Lesson Links - Grade 8 - U.S. History

Links and documents to use with students for the following lessons with the Curriculum Guide for Grade 8.

Topic 1: The Constitution and the 14^th Amendment

Questions/Poster/Slide requirements to be answered for each court case:

Name of Court Case
Year Decided
Brief background of the case. Who were the people involved and why were they involved?
What was decided?
Why was this decision important?

Additional Lessons

Constitutional Conflicts: Exploring Gay Rights

Constitutional Conflicts: The Right to Marry

Constitutional Conflicts: The Right to an Abortion

Topic 2: Westward Movement and Gender Diversity in Frontier Life Through Photo Analysis (1800-1870)

Topic 3: Native Americans, Gender Roles and Two-Spirit People

Additional Lessons

Topic 4: Cross-Dressing or “Passing Women” in the Civil War

Basic Information Needed About Civil War Cross-Dressers:

Name of Person:

Early Life:

Role in Civil War:

What was their reason for fighting?

How did they live their life following the Civil War?

Once their story became public, how did that change the view of women’s roles in society?

How did this change society’s views of gender?

Topic 5: The Westward Movement and Charley Parkhurst

Photo of Charley Parkhurst (Note: No known photo was ever taken of Charley Parkhurst, so these are sketches created by others)
Slides: Story of Charley Parkhurst
Handout: Gender Expectations in the 1800s

Resources

Photo: Departure of the Mail from San Francisco, Harper’s Weekly, December 11, 1858 included in Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society, January 2014. https://scvhistory.com/scvhistory/ah5801.htm
Photo: Map of Stage-Coach Routes, California, 1850s-1860s included in Stagecoach History: Stage Lines to California, California Department of Parks and Recreation. http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=25066
Photo and Article About Charley Parkhurst (True West Magazine, July 1, 2004). https://truewestmagazine.com/the-three-charleys/
Photo of Charley Parkhurst’s Grave (Pioneer Cemetery, Freedom Blvd. Watsonville, CA): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charley_Parkhurst
The Strange Life of Charley Parkhurst. http://www.metroactive.com/papers/cruz/03.05.03/charley-0310.html
Sierra Sun Newspaper. https://www.sierrasun.com/entertainment/the-arts/sierra-history-the-strange-tale-of-stagecoach-driver-charley-parkhurst/

Books:

Ryan, Pam Munoz. Riding Freedom. New York: Scholastic Press, 1998.
Hill, Fern J. Charley’s Choice: The Life and Times of Charley Parkhurst. Infinity Publishing, 2008.

Other LGBTQ Lesson Plans

LessonLinks8th