Social Studies

Minnesota Studies

6th Grade

Minnesota Studies includes knowledge, comprehension, and analysis of Minnesota history from tribal settlement to modern-day. Some topics covered will include the daily life of native peoples, early settlement and statehood, Minnesota’s role in various wars (Civil War, Dakota Conflict, WWI, WWII, etc.), industrialization, state and local government, and immigration (among other topics). This is a blended course in which the first semester focuses primarily on Minnesota’s development, while the second semester brings Minnesota into the larger history of the United States.

US Studies

7th Grade

US Studies focuses on history as the leading discipline, but also includes citizenship, economics, geography, and government. Students will study the founding documents and explain the impact of various policies on how people lived, worked, and functioned in society. Some of the themes discussed include the Birth of Democracy, the Civil War, Reconstruction, WWII, and the beginning of the Cold War. Students will also have the opportunity to complete in the National History Day Competition, an inter-disciplinary research program which broadens students' historical experiences by completing a paper, an exhibit, a documentary, a play, or a website.

Global Studies

8th Grade

This course takes a regional approach to understanding the world and how people interact with their environments. Students will analyze important trends in the modern world, participate in civic discussion, conduct historical inquiry, and study events over the last half century that have shaped the contemporary world. The units that students will study include: Geographic Skills, Overview of the World/Globalization, Australia/Oceania, East and Southeast Asia, Southwest and Central Asia, Africa, Europe/Russia, Central America, the Arctic/Antarctic areas, and the United States/Canada. A research project is required as well as various smaller projects.

Ancient World History and Geography

9th Grade

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

Prerequisites: Ancient World History and Geography

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

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 (semester)

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 (semester)

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.

MSA Yearbook

9th-12th Grade

This course will produce the Math and Science Academy school yearbook. Students in this course are tasked with producing a timeless, creative, all-encompassing, and innovative publication which will record our school’s community, memories, and events. In this course, students will gain skills in the following areas: cover design, page design, publishing techniques, copywriting, editing, photography, record keeping, time management, teamwork, marketing, and leadership skills. Students will use various computer programs to complete the various yearbook creation tasks as well as Lifetouch’s yearbook design program.

Sociology- Offered every other year

10th-12th Grade

Sociology is the study of human interaction. It focuses on people and their ways of life as well as studying social trends, cultural changes, human development, social institutions and collective behavior. Sociology enhances students’ understanding of the social world and offers an accessible setting to learn and use scientific thinking, and consider how society might address social issues. A sociological perspective underscores the importance of examining the social world with a critical eye, and to question assumptions and generalizations about the world. In Sociology you should be open to discussing many current issues including gender, race, class, religion and crime.

AP Psychology

11th-12th Grade

Prerequisites: B+ or higher in Biology or AP Biology, and a B+ average for previously completed Social Studies courses. Summer homework packet also required.

The AP Psychology course is designed to introduce students to the systematic and scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of human beings and other 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 science and practice. Units of study include Scientific Foundations of Psychology, Biological Bases of Behavior, Sensation and Perception, Learning, Cognitive Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Motivation, Emotion, and Personality, Clinical Psychology, and Social Psychology. Within this course, there is a focus throughout on the changing nature of psychology as a field, as well as how research and other disciplines, such as neuroscience, are shaping our understanding of humans and behavior.

AP U.S. History - Offered every other year

11th-12th Grade

Prerequisites: Overall B+ average in high school social studies

The Advanced Placement U.S. History course is designed to provide students with the analytic skills and factual knowledge necessary to deal critically with the problems and materials in U.S. history. The program prepares students for intermediate and advanced college courses by making demands upon them equivalent to those made by full-year introductory college courses.

The Hidden History of America- Offered every other year, not offered during the 22-23 school year.

10th-12th Grade

This class will focus on the history of groups who have traditionally been left out of our history narrative, or otherwise marginalized in our society. It will be a chronological sequence, with an emphasis on the perspectives of African Americans, LGBTQ+, Latinx, Indigenous Peoples, and other groups.

AP Human Geography- Offered every other year, not offered during the 22-23 school year.

11th-12th Grade

Prerequisites: Overall B average in high school social studies

The curriculum for this two-semester course consists of topics drawn from eight interrelated units of study outlined in the AP Human Geography Course Description booklet published by the College Board. The purpose of the course is to utilize geographic processes to systematically study and understand geographic foundations, population and migration, cultural patterns and processes (including religion, language, and society), political patterns, agriculture and rural land-use, cities and urbanization, and economic development of nations. This class introduces students to the systematic study of patterns and processes that have shaped human understanding, use, and organization of the earth. Students will employ spatial concepts, research, group activities, GIS and other technologies, and landscape analysis to examine human organization of space. This AP Human Geography class teaches spatial relationships at different scales ranging from local to global.