Our Curriculum › History & Social Studies › 7th Grade
History 7
The United States and the world from 1898 to 1945: the Spanish-American War, World War I and the Russian Revolution, the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression and New Deal, the rise of dictators, and World War II. Includes a US and European geography tour and a short research paper.
180 lessons
One a day for a school year
10 units
Each opens to its lessons
1 research paper
Question, sources, citations, draft, present
Standards
Core Knowledge Grade 7 history & geography
What's taught, unit by unit
A first look: world power to World War IIDays 1–31
The Spanish-American War, Panama Canal and Roosevelt Corollary; World War I and the Treaty of Versailles; the Russian Revolution; the 1920s, Crash, Depression and New Deal; Hitler's rise, Pearl Harbor, the Holocaust, D-Day, the atomic bomb and the United Nations.
- 1 · Welcome to History 7: America Becomes a World Power
- 2 · The Spanish-American War
- 3 · The Panama Canal
- 4 · The Roosevelt Corollary
- 6 · The Causes of World War I: Nationalism and Militarism
- 7 · The Alliance System and the Scramble for Africa
- 8 · World War I Begins: The Western Front
- 9 · The United States Enters World War I
- 11 · The Home Front During World War I
- 12 · The End of World War I: The Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations
- 13 · The Russian Revolution
- 14 · The Roaring Twenties
- 16 · The Stock Market Crash of 1929
- 17 · Life During the Great Depression
- 18 · Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal
- 19 · The Rise of Totalitarianism in Europe
- 21 · The Rise of Nazi Germany
- 22 · World War II Begins in Europe
- 23 · The Attack on Pearl Harbor
- 24 · The Pacific and European Theaters of War
- 26 · The Home Front During World War II
- 27 · The Holocaust
- 28 · D-Day and the Liberation of Europe
- 29 · The End of World War II
- 31 · The Founding of the United Nations
Plus 6 review days, not listed.
US geography surveyDays 32–40
America's five regions (Northeast, Midwest, Southeast, Southwest, West), the Appalachians, the Mississippi River system, the Rockies and Great Plains, and the Great Lakes, with how each shaped settlement and industry.
- 32 · US Geography Survey: America's Five Regions
- 33 · The Northeast and Midwest: Industry and Cities
- 34 · The Southeast and Southwest: Land and Life
- 36 · The West and Pacific Region: Mountains, Coast, and Growth
- 37 · The Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River System
- 38 · The Rocky Mountains and the Great Plains
- 39 · The Great Lakes and America's Inland Waterways
Plus 2 review days, not listed.
World War I and the Russian Revolution in depthDays 41–55
Why war came in 1914: the alliance chain, Franz Ferdinand's assassination, Balkan nationalism, Alsace-Lorraine, imperialism in Africa, the Moroccan crises, the naval arms race and conscription; then the 1905 revolution, Lenin and the 1917 Bolshevik seizure of power.
- 41 · The Alliance System: Tracing the Chain Reaction of 1914
- 42 · The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and the July Crisis
- 43 · Nationalism in the Balkans: Europe's 'Powder Keg'
- 44 · Franco-German Tension: Alsace-Lorraine and Revanchism
- 46 · Imperialism and the Scramble for Africa
- 47 · Imperial Rivalry: The Moroccan Crises
- 48 · Militarism: The Anglo-German Naval Arms Race
- 49 · Militarism: Conscription and the Cult of the Offensive
- 51 · The 1905 Revolution: A Warning to the Tsar
- 52 · The February Revolution and the Provisional Government's Failures
- 53 · Lenin's Return: The April Theses
- 54 · The October Revolution: The Bolsheviks Seize Power
Plus 3 review days, not listed.
Geography of Europe, and the 1920s by regionDays 56–70
How region shaped the 1920s in America, then the geography and capitals of the United Kingdom (London), France (Paris), Germany, Belgium and the Western Front, Italy, Spain and Portugal, and why location mattered in 1914.
