’s three branches of state government. The Georgia constitution names eight officers that are elected by all Georgia voters to serve in the executive branch. They lead agencies responsible for enforcing state laws and carrying out programs like education, elections, and law enforcement.
Skill: Describe the foundations of Georgia’s government.
Georgia Standard: SS8CG1
Source: GPB Education
Resource Type: Video
How does a bill become law, and who's in charge of writing it and getting it passed? We explain in this episode of Peach State Politics.
Skill: Analyze the role of the legislative branch in Georgia.
Georgia Standard: SS8CG2
How Legislative Districts Are Drawn
Source: GPB Education
Resource Type: Video
In this episode of Things Explained, we explain how districts are drawn, who draws them, and what redistricting and gerrymandering are.
Skill: Explain the importance of developments in Georgia since the late 20th century.
Georgia Standard: SS8CG2
Source: GPB Education
Resource Type: Video
Highlighting the various roles in Georgia’s General Assembly, The Legislative Process details what steps are taken to create a new law.
Skill: Analyze the role of the legislative branch in Georgia.
Georgia Standard: SS8CG2
Source: GPB Education
Resource Type: Video
What is the role of Georgia's governor, and how does it compare to the responsibilities of the U.S. president? We explain in this episode of Things Explained.
Skill: Analyze the role of the executive branch in Georgia state government.
Georgia Standard: SS8CG3
Source: GPB Education
Resource Type: Video
When you get into an argument with someone, how do you settle it? Sometimes it takes a teacher or a parent to help settle it, but if that problem involves a law, that’s when the court system of our judicial branch is called into action.
Skill: Analyze the role of the judicial branch in Georgia state government.
Georgia Standard: SS8CG4
Boot Camp Justice for Juvenile Offenders
Source: GPB Education
Resource Type: Video
After the crime rate for those under the age of 17 doubled in a five year period, Camp Stop, a military-style boot camp, was opened. This program aims to deal with juvenile offenders and steer them away from a life of crime.
Skill: Explain how the Georgia court system treats juvenile offenders.
Georgia Standard: SS8CG5
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Georgia
Source: GPB Education
Resource Type: Video
In 1990, the General Assembly asked communities to start recycling programs that would result in a 25 percent reduction in solid waste disposal. Bill Osburne, the city manager of Douglasville, discusses how his city took the request seriously and created programs that reduced household waste by 40 percent.
Skill: Analyze the role of local governments in the state of Georgia.
Georgia Standard: SS8CG6
When the Smoke Has Cleared: Behind the Scenes with Georgia's Firefighters
Source: GPB Education
Resource Type: Video
Firefighters Capt. Billy Shoemaker, Steven Woodworth, and Roderick Smith go behind the scenes of firefighting in Atlanta to show what it takes to do an often overlooked but necessary job.
Skill: Analyze the role of local governments in the state of Georgia.
Georgia Standard: SS8CG6
From River to Rail: Georgia's Transportation History
Source: GPB Education
Resource Type: Video
In the early 1800s there were no reliable means of transportation. Waterways were the easiest routes and most of Georgia’s larger cities grew up along rivers. Michelle Gillespie at Agnes Scott College and Lesa Campbell of the Southeastern Railway Museum explain how it took the steam-powered locomotive to bring about a transportation revolution in Georgia.
Skills: Explain how the four transportation systems (road, air, water, and rail) of Georgia contribute to the development and growth of the state’s economy.
Explain significant factors that affected westward expansion in Georgia between 1789 and 1840.
Georgia Standards: SS8E1, SS8H4
Georgia Ports Authority | Fast Forward
Source: GPB Education
Resource Type: Video
A trip to any mall will give you a look at thousands of items that weren't created down the street. Many of them were imported from distant lands. And the Georgia Ports Authority in Savannah -- the fourth largest port in the country -- is the point of entry for, quite literally, tons of them.
Skill: Explain how the four transportation systems (road, air, water, and rail) of Georgia contribute to the development and growth of the state’s economy.
Georgia Standard: SS8E1
Source: GPB Education
Resource Type: Virtual Learning Journey
The Entrepreneurship in Georgia virtual field trip takes students on an exploration of Georgia’s unique economy, guiding them through five of the state’s largest companies and explaining each firm’s inception and business history, including expansion, economic impact, charitable endeavors, and much more.
Skill: Evaluate the influence of Georgia-based businesses on the State’s economic growth and development.
Georgia Standard: SS8E2
Source: GPB Education
Resource Type: Video Series
Fast Forward is a fast-paced, multimedia GPB Original Production that encourages students to consider Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) related careers by highlighting the multitude of opportunities here in Georgia for those who are interested in the subjects.
Skill: Evaluate the influence of Georgia-based businesses on the State’s economic growth and development.
Georgia Standard: SS8E2
Source: GPB Education
Resource Type: Game
Lights, Camera, Budget! is an online game designed to help middle and high school students learn, study, and review financial literacy topics while also practicing their budgeting skills.
Skill: Explain the principles of effective personal money management.
