Social Studies

• Tapping students' curiousity through robust learning engagements, Contemporary World Cultures and Geography provides meaningful opportunities for students to know, engage, and love their world.

NATIONAL HISTORY DAY (NHD) NEW COURSE DESCRIPTOR 2019-2020

• The National History Day (NHD) program is America’s premier year-long national competition for creative, highly motivated 6th, 7th and 8th graders who love historical research and the academic challenge of a lifetime. O. Henry Middle School’s National History Day class teaches critical thinking, writing and research skills that boosts student performance across ALL subjects. Research shows that NHD prepares students for 21st century success in college, career and citizenship, inspiring them to accomplish more than they ever thought they could. Since 2005, over 1,500 O. Henry Mustangs have reaped the benefits of NHD, as our school has developed one of the most successful programs in the nation. Please visit www.nhd.org and click on the video button, “WHAT IS NHD?”.

• We will LEARN Texas History in a fun and interactive way.  We will study natural Texas and its Native People, European Contact, the Spanish Colonial Era, the Mexican Era, the Texas Revolution and Republic, the Early Republic, the Civil War, Cotton and Cattle and Railroads, the Age of Oil, and Civil Rights in Texas.

America at War (6th, 7th and 8th grade):  

• In this class we will discuss America's involvement in wars, both foreign and domestic. Our goal is to achieve a better understanding of the historical context and significance of global conflicts with an American and global perspective.  Using different types of media, students will explore the social and political happenings in America, and other parts of the world at the time of the Great Wars. 

• United States History students will engage with the history, government, civics, and culture of the United States from the Era of European Exploration through the Era of Reconstruction.