Social Studies
More about the Social Studies program
The study of History (Minnesota, U.S., and World) helps students to see how people in other times and places have grappled with the fundamental questions of truth, justice, and personal responsibility, to understand that ideas have real consequences, and to realize that events are shaped both by ideas and the actions of individuals. The global connections in areas such as commerce, politics, migration, and communications, make an understanding of the history of the world’s many cultures especially important in fostering the respect and understanding required in a connected and interdependent world.
The geographically literate person knows where important things are, why they are located in those places, and the significance of the location patterns of the world, as well as comprehending the nature and significance of multiple connections between people and places around the world. Included in Social Studies is the study of economics, which enables students to make reasoned judgments about both personal economic questions and broader questions of economic policy in a complex and changing world. The aim of Social Studies civic education is to ensure the participation of informed and responsible citizens who are skilled in the arts of deliberation and effective action.
Required Courses
Ancient World History and Geography
9th Grade
1.0 credit, year long course
Ancient World History includes knowledge, comprehension, and analysis of World History from prehistory through the Age of Revolution and Enlightenment. We will examine the early river civilizations, Greece, Rome, the Rise of Christianity, The World of Islam (up to 1800), early African peoples, civilizations of the Americas, the Asian world (up to 1800), Europe in the Middle Ages, Renaissance and Reformation, the Age of Exploration, and European Revolution and Enlightenment. We will examine history through the people, events, geography and ideas that made these periods and countries important, as well as trying to tie countries and people together.
Modern World History and Human Geography
10th Grade
1.0 credit, year long course
Modern World History will cover the period from the French Revolution to the late 20th Century. Students will not only examine key historical events, but hone their analytical and writing skills as they prepare for college. Assignments include research papers, essay exams, and document based questions and analysis. Students will read excerpts from a variety of sources. Key readings will come from primary source documents. These are integral to understanding events in world history. Students may have the opportunity to read a literature selection to enhance understanding of a key event or era in modern history and the repercussions that resulted from that extraordinary event, depending on time and other curricular needs. Human geography and history are woven together, as there are many topics and skills that cross both courses. Students will utilize maps and map data to understand and analyze historical events, discuss relationships between geography and human patterns, explore political and economic systems and theories, as well as gain familiarity with geographic data using systems such as ArcGIS.
American History
11th Grade
1.0 credit, year long course
This course provides a one-year survey of American history beginning with the migration of indigenous peoples and civilizations in North America prior to European contact to the Colonial Period, the American Revolution, the Civil War, and other defining events for the United States, including analyses of various civil rights movements and the Vietnam War era. Using the textbook, primary documents, and current events, students will learn about the various political, social, religious, and economic developments that have shaped and continue to shape the United States. Essay writing and critical thinking are emphasized as integral ways of understanding how the past relates to the present and future. A major argumentative research paper is required as well as various smaller projects.
Political Science
12th Grade
0.5 credit, semester course
This is an introductory course which will provide students with the knowledge and skills needed for informed, responsible, and active participation in their communities. We will be framing the class with the Constitution – using it to explore such topics as rights/responsibilities of citizenship, political parties, the three branches of government, and domestic and foreign policy.
Introduction to Economics
12th Grade
0.5 credit, semester course
Economics is the study of how people coordinate their wants and needs, given scarce resources and the decision-making mechanisms, social customs, and political realities of their societies. We will examine how decisions made by consumers, workers, investors, managers, and government officials interact to determine the allocation of scarce resources. We will begin with a focus on microeconomics and gradually expand to macroeconomic topics such as GDP, unemployment, inflation, and public policy. This course will also include a unit on personal finance.