Social Studies

POG

SOCIAL STUDIES COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

Required Social Studies Selections GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP                                             1 CREDIT The major goal of this course is to enable students to become responsible citizens of the 21st century.  In order to do so, students will study civic ideals and government. Topics include: America’s values, the Constitution, Branches of Government, Bill of Rights, voting, and others.  Students will combine this knowledge with a study of Geography, including globalization, map reading skills, the five themes of geography, and others, to analyze global connections and current events.  Students will examine how they fit into the larger global world as well as the skills they need to be a successful citizen of the United States of America.

WORLD HISTORY                                                               1 CREDIT The focus of this course is the study of the historical development of people, places and patterns of life from ancient times until 1500 AD and beyond as time permits.  Students will use skills of historical and geographical analysis to explore the early history of the world. Recurring themes to be investigated including power and authority, revolution, religious and ethical systems, cultural interaction, empire building and science and technology.  We study these themes to show that around the world and through time, humans have confronted similar obstacles and have shared similar goals. This course emphasizes literature and informational text comprehension and analysis, along with writing and presentation skills.

WORLD HISTORY, Honors                                                  1 CREDIT

Prerequisite:  Teacher permission is required.

World History Honors is designed to meet the needs of the accelerated learner.  These students for the most part are planning academic choices beyond high school.  This course recognizes the students’ abilities to learn new material quickly and perceptively.  The focus of this course is the study of the historical development of people, places and patterns of life from the ancient times until 1500 AD and beyond as time permits.  Students will use skills of historical and geographical analysis to explore the early history of the world. Recurring themes to be investigated include power and authority, revolution, religious and ethical systems, cultural interaction, empire building and science and technology.  We study these themes to show that around the world and through time humans have confronted similar obstacles and have shared similar goals. This course emphasis literature and informational text comprehension and analysis, along with writing and presentation skills.

ADVANCED PLACEMENT WORLD HISTORY             2 CREDITS/6 CREDITS LRCC

”The purpose of the AP World History course is to develop greater understanding of the evolution of global processes and contacts, in interaction with different types of human societies.  This understanding is advanced through a combination of selective factual knowledge and appropriate analytical skills. The course highlights the nature of changes in international frameworks and their causes and consequences, as well as comparisons among major societies.  The course emphasizes relevant factual knowledge deployed in conjunction with leading interpretive issues and types of historical evidence. The course builds on an understanding of cultural, institutional, and technological precedents that, along with geography, set the human stage.  Periodization, explicitly discussed, forms an organizing principle for dealing with change and continuity throughout the course. Specific themes provide further organization to the course, along with consistent attention to contacts among societies that form the core of world history as a field of study.”  (From the AP World History College Board course description)

U.S. HISTORY                                                                     1 CREDIT

United States History is a required course for all eleventh grade students, the successful completion of which is mandatory for graduation.  United States History is a topical and chronological survey of our country’s social, political, economic and physical development from World War II to the present day with emphasis on major events, trends and personalities.  Throughout the course, there is concern with the examination of the “why” of our history as well as the “what”, and the vital connection of the present as an outgrowth of the past. The meaning of history to the student as a relationship to his/her role as a citizen is emphasized.  United States History also includes the continuous examination of the role of New Hampshire throughout the American experience. Also included and emphasized are geographical skills/concepts and place geography knowledge development.

U.S. HISTORY, Honors                                                                1 CREDIT Prerequisite:  Teacher permission is required. United States History - Honors is offered to juniors who have been accepted into the course.  It is designed to fulfill the state-mandated course with additional work in critical thinking and with more emphasis on primary and secondary source materials to meet the needs of juniors who plan to attend a four year college program.  United States History Honors is a topical and chronological survey of our country’s social, political, economic and physical development from the World War II to the present day with emphasis on major events, trends and personalities. Students will be asked to analyze, to reflect and to think critically.  Students will be asked to develop their writing skills and their research skills in two major papers.

ADVANCED PLACEMENT UNITED STATES HISTORY                          2 CREDITS       The AP program in United States 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.  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. Students should learn to assess historical materials - their relevance to a given interpretive problem, their reliability, and their importance - and to weigh the evidence and interpretations presented in historical scholarship.  The course should thus develop the skills necessary to arrive at conclusions on the basis of an informed judgement and to present reasons and evidence clearly and persuasively in essay format. Summer work is required in this course     (The College Board, 5/97)

ECONOMICS                                                                                                             .5 CREDITS      Economics is the study of the allocation and utilization of limited resources to meet society’s unlimited needs and wants, including how goods and services are produced and distributed.  Through economics, students examine the relationship between costs and benefits. They develop an understanding of basic economic concepts; economics in history; how economics affects and is affected by the individual; cycles in the economy; financial institutions and government; and international economics and trade.  The goal of economic education is to prepare students to make effective decisions as consumers, producers, savers, investors, and as citizens.

Social Studies Electives

AMERICANA                                                                        1 CREDIT    Prerequisite:  Successful completion of US History

Americana is a one credit social studies course open to juniors and seniors.  This will be a class that looks at Pop Culture in American History from the 1940’s to the 1990’s.  Topics to be covered include: Movies, Television, Music, Broadway, Sports, Art, Literature, Fads and Advertising.  By taking a close look at how Pop Culture has influenced Americans over the time frame, students will be able to discover how culture impacts society.  Students will have to use analytical and critical thinking skills as they work their way through the course.

INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY                                                                     1 CREDIT      Prerequisite:  Students must be a junior or a senior

Psychology is designed to give upperclassmen an overview to the study of psychology with various areas of emphasis and to gain a better understanding of people.  It is aimed at meeting the needs of juniors and seniors who plan to further their education. Students will be required to develop critical reading and thinking skills.  They will be expected to draw conclusions by applying the textbook knowledge and enrichment activities to personal experiences. This course is a very traditional introduction to psychology.  It allows for the students to have a secure foundation in the various fields of psychology. It is through this foundation that the students will gain an understanding of themselves, behavior and society.  

SOCIOLOGY                                                                                                    1 CREDIT      Prerequisite:  Students must be a junior or a senior

Sociology is designed to expose upperclassmen to the study of society.  A central concept to sociology is that of the sociological imagination which allows sociologists to make connections between personal experiences and larger social issues.  Students will be introduced to a range of basic sociological principles so they can develop their own sociological imagination. Students will learn about the origins of sociology as a discipline and be introduced to major sociological theories and methods of research.  Students will develop their sociological imaginations by relating the topics and theories they learn about to their own life experiences.

STREET LAW                                                                                                    1 CREDIT      Prerequisite:  Must have successfully completed Global Citizenship

Street Law is a practical course in the basics of law and the American legal system.  Students will learn about their rights and responsibilities as citizens, and the ramifications for breaking the law.  Through analysis, discussion, and debates with classmates, as well as personal research, students will evaluate basic legal problems and principles and apply the knowledge to their own lives, so as to protect themselves and live in better harmony with other members of society.


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