AP® Course #: SS270
5 Credit Full Year Course
Recommended for grades 11-12

Advanced Placement Courses provide an opportunity for students to experience a college course while still in high school. AP courses follow a syllabus that has been approved by the College Board, and teachers must receive specialized training to teach the courses. Although it is not required, it is expected that students who take AP courses will also register for the national AP exam at their own expense. This course is organized as a survey of United States history. Students will improve their analytical skills and will be expected to make use of a variety of supplementary reading materials, while writing essays. This course is fast-paced and involves considerable textbook reading and note-taking. This course meets the Grade 11 social studies requirement when taken as a junior.

College Prep Course #: SS233
Accelerated Course #: SS232
5 Credit Full Year Course
Recommended for grade 10

Students begin with a review of the origins of the American Revolution and how ideas and goals of a democratic society translates into actions within social elements and government. Students will then examine how democratization and expansion tested the relationships between federal and state authority, and how changing roles in leadership and ideas influenced differing responses and experiences from multiple perspectives. Students will also identify and analyze how economic and technological developments in transportation, industrialization, and agriculture influenced the creation of social hierarchies as well as how the role of slavery influenced and impacted the economy and politics of the time. Students will continue to use these themes to help explore the social and political causes and consequences of the Civil War, immigration and industry. Major assessments include an independent research paper, group and individual projects, and various types of class presentations.

College Prep Course #: SS235
Accelerated Course #: SS234
5 Credit Full Year Course
Recommended for grade 11

This junior course begins with a review of the effects of Industrialization on American society at the beginning of the 20th century and the Progressive reformers who sought to make positive change. It is in this unit that juniors will be introduced to their civic action project, which will be assigned and completed in Semester 2. Students will also learn about the economic history and circumstances surrounding events such as WWI, the Great Depression, New Deal, WWII and the Cold War. Other major topics of study include the Civil Rights movements, Watergate, end of the Cold War, and 9/11. Utilizing a variety of primary and secondary sources, students will engage in a variety of assignments and assessments including essays, research projects, tests, quizzes, and class presentations.

College Prep Course #: SS220
Accelerated Course #: SS222
5 Credit Full Year Course
Recommended for grade 9

In this course, students will explore the beginnings of modern Europe and the Middle East from 800 to 1814 CE. Societies began to form on the basis of ethnicities, religion, and government, leading to long lasting empires (the Ottoman Empire and Seljuk Turks) that students will trace the progress of. Major revelations and events that brought great change to Europe that will be covered include dynastic societies, the Crusades, the Renaissance, Reformation, Scientific Revolution, and the French Revolution. In this course, students will focus on developing note-taking skills which will benefit them for the remainder of the history courses that they will take throughout high school. Students will have opportunities to continually improve upon their writing skills by composing essays as well as DBQs, which will introduce them to primary sources. Group projects will be assigned to ensure that students learn how to work with others as well as fine-tuning their time management skills.