Common topics for 11th grade social studies include the Age of Exploration and Discovery; the colonization and development of America; sectionalism; the American Civil War and Reconstruction; World Wars; the Great Depression; the Cold War and the nuclear era; and civil rights.

Content related to civil rights and the Civil Rights Movement is included (and expanded in many instances) in Virginia Studies (grade 4), U.S. History to the Present (grade 6), World History and Geography 1500 C.E. to the Present (grade 10), and Virginia and U.S. History (grade 11).

Since Virginia was the site of the first permanent English settlement, the state is known as “the birthplace of a nation.” As well as the “Mother of Presidents” Eight Virginia born gentlemen succeeded to the highest office in the land, including four of the first five presidents.

Virginia—the largest and most populous colony—played a major role in winning independence and determining the values and aspirations of the new nation. At both the start and end of the Revolutionary War, Virginia became a battlefield.

United States History I for tenth graders will teach the significant events and themes of the 18th and 19th century. Students will survey the major events and movements that shaped American society from colonization through the end of Reconstruction in 1877.