Grade 9

5 Credits

This course is designed to provide an in-depth study of major topics in world history:  The Classical Age, The Rise of Islam, The Middle Ages, The Renaissance and Reformation, The Age of Global Encounters, and The Age of Revolutions. Students will investigate cultural influences of selected countries within each era studied. The course will expand students’ understanding of the impact of world history and culture on the United States.  Students will also gain an appreciation for how history and geography can shape culture.

Grade 9                                                               

5 Credits

This course is designed to provide an in-depth study of major topics in world history: The Classical Age, The Rise of Islam, The Middle Ages, The Renaissance and Reformation, The Age of Global Encounters, and The Age of Revolutions. Students will investigate cultural influences of selected countries within each era studied. The course will expand students’ understanding of the impact of world history and culture on the United States. Students will also gain an appreciation for how history and geography can shape culture. The honors level will emphasize the interrelationships among geographic, economic, and social factors upon history as well as evolving patterns throughout history.

Prerequisite: 8th grade teacher recommendation

Grade 10

5 Credits

This course will provide an analysis of our nation’s development from European colonization of the Americas to the Spanish-American War. The curriculum will emphasize the Revolutionary War, the birth of our nation under the U.S. Constitution, and our country’s early years.

Westward expansion will be highlighted with special emphasis being placed on the Civil War and the events leading up to this turning point in U.S. history.  Finally, the reconstruction period will cover the shift that occurred in our country moving from an agrarian to an industrial society. This transformation contributed greatly to the growth of the United States as a world power and the evolution of American society.

Grade 11

5 Credits

This course will provide an analysis of our nation’s development from the Spanish-American War to the present.  The curriculum will emphasize the emergence of the United States as a world power, World War I, the Depression, World War II, the Holocaust, the Cold War, and other developments of the twentieth century.

Grade 10                                                     

5 Credits

This course will provide an in-depth analysis of the significant developments in the history of the United States from European colonization to its emergence as a world power after the Spanish American War. Students will pursue research assignments based on their study and experience with extensive use of the media center and primary source data. It is the intent of the course to provide a framework in which students can further develop critical thinking, language literacy and decision-making skills in preparation for Honors U.S. History II, Advanced Placement American History, and future college study.

Prerequisite: Modern World History Honors and social studies teacher recommendation

Grade 11

5 Credits

This course will provide an analysis of our nation’s development from the Spanish-American War to the present.  The curriculum will emphasize the emergence of the United States as a world power, World War I, the Depression, World War II, the Holocaust, the Cold War, and other developments of the twentieth century.

 Prerequisite: US History I Honors and social studies teacher recommendation

Grade 11-12

5 Credits

This is a course that is designed to provide students with a college-level experience and to prepare them for the AP U.S. History Exam. An emphasis is placed on interpreting documents, mastering a significant body of information, and writing critical essays. Topics include life and thought in colonial America, the American revolutionary era, constitutional development, Jeffersonian and Jacksonian democracy, the rise of the middle class and reform movements during the antebellum period, territorial expansion and Manifest Destiny. Other topics include the Civil War and Reconstruction, immigration, industrialism, Populism, Progressivism, World War I, the Jazz Age, the Great Depression, the New Deal, World War I, the Jazz Age, the Great Depression, the New Deal, World War II, the Cold War, the post-Cold War era, and the United States at the beginning of the twenty-first century.The themes will include discussions of American diversity, the development of a unique American identity, the evolution of American culture, demographic changes over the course of America’s history, economic trends and transformations, environmental issues, the development of political institutions and the components of citizenship, social reform movements, the role of religion in the making of the United States and its impact in a multicultural society, the history of slavery and its legacies in this hemisphere, war and diplomacy, and finally, the place of the United States in an increasingly global arena.  

Prerequisite: US History Honors I and/or II and social studies teacher recommendation

Grade 11-12                   

5 Credits

The course is intended for motivated and academically qualified juniors and seniors who have an interest in European history and the willingness to challenge themselves with a college level course.  Students will be immersed in the rich cultural, political, social, and intellectual traditions of Europe. The course covers European history from the beginnings of the Renaissance to the year 2000, including diverse topics such as the Renaissance and New Monarchies, the Reformation, the Opening of the Atlantic, the Habsburgs, and Religious Wars, the Age of Absolutism and Constitutionalism, the Eighteenth Century—includes the Scientific Revolution, the Enlightenment, the French Revolution and Napoleonic Era the Industrial Revolution, Politics from 1815 to 1848 and Nineteenth Century Society, Unification, the Age of Mass Politics, and Imperialism, World War I and the Interwar Period, The Rise of Dictatorships and World War II, and 1945 to the Present.

Prerequisite: Honors History and social studies teacher recommendation

Grade 10-12

5 Credits

AP Human Geography introduces students to the systematic study of patterns and processes that have shaped human understanding, use, and alteration of Earth’s surface. The AP Human Geography course is organized around seven major topics: Geography (Its Nature and Perspectives);  Population and Migration: Cultural Patterns and Processes; Political Organization of Space; Agriculture, Food Production, and Rural Land Use; Industrialization and Economic Development; and Cities and Urban Land Use. The course will feature a variety of instructional activities, with particular emphasis placed on student centered tasks including seminars, writing assignments, debate and discussion.  

