Social Studies

World Geography

Course Code:

Prerequisite: None

Required: NCAA

1 Credit

This course will focus on the study of the world’s peoples, places and environments, with an emphasis on world regions.  The knowledge, skills, and perspectives of the course are centered on the world’s population and cultural characteristics, landscapes, and climates, economic development, and migration and settlement patterns.  Geographical concepts will be used as a framework for studying interactions between humans and their environments.  Students will develop the skills of using geographic resources, employing various research methods, and utilizing technology when asking as well as answering geographic questions.  A particular emphasis will be placed on students’ understanding and applying geographic concepts and skills to their daily lives. 

Students may earn a verified credit for this course by successfully completing Performance-Based Assessments (PBAs).

World History & Geography to 1500

Course Code:

Prerequisite: None

Required: NCAA

1 Credit

This course is designed to introduce students to the origin of Western and non-Western Civilizations from prehistory through approximately 1550 CE (Common Era). Students will be introduced to concepts and techniques employed by historians, archaeologists, and other social scientists. Topics covered include Human Origins and Early Civilizations, Prehistory to 1000 B.C., Classical Civilizations and Rise of Religious Traditions, 1000B.C. to 500 A.D., and Postclassical Civilizations, 300 to 1000 A.D., and Regional Interactions, 1000 to 1500 A.D.. Analysis and interpretation critical thinking skills are used throughout the course.

Students may earn a verified credit for this course by successfully completing Performance-Based Assessments (PBAs).

Honors World History & Geography to 1500

Course Code:

Prerequisite: None

Required: NCAA

1 Credit

This course is designed to introduce students to the origins of Western and Non-Western Civilizations through 1550 CE. Students will explore the concepts and techniques employed by historians with special emphasis on historical inquiry. Topics covered include Human Origins and Early Civilizations, Prehistory to 1000 B.C., Classical Civilizations and Rise of Religious Traditions, 1000B.C. to 500 A.D., and Postclassical Civilizations, 300 to 1000 A.D., and Regional Interactions, 1000 to 1500 A.D.. Stressed throughout the course are such critical thinking skills as analysis and interpretation. This course is a writing, reading, and research-intensive course. This course is highly recommended for students wishing to take AP World History: Modern in the future, as well as for students who wish to more deeply explore the ancient, classical, and medieval worlds.

Students may earn a verified credit for this course by successfully completing Performance-Based Assessments (PBAs).

World History & Geography 1500 - Present

Course Code:

Prerequisite: World Geography, (Honors)World History & Geography to 1500

Elective: NCAA

1 Credit

This course will enable students to examine history and geography from 1500 A.D. (C.E.) to the present, with emphasis on the development of the modern world. Geographic influences on history will continue to be explored, but increasing attention will be given to political boundaries that developed with the evolution of nations. Significant attention will be given to how scientific and technological revolutions created new economic conditions that in turn produced social and political changes. Noteworthy people and events of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries will be emphasized for their strong connections to contemporary issues. 

Students may earn a verified credit for this course by successfully completing Performance-Based Assessments (PBAs).

AP World History: Modern

The appropriate course code (AP or AP/DE) will be used based on availability.

AP Course Code:

AP/DE Course Code:

Prerequisite: Verified credit in World Geography or (Honors) World History & Geography to 1500

Preferred: Honors World History & Geography to 1500

Elective: NCAA

1 Credit

This course covers the World History curriculum as it is described by the College Board. It focuses on the years 1200 CE (Common Era) to the present. Then the class will move on to a thematic survey of modern world history from the Post-Classical to the contemporary era. In AP World History: Modern, the students study the sweeping themes that tell the history of the world. It focuses on trends, cultures, and movements in addition to facts, events and chronologies. 

This course may be dual-enrolled. A final grade and/or credit for this course will be earned at the end of the year. Students may have the opportunity to earn three college credits through Laurel Ridge Community College (HIS 112), pending eligibility and meeting enrollment criteria. Additional fees may apply for college credit. 

Virginia & U.S. History

Course Code:

Prerequisite: World Geography or (Honors)World History & Geography to 1500

Recommended: World History & Geography 1500-Present

Required: NCAA

1 Credit

This course is designed to help students develop foundational knowledge of American History. Topics to be covered include early Spanish, French, and English colonization in America, Puritanism and its effects on American life, slavery and the plantation system, the growth of democratic institutions, events leading to the American Revolution, the Revolutionary War, the formation of our federal government, Jeffersonian democracy, War of 1812, Monroe Doctrine, Jacksonian democracy, reform movements, expansion and the rise of sectionalism, Civil War, Reconstruction, westward migration, industrialism, and imperialism. The course will also cover all aspects of life in twentieth-century America including Jim Crow, the Civil Rights Movement, WWI and WWII, the Cold War, and Modern America. 

Students may earn a verified credit for this course by successfully completing Performance-Based Assessments (PBAs).

AP U.S. History

The appropriate course code (AP or AP/DE) will be used based on availability.

