Social Studies Course Descriptions

WORLD HISTORY HONORS (Graduation Requirement: Typically Taken in the 9th Grade)

This course is designed to challenge students as they explore and analyze recurring themes of human experience common to civilizations around the globe from ancient to contemporary times.

AMERICAN HISTORY and AMERICAN HISTORY- HONORS (Graduation Requirement: Typically taken in the 10th grade)

This course will explore the overarching themes, trends, and concepts of our nation’s history, including the development and evolution of the American system of government, the patterns and impact of migration and immigration, cultural development through the arts and technological innovations, relationships with foreign nations, and the role of both the individual and diverse groups in building the American story. Students in this course will be asked to investigate major turning points in American History to develop an understanding of multiple causation, to determine patterns of change and continuity, and to be able to compare multiple perspectives of the past. Rooted in inquiry-based skills, students will trace American development while learning to craft compelling questions, synthesize and evaluate evidence, develop claims, communicate ideas, and take informed action.

FOUNDING PRINCIPLES OF THE UNITED STATES AND NORTH CAROLINA: CIVIC LITERACY and  FOUNDING PRINCIPLES OF THE UNITED STATES AND NORTH CAROLINA: CIVIC LITERACY- HONORS (Graduation Requirement: Typically taken in the 11th grade)

This course will allow students to examine the ways in which power and responsibility are both shared and limited by the U.S. Constitution and how the judicial, legal, and political systems of North Carolina and the United States embody the founding principles of government. Students in this course will analyze and evaluate the extent to which the American system of government guarantees, protects, and upholds the rights of citizens. Through the integration of inquiry-based learning, students will also investigate how the American system of government has evolved over time while learning how to analyze topics, issues, and claims in order to communicate ideas and take action to effect change and inform others.

ECONOMICS AND PERSONAL FINANCE and ECONOMICS AND PERSONAL FINANCE- HONORS (Graduation Requirement: Typically taken in the 12th grade) 

The Economics and Personal Finance (EPF) course is intended to be a study of economics, personal finance, income and education, money management, critical consumerism, and financial planning. This course supports the development of students who understand economic decisions, use money wisely, understand education and career choices, and understand how to be financially responsible citizens. Students will be provided with the agency, tools, and knowledge necessary to live in and contribute to a financially sound society.

AP Courses taught in person based on course requests and teacher availability 

AP WORLD HISTORY* (Can be taken in place of World History or additionally as an elective)

The purpose of the AP World History course is to develop a greater understanding of the evolution of global processes and contacts in different types of human societies. This understanding is advanced through a combination of selective factual knowledge and appropriate analytical skills. The course highlights the nature of changes in global frameworks and their causes and consequences, as well as comparisons among major societies. It emphasizes relevant factual knowledge, leading interpretive issues, and skills in analyzing types of historical evidence. Specific themes provide further organization to the course, along with consistency attention to contacts among societies that form the core of world history as a field of study. Students enrolled in this course will take the College Board Advanced Placement test in the spring.

*In person course offerings are dependent upon student enrollment.

More Advanced Social Studies/Humanities Options are offered through the NCSSM Connect Program, NCVPS and the CCP/Dual Enrollment Program.