By the end of Grade 8, students will:

A. Civic Life, Politics, and Government

1. Discuss the sources, purposes, and functions of law and the importance of the rule of law for the preservation of individual rights and the common good.
2. Describe the underlying values and principles of democracy and distinguish these from authoritarian forms of government.
3. Discuss the major characteristics of democratic governments.
4. Describe the processes of local government.
5. Discuss examples of domestic policies and agencies that impact American lives, including the Environmental Protection Agency (e.g., clean air and water), the Department of Labor (e.g., minimum wage) and the Internal Revenue Service (e.g., Social Security, income tax).
6. Explain how non-governmental organizations influence legislation and policies at the federal, state, and local levels.

1. Analyze how certain values including individual rights, the common good, self-government, justice, equality and free inquiry are fundamental to American public life.
2. Describe representative government and explain how it works to protect the majority and the minority.
3. Describe the continuing struggle to bring all groups of Americans into the mainstream of society with the liberties and equality to which all are entitled, as exemplified by individuals such as Susan B. Anthony, Frederick Douglass, Nat Turner, Paul Robeson, and Cesar Chavez.

1. Discuss the major principles of the Constitution, including shared powers, checks and balances, separation of church and state, and federalism.
2. Compare and contrast the purposes, organization, functions, and interactions of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of national, state, and local governments and independent regulatory agencies.
3. Discuss the role of political parties in the American democratic system including candidates, campaigns, financing, primary elections, and voting systems.
4. Discuss major historical and contemporary conflicts over United States constitutional principles, including judicial review in Marbury v. Madison, slavery in the Dred Scott Decision, separate but equal in Plessy v. Ferguson, and the rights of minorities in the Indian Removal Act.
5. Discuss major historical and contemporary conflicts over New Jersey constitutional principles (e.g., the impact of the New Jersey School Law of 1881 which required integration in the state’s public schools, Hedgepeth and Williams v. Trenton Board of Education, the Mount Laurel Decision, Jackman v. Bodine, Abbott v. Burke).
6. Research contemporary issues involving the constitutional rights of American citizens and other individuals residing in the United States, including voting rights, habeas corpus, rights of the accused, and the Patriot Act.

1. Discuss the rights and responsibilities of American citizens, including obeying laws, paying taxes, serving on juries, and voting in local, state, and national elections.
2. Discuss how the rights of American citizens may be in conflict with each other (e.g., right to privacy vs. free press).
3. Describe major conflicts that have arisen from diversity (e.g., land and suffrage for Native Americans, civil rights, women’s rights) and discuss how the conflicts have been addressed.
4. Explain the benefits, costs, and conflicts of a diverse nation.
5. Discuss basic contemporary issues involving the personal, political, and economic rights of American citizens (e.g., dress codes, sexual harassment, fair trial, free press, minimum wage).

1. Analyze ways in which nation-states interact with one another through trade, diplomacy, cultural exchanges, treaties or agreements, humanitarian aid, economic incentives and sanctions, and the use or threat of military force.
2. Discuss factors that lead to a breakdown of order among nation-states (e.g., conflicts about national interests, ethnicity, and religion; competition for territory or resources; absence of effective means to enforce international law) and describe the consequences of the breakdown of order.
3. Compare and contrast the powers the Constitution gives to Congress, the President, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and the federal judiciary regarding foreign affairs.
4. Evaluate current United States foreign policy issues and strategies and their impact on the nation and the rest of the world.
5. Discuss the purposes and functions of major international organizations (e.g., United Nations, World Health Organization, International Red Cross, Amnesty International) and the role of the United States within each.
6. Describe how one’s heritage includes personal history and experiences, culture, customs, and family background.
7. Analyze how the life, culture, economics, politics, and the media of the United States impact the rest of the world.
8. Discuss how global challenges are interrelated, complex, and changing and that even local issues may have a global dimension (e.g., environmental issues, transportation).
9. Discuss how cultures may change and that individuals may identify with more than one culture.
10. Engage in activities that foster understanding of various cultures (e.g., clubs, dance groups, sports, travel, community celebrations).
11. Discuss the impact of the Internet and technology on global communication.
12. Discuss the impact of stereotyping on relationships, achievement, and life goals.
13. Analyze how prejudice and discrimination may lead to genocide as well as other acts of hatred and violence for the purposes of subjugation and exploitation.