Social Sciences

COURSE DESCRIPTION: In this course, students learn to think critically about world events and societies around the globe before the year 1500.

They learn to think in an organized way to understand history and to express themselves in all forms of writing, both formal and informal.

This is a course in the human history of the world that asks the following questions: What changes and events have caused people to live the way they do today? What progress have humans made? What problems have humans faced? What problems still exist today?

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Starting with the human communities of early world history, this course teaches students to think critically about large

global patterns and themes and to compare human characteristics across time and geographic locations. Students learn about

people in different places and environments from 8000 BCE to 1500 CE and gain understanding of the connections and differences between human beings as they study historical trends and events.

Since writing is a thinking process, all forms of writing, both formal and informal, are emphasized in this course. Students learn to understand and use primary sources as historical evidence to conduct research and produce essays.

This is a course in global history and serves as the foundation course for the 10th grade AP World History class.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Historical development and its impact upon world cultures are central themes of World History. This course will cover history from the “Great Convergence” (1500 A.D.) to the present. Cultural emphasis is placed upon literature, art, architecture, music, religion and philosophy. Historical emphasis is placed upon such areas as comparative political, economic and social systems. Contemporary emphasis is placed upon current crises, international relations and the increasing interdependence of nations. Concepts stressed throughout the course are the same as those employed by all social scientists: critical thinking, analysis and interpretation. From a balanced and inclusive world history course students may gain an appreciation both of the world’s many peoples and of their shared humanity and common problems.

Advanced Placement courses are reading and writing intensive in their approaches to prepare students for both the AP Tests and college. Personal initiative and an independent work ethic are keys to success in these classes.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: In this class, you will study the cultural, economic, political, and social developments that have shaped all corners of the world from 1200 CE to the present. To do this, students will develop their historical reasoning and critical thinking skills. Topic covered include: Islamic Caliphates, Chinese Dynasties, the European Age of Exploration and Colonization, Global Empires, Political and Economic Revolutions, Industrialization, the World Wars, the Cold War, Decolonization Movements, and Globalization, with special attention paid to how these historical events shaped the world we live in today. This is the equivalent to an introductory college course in modern world history and will prepare you to take the AP World History: Modern exam at the end of the year to earn College History Credit.

Advanced Placement courses are reading and writing intensive in their approaches to prepare students for both the AP Tests and college. Personal initiative and an independent work ethic are keys to success in these classes

COURSE DESCRIPTION: AP Human Geography helps students analyze the world, their relationship to it, and the interactions of people in it. Students will learn how to look for geographic causes for events in different regions, compare geographic features and their effects on human life and see how their lives are connected to and affected by human and geographic conditions all over the world. Students will be able to answer the major geographic questions of “where is it happening?”, “why is it happening there?” and “what is the effect of the event?”. In this course, students write, read, discuss, present and analyze issues of global and local significance, with a focus on population and migration studies, language and religion and urbanization. AP Human geography prepares students to be part of the solution to the challenges facing humanity in the 21st Century. Students have the opportunity to take the AP Human Geography Exam in May with the possibility of earning college credit.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: In U.S./Virginia History students expand their ability to think clearly and carefully about social and historical forces that have shaped their lives. Students compare the roles of different groups of people, including young people, in different times and regions. They learn to think in an organized way to understand history and to express themselves in all forms of writing, both formal and informal.

In this class, students are expected to develop their ability to independently use historical evidence to make arguments and draw conclusions. This course helps students improve their ability to think critically while examining how the people of America have met needs, formed communities, and developed into new, diverse, and complex societies.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: In Dual Enrollment U.S. History, students will develop their skills and their knowledge base to function successfully in this college-level class.

The course will have university-level academic expectations, but with hard work and the support of our teachers, students will develop to meet the challenge and will earn college credit when they complete it.

In this class, students will expand their ability to think analytically about social and historical forces that have shaped their lives. Students will address questions such as: How did a nation whose Constitution first included the 3/5 Compromise eventually come to have an African-American President in 2009?

Students will compare the roles of different groups of people in different times and regions. They will come to understand history as an investigation and will develop their abilities to express themselves in all forms of writing, both formal and informal.

In Dual Enrollment U.S. History, students are expected to develop their ability to use historical evidence to make arguments and draw conclusions, and to improve their ability to think critically about the growth and development of the United States of America.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: In this course, students discover that basic economic principles are at work in life every day, and an understanding of these principles helps them to make better economic choices.

Students also learn how governments and private financial institutions impact their economic choices by the decisions they make about “who gets what” in a world with scarce resources.

Students must take a one-semester course in Economics and a one-semester course in Personal Finance in order to graduate. This course fulfills the Economics portion of the one-year requirement for graduation.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Students wishing to fulfill the Economics and Personal Finance graduation requirement with this course must compete both AP components: Micro and Macro.

The microeconomic component of this AP course provides students with a thorough understanding of the principles of economics that apply to individual decision makers, both consumers and producers, within the economic system. The primary focus of the course is to help individuals develop an understanding of markets and the role the government plays promoting greater efficiency and equity in the economy.

