Alberta · Grade 8
Social Studies 8
Alberta’s Grade 8 social studies course, from From Isolation to Adaptation: Japan to Worldviews in Conflict: The Spanish and the Aztecs.
- Units
- 3
- Lessons
- 4
- Skills
- 12
- Provincial exam
- None
- Official curriculum
- Alberta Education
Unit by unit
Every skill in the course, numbered by unit.
Unit 1 · 5 skills
From Isolation to Adaptation: Japan
Edo Japan: A Society in Isolation
How and why Japan isolated itself
I can analyze how Japan isolated itself in the Edo period and the effects of that isolation.
Skill 1.1
Geography and Japan’s worldview
I can explain how Japan’s physical geography shaped its worldview.
Skill 1.2
The shogun and the social order
I can explain how the shogun used the feudal system and social classes to keep control.
Skill 1.3
Meiji Japan: Rapid Adaptation
Why Japan changed course
I can analyze the motivations for Japan’s radical Meiji-period changes.
Skill 1.4
From feudal to modern
I can assess how the shift from feudal to modern organization changed Japan.
Skill 1.5
The official wording · 5 outcomes
- 1.1
- ways did Japan isolate itself from the rest of the world
- 1.2
- the physical geography of Japan affect its worldview
- 1.3
- the shogun use the feudal system and the hierarchical social classes to maintain control of Japan
- 1.4
- the motivations for the radical changes in Japan
- 1.5
- Japan adapt to changes brought on by the transition from feudal to modern models of organization
Key ideas
During the Edo period, the Tokugawa shogunate cut off most contact with the outside world (the sakoku policy), limiting trade and foreign influence.
Contact with powerful industrialized nations (and the shock of Commodore Perry’s arrival) convinced Japan it had to modernize or risk domination.
Isolation brought long peace and a flourishing internal culture, but also changed Japan economically, politically and socially — and left it technologically behind the industrializing world.
The Meiji Restoration (from 1868) deliberately adopted Western technology and ideas while keeping Japanese identity.
Japan is a mountainous island nation, which made isolation easier and shaped its sense of identity and self-reliance.
Watch out for
- Thinking isolation was purely harmful (it also brought stability and cultural growth).
- Thinking Japan modernized just to copy the West, rather than to protect its independence.
- Believing Japan was completely cut off with zero outside contact (a controlled amount continued, e.g., with the Dutch at Nagasaki).
Every skill’s key ideas, worked examples and checks are in MapleMind.Practise this unit
Unit 2 · 4 skills
Origins of a Western Worldview: Renaissance Europe
The Renaissance and Its Ideas
What the Renaissance was
I can examine what the Renaissance was and how it spread ideas across Europe.
Skill 2.1
Trade and the city-states
I can explain how geography and trade led to powerful city-states.
Skill 2.2
Thinkers and the humanist worldview
I can assess how thinkers and philosophers developed a humanist worldview.
Skill 2.3
The Age of Discovery and the expansionist worldview
I can assess how the Age of Discovery expressed an expansionist worldview.
Skill 2.4
The official wording · 4 outcomes
- 2.1
- the Renaissance spark the growth and exchange of ideas and knowledge across Europe
- 2.2
- increased trade lead to the emergence of powerful city-states
- 2.3
- thinkers and philosophers influence society in the development of a humanist worldview during the Renaissance
- 2.4
- the Age of Discovery and the rise of imperialism expressions of an expansionist worldview
Key ideas
The Renaissance ("rebirth", roughly 1300s–1600s) revived ancient Greek and Roman learning and sparked new ideas in art, science, and thought.
It sparked the growth and exchange of ideas and knowledge across Europe — in astronomy, mathematics, science, politics, religion and the arts.
Renaissance Italy’s location made it a hub of Mediterranean trade, which brought wealth and ideas.
That increased trade built powerful city-states (Florence, Venice, Genoa) whose patrons funded art and learning.
Humanism — a focus on human potential, reason and inquiry — was the intellectual heart of the Renaissance.
Watch out for
- Thinking the Renaissance invented everything from scratch (it revived and built on ancient ideas).
- Believing it happened everywhere at once rather than spreading over time.
- Thinking the Renaissance had nothing to do with money or trade.
Every skill’s key ideas, worked examples and checks are in MapleMind.Practise this unit
Unit 3 · 3 skills
Worldviews in Conflict: The Spanish and the Aztecs
The Aztec–Spanish Encounter
The Aztec worldview
I can describe the Aztec worldview before contact and how it shaped their choices.
Skill 3.1
Spain’s drive for empire
I can explain the parts of Spain’s worldview that drove it to expand.
Skill 3.2
Why the Spanish prevailed
I can assess how technology and disease contributed to Spanish dominance.
Skill 3.3
The official wording · 3 outcomes
- 3.1
- the key elements of the worldview of the Aztec civilization prior to contact with the Spanish
- 3.2
- key elements of Spain’s worldview led to the desire to expand the Spanish empire
- 3.3
- factors such as technology and disease contribute to the dominance of the Spanish over the Aztec civilization
Key ideas
The Aztec civilization had a rich worldview — a powerful empire centred on Tenochtitlan, a complex religion, and beliefs that shaped daily life and decisions.
A society’s worldview shapes its customs, from farming to religion to how it treats outsiders.
Spain’s worldview mixed a desire for wealth (gold), spreading Christianity, and glory ("God, gold, and glory").
These motives drove Spanish exploration and the desire to expand the Spanish empire in the Americas.
Spanish advantages included steel weapons, horses and guns — but DISEASE (especially smallpox), to which the Aztecs had no immunity, was devastating.
Watch out for
- Thinking the Aztecs were "primitive" rather than a sophisticated civilization with cities and knowledge.
- Believing all Indigenous peoples of the Americas were the same.
- Thinking the Spanish came only for gold, ignoring religion and glory.
Every skill’s key ideas, worked examples and checks are in MapleMind.Practise this unit
Plan the term
Pick your term and the days you study. Each unit gets its share of the weeks and comes back a week later for a review. The last two weeks go over the whole course.
The official curriculum
This page follows Alberta’s own curriculum for Social Studies 8.
Study it in MapleMind
MapleMind teaches Social Studies 8 one skill at a time. Each skill gets a short lesson, practice as you go and a check worth up to three stars. It remembers where you stopped.
Course Companion
Your year in one workbook
A fun way to keep Social Studies 8 organized, get to know your child better and see early when they need a hand. Fill it in on a screen, or print it.
- Pages
- 23
- Fillable fields
- 1,084
- Price
- $4.99
Questions about Social Studies 8
What is Social Studies 8?
Alberta’s Grade 8 social studies course: 3 units and 12 skills, from From Isolation to Adaptation: Japan to Worldviews in Conflict: The Spanish and the Aztecs.
What units are in Social Studies 8?
1. From Isolation to Adaptation: Japan, 2. Origins of a Western Worldview: Renaissance Europe and 3. Worldviews in Conflict: The Spanish and the Aztecs.
Is there a provincial exam for Social Studies 8?
No. Alberta gives no provincial exam for Social Studies 8.
What comes after Social Studies 8?
Social Studies 9.
Can MapleMind help with Social Studies 8?
Yes. MapleMind teaches every skill of Social Studies 8, step by step, with practice and checks, and its tutor answers questions about any of them. It’s free with daily limits, on iPhone, Android and the web.
Get ready for Social Studies 8
Practise every skill of Social Studies 8 in MapleMind, free with daily limits.