Georgia Standard: SS8E3
Source: GPB Education
Resource Type: Virtual Learning Journey
Take your students on an interactive journey through the working forests of Georgia to learn about forest ecosystems, food webs, and life cycles, as well as forestry management processes, career opportunities, and much more. Key concepts are presented through text, images, videos, 360º tours, and interactive elements.
Skill: Describe Georgia’s geography and climate.
Georgia Standard: SS8G1
Source: GPB Education
Resource Type: Video
Don Berryhill, science specialist with the Okefenokee Regional Education Service Agency, guides students in a canoe through the Okefenokee Swamp and points out many unique species in this specialized ecosystem. Bill Cribbs, a descendant of a farmer who came to the Okefenokee in the late 1800s, and park ranger Pete Griffin describe life in the swamp when people worked at the Hebard Lumber Company. Like any mysterious place, legends abound, Cribbs and Griffin have a few stories to tell.
Skill: Describe Georgia’s geography and climate.
Georgia Standard: SS8G1
Source: GPB Education
Resource Type: Video
In colonial days, rice was Georgia’s number one export. Richard Schultz Jr., talks about helping grow rice, Jackie Edwards, a reenactor at Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation demonstrates how slaves would separate rice from its hulls, Faye Cowart, tour guide at the plantation, lists other potential disasters in growing rice, and Robbie Harrison, whose family has grown rice at Fife Plantation, discusses the dangers of the coastal climate.
Skills: Describe Georgia’s geography and climate.
Analyze the colonial period of Georgia’s history.
Georgia Standards: SS8G1, SS8H2
Source: GPB Education
Resource Type: Virtual Learning Journey
The Physical Features of Georgia virtual field trip guides students through twelve of the state’s physical features: the Blue Ridge Mountains, Brasstown Bald, the monadnocks (Arabia, Panola, and Stone Mountains), Red Top Mountain, the Fall Line, Providence Canyon, Okefenokee Swamp, the Savannah and Chattahoochee Rivers, and the barrier islands.
Skill: Describe Georgia’s geography and climate.
Georgia Standard: SS8G1
Port of Savannah, Yesterday and Today
Source: GPB Education
Resource Type: Video
According to David Schaller of the Georgia Ports Authority, Georgia products travel and are used around the world. Ships bring in containers loaded with goods from blue jeans to televisions. Author Rusty Fleetwood, and John Duncan of Armstrong State University discuss Georgia’s earliest exports when Savannah was international port city since the days of the Georgia colony. Kirk Johnston, a reenactor with the Charles Town Landing State Park, explains how mercantilism made Great Britain a rich nation.
Skill: Describe Georgia’s geography and climate.
Georgia Standard: SS8G1
Source: GPB Education
Resource Type: Virtual Learning Journey
The Regions of Georgia virtual field trip takes students on a journey throughout the state of Georgia, guiding them through the five physiographic regions and explaining the relative location of each, as well as their characteristics, economic importance, and much more.
Skill: Describe Georgia’s geography and climate.
Georgia Standard: SS8G1
Source: GPB Education
Resource Type: Video
Frank Moon, a fifth generation gold prospector, local Dahlonega bookstore owner Bill Kinsland, and Dr. Ray Rensi at Dahlonega’s North Georgia College describe how news of the discovery of gold in north Georgia spread as quickly as a lightning strike and prospectors poured in just as fast. The boomtown of Auraria sprung up to accommodate miners, but later mining activities centered in Dahlonega, Georgia.
Skill: Describe Georgia’s geography and climate.
Georgia Standard: SS8G1
Source: GPB Education
Resource Type: Virtual Learning Journey
The Indian Mounds experience includes virtual field trips to Ocmulgee National Monument, Kolomoki Mounds State Park, and Etowah Indian Mounds Historic Site.
Skill: Evaluate the impact of European exploration and settlement on American Indians in Georgia.
Georgia Standard: SS8H1
Georgia In The Time Of The American Revolution
Source: Georgia Public Broadcasting
Resource Type: Audio, Article With Map
Today we celebrate America’s independence from British rule. To get a sense of the role Georgia played in the struggle for liberty, we spoke with Stan Deaton, senior historian for the Georgia Historical Society. He takes us back to the time of the American Revolution, to the colony of Georgia’s first capitol in Savannah.
Skill: Analyze the role of Georgia in the American Revolutionary Era.
Georgia Standard: SS8H3
Source: GPB Education
Resource Type: Virtual Learning Journey
The Cherokee Nation virtual field trip affords an in-depth look at the lives of the Cherokee Indians, from their first encounters with Europeans to events, such as Georgia’s gold rush and the signing of the Indian Removal Act by President Andrew Jackson, that led to their forced relocation to Indian Territory in 1838. Students can explore the following three important historic sites: the Cherokee Nation capital of New Echota, the Chief John Ross House, and the Chieftains Museum.
Skill: Explain significant factors that affected westward expansion in Georgia between 1789 and 1840.
