Castle Learning Online

Intermediate American Studies

Castle Learning Online's Intermediate American Studies provides review for students at the middle school and junior high school level with a focus on American history, geography, government, and citizenship. History units review the discovery of the Americas, the colonial period, the formation of the new nation and its government, through the Civil war years, industrialization, expansion, the two world wars, and up to the present. The geography unit emphasizes map reading skills and their application. The government unit examines the three main branches of government and the system of checks and balances, the Constitution and its amendments, the political party system, the Bill of Rights, and civil liberties. Economics topics include various economic systems, taxation, government regulations, corporations, and labor unions.

Intermediate American Studies includes over 1300 multiple choice questions and over 1100 vocabulary terms. Many incorporate the use of additional data in the form of maps, graphs, pie charts, tables, quotations, political cartoons, and speaker discussions.

Units: (click to view Sections)

Global Heritage of America – Pre 1500
Sections:
1. History and Social Sciences – Study of People
2. Geographic Factors Influence Culture
3. Iroquois / Algonquian Cultures Along the Atlantic
4. European Concepts of the World by 1500
European Exploration and Colonization of the Americas
Sections:
1. European Exploration and Settlement
2. Colonial Settlement: Geographic, Political, and Economic Factors
3. Life in Colonial Communities
A Nation is Created
Sections:
1. Causes of the American Revolution
2. Declaration of Independence
3. Early Attempts to Govern the Newly Independent States
4. Military and Political Aspects of the Revolution
5. Economic, Political, and Social Changes
Experiments in Government
Sections:
1. Articles of Confederation
2. NY State Constitution
3. Constitution’s Historic Background
Life in the New Nation
Sections:
1. A New Nation in Action
2. The Age of Jackson
3. Pre-Industrial Age (1790-1860)
Division and Reunion
Sections:
1. Underlying Causes & Related Issues
2. Civil War Breaks Out
3. Results of the Civil War
An Industrial Society
Sections:
1. Industrial Growth in the Late 19th Century
2. Changing Social Structure in America
3. The Populist Movement (1890-1900)
4. The Progressive Movement (1890-1920)
5. The American West and Native Americans
The US – Expansion and Global Politics
Sections:
1. Expanding US Territories and an Overseas Empire
2. The US Begins to Take a Role in Global Politics
The US Between the Wars
Sections:
1. The Roaring Twenties – Prosperity to Depression
2. The Great Depression and New Deal
3. US Foreign Policy (1920-40)
The US Assumes Worldwide Responsibility
Sections:
1. World War II (1941-45)
2. The US as Leader in a Free World (1946-89)
3. The US in the Post-Cold War Period (Since 1990)
The Changing Nature of America Since WW II
Sections:
1. Social Changes Since the 1940s
2. Economic Changes Since the 1940s
3. Political Changes Since the 1940s
4. The US at the Turn of the 21st Century
Geography
Sections:
1. Map Characteristics
2. Map Applications
Government
Sections:
1. Map Characteristics
2. Map Applications
3. US Legislative Branch
4. US Executive Branch
5. US Judicial Branch
6. Sharing and Balancing Power
7. Philosophy of Government
8. Citizenship Responsibility / Symbols of Government
9. State Governments
10. Amendments
11. Political Parties
12. Bill of Rights / Civil Liberties
Economics
Sections:
1. Defining Economics
2. Economic Systems
3. Taxation
4. Applying Economic Theory
5. Economy and the Government
6. Labor Unions
7. Corporate Economics

Themes:

Belief Systems
Change
Choice
Citizenship
Culture
Decision Making
Diversity
Economic Systems
Empathy
Environment and Society
Economic Factors
Geography
Government
Human Rights
Human Systems
Identity
Imperialism
Interdependence
Justice
Nationalism
Power
Science and Technology
Urbanization

Attributes:

Map
Cartoon
Graph
Table
Speaker
Chart
Quotation