- 56 · Geography and History: Why America's Regions Experienced the 1920s Differently
- 57 · Geography of the United Kingdom
- 58 · London: Capital of the United Kingdom
- 59 · Geography of France
- 61 · Paris: Capital of France
- 62 · Geography of Germany
- 63 · Why Germany's Location Mattered in 1914
- 64 · Belgium and the Geography of the Western Front
- 66 · Geography of the Italian Peninsula
- 67 · Italy's Great Cities
- 68 · Geography of Spain
- 69 · Portugal and the Strait of Gibraltar
Plus 3 review days, not listed.
The Soviet Union: from civil war to StalinDays 71–81
The Russian Civil War, foreign intervention, War Communism and Lenin's New Economic Policy, the founding of the USSR in 1922, Lenin's death, and how Stalin outmaneuvered Trotsky to become sole leader.
- 71 · The Russian Civil War Begins
- 72 · Foreign Intervention and the Reds’ Victory
- 73 · War Communism and Its Failures
- 74 · The New Economic Policy
- 76 · The Founding of the USSR
- 77 · Lenin’s Death and the Struggle for Power
- 78 · Stalin’s Rise Within the Party
- 79 · Stalin Becomes the Soviet Union’s Sole Leader
- 81 · Halfway Milestone: Geography, Revolution, and the Rise of a New State
Plus 2 review days, not listed.
The Roaring TwentiesDays 82–90
Mass production and consumer culture, Prohibition and the bootleggers, flappers and the new woman, women voting after the 19th Amendment, the 1924 Immigration Act, and the divide between rural and city life.
- 82 · Consumer Culture and Mass Production in the 1920s
- 83 · Prohibition: The Temperance Movement and the 18th Amendment
- 84 · Prohibition's Consequences: Bootleggers and Organized Crime
- 86 · Flappers and the New Woman of the 1920s
- 87 · Women's Political Participation After the 19th Amendment
- 88 · Immigration Restriction: The 1924 Immigration Act
- 89 · Rural vs. Urban Life in the Roaring Twenties
Plus 2 review days, not listed.
The Great Depression and the New DealDays 91–112
Buying on margin and the 1929 crash, bank failures, the Dust Bowl and Okie migration, Hoovervilles, Hoover's response, the 1932 election, then FDR's Hundred Days, CCC, WPA, TVA, NRA, Social Security, opposition, the Supreme Court and court-packing.
- 91 · The Stock Market Crash of 1929: Buying on Margin
- 92 · Black Thursday and Black Tuesday: October 1929
- 93 · Bank Failures and the Collapse of Confidence
- 94 · The Dust Bowl: Drought and Agricultural Collapse
- 96 · The Dust Bowl Migration: The Okies Head West
- 97 · Breadlines and Hoovervilles
- 98 · Hoover's Response to the Depression
- 99 · The Election of 1932
- 101 · FDR’s First Hundred Days and the Emergency Banking Act
- 102 · The CCC: Putting Young Men to Work
- 103 · The WPA: Building Modern America
- 104 · The TVA: Transforming a Region
- 106 · The NRA and Social Security: Reshaping the Economy
- 107 · The Landslide of 1936
- 108 · Growing Opposition to the New Deal
- 109 · The Supreme Court vs. the New Deal
- 111 · FDR's Court-Packing Plan
- 112 · The Court-Packing Backlash and the Roosevelt Recession
Plus 4 review days, not listed.
Dictators and the road to warDays 113–131
Mussolini and Italian fascism, Hitler's rise, the Reichstag Fire and Nuremberg Laws, Stalin's collectivization and Great Terror, Japanese expansion, Ethiopia, Spain, the Anschluss, Munich appeasement and the Nazi-Soviet pact.
- 113 · Mussolini and the Rise of Fascism in Italy
- 114 · Hitler's Early Rise in Germany
- 116 · The Depression Fuels Nazi Electoral Gains
- 117 · The Reichstag Fire and the Enabling Act
- 118 · The Nuremberg Laws
- 119 · Stalin's Collectivization and the Ukrainian Famine
- 121 · The Great Terror: Stalin's Purges
- 122 · The Machinery of Stalinist Dictatorship
- 123 · Comparing the Totalitarian Regimes
- 124 · Japanese Expansionism in Asia
- 126 · Italy Invades Ethiopia; Germany Remilitarizes the Rhineland
- 127 · The Spanish Civil War: A Preview of World War II
- 128 · The Anschluss and the Sudetenland Crisis
- 129 · The Munich Agreement and Appeasement
- 131 · The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and the Invasion of Poland
Plus 4 review days, not listed.
