Social Studies

World History 1-2                                                                                           Course #4101-4102

Full Year = 1 World History/World Geography credit

Fee: none

This course focuses on World History from approximately the mid-1300s to the modern day. Students will examine important concepts in geography, history, and culture pertaining to regions around the globe. Students will analyze significant events, individuals, developments and processes across the world from the perspective of multiple and varied voices for a vivid and complex picture of history. This course is global in nature, with a multicultural, rather than Eurocentric, approach. Students will engage in historical thinking, robust academic discussions, and informational and argumentative writing. Some of the topics of study will include, but are not limited to, the following: the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and Reformation, global expansion, empires and kingdoms of the world, the Enlightenment and revolutions, the rise of nation states, imperialism, industrialization, WWI, 20th Century revolutions, global depression, WWII, decolonization, the Cold War, globalization, and modern issues.

AP Human Geography- Advanced Placement                                                Course #4181-4181

Full Year = 1 World History/World Geography credit (Advanced Placement)

Fee: AP Exam Fee $100

This course is equivalent to an introductory college-level course in human geography. The course introduces students to the systematic study of patterns and processes that have shaped human understanding, use, and alteration of Earth's surface. Students employ spatial concepts and landscape analysis to examine socioeconomic organization and its environmental consequences. They also learn about the methods and tools geographers use in their research and applications. This course is organized around seven units that students explore throughout the course: thinking geographically, population and migration patterns and processes, cultural patterns and processes, political patterns and processes, agriculture and rural land-use patterns and processes, cities and urban land-use patterns and processes, and industrial and economic development patterns and processes.  The curriculum reflects the goals of the National Geography Standards (2012). Students are required to take the AP exam in May. All AP exams have a cost associated with them.

Note:  This course is intended to prepare students for the College Board Advanced Placement Exam; those who enroll in this class will be required to take that exam in May.  All AP exams have a cost associated with them, currently the cost is $100 for the exam. A $40 deposit is due by November 1^st. Students who add the test after November 1st will incur a $40 late test fee and students who do not take the AP exam will have a $40 unused test fee in addition to losing the associated GPA bump and AP designation for taking an AP course. This course may not be dropped from a student’s course schedule after the last day of school prior to the year the student plans on taking the course. 

AP European History - Advanced Placement                                                Course #4125-4126

Full Year = 1 World History/World Geography credit (Advanced Placement)

Fee: AP Exam Fee $100 + $25 consumable book fee

This course is designed to be the equivalent of a two-semester introductory college or university European history course. In AP European History students investigate significant events, individuals, developments, and processes in four historical periods from approximately 1450 to the present. Students develop and use the same skills, practices, and methods employed by historians: analyzing historical evidence; contextualization; comparison; causation; change and continuity over time; and argument development. The course also focuses on nine units: Renaissance and Exploration, Age of Reformation, Absolutism and Constitutionalism, Scientific, Philosophical and Political Developments, Conflict, Crisis and Reaction in the Late 18^th-Century, Industrialization and Its Effects, 19^th-Century Perspectives and Political Developments, 20^th-Century Global Conflicts, Cold War and Contemporary Europe.  Students are required to take the AP exam in May. All AP exams have a cost associated with them.

Note:  This course is intended to prepare students for the College Board Advanced Placement Exam; those who enroll in this class will be required to take that exam in May.  All AP exams have a cost associated with them, currently the cost is $100 for the exam. A $40 deposit is due by November 1^st. Students who add the test after November 1st will incur a $40 late test fee and students who do not take the AP exam will have a $40 unused test fee in addition to losing the associated GPA bump and AP designation for taking an AP course. This course may not be dropped from a student’s course schedule after the last day of school prior to the year the student plans on taking the course. 

US History 1-2                                                                                                Course #4131-4132

Full Year = 1 US History credit

Fee: None

This course focuses on the history of the United States from the turn of the century to the present day. American founding documents and democratic principles will provide for the foundation referenced throughout this course while maintaining focus on the multicultural history, economics, civics, and geography of the modern era. This course includes multiple and varied voices and perspectives for a vivid and complex picture of U.S. History. Students in the course will engage in historical thinking, robust academic discussions, and informational and argumentative writing. Some of the topics of study will include, but are not limited to, the following: Nativism/Populism, Imperialism, the Gilded Age/Industrial Revolution, Progressivism, WWI, the 1920s, the Great Depression, WWII, the Civil Rights Movement, the Cold War, the rights movements of the 1970s, globalism, terrorism, and modern issues.

US History 1-2 (H)                                                                                                      Course #4133-4134

Full year = 1 US History credit (Honors)

This advanced course offers an in-depth exploration of the social, political, economic, and cultural forces that have shaped the United States from its founding to the modern era. Students will analyze key events, movements, and individuals through primary and secondary sources, developing a deeper understanding of historical context and causation. Emphasis will be placed on critical thinking, analytical writing, and discussion skills. Students in the course will engage in historical thinking, robust academic discussions, and informational and argumentative writing. Some of the topics of study will include, but are not limited to, the following: Nativism/Populism, Imperialism, the Gilded Age/Industrial Revolution, Progressivism, WWI, the 1920s, the Great Depression, WWII, the Civil Rights Movement, the Cold War, the rights movements of the 1970s, globalism, terrorism, and modern issues.

American Government                                                                                             Course #4161

One semester = 0.5 American Government credit

Productive civic engagement requires knowledge of the historical foundations and principles of American democracy, understanding the unique processes of local, state, and national institutions, and the skills necessary to apply civic dispositions and democratic principles. In this semester long course, students will analyze the powers and civic responsibilities of citizens and examine the origins, functions, and structure of the U.S. government. Content will include multiple historical eras and the various changing perspectives in America’s past, as well as connections between historical events. Some of the topics of study will include, but are not limited to, the following: founding documents, the federal system, the legislative process, the judicial system, the executive branch, elections, political parties, interest groups, rights and responsibilities of citizens, international relations, public policy, economic policies, media literacy, and contemporary issues.

NOTE: This class may be offered Zero period based upon enrollment numbers. The course number for students interested in Zero period is 4015.