AP Course Code:

AP/DE Course Code:

Prerequisite: Verified credit in World Geography or (Honors) World History & Geography to 1500

Recommended: World History & Geography 1500-Present or AP World History: Modern

Required: NCAA

1 Credit

This course is designed to provide students with the analytic skills and factual knowledge necessary to deal critically with the problems and material in United States 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 program also introduces those skills necessary to deal effectively with the AP History Exam. Among the key topics to be discussed and examined: colonial development, establishing the nation, reforms, enlarging the national state, sectionalism, imperialism, prosperity and depression, global war, the Cold War, and contemporary American history.

This course may be dual-enrolled. A final grade and/or credit for this course will be earned at the end of each semester. Students may have the opportunity to earn six college credits through Laurel Ridge Community College (HIS 121 & 122), pending eligibility and meeting enrollment criteria. Additional fees may apply for college credit.

Virginia & U.S. Government

Course Code:

Prerequisite: Virginia & U.S. History

Required: NCAA

1 Credit

This course consists of the study of the following units: foundations of the American political system, the Constitution, structure, and powers of the three branches of the national government, civil liberties and civil rights, political parties, elections and voting behavior, domestic and foreign policies, the politics of regulation, and state and local government.

AP Government & Politics

The appropriate course code (AP or AP/DE) will be used based on availability.

AP Course Code:

AP/DE Course Code:

Prerequisite: Virginia & U.S. History

Required: NCAA

1 Credit

The course is designed to give a student a critical perspective on the U.S. government and politics. It involves the study of the general concepts of government and politics, as well as the study of the nature of the American political system, its development, and how it works. In addition, the course examines the principal processes, institutions, and the making and implementation of public policies at the national level. Among the key topics that will be discussed and examined are: the constitutional underpinnings of the U.S. government, democratic theory, political parties and interest groups, institutions and policy processes of national government, and civil liberties and civil rights. 

This course may be dual-enrolled. A final grade and/or credit for this course will be earned at the end of the year. Students may have the opportunity to earn three college credits through Laurel Ridge Community College (HIS 268), pending eligibility and meeting enrollment criteria. Additional fees may apply for college credit. 

Introduction to Psychology

Course Code:

Prerequisite: None

Elective: NCAA

Grades 11-12

1 Credit

This course will introduce students to the fundamental aspects of the science of psychology through examining theories of human thought, emotion, and personality. Students will compare and evaluate major theories and analyze the impact culture has on the development of psychological theories. Students will demonstrate mastery of objectives through writing, discussion, demonstration, projects, and other methods.

History of Latin America

Course Code:

Recommended: World Geography, (Honors)World History & Geography to 1500, World History & Geography 1500-Present

Elective: NCAA

Grades 10-12

1 Credit

This course explores the social, cultural, political, environmental, and economic developments of Latin America. The course will discuss the settlement of the region by Amerindians, the rise of Amerindian Empires, the arrival and impact of European colonizers, the Latin American Independence movement, post-colonial developments, Neocolonialism, Latin American Nationalism, the Age of Revolution, and Post-Revolutionary Reactions. Borrowing from the AP Themes of History, students will explore Human-Environmental Interaction; Development and Interaction of Cultures; State Building, Expansion, and Conflict; Creation, Interaction, and Expansion of Economic Systems; and Development and Transformation of Social Structures. This course will be reading, writing, and research-intensive.

AP African American Studies

Course Code:

Recommended: Completion or current enrollment in Virginia & U.S. History or AP United States History

Elective: NCAA

Grades 11-12

1 Credit

This course is an interdisciplinary course that examines the diversity of African American experiences through direct encounters with authentic and varied sources. Students explore key topics that extend from the early African kingdoms to the ongoing challenges and achievements of the contemporary moment. Given the interdisciplinary character of African American studies, students in this course will develop skills across multiple fields, with an emphasis on developing historical, literary, visual, and data analysis skills. This course foregrounds a study of the diversity of Black communities in the United States within the broader context and the African diaspora. 

A project is required for this course. Students will define and execute a research project of their choice, drawn from topics of themes in the course or from the broader field of African American studies. This project is submitted by students in combination with their AP exam, to be scored by processors and teachers at the annual AP reading. 

AP Microeconomics / AP Macroeconomics

Course Code:

Prerequisite: None

Elective

Grades 10-12

1 Credit

The course will fulfill the Economics and Personal Finance graduation requirement.

The microeconomic component of this AP course provides students with a thorough understanding of the principles of economics that apply to individual decision-makers, both consumers and producers, within the economic system. The primary focus of the course is to help individuals develop an understanding of markets and the role the government plays in promoting greater efficiency and equity in the economy.

The macroeconomic component of this course provides students with a thorough understanding of the principles of economics as they apply to the economic system as a whole. This portion of the course focuses on national income and price-level determination and develops students’ familiarity with economic performance measures, the financial sector, economic growth and stabilization policies, and international economics. In this course, students are required to think critically about the complex issues surrounding a world with limited resources.