Core Courses
Course #132 – U.S. History I
Grade 9
College Prep
Credits: 5
Students will examine key issues, events and people in American history from The Colonial Period to Reconstruction. The course is organized both chronologically and topically depending on the period being studied. Key topics will include: the American Revolution, the growth of democracy and the Constitution, Westward Expansion, the Civil War and Reconstruction. Skills which will be addressed include: reading for critical thinking, note taking, researching, writing, map and graph skills, utilizing primary sources, and developing discussion/presentation abilities.
Course #134 – U.S. History II
Grade 10
College Prep
Credits: 5
The time period covered in this yearlong course is from Westward Expansion through today. Topics addressed include the settling of the American West, urbanization, industrialization, immigration, the rise of the U.S. as a world power, the World Wars, the Depression, the Cold War, Vietnam and the 60's, and American politics and society at the end the 20th Century. Skills emphasized in the course are those of organization, oral and written communication, and analysis of graphs and charts. Videos, guest speakers, and primary sources are used where appropriate. Long-term projects are assigned quarterly.
Course #130 – AP US History
Grade 10-12
Advanced Placement
Credits: 5
The AP U.S. History course is designed to provide students with the analytic skills and factual knowledge necessary to deal critically with the problems and materials in U.S. history. The program prepares students for intermediate and advanced college courses by making demands upon them equivalent to those made by full-year introductory college courses. Students should learn to assess historical materials — their relevance to a given interpretive problem, reliability, and importance — and to weigh the evidence and interpretations presented in historical scholarship. An AP U.S. History course should thus develop the skills necessary to arrive at conclusions on the basis of an informed judgment and to present reasons and evidence clearly and persuasively in essay format.
Prerequisite: Recommendation of a Social Studies teacher and U.S. History I
Course #126 – World History II
Grade 11
College Prep
Credits: 5
This yearlong course is designed to further develop critical thinking, historical research, and writing skills through the study of various world cultures. It also responds to a student’s need for knowledge of the world at large by connecting the present day state of events to the past. Study will begin with a review of the Age of Nations and Empires, colonialism, then cover the World Wars, the Cold Wars, and postindustrial society up until the present day. Units may include geography, language, history, government, the economy, literature and the arts.
Course #533 – AP Modern European History
Grades 11-12
Advanced Placement
Credits: 5
The study of European History since 1450 introduces students to cultural, economic, political, and social developments that play a fundamental role in shaping the world in which they live. In addition to providing a basic narrative of events and movements, the goals of AP European History are to develop an understanding of some of the principal themes in Modern European history, an ability to analyze historical evidence and historical interpretation, and an ability to express historical understanding in writing.
Prerequisite: Recommendation of a Social Studies teacher