Classes labeled DUAL are Dual Credit classes, meaning you can earn college credit for them. Classes labeled AP are Advanced Placement classes.
The Social Studies content area provides Ida B. Wells students a balance of three years of required courses along with electives and civic–oriented experiences. Social Studies elective credit may be earned within the school curriculum as well as through extra–curricular activities. Course offerings challenge students to deliberate on public issues, to understand human diversity and to interpret the human experience in order to help them become more familiar with their own history and more aware of the world around them.
CORE SOCIAL STUDIES COURSES
9th grade students will take Modern World History
10th grade students will take US History
11th & 12th grade students will fulfill the Government & Economics graduation requirement
Grade: 9 Prerequisite: None
This course will explore selected topics in modern world history with a particular focus on the 20th century. Students will learn about the influential people, events, ideas, themes, and patterns that have shaped our world. Units of study we be thematic and regional: world geography, imperialism, Sub-Saharan Africa, World War I, the Holocaust, the Middle East, the Cold War, East Asia, and Latin America. Additionally, students will develop the skills necessary to do the work of historians: critical reading, source analysis, research, and analytical writing.
Grade: 10 Prerequisite: Modern World History
U.S. History is a full-year course designed to explore the multifaceted question, “What does it mean to be an American?” Students will examine this question from multiple perspectives of race, gender, and social class as the country expands and develops from its pre-colonial beginnings. American ideals of democracy, equality, individual rights, justice, and prosperity are contrasted with American realities. In addition to course content, a heavy emphasis will be placed upon skill development in the areas of critical reading, writing, speaking, critical thinking, effective interpersonal and small group communication, and annotation. U.S. History will also provide meaningful background to Economics and U.S. Government courses.
One semester of Government and one semester of Economics are required to fulfill the state graduation requirement. These courses are available at two levels in order to meet the needs, interests, and abilities of students. Students may take the one-year Political Economy course in the 12th grade or take the two-year AP sequence. This two-year AP sequence consists of one year of AP Economics and one year of AP Government. Both courses are available to 11th and 12th graders. See below for detailed course descriptions for the AP courses.
Grade: 12 Prerequisites: U.S. History
This yearlong course integrates the study of political science and economics through an examination of how governments and the economy interact. Course content will include political theory; the structure and function of the U.S. government and the Constitution; microeconomic and macroeconomic concepts; the global distribution of goods and services; public policy and associated impacts; and an application of political and economic theory to contemporary international, national, and local issues. Students will develop the knowledge and skills needed to be citizens in a democratic society. These include the rights and responsibilities of the citizenry, critical analysis, literacy skills, collaboration, discussion, and deliberation.
Grade: 11-12 Prerequisite: U.S. History
This course undertakes an academically rigorous study of the principles of economics to include the basic concepts; microeconomics: supply, demand and product markets; factor markets: land, labor and capital; applied microeconomics: international trade; government and environment; macroeconomics: the study of economic growth and business cycles; economic growth and macroeconomic policy; and unemployment, inflation and economic policy. The objectives of this course are to successfully teach each student one year of university level economics and to prepare each student to pass the Advanced Placement examinations in microeconomics and macroeconomics and therefore earn college credit for this course. In so doing, and emphasis will be placed on vocabulary, graphs, processes, computations and standardized test taking skills and strategy. It is a clear expectation that those enrolled in this course will also enroll in Advanced Placement United States Government and Politics and Advanced Placement Comparative Government to complete a two-year sequence. Enrollment in this course requires a teacher recommendation based on an excellent attendance pattern and a commitment to taking the Advanced Placement examination issued by the College Board.
Grade: 11-12 Prerequisite: U.S. History
This course undertakes an academically rigorous study of the structure and function of the government of the United States to include the development of the U.S. federal system, the United States Constitution, federalism, political beliefs and behaviors, public opinion and polling, political parties, campaigns and elections, interest groups, lobbies, political action committees, media, the legislative branch, the executive branch, the federal bureaucracy, the judicial system and civil liberties, the federal budget and economic policies, domestic policy development, foreign policy and national security. The objectives of this course are to successfully teach each student one year of university level United States government and politics and to prepare each student to pass the Advanced Placement examination in this subject matter and therefore earn college credit for the course. It is a clear expectation that those enrolled in this course will also enroll in AP Comparative Government, AP Microeconomics, and AP Macroeconomics to complete a two–year sequence. Enrollment in this course requires a teacher recommendation based on an excellent attendance pattern and a commitment to taking the Advanced Placement examinations issued by the College Board.
Grade: 10-12 Prerequisite: Modern World History
This course introduces students to the systematic study of patterns and processes that have shaped human understanding, use, and alteration of Earth’s surface. Students employ spatial concepts and landscape analysis to examine socioeconomic organization and its environmental consequences. They also learn about the methods and tools geographers use in their research and applications. The curriculum reflects the goals of the National Geography Standards (2012).
Grade: 11-12 Prerequisite: None
This course will introduce students to some of the main philosophical problems by engaging them in critical thinking. The leading idea is that the best way to learn philosophy is to learn to philosophize, rather than to memorize facts about philosophers and hear arguments. To achieve this aim, there have to be small group discussions and presentations besides lectures. The course focuses on philosophical problems in the theory of knowledge, metaphysics, and he philosophy of mind.
Supplementary video for AP Psychology
Grade: 11-12 Prerequisite: None
AP Psychology teaches students to critically analyze all incoming information, to expose them to the history of the subject, the theories and experiments of those psychologists of the past and present and to understand the different perspectives and approaches which are being used by psychologists today. These include psychoanalytical, biological, behavioral, cognitive, humanistic, socio– cultural, evolutionary and positive perspectives. The main objective of this class is to instill in students a desire for knowledge, to think for themselves, to generate an interest in Psychology, and to prepare students to pass the Advanced Placement Exam.