Georgia Standard: SS8H4
Source: GPB Education
Resource Type: Virtual Learning Journey
The Creek Nation virtual field trip examines lives of the Creek Indians prior to the arrival of the first settlers in Georgia, the fight to remain on their land, and their removal from Georgia in the 1830s.
Skill: Explain significant factors that affected westward expansion in Georgia between 1789 and 1840.
Georgia Standard: SS8H4
Source: GPB Education
Resource Type: Virtual Learning Journey
The University of Georgia virtual field trip provides students with an in-depth look at both the creation of the first state-chartered institution and its founder, Abraham Baldwin. It also provides information about the school’s past struggles with social issues such as racial and gender discrimination.
Skill: Explain significant factors that affected westward expansion in Georgia between 1789 and 1840.
Georgia Standard: SS8H4
Source: GPB Education
Resource Type: Virtual Learning Journey
With the Andersonville virtual field trip, students can explore a Confederate prisoner-of-war camp and the harsh conditions that Union soldiers endured while imprisoned at Camp Sumter.
Skill: Analyze the impact of the Civil War on Georgia.
Georgia Standard: SS8H5
Source: GPB Education
Resource Type: Virtual Learning Journey
This virtual journey explores the complexities of slavery and freedom in antebellum Savannah through the lens of the Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters. Students can learn about the connections between the institution of slavery and the global economy and discover how one city can teach us about society and culture before the Civil War. Key concepts are presented through interactive elements like primary source letters and images, navigable maps, videos, and a virtual walking tour.
Skill: Analyze the impact of the Civil War on Georgia.
Georgia Standard: SS8H5
Source: GPB Education
Resource Type: Virtual Learning Journey
The Warm Springs virtual field trip explores Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s personal ties to Georgia, including his struggle with polio and his interaction with Georgia citizens.
Skill: Analyze Georgia’s participation in important events that occurred from World War I through the Great Depression.
Georgia Standard: SS8H8
Teacher Resources for Women of WWII
Source: GPB Education
Resource Type: Resources
Various resources for women in WWII. On link contains the story of one Georgia woman's work with the WAVS.
Skill: Describe the role of Georgia in WWII.
Georgia Standard: SS8H9
Atlanta's Example in the Civil Rights Movement
Source: GPB Education
Resource Type: Video
Mayor William B. Hartsfield, Coca-Cola president Robert Woodruff, Atlanta Constitution editor Ralph McGill, and Chamber of Commerce president Ivan Allen Jr. (later mayor), believed Atlanta’s progress could be destroyed by civil disruption. They worked with black leaders, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., to end the boycott, open the restaurants, and integrate schools.
Skill: Evaluate key post-World War II developments in Georgia.
Georgia Standard: SS8H10
Atlanta's History Through the Eyes of a Pig
Source: GPB Education
Resource Type: Video
Sue Ellen Mears, with the DeKalb Historical Society, comments on Atlanta's change from rural to urban through the lens of Bill Suits, owner of A to Z Salvage in Decatur, who wished to bring Rufus, his 7 month-old, 50 pound pot-bellied pig to work.
Skill: Evaluate key post-World War II developments in Georgia.
Georgia Standard: SS8H10
Civil Rights Movement Virtual Learning Journey
Source: GPB Education
Resource Type: Virtual Learning Journey
Brimming with comprehensive, cross-curricular content, including 14 videos, primary source images and documents, compelling photo galleries, interactive maps, artwork, music, and more, this virtual collection invites students into an engaging exploration of some of the most significant events of the Civil Rights Movement.
Skills: Evaluate the role of Georgia in the modern civil rights movement.
Evaluate key political, social, and economic changes that occurred in Georgia during the New South Era.
Georgia Standards: SS8H11, SS8H7
Layover in Atlanta: The Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport
Source: GPB Education
Resource Type: Video
On any given day at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, more than 2,200 flights take off and land, traveling to 150 destinations in the United States, and 30 cities in 17 countries around the world.
Skill: Explain the importance of developments in Georgia since the late 20th century.
Georgia Standard: SS8H12
Georgia's Entertainment Industry
Source: GPB Education
Resource Type: Video
Atlanta has come a long way since it was a quiet little town called Terminus. Today, it has become the entertainment capital of the South. From music to museums, there are literally thousands of things for locals and visitors to do.
Skill: Explain the importance of developments in Georgia since the late 20th century.
Georgia Standard: SS8H12
Source: GPB Education
Resource Type: Virtual Learning Journey
The Jimmy Carter virtual field trip takes students on a journey through the remarkable life of James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. from his hometown experiences and early years through to his time as governor and president, into achievements post-presidency.
Skill: Explain the importance of developments in Georgia since the late 20th century.
Georgia Standard: SS8H12
Jimmy Carter | 60-Second Presidents
Source: GPB Education
Resource Type: Video
Jimmy Carter was a political outsider, which gave him a unique place in the executive branch. Though his presidency was unexciting, he was later awarded with a Nobel Prize for his efforts abroad. Also available in Spanish.
Skill: Explain the importance of developments in Georgia since the late 20th century.
Georgia Standard: SS8H12