The macroeconomic component of this course provides students with a thorough understanding of the principles of economics as they apply to the economic system as a whole. This portion of the course focuses on national income and price-level determination and develops students’ familiarity with economic performance measures, the financial sector, economic growth and stabilization policies, and international economics.

In this course, students are required to think critically about the complex issues surrounding a world with limited resources.

Students have the opportunity to take the AP Micro and Macro Economics exam in May with the possibility of earning college credit.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: In U.S./Virginia Government, students expand their ability to think clearly and carefully about social and political forces that shape their lives. They continue to develop their thinking in an organized way for clear communication in all forms of writing, both formal and informal. They strengthen their independent ability to describe and make conclusions about government structures and policies.

This course helps improve students’ ability to think critically and to examine how the people of America meet their needs for constructive political life in a diverse society. Democracy depends on citizens paying attention and getting involved. The course prepares students to be thoughtful and active citizens of the United States.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: In Dual Enrollment U.S. Government, students will develop their skills and their knowledge base to function successfully.

The course will have university-level academic expectations, but with hard work and the support of our teachers, students will develop to meet the challenge and will earn college credit when they complete it.

In DE/AP Government, students expand their ability to think clearly and carefully about the social and political forces that shape their lives. Concepts which are considered include life under a political system where people are “guilty until proven innocent” and what it would be like to have an election where each office had only one candidate; these are different interpretations of “democracy.” In this class, students study the principles of government in the U.S. and the institutions and laws used to make government work. They also compare U.S. systems and laws used to make government work. They also compare U.S. systems and laws to those of other countries, so students can examine how different societies define “justice” and those societies’ notions of civil rights and civic responsibility.

Through the examination and comparison of government systems, students develop and improve their analytical skills, and they improve their ability to think in an organized way about very complex issues that involve many different types of people, groups, and institutions. Students also improve their communication skills since government is a social topic. Students’ analytical writing and active listening skills are significantly developed as they improve their ability to participate in political debate with fairness and respect for diverse perspectives.

Students have the opportunity to take the AP U.S. Government and Comparative Government exams in May with the possibility of earning college credit.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Psychologists study all aspects of human behaviors: those that humans have in common with animals and those that humans do not, and those that range from peace-making to the microscopic functioning of a nerve cell. Students become psychologists in this course and expand their minds to analyze human behavior in methodical, organized, large-scale, small-scale, inquiry-based approaches. Students need to work hard to read about, understand, write about, discuss, and explain the ways humans behave.

Class participants study how humans learn, how humans inherit traits from their parents, how humans act in groups, why humans have emotions, and how humans sometimes engage in behaviors that are destructive.

Students have the opportunity to take the AP Psychology exam in May with the possibility of earning college credit.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course focuses on three main philosophical questions:

• Is there a purpose to life?

• What is the definition of a human being?

• How can human beings know anything for sure?

In this course, students explore their answers to these questions by studying the answers given to them by a diversity of cultures and traditions across the globe.

Students who take this course will explore the world of ideas and may develop some ideas about their place in the universe or may generate many more questions they would like to explore.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: In this course, students examine the ways in which people and nations relate to each other and develop their own ideas about how the new global situation should be addressed. Students in this course must closely read and listen to the news, too, because people are moving and taking actions all the time in today’s world, and lives are affected by people or events from beyond the national borders.

This course assists students in learning how they can contribute to the solutions to international problems and develop their own abilities to function on the increasingly interconnected globe.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Teenagers of Aborigine heritage in Australia have traditionally gone through a “rite of passage” called a “Walkabout.”

They are meant to have a spiritual awakening in the Outback by surviving in the desert without supplies, and without even clothing, for one to two weeks. Students’ own backgrounds may call for a “rite of passage” for them. Why do religions have rites of passages and other ceremonies? Why do they have different types of ceremonies?

In this course, students explore questions like those above and examine and compare the practices, faiths, and literature of the major religions in the world today. They do so with readings, videos, creative and analytical writing, and discussion. The many beautiful, meaningful, and inspirational forms of religion in the world explain much about the world views and cultures of the diversity of people living on the globe today. Students who take this course improve their understanding of the people who share this planet with them.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

In Global Social Issues, students learn that people on this planet have numerous differences yet face issues and challenges which are connected. Issues that may seem to impact only one area may actually impact other people and societies across the globe.

In this course, students study how humans behave and interact with each other. In some instances, people and nations work together on environmental concerns, and in others, people and nations work at cross-purposes on the environment.

Furthermore, with issues such as women’s rights, students discover a wide spectrum of views and approaches according to particular society’s culture and history.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course will survey African American history from precolonial Africa through the present. Students will be introduced to key concepts in African American history from early beginnings in indigenous Africa through the transatlantic slave trade, the Civil War, Emancipation, Reconstruction, the Civil Rights era and into the present. The course, offered in a variety of learning models, will give students an opportunity to explore social events and processes, individuals and agency, documents and institutions; and analyze past and present positions for future implications for African Americans. This course does require students to complete a Capstone project. Students will pursue independent research relative to the content on a question or problem of their choice and produce a learning object that reflects a deeper understanding of African American history.