History Inquiry Guided Worksheet
8th Grade US History • Unit 1 Lesson 1
Why History Matters & The Racial Wealth Gap
Name:
Date: Team:
1. Why History? Past root causes explain today
2. Procedures Annotations & IDCV Notes
3. HTS Skills Causation & CCOT
Classroom Active Annotation Habits:
◯ Circle Key Terms & Concepts Underline Core Facts & Quotes ▢ Box Statistics & Data
1
The Money Equation (In Plain English)
Personal Inventory Formula
Assets (+)
Things you own that have value (cash, home, car, savings).
Debts (-)
Money you owe to others (loans, unpaid bills, credit cards).
Net Worth (=)
Assets − Debts = Net Worth
💡 Model Example:
Jordan has a $120 bike + $30 cash ($150 Assets), but owes $50 (Debt). Jordan's Net Worth = $100.
✏️ Your Turn: Make Up an Example!
Owns ($), owes $ (Debt) ➔ Net Worth: $.
2
Racial Wealth Gap Data Lab (1983–2024)
| Year / Benchmark | Median Black Household | Median Latino Household | Median White Household |
|---|
| 1983 Baseline | $6,800 | $4,000 | $102,200 |
| 2013 (30 Years Later) | $1,700 (dropped 75%) | $2,000 (dropped 50%) | $116,800 (grew 14%) |
| 2024 Projection | $1,233 | $1,633 | $122,366 |
BREAK IT DOWN #1: Why We Study History
Objective Check 1
A. Describe the trend using this sentence frame:
"While White median household wealth (increased / decreased), Black median wealth dropped by %."
B. Historical Connection: Why must historians look at past laws to understand modern wealth gaps?
[ Sentence starter: We study history because today's wealth gap was built by past policies, and to fix it we must... ]
8th Grade Social Studies • Lesson 1 Inquiry Guide Page 1 of 3
Historical Thinking Skills (HTS) Toolkit
HTS Tools: Causation & CCOT
Chronological Reasoning
Classroom Procedure: Turn & Talk Routine
1. Partner A speaks (30s) ➔ 2. Partner B responds (30s) ➔ 3. Record key takeaways in notes
A
Skill 1: Historical Causation (Why Stuff Happened!)
Root Cause + Spark ➔ Outcome
Historians ask why an event occurred by distinguishing long-term root conditions (fuel) from immediate sparks (match).
🔍 Causation Cue Words to Spot: led to impact consequence factors contributing to
✏️ Your Turn: Create a Cause-and-Effect Sentence:
"Because (cause), it led to (effect)."
B
Skill 2: Continuity & Change Over Time (CCOT)
Stayed Same vs Shifted
Continuity = Things that stayed consistent. Change = Things that transformed or evolved over decades.
🔍 CCOT Cue Words to Spot: remained persisted transformed evolved over time
✏️ Your Turn (6th Grade to 8th Grade CCOT):
"One continuity (stayed the same) is , but one change (shifted) is ."
Exit Mastery: Crack the Prompt
Objective Check 2 & 3
Target Prompt:
"Analyze the factors contributing to the rise of nativism during the Gilded Age."
1. Spot Cue Phrase: "factors contributing to"
HTS Skill:
2. Which option translates this prompt into plain English?
A. How did feelings toward immigrants change over time between 1870 and 1920? B. What specific causes and conditions led people to turn against immigrants? C. Was anti-immigrant feeling in the past identical to today?
3. Explain: Why is identifying the HTS skill the first step to answering history prompts?
[ Identifying the skill tells us whether to look for causes (why it happened) or changes over time... ]
8th Grade Social Studies • Historical Thinking Skills (HTS) Page 2 of 3
Advanced Historical Lens & Notes Protocol
Intersectional Lens & The IDCV Note Method
Intersectional Lens + IDCV
What is Intersectional Feminism?
Kimberlé Crenshaw (1989)
🎮 The "Stacked Traits" Analogy:
You are never just one label. Like building a character with multiple traits (Race + Gender + Income/Class), unfair rules hit people where their identities overlap—stacking extra challenges together!
💰 Real-Life Wage Gap Data:
Per $1.00 a White man makes: White women earn ~$0.83, Black women earn ~$0.64, and Latina women earn ~$0.57. They face barriers from both race AND gender colliding at once.
★
The IDCV Cornell Note Protocol
4 Essential Steps for History Notes
I — Identify
Author, date, topic.
D — Describe
Facts & evidence.
C — Context
Past history & causes.
V — Voice & Value
Significance & perspectives.
Teacher Model: I: EPI 2023 Wage Report | D: Black women lose ~$964k over a career | C: Segregated labor markets | V: Proves gender-only solutions miss racial barriers.
Your Turn: Practice the IDCV Method
Complete with Frames
Source: "In the 1890s, Black journalist Ida B. Wells documented how Black women in the South were denied voting rights and targeted by violence, while mainstream suffrage groups ignored their struggles."
I — Identify (Who / When / Topic):
[ Ida B. Wells / 1890s / Black women's voting rights & anti-violence activism ]
D — Describe (What does the source say happened?):
[ Black women faced racial violence and exclusion from mainstream women's rights groups ]
C — Context & Connect (What historical background caused this?):
[ Jim Crow laws in the South + segregation inside 19th-century social reform groups ]
V — Voice & Value (Why is an intersectional lens essential here?):
[ Proves we must look at race AND gender together to understand who was left out ]
Lesson Objectives Mastery Checklist:
1. Explain why we study history 2. Follow classroom procedures 3. Apply HTS & IDCV skills
8th Grade Social Studies • Intersectional Analysis & IDCV Protocol Page 3 of 3
