Course Description and Purpose:

The Honors US History I course is designed to provide students with the analytic skills and factual knowledge necessary to deal critically with the problems and materials in US history. The program prepares students for intermediate and advanced college courses by making similar demands upon them as an introductory college course. Students will learn to assess historical materials, their relevance to a given interpretative problem, reliability, and importance, and to weigh the evidence and interpretations presented in historical scholarship. The Honors US History I course develops the skills necessary to arrive at conclusions on the basis of an informed judgment and to present reasons and evidence clearly and persuasively. Also, a major goal of this course is to provide the foundation for students in preparation for the AP US History course and exam to be undertaken the following year.