Teaching Georgia Studies? Here's a Free Guide

Wesley Glosson
May 23
4 min read

Updated: 3 days ago

Aerial view of Atlanta skyline with tall buildings, including one marked Emory. Roads and greenery visible under a blue, cloudy sky.

Maybe it's your first year year teaching Georgia Studies, maybe you've taught it a few years, or maybe you are an old pro. Either way, I am taking this opportunity to create a guide post to answer questions, point out things you may have missed or enhance your already vast knowledge of teaching this subject.

Let's first talk about the "what" and "why." Georgia studies is required for all eighth graders in the state of Georgia. Students have spent the last two years learning about other parts of the world in 6th and 7th grade, and we bring them back to the Peach State in eighth grade to learn about their own backyard. There is a lot to learn about the state from geography to state government, to its economy and its vast history. It's a lot to get in 180 days, but as I always say, "humans do hard things, and teachers do harder things!" Georgia studies is probably my all-time favorite subject to teach. It's broad enough to discuss and learn about so many things, but narrow enough to feel as if you've covered it sufficiently. I believe it's important to learn about Georgia because students not only learn about the people and events that led to where we are today, but they also learn how to become greater citizens in this Empire State of the South! If taught with the right passion, students can understand the mistakes and injustices that have occurred here, and hopefully develop a sense of empathy and understanding. At the same time, they can feel a sense of satisfaction of being a part of a state that is vibrant, rich in culture and diversity and an economic powerhouse! These are all feelings I get when I learn and teach Georgia Studies.

Layout of the Course

The course is guided by Georgia Standards of Excellence. The standards are broken down into four domains: geography, history, government and civics and lastly, economics. Geography is the only domain with one standard. History has twelve standards, government and civics six and economics three. You read the standard this way: Subject, Grade, Domain, Standard number. Therefore, SS8E2 for example, would mean social studies, eighth grade, economics standard number two.

The state provided Curriculum Map suggests that teachers start the course by teaching the geography standard, then mostly history with economic sprinkled in when it integrates well with the history, and end the year with civics and government. Basically, talk about where the state is and where things are in the state, then tell about its history and end with how the state operates today. This makes sense to me, and it worked well when I taught the subject. However, I saved all of the economic standards to teach at one time. I don't know if I would recommend doing that to someone else, but it's just the way my brain works.

Geography

The geography standard is about the location of the state in relation to the rest of the world, the continent and the country. It also requires students to learn about the different geographical regions in Georgia, of which there are five. Students should understand that these regions are separated by climate, landforms, and other features that help determine the economy, agriculture, and population of that specific part of Georgia.

History

You will be required to teach more history than any of the other domains. The history standards start with native Georgians (Mississippian Indians) and goes all the way through to modern day Georgia. This is a vast history to cover, and teachers should pay particular attention to the standard elements because it is easy to teach students information that is not in the standard. For example, "slavery" is really, unfortunately, given just a passing mention. In my opinion this is intentional and shameful, but if teachers choose to teach beyond any standard, they should be aware of time constraints in covering all of the history standards.

Within these standards you will cover people, places and events that shaped the history of Georgia. So, even national or international events like the two world wars are covered from the perspective of how they impacted Georgia. Remember this, so during your instruction you don't go down rabbit holes of historical information and feel overwhelmed trying to cover it all!

Government and Civics

Like the other domains, these standards are also only relating to Georgia. It is easy to stray into national government topics, but resist the urge. I will admit that it sometimes confuses students that have knowledge of our federal government to differentiate state and federal governments. Students must ultimately understand that many particulars in the federal system are mirrored in the state system. Georgia has a government in Atlanta that governs the state. I usually bring this point home by telling students that most of the policies that govern their daily life are state laws, and I give them a few examples: speed limits, school policies, testing policies, etc.

The government standards also cover local government structures as well. Students will have to be taught the makeup of county and city governments. This concept may be more foreign to them than state or federal, but it should not take a significantly large amount of time of your year.

Economics

The economic standards in the Georgia Standards of Excellence cover both personal finance and state economy. It would make sense to cover the state economy along with SS8H12 that particular history standard is about modern Georgia, and SS8E1 is also about the economic factors that are present in the state in modern Georgia. The personal finance standards about saving, spending, investing, credit and such can be taught at any point and does not tie in strongly with any other standards.

Hopefully, this layout of the Georgia Studies standards helped you understand the scope and magnitude of the course. My blogs, vlogs and resources have so much more help for you if you are trying to understand: