Electives
Electives
Check out the course descriptions for the many electives that the department offers, there's something for everyone!
LEVELS OFFERED: Enhanced Competence 170, College Preparatory 171, Honors 172 PREREQUISITES: For the honors level a student must have achieved a B or better previous history class or have an A in College Preparatory. The recommendation of present instructor is also required.
DESCRIPTION: American Government is designed for seniors who desire an in-depth study of American Government beginning with our founding fathers. World affairs and the problems related to citizenship are discussed. A familiarity with the immediate and long-range conflicts and problems in the current national scene and the cultural, social, and political forces that influence them are essential parts of the course.
LEVELS OFFERED: College Preparatory 153, Honors 154
PREREQUISITES: Recommendation of present instructor and department chairperson. This course is for Grade 12 students only. This is a 5-credit course.
DESCRIPTION: School and Society is a five (5) credit course that meets during periods two through six for two consecutive periods each day. The primary component of the course is to introduce seniors to a career in education through collaboration with assigned elementary school teachers. The student will work as an assistant to a teacher in a local elementary school. Each student will take an active role in the learning experiences of the assigned school as well as working with and teaching the elementary students in class. Students will learn to develop lesson plans and classroom projects. The current instructor will visit the schools to monitor the student’s progress. In addition, students will keep a daily journal and learn from their textbook. They will meet with the current instructor during seminar classes to share their observations and common experiences. Admittance to the program will be based on academic transcripts, attendance records, a written application, a student’s private means of transportation, and recommendation of the current instructor and department chairperson. This course has a limited enrollment.
LEVELS OFFERED: College Preparatory 166, Honors 174
PREREQUISITES: For the honors level a student must have achieved a B or better previous history class or have an A in College Preparatory. The recommendation of present instructor is also required.
DESCRIPTION: This semester course is designed to familiarize students with Massachusetts and Woburn history, with a focus on the physical, economic, and social changes throughout the city of Woburn. The organization, operation and functions of local government will also be studied. Guest speakers from various city departments, committees, boards, and commissions also visit the students. This course has a limited enrollment.
LEVELS OFFERED: College Preparatory 169, Honors 173
DESCRIPTION: The Vietnam War is a semester course designed to give students an in-depth study into the modern history of the Vietnam conflict beginning with the French colonization. This course will focus on America’s involvement in the Vietnam conflict and its effect on our American society. Political, cultural, and military aspects of the war will be discussed from both an American and Vietnamese perspective. America’s role in the war and its links and comparisons to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will also be discussed. Students will be expected to take an active role in class discussions and debates. Weekly assignments for a portfolio project and outside reading are also requirements for the course. This course has a limited enrollment.
LEVELS OFFERED: College Preparatory 109
DESCRIPTION: This course will detail the rise and fall of Nazi Germany, focusing on the people who supported Nazism and why they supported the regime that today is detested. The course will then apply this knowledge to today’s world to identify neo-Nazi groups and why these groups have recently increased in popularity.
LEVELS OFFERED: College Preparatory 110
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course seeks to take the role and experiences of women throughout US History and move it from the peripheral to the center of the narrative. This survey course will chronicle the experience of women in the United States from the Colonial Era through present day.
LEVELS OFFERED: College Preparatory 100, Grades 11, 12
Traces the history of discrimination, prejudice and their escalation into violence and genocide worldwide in the twentieth century. The course will examine U.S. and World History topics by focusing on how people have been marginalized and ultimately sought to separate themselves in extreme ways from one another. It will consider the role of perpetrators, victims, bystanders, as well as rescuers and resistors as it looks at the role that individuals play in history. Genocide, ethnic cleansing, religious and racial hatreds, and violations of human rights will be explored as studnets will drive topic selections based on their interests. Current events will be emphasized, as the issues raised are ongoing. The course will seek to equip students to become critically minded citizens in modern society.
LEVELS OFFERED: College Preparatory 111
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course is designed to explore the evolution of philosophical thought and the ethical reasoning that provides the structure for our realities. Students will be exposed, not only to the content of philosophy and ethics, but also to the structural framework behind what forms our thoughts and beliefs.
LEVELS OFFERED: College Preparatory 108
PREQUISITES: Grades 11 -12
DESCRIPTION: The purpose of this course is to examine Irish history from the 1798 Rebellion through the Good Friday Agreement of April 1998. The course will cover the various independence movements from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. Additionally, students will examine Irish emigration, famine and its consequences and the religious conflicts that arose out of British occupation. Particular focus will cover the period between the Easter Rising (1916) to limited independence and subsequent Civil War (1922). The final weeks of the course will explore British military occupation of Northern Ireland in 1969, the various paramilitary organizations (Catholic and Protestant), murals depicting “the troubles” and the peacemakers.
LEVELS OFFERED: College Preparatory 102
DESCRIPTION: U.S. History Through Film" offers students a unique way to view American history through powerful Hollywood films in addition to learning the historical accounts, student will explore character development, conflict, theme, symbolism, foreshadowing and geographical/social/cultural settings. This course will look at how various aspects of history are portrayed in films and contrast that with “how it really was" in order to determine what is valid in contemporary films and historical dramas. Students will also focus on different connections between film and history: films as a reflection of the time during which the film was made, film as a philosophical or historical essay from the film maker’s perspective, and film as a “window into the past”, a recreation of past events and the methods used to create historical films. Students will be required to do a variety of projects, essays & presentations after each film, as well as pre-film work, such as reading excerpts from books upon which the films are based.
LEVELS OFFERED: College Preparatory 156, Grades 10, 11, 12
DESCRIPTION: An introduction to the study of how people behave and function. Topics covered include: physiology of the brain, memory, learning, language, perception, lifespan changes, normality and abnormality, social interactions, group influence on individuals, and therapies.
LEVELS OFFERED: College Preparatory 147, Honors 145 Grades 11, 12
Sociology is a semester course that introduces the student to the study of human societies, their patterns and arrangements, their development, and change. The interplay of these factors with respect to the behaviors of individuals and groups are discussed. Students will study how their behaviors apply to families, communities, religious groups, political organizations, and professional and civic associations. This course has a limited enrollment.
LEVELS OFFERED: College Preparatory 156, Grades 10, 11, 12
Introduces the student to the impact that significant sports figures and sporting events have ahd on American culture and history in the 20th and 21st Centuries. Students will study how these people and events influenced American society as it relates to social movements, cultural trends, politics, social behavior, and the economy. The course will concentrate on imparting students with a knowledge as to why and how these people and events were able to create such a significant influence on American society throughout the 20th and 21st Centuries.