Humanities I

Humanities I (Freshmen)

2 SEMESTERS (One Credit)                                         

Humanities is a two-year course that integrates English Language Arts, Social Studies, and Visual Arts. In the social studies section of the Humanities, students cover the days of nomadic roaming tribes in 10,000 B.C.E. to the meeting of hemispheres throughout the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries. Humanities I explores the impacts of civilizations gaining, consolidating, and losing power in an increasingly interconnected world. Through the investigation and analysis of primary and secondary sources, students have the opportunity to think critically, and to read, write, and speak like historians, while simultaneously honing the literacy and critical thinking skills necessary for post-secondary coursework and knowledge needed to be responsible 21st-century citizens. To teach students about concepts that recur throughout human history, a list of enduring issues which are the basis for the enduring questions in the curriculum. Students address the questions throughout the course through unit introductions, enduring question check-ins, unit closers, end-of-unit assessments, and the end-of-year project. 

Eras

1. Beginnings to 600 BCE:  Technological and environmental transformations.

2.  600 BCE to 600 CE:  Organization and reorganization of human societies.

3. 600 to 1450:  Regional and interregional interactions.

Assessments: Pre-test, Enduring Issue Check-ins, Document Based Enduring Issue Essays, Thematic Essays, Short Answer Essays, Deliberations, Multiple Choice Tests, and GRASP Performance Tasks.

Instructional Methods: The course is Inquiry-based and begins with vocabulary, then continues with content background lessons, multiple-choice formative check-ins, close-reads, a unit synthesis task, the end of the unit summative assessment, and GRASP Performance Task.