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)

1. 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
2. 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
3. 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
4. Experiments in Government
   
   Sections:
   

   1. Articles of Confederation
   2. NY State Constitution
   3. Constitution’s Historic Background
5. Life in the New Nation
   
   Sections:
   

   1. A New Nation in Action
   2. The Age of Jackson
   3. Pre-Industrial Age (1790-1860)
6. Division and Reunion
   
   Sections:
   

   1. Underlying Causes & Related Issues
   2. Civil War Breaks Out
   3. Results of the Civil War
7. 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
8. 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
9. 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)
10. 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)
11. 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
12. Geography
    
    Sections:
    

    1. Map Characteristics
    2. Map Applications
13. Government
    
    Sections:
    

    1. US Legislative Branch
    2. US Executive Branch
    3. US Judicial Branch
    4. Sharing and Balancing Power
    5. Philosophy of Government
    6. Citizenship Responsibility / Symbols of Government
    7. State Governments
    8. Amendments
    9. Political Parties
    10. Bill of Rights / Civil Liberties
14. 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:

1. Belief Systems
2. Change
3. Choice
4. Citizenship
5. Culture
6. Decision Making
7. Diversity
8. Economic Systems
9. Empathy
10. Environment and Society
11. Economic Factors
12. Geography
13. Government
14. Human Rights
15. Human Systems
16. Identity
17. Imperialism
18. Interdependence
19. Justice
20. Nationalism
21. Power
22. Science and Technology
23. Urbanization

Attributes:

1. Map
2. Cartoon
3. Graph/Chart
4. Table
5. Speaker
6. Artwork/Photo/Diagram
7. Quotation/Reading Passage
8. Outline