World War II in depth, with Europe's geographyDays 132–156
Poland, blitzkrieg, the Battle of Britain, the Balkans and Russia's geography, Barbarossa, Leningrad and Stalingrad; Pearl Harbor, Midway and island-hopping; the Holocaust; the home front and internment; D-Day, the Bulge, Iwo Jima, the atomic bombs and the UN.
- 132 · Poland: Geography Between Two Powers
- 133 · Blitzkrieg and the Fall of France
- 134 · The Battle of Britain
- 135 · The Balkans: Crossroads of Europe
- 136 · Lands of the Former Austro-Hungarian Empire
- 137 · Russia's Vast Geography: Size and Climate Zones
- 138 · The Ural Mountains: Where Europe Meets Asia
- 139 · Russia's Great Rivers
- 140 · Geography and Napoleon's Failed Invasion of Russia
- 141 · Operation Barbarossa: Hitler Invades the Soviet Union
- 142 · Geography and Hitler's Failed Invasion of Russia
- 143 · The Siege of Leningrad and the Eastern Front
- 144 · The Battle of Stalingrad: The Turning Point
- 145 · Pearl Harbor and America Enters the War
- 146 · Island-Hopping in the Pacific
- 147 · The Battle of Midway: The Pacific Turning Point
- 148 · The Holocaust: Persecution and Ghettos
- 149 · The Holocaust: The Final Solution and Liberation
- 150 · The American Homefront: Rationing and Rosie the Riveter
- 151 · Japanese-American Internment
- 152 · D-Day and the Normandy Invasion
- 153 · The Battle of the Bulge and VE Day
- 154 · Iwo Jima and Okinawa
- 155 · The Manhattan Project and the Atomic Bombs
- 156 · VJ Day and the Founding of the United Nations
Thinking skills, research paper & year-end reviewDays 157–180
Practice analyzing primary sources (a poster, a fireside chat, a photograph, Munich), cause-and-effect chains and comparisons; a short research paper from question to presentation; three practice tests; a reflection day and a celebration day.
- 157 · Primary Source Analysis: A WWI Propaganda Poster
- 158 · Cause-and-Effect Chain: The Causes of World War I
- 159 · Comparing Interpretations: Did the Treaty of Versailles Cause WWII?
- 160 · Primary Source Analysis: An FDR Fireside Chat Excerpt
- 161 · Continuity and Change: Government's Role, 1920s to the New Deal
- 162 · Significance Ranking: The Turning Points of World War II
- 163 · Primary Source Analysis: A Dust Bowl Photograph
- 164 · Comparing Historical Figures: Lenin and Stalin
- 165 · Cause-and-Effect Chain: From Versailles to Hitler's Rise
- 166 · Primary Source Analysis: The Munich Agreement
- 167 · Comparing Perspectives: The Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb
- 168 · Research Skills: Forming a Strong Research Question
- 169 · Research Skills: Evaluating Source Credibility and Bias
- 170 · Research Skills: Taking Notes and Organizing Evidence
- 171 · Research Skills: Citing Sources Properly
- 172 · Research Skills: Structuring a Short Research Paper
- 173 · Research Project: Drafting Your Paper
- 174 · Research Project: Revising and Presenting Your Findings
- 175 · Practice Test: WWI, the Russian Revolution, and the 1920s
- 176 · Practice Test: The Great Depression, the New Deal, and Totalitarianism
- 177 · Practice Test: World War II and Its Aftermath
- 178 · Presentation Day: Share Your Research Project
- 179 · Reflection Day: Your Year in History 7
- 180 · Celebration Day: History 7 Complete, and Looking Ahead to History 8
By the end of the year, your child can
- Explain the main causes of World War I and how the war ended
- Describe the causes and effects of the Great Depression and the New Deal programs
- Compare the fascist and communist dictatorships of Italy, Germany and the Soviet Union
- Trace the major turning points of World War II in Europe and the Pacific
- Analyze a primary source such as a poster, speech or photograph
- Write a short research paper with a clear question, notes and cited sources
Other 7th Grade subjects: Math 7 · Reading 7 · Writing 7 · Science 7