Social Studies Department
World History
This course covers a period of more than 250 years and highlights the intensification of a truly global history as people, products, diseases, knowledge, and ideas spread around the world as never before. The course begins with a turning point: the important transition in European systems of governance from divine monarchy to a modern definition of a nation-state organized around principles of the Enlightenment. The course ends with the present, providing ample opportunities for teachers to make connections to the globalized world in which students live.
As students move through the years 1750 through the present, they consider how a modern system of communication and exchange drew peoples of the world into an increasingly complex network of relationships in which Europe and the United States exerted great military and economic power. They explore how people, goods, ideas, and capital traveled throughout and between Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Europe. They analyze the results of these exchanges. The ability to see connections between events and larger social, economic, and political trends may be developed by having students consider the most fundamental changes of the era.
Grade Level: 10
Graduation Credit: Hist/Social Science
CSU/UC: History(a) College-Prep Elective(g)
AP World History
AP World History is designed for the college-bound student seeking a challenging curriculum that will prepare them for college and the AP exam in May. The program enhances written, oral, and group skills. This course will fulfill the state and college requirements for world history. Units are developed around an
overarching question and an overall unit theme, with the five essential themes of World History that are continually emphasized throughout the year. Academic skills emphasized include analytical writing, critical analysis of documents and viewpoints, Socratic seminars and evaluative thinking skills. Students will write on average one in class essay every two weeks.
Grade Level: 10-12
Graduation Credit: Hist/Social Science
CSU/UC: History(a)
US History
In this course, students examine major developments and turning points in American history from the late nineteenth century to the present. During the year, the following themes are emphasized: the expanding role of the federal government, the emergence of a modern corporate economy and the role of organized labor, the role of the federal government and Federal Reserve System in regulating the economy, the impact of technology on American society and culture, changes in racial, ethnic, and gender dynamics in American society, the movements toward equal rights for racial, ethnic, religious, and sexual minorities and for women, and the rise of the United States as a major world power.
As students survey nearly 150 years of American history, they learn how geography shaped many of these developments, especially in terms of the country’s position on the globe, its climate, and abundant natural resources. In each unit, students examine American culture, including religion, literature, art, music, drama, architecture, education, and the mass media.
Grade Level: 11
Graduation Credit: Hist/Social Science
CSU/UC: History(a)
US History (American Experience)
This college preparatory class combines the curriculum of US History with that of 11th grade American Literature. Students will study and explore US History and American Literature using specific pieces of literature and primary sources that are tied to key history events, movements, trends, and individuals. This course is designed to make real-life connections between literature, art, music, film, and politics. The goal is to take students on a journey that will help them think and write critically about these connections and make their learning experience come alive. The units are focused on the Common Core Standards and are aligned with the California State Standards for both 11th grade US History and English.
**Must be taken with American Experience English 3
Grade Level: 11
Graduation Credit: Hist/Social Science
CSU/UC: History(a) Electives(g)
AP US History
The AP U.S. History course is designed to provide students with the analytic skills and factual knowledge necessary to deal critically with the problems and materials in U.S. 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, reliability, and importance— and to weigh the evidence and interpretations presented in historical scholarship. An AP U.S. History course should thus develop the skills necessary to arrive at conclusions based on an informed judgment and to present reasons and evidence clearly and persuasively in essay format.
Grade Level: 11
Graduation Credit: Hist/Social Science
CSU/UC: History(a)
American Government/Economics
This one-semester course involves the study of American politics, government operations, civil rights, and responsibilities. Students explore the democratic values that form the foundation of the American political system, investigate ideas that underlie its legal system, and study key documents, which have shaped the government of this nation. Students analyze issues that confront the United States and the global community.
This course also gives students an understanding of how the American economic system operates. Students are encouraged to examine their own role in that system. The course content provides opportunities for students to study the concepts of scarcity, supply and demand; to compare our economic system to those of other countries; and to learn to make reasoned judgments about economic issues.
Grade Level: 11 & 12
Graduation Credit: Hist/Social Science
CSU/UC: History(a) Electives(g)
AP Government/Economics
This is a one-semester introductory college course in United States government and politics, or in comparative government and politics. In both subject areas, there is considerable variety among the courses offered by colleges. In terms of content, there is no specific college course curriculum that an AP course in United States Government and Politics or in Comparative Government and Politics must follow. Therefore, the aim of an AP course should be to provide the student with a learning experience equivalent to that obtained in most college introductory U.S. or comparative government and politics courses.
Grade Level: 12
Graduation Credit: Hist/Social Science
CSU/UC: History(a) Electives(g)
AP Psychology
Grade Level: 11-12
Graduation Credit: Hist/Social Science
CSU/UC: Electives(g) : Hist/Social Science
Street Law (A Course in Practical Law)
This is a college prep course, which is UC approved. Students will analyze, evaluate, and resolve legal disputes. Street Law helps build critical thinking and problem-solving skills as young people prepare for thoughtful, democratic engagement. Students will be asked to plan inquiries, gather evidence, draw logical conclusions, and articulate reasonable action steps that can be taken to solve problems and strengthen communities. Students will discuss issues of liability, privacy, email confidentiality, and when to be a good Samaritan and come to somebody’s rescue.
Grade Level: 11-12
Graduation Credit: Hist/Social Science
CSU/UC: Elective(g)