Description: This Social Studies course introduces ninth graders to world history and geography during the medieval and early modern eras. Students will study the development and changes of complex civilizations, identify and explore the similarities and patterns of these civilizations, and analyze ways that concurrently developing civilizations affected each other. Major eras and trends of study include: developments during the Middle Ages of the Islamic, Chinese, Japanese, sub-Saharan, European, Andean, and Mesoamerican civilizations; the Golden Age of the Ottoman Empire; the Renaissance and Reformation; colonialism; Scientific Revolution; the Age of Political Revolutions; and the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Student learning will be shaped by an understanding of the historic and contemporary phenomena through the categorical lenses of social, political, religious, intellectual, technological, economic, and environmental thought. Projects and activities throughout this course will reflect the skills expectations of rote, reasoning, reflection, and research. Additionally, the five themes of geography (location, movement, region, place, and human-environmental interaction) will be integrated so that students better understand the relationship between geography and the development of civilizations.

Description: This Social Studies course introduces tenth graders to world history and geography during the modern era. Students will study the development and changes of complex civilizations from approximately 1750 to the present. Students will be able to apply their understanding of the historic as well as the contemporary geographic, social, political, and economic consequences of the various areas and problems they review as they relate to the French Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, the Rise of Imperialism and Colonialism, World War I, Totalitarianism, World War II, and Nationalism.

Description: This Social Studies course reviews the settlement of the colonies and the American Revolution, westward expansion, the Civil War, and Reconstruction. Students will examine the major turning points in American history from the Industrial Revolution through the 20th century. Students will evaluate the effect on major national developments of the expanding role of the federal government and the federal courts; the balance of power between the right of the individual and states' rights; the continuing struggle between minority rights and majority power; the emergence of a modern corporate economy; the impact of technology; and the role of the United States as a major world power.

Description: This Social Studies course prepares students for intermediate and advanced college social studies courses. It is taught with college-level texts, and preparation for the A.P. test will be an integral part of the course. Students will 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 will develop the skills necessary to arrive at conclusions on the basis of an informed judgment and to present reasons and evidence clearly and persuasively in essay format.

Description: This Social Studies course applies knowledge gained in previous years of study to a deeper understanding of the institutions of American Government. In addition, students draw on their studies of world and American history and geography and other societies to compare differences and similarities in world governmental systems today. This course is the culmination of the social science classes designed to prepare students to address society's problems, to understand and participate in the governmental process, and to be a responsible citizen of the United States and the world.

Description: Study includes general concepts used to interpret United States politics, as well as an examination of the various institutions, groups, beliefs, and ideas that make up American politics. Focus is given to analysis of historical materials--their relevance to a given interpretive problem, their reliability, and their importance. Students will develop the skills necessary to arrive at conclusions on the basis of an informed judgment and to present reasons and evidence clearly and persuasively in essay format. This course prepares students for intermediate and advanced college social studies courses.

Description: This social science course examines the major events in Washington, DC's history, particularly in relationship to the students' past learning of American history. Students will study the creation of Washington, DC and the subsequent historical developments of the capital city of the United States. Students will also study major influences, including slavery, war, emancipation, Reconstruction, urbanization, civil rights, and home rule.