My name is Chris Helseth and I have been teaching social studies here at Desert Ridge High School for the past nine years. I currently teach three Advanced Placement classes; AP Human Geography, AP World History, and AP Seminar (the first class of the AP Capstone Program). These classes focus on introducing students, from Freshman to Seniors, to a wide-range of content and skills. Each year my goals are to provide students with rigorous, and engaging classes that build a variety of skills and knowledge, while preparing them success on AP tests and in their future academic endeavors.

AP World History asks students to investigate significant developments and events that have occurred from 1200 CE (think the Crusades, Mongol Empire, and Magna Carta) to the present. Through a variety of historical themes, students will learn to see patterns of cause and effect, comparisons, and change and continuity over time on a global scale. To further enhance their skills, students will learn to analyze primary and secondary sources to better understand how historians construct an understanding of past events and why those understands have changed over time. Students will learn to develop and defend historical arguments through essays, presentations, and projects. By the end of the year students will come to understand history as far more than a collection of names, dates, and places, but rather a pattern of development based on the needs of individuals and societies that will help students to better understand the world around them and make meaningful connections between events over time and space. For most students AP World History will be their first Advanced Placement class, so students should expect a rigorous environment, but one that supports their growth and development as learners.