Social Sciences Course Offerings

Honors Human Geography

9th 

The purpose of Human Geography is to introduce freshmen 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 human social organization and its environmental consequences. Students also learn about the methods and tools geographers use in their science and practice. Throughout the course they will ask the fundamental questions with which geographers are concerned.  Common Core reading and writing skills are also a major focus.  This is a semester long course.

Honors Civics

9th

Civics is a semester course that focuses on the questions "Who has power in our democracy, why do they have it, and how do they use it?" and "What power do I have in our democracy? How will I use that power?" During the course of the semester students will learn what it means to be a citizen in our democracy. Students will engage in various forms of civic participation, such as campaign simulations, civil conversations, and election analysis, culminating in a service-learning project of the students' choosing. Common Core reading and writing skills are also a major focus.  

Honors World Studies

10th

World Studies is a course offered to sophomores as a Social Studies requirement. The class approaches historical study by looking at recent events and then going backwards to explore their roots. In this learning setting students will discuss, but not limit the class to: Empires, Imperialism and Colonialism (Greek, Roman, and Indian), Social Change (Political, Industrial, and Social Revolutions), and Exploding Technologies (Wars, Mass Production, and Destruction). World Studies is the systematic study of human society. The essential wisdom is that our social world guides our actions and life choices in much the same way that the seasons influence our clothing and activities. Peter Berger states seeing the general in the particular, World Studies helps us see general patterns in the behavior of particular people. This class will challenge students to explore the social forces that shape our society and as a result our identity. Common Core reading and writing skills are also a major focus.

Honors US History

11th

U.S. History is a junior level course that explores the history of the United States, from roughly 1492-1975. We will study some of the major people, ideas and events that have shaped our history. We will examine the roots of our government, our economy, our foreign policy and our society. We will also attempt to uncover the origins of some of the difficulty issues with which the United States still struggles-racism, sexism, economic inequality and environmental destruction. This course is a survey of United States history, which means that we will have to cover a lot of the material in one year. As a result we will be focusing on getting the “big picture” of the United States History. Our content and historical analysis objectives will focus on categorization through the lens of SPRITE (social, political, religious, intellectual, and economic). It is through this lens that we will examine historical events to uncover continuity and change throughout time. Common Core reading and writing skills are also a major focus.

Honors Ethnic Studies

12th

This senior elective course is designed to explore questions about how race and perceptions of race shape our experiences both in the past and in the present.  Ethnic Studies is an interdisciplinary course that uses a historical and contemporary lens to examine social issues in order to arrive at a multicultural understanding of the United States. This course examines relevant topics such as housing, immigration, poverty, media, the prison system, affirmative action, and even personal identity. At the same time, Ethnic Studies focuses on themes of social justice, social responsibility, and social change. This course is designed to provide students with the opportunity to develop academic skills and to learn about important issues regarding race and ethnicity to work towards building a better world.

Honors Applied Psychology & Sociology

12th

This year- long senior elective will focus on psychology for one semester and sociology for the next. Psychology asks the question: Why do people behave the way they do? To answer it, students will investigate the influences of biology, their own thinking, how they were raised, and what can be learned from both documented psychology experiments and their own original research. Sociology, as opposed to focusing on the individual, is the study of human society and group behavior. Students will explore the origins of sociology along with the specific topics such as culture, media, gender, and social issues. In the process, they will also compare and contrast their experiences with those of other people around the globe. Ultimately, through reading, writing, discussion, projects, and presentation, students will gain insight into how society shapes them and how they shape society. An underlying theme for both courses will be how to apply this knowledge to improve themselves and their world.

Advanced Placement Microeconomics

11th & 12th

Economics is the study of how individuals and societies produce, distribute, and consume goods and services. Sound boring? Maybe, but probably not when you realize that this means that economists study poverty, wealth, inequality, environmental protection, immigration, taxes, investment, laws and regulations, banking, housing, food stamps, business decisions, unemployment, human capital, the health of entire national economies --- virtually anything that has material value and that impacts our lives. In other words, economics is the study of who gets what and why. How people make such decisions is just as important as the decisions themselves. Economics is a systematic way of thinking about the costs and benefits of everyday choices --- both yours and our society’s. Thus, economics is also a social science that seeks to explain human behavior. This makes it a cousin to psychology, sociology, anthropology, and political science. The course is available to juniors or seniors as an elective; juniors in the CTC Business Academy are required to take it.

Advanced Placement Human Geography

9th 

The purpose of the AP Human Geography is to introduce 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 human social organization and its environmental consequences. Students also learn about the methods and tools geographers use in their science and practice. Throughout the course students will ask the fundamental question that geographers are concerned with:  where and why? They will use and think about maps and spatial data. Students will be able to define regions and evaluate the regionalization process and characterize and analyze the changing interconnections among places. In addition to addressing College Readiness Standards for reading this course is designed to help students meet and exceed the Common Core Standards and prepare students for the AP exam in May.

Advanced Placement World History

10th 

This class offers a true global approach to understanding the history of our world, beginning around 8,000 BCE and ending at the end of the 20th century. While it is impossible to learn about everything that happened in these 10,000 years, it is possible to study continuity and change over time, make comparisons between cultures, and study some general themes that can help us understand the forces that have shaped our world today. In order to analyze these common threads and subsequent changes over time, we will utilize both a thematic and chronological approach throughout the class. The course emphasizes historical thinking skills such as comparing and contrasting, analyzing cause and effect, and analyzing change.

Advanced Placement US History

11th

The purpose of this course is to engage students in a comprehensive study of American History, examining the complexities and the controversies inherent in historical analysis. The themes that will be included in the course are: American Identity and Diversity, Development of Political Institutions, Citizenship, the Role of Religion, Social Reform, Pop Culture, War and Policy and Global America. The course will challenge students to think of history in a multidisciplinary context, noting the connection of history of literature, popular culture, music, and art. The course is meant as an equivalent college-level American history survey course and the goal is to will effectively prepare students to take the AP test in May. This course is primarily open to juniors who meet required specifications.

Advanced Placement Psychology

11th & 12th

The AP Psychology course is designed to introduce students to the systematic and scientific study of behavior and mental processes of humans and animals. Students are exposed to the psychological facts, principles, and phenomena associated with each of the major subfields within psychology. They also learn about the ethics and methods psychologists use in their research and practice. Students will be able to understand human development and the connections between biology and behavior. This course addresses the College Readiness Standards for reading and prepares students for the AP exam in May. This course is currently available to juniors and seniors who meet required specifications.

Advanced Placement Government

11th & 12th 

This course gives the student an analytical perspective on government and politics in the United States. This course includes both the study of general concepts used to interpret U.S. politics and the analysis of specific examples. It also requires familiarity with the various institutions, groups, beliefs and ideas that constitute U.S. politics. This class helps to prepare the student for the American government and politics AP exam.

Advanced Placement African American Studies                 

12th

This is a multidisciplinary course that examines the breadth of African American experiences through direct encounters with rich and varied sources, drawing from the fields of literature, the arts and humanities, political science, geography, science, and more. In course, students will learn about how African Americans shaped America, its history, laws, institutions, culture and arts, and even the current practice of American democracy  Students will develop their argumentation skills by using a line of reasoning to connect claims and evidence. Students will also evaluate written, data, and visual sources (including historical documents, literary texts, music lyrics, tables, charts graphs, maps, works of art, and material culture).