Grade: 10-12 Prerequisite: Modern World History
Anthropology is the study of all aspects of human life and culture. In this class, students will examine such topics as how people live, what they think, what they produce, and how they interact with their environments. Together, we will work to understand the full range of human diversity as well as what all people share in common. The first semester will provide students with an introduction to the four (4) fields within anthropology: Physical ('Biological') Anthropology, Archeology, Cultural Anthropology, & Linguistic Anthropology. Students will learn to think anthropologically. Thinking like an anthropologist is regarded as a tool for deciphering everyday experience and what it means to be human. Understanding cultural diversity, thinking critically and non-reductively, and cultural relativism will be great skills in whatever field and/or profession you go! During the second semester, students will apply their knowledge and anthropological skills by exploring various American cultures. Through feature films, in-class readings, seminars, & project-based activities, students will look at American cultures in new ways and understand how mainstream American identity has influenced and has been influenced by these cultures. Together, we can learn new ways to meet the present-day needs of people throughout the United States (and the world).
Grade: 11-12 Prerequisite: None
This Ethnic Studies course will give students an introduction to the experiences of ethnic communities that are rarely represented in textbooks. The main purpose of this course is to educate students to be socially, politically and economically conscious about their personal connections to local and national history. The course will explore cultural issues thematically and it will also focus on the experiences of Native Americans, Latino Americans, African American, and Asian Americans and the LGBTQ community. Ethnic Studies focuses on themes of social justice, social responsibility, and social change. The course equips students with a critical lens to see the world and their place in it by understanding systems and power at the root of American society and has as a goal to motivate students to actively engage in our democracy. Through the Ethnic Studies course, students are supported to discover and use their own power for the benefit of not only themselves but also that of their community and society at large.
Grade: 11-12 Prerequisite: None
First semester: What is the nature of human nature? Introduction to Psychology allows students to investigate the social and scientific reasons behind human behavior. Topics include bystander intervention, the nature–nurture controversy, personality, learning, intelligence, and memory. Normal reactions to common problems will be analyzed. The brain is examined to uncover explanations. Psychological theories and perspectives will be examined, and students will perform experiments to test theories and write a paper each quarter. Group interaction is stressed.
Second semester: Dreams, “the royal road to the unconscious mind,” are interpreted using various theories and students do an experiment and paper. Continuing to examine why people are the way they are, the course studies life–span development, gender communication, death fears, and abnormal personality development. Group interaction is stressed.
Grade: 11-12 Prerequisite: U.S. History
The Advanced Placement Program of U.S. History is designed to provide students with the analytical skills and factual knowledge necessary to deal critically with the problems and materials in United States History. This course prepares students for intermediate and advanced college courses. Students will learn to assess historical materials and their relevance to a given interpretive problem, their reliability, and their importance, and to weigh the evidence and interpretations presented in historical scholarship. It is expected that each student enrolled in this course will register for and complete the College Board’s Advanced Placement Test in U.S. History in May of the academic year. A superior attendance pattern and work ethic is a prerequisite for this course. Each student will be expected to work at an accelerated pace equal to a college–level course. Students will have homework every day.
Grade: 11-12 Prerequisite: U.S. History, Modern World History
This course allows students to explore historical themes common to societies around the world and across time periods. In this course, students investigate significant events, individuals, developments, and processes from 1200 CE to the present. In addition, students develop and use the same skills, practices, and methods employed by historians: analyzing primary and secondary sources; developing historical arguments; making historical connections; and utilizing reasoning about comparison, causation, and continuity and change over time. Students will demonstrate their understanding and acquisition of skills through written work, document-based questions, project-based activities, and practice exams. A special emphasis will be given to preparation for the AP Exam in May, including historical writing through essays and document-based questions (DBQ) as well as objective evaluations.
GR 11-12 Prerequisite: None Note: Elective
Climate Justice/Environmental Justice is an elective course that explores the topics of climate change and environmental justice through both science and social studies lenses. This course takes a service learning approach service-learning approach to learning in order to: 1) study the causes and consequences of the global environmental crisis; 2) to understand the various approaches of groups here in Portland, across the U.S., and around the world who are working toward solutions to the crisis; and 3) to actively engage with community organizations and initiatives that are working to make the transition to a more just and sustainable future. By looking at the many ways in which Portland- and Northwest-based groups are addressing the environmental crisis - through community organizing, urban planning, political action, and sustainable economic initiatives, for example - the course will introduce students to ways in which they can play active, leadership roles in shaping a more sustainable future.
GR 10-12 Prerequisite: None
This class is an introduction to gender studies with an emphasis on understanding gender as a socially constructed concept with lived realities in the world. Using an intersectional lens--which includes attention to race, class, gender, nationality, and sexuality --we will explore how the understanding of gender has changed throughout history and how it is shaped in contemporary society. Gender studies will focus on gender in the US, with some attention to the greater historical and global context. Our course will begin with an examination of what gender is and how it connects to individual students’ own experiences and beliefs. The following essential questions will guide the remainder of the course: How have communities such as women, non-binary, transgender, and LGBTQ+ communities struggled for their rights and representation in history? What role does activism such as feminist movements and LGTBQ+ movements play in shaping gender and identity? How do toxic masculinity and dominant gender norms impact us all? How is gender represented and shaped through literature, media, and pop culture?