Prerequisite:  Modern World History and a teacher recommendation

AP Comparative Government & Politics Video Description 

Grade 10-12

5 Credits

The AP course in Comparative Government and Politics introduces students to the fundamental concepts used by political scientists to study the processes and outcomes of politics in a variety of country settings. The course aims to illustrate the rich diversity of political life, to show available institutional alternatives, to explain differences in processes and policy outcomes, and to communicate to students the importance of global political and economic changes. Comparison assists both in identifying problems and in analyzing policymaking. The course will feature a variety of instructional activities, with particular emphasis placed on student centered concepts including seminars, writing labs, and debate and discussion.  

Prerequisite: Honors History and or teacher recommendation

Grade 9-12

5 Credits

AP World History focuses on developing students’ abilities to think conceptually about world history from approximately 8000 BCE to the present and apply historical thinking skills as they learn about the past. Five themes of equal importance — focusing on the environment, cultures, state-building, economic systems, and social structures — provide areas of historical inquiry for investigation throughout the course. AP World History encompasses the history of the five major geographical regions of the globe: Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania, with special focus on historical developments and processes that cross multiple regions.

Prerequisite: Teacher recommendation

Grade 12

5 Credits

Students will create a thesis statement and develop a research paper based on their own historical interest. Students will gather evidence through a wide variety of research techniques including: interviews, periodicals, primary documents, microfilm, and microfiche. Students will critique each other’s evidence, arguments, and writing style in a seminar atmosphere. Students have the option of submitting their papers to a national history writing contest, or creating a web site based on their thesis.

Students will be evaluated through the successful completion of two different research papers. The final paper will be a major thesis research project.  Students will be graded based on their ability to give and receive constructive criticism from their peers. The grade will also reflect mastery of research techniques and persuasive writing skills.  A cumulative examination will be given.

Prerequisite:  Written approval and recommendation from a teacher and principal

Grade 11-12

5 Credits

History of the 1960s is an in-depth study of the political, social and economic forces that shaped the tumultuous and revolutionary decade.  This course will study how and why these changes transpired, though examination and analysis of various primary sources. Particular emphasis will be placed upon the factors that affected change, as well as the influence of the period on the future of society and culture in the United States.  The course will begin by analyzing the cold War in the 1960s and evaluating the political landscape that led up to Kennedy.  Through a variety of print and media sources, students will examine the election of 1960, the Bay of Pigs, the Missile Crisis, the United States’ commitment to Vietnam, Kennedy’s assassination, Johnson’s Good Society, the 1968 election, and Nixon’s Vietnam policy.  In addition, the course will study the changes of the social landscape in the 1960s.  Students will analyze the Civil Rights Movement, the counterculture, the anti-war movement, changes in art and music, and the role of women in the period.

Prerequisite:  US History I or US History I Honors

Grade 11-12

5 Credits

This course offers the student a survey of western culture, focusing on the great civilizations of ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, and the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Reformation, social and political revolutions as well as a survey of modern issues and current events.

Law I Video Description
Grade 10-12

5 Credits

This course covers the basics of criminal and civil law, from the foundations of Western legal thought to the modern structure and of the US legal system.  The course will provide the students with a detailed view of Constitutional law, the federal and state court systems, various types of crime, and civil rights.  Landmark court cases will also be examined as they relate to each of these topics.

Grade 11-12

5 Credits

This course will provide students with a more detailed study of the law than can be covered in Law I. Students will bring with them concepts learned in Law I and use these principles to think critically upon difficult legal questions.  Legal issues of both the past and present will be discussed and analyzed as they relate to criminal, civil and constitutional law.

Prerequisite: Law I

Grade 10-12

5 Credits

The course is designed as an introduction to the major themes in sociology. Students will analyze the history of sociology, interpret social theories and research methods, identify social sciences and consider careers associated with sociology. Basic social institutions such as family, religion, education, government, and the economy will be examined. Students will also investigate modern social problems such as poverty, delinquency, deviancy, and discrimination.  Students will search for causes, consequences and possible solutions for such problems.

Grade 10-12

5 Credits

Introduction to psychology provides a general overview of human behaviors and mental processes. This course explores theories of personality, intelligence, emotions, development across the lifespan, and abnormal behavior. The historical development of psychology will be introduced as well as major contributions of psychologists, case studies, and experiments.  Students will be able to analyze their own behavior and values, as well as the behaviors of others.

Grades 10-12      

5 Credits

Advanced Placement Psychology is a course designed to explore concepts and principles in psychology. Psychology at the AP level will contain the content of a college level introductory psychology course. It is intended to prepare students to pass the Advanced Placement Examination in order to earn college credit.  AP students will recognize the brain as the main component in psychological functioning. Students will be introduced to the scientific and systematic behavior and mental processes of humans. Students will compare and contrast the major schools of thought from a historical and sociological perspective. They will examine different methods of tests, measures, and assessment with emphasis on bias related issues; cultural, ethnic, genre, and contemporary controversies will be explored. Particular emphasis will be placed on proper APA writing format as well as extensive reading, including primary source and supplemental literature, essay writing, intense group interaction, and individual presentations involving critical reasoning skills. Students will explore possible career choices within the psychological community and evaluate current trends which may affect future occupations.

Prerequisite: Teacher recommendation