AMERICAN STUDIES



SCARSDALE HIGH SCHOOL

Social Studies Department

January, 2017

Course Selection for the

11th Grade and Elective Programs

The history of the United States is the focus of eleventh grade social studies. Students can meet this requirement through placement in any of the following programs:

• United States History 631 (Skills-Level)

• United States History 632

• United States History 632 (American Studies)

• United States History and Government 635

Course descriptions for each of these programs may be found in this packet

There are two Advanced Topics social studies course offerings for which juniors are eligible, United States History and Government 635 and Advanced Topics Psychology (an elective). Students wishing to be placed in either of these Advanced Topics courses next fall must take the qualifying exam on Tuesday, January 31, 2017. The make exam will be Thursday February 2nd).

❖ This year, the exam will be held in classrooms on the second and third floor of the north wing of the high school. Specific room assignments will be done alphabetically by last name on the day of the exam. Further instructions on room assignments will be forthcoming.

At the time you sit for the exam, you will be asked to identify the AT course or courses for which you desire consideration. You may select a single AT course for placement or you may indicate a first and second choice for AT placement, recognizing that, if selected, you may be placed in your first or second choice. Please review the attached AT course descriptions and AT selection list which you will be asked to complete at the time of the AT Qualifying exam.

Social studies elective offerings are listed in this packet. You are encouraged to review these selections if you are considering expanding your course of studies beyond the four year social studies requirements. Please note that these courses are developed with the same sets of expectations (homework readings, writing, research, exams, etc.) and the same evaluative standards as our required twelfth grade courses.

10th GRADE COURSE SELECTION FORM

January, 2017

Name:_______________

10th Grade Social Studies Teacher:_____________________

Dean:_______________________

Please place to indicate first and second choice:

1st Choice : ________________

2nd Choice: _________________

U.S. History Course Choices:

A. U.S. History 632

B. U.S. History – American Studies

❖ Please return this form to your Social Studies teacher

NO LATER THAN Friday - JANUARY 20th

***Note: If a student would like to be considered for U.S. History 635 (Advanced Topics) or for Advanced Topics Psychology all 10th grade students must sit for the AT Qualification Writing Assessment on Tuesday, January 31, 2017 or Tuesday, February 2, 2017.

***Electives will be selected during course conferences with your dean

11th Grade Course Offerings:

UNITED STATES HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 631 (Skills-Level)

Grade 11 4 periods per week, 1 credit

This course is for eleventh-grade students whose reading and writing skills require specialized attention. This course has as its goal an understanding of the complexity of America’s national heritage. The organization of the program is both chronological and thematic. The course focuses on the impact of constitutional principles throughout American history, examining both domestic and foreign affairs. Primary and secondary sources, as well as original student research, are used to help students understand the way in which history is written and historians work. The course culminates in a Regents examination

UNITED STATES HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 632

Grade 11 4 periods per week, 1 credit

This course has as its goal an understanding of the complexity of America’s national heritage. The organization of the program is both chronological and thematic. The course focuses on the impact of constitutional principles throughout American history, examining both domestic and foreign affairs. Primary and secondary sources, as well as original student research, are used to help students understand the way in which history is written and historians work. At the end of the year students must take a New York State Regents examination in U.S history. All interested students may sit for the Advanced Placement exam in U.S. history.

UNITED STATES HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 632 (American Studies)

Grade 11 4 periods per week, 1 credit

The American Studies course is designed for juniors interested in taking an interdisciplinary social studies and English course that focuses on shared themes and ideas of these two disciplines. The course makes explicit the underlying connections between American history and literature. It helps students understand how historical context affects literature and how literature provides insight into particular historical periods. Although taught as two separate classes, students will have the same social studies and English teachers who coordinate their work with individual students, lesson plans, workload, and due dates for assignments. Students who elect this version of United States History and Government 642 must also select the American Studies version of English 233. At the end of the year students must take a New York State Regents examination in U.S history.

UNITED STATES HISTORY 635 (Advanced Topics)

Grade 11 4 periods per week, 1 credit

Conducted on an introductory college level, Advanced Topics in US History is a survey course covering the colonial era to the present, through which are interwoven a broad set of themes. This college-level course builds a bridge between the narrative recall and understanding typical of secondary level work and the deep synthesis and analysis typical of how a historian interprets the world. Assessments of various types will be directed toward mastering a significant body of content and will support the development and application of historical thinking through research, active learning, and critical writing. The course will encourage our students to be critical readers of historiography, using their reasoning skills to distinguish among various interpretations of American History. Admission is based on recommendations of previous teachers, grades, and a writing test given in late January. Students taking this course can sit of the Advanced Placement exam in U.S. History.

PSYCHOLOGY 645 (Advanced Topics)

Grades 11 and 12 4 periods per week, full year 1 credit

This Advanced Topics introductory college-level course offers a systematic study of human beings. Students will examine psychological facts, principles, and phenomena associated with each of the major subfields of psychology. They will also learn about the ethics and methods psychologists use in their science and practice.

Psychology topics will include research methods, biological bases of behavior, learning and cognition, developmental psychology, social psychology, treatment of psychological disorders, and more. Course requirements will include extensive primary and secondary readings, numerous critical essays, and experimental research projects. Admission is based on recommendations of previous teachers, grades, and a writing test given in late January. Students taking this course may sit for the Advanced Placement test in Psychology.

N.B The portion of the course dealing with the biological bases of behavior will presume students enter the course with a solid grounding in Biology.

ELECTIVE OFFERINGS

PSYCHOLOGY

Grades 10 through 12

4 periods per week, 4 periods per week, one semester course, 1/2 credit

This course serves as an introduction to psychology for those students who have had little or no exposure to this important discipline. The course begins with an examination of the theory of this relatively young science and a study of the methods employed to learn about human behavior and experience. Major units include: aggression, motivation, theories of personality, humanistic psychology, educational psychology, perception, emotions, and stress. Case studies for this course will be taken from fiction and nonfiction sources.

THE GREAT DIVIDE: RACE AND ETHNICITY IN AMERICA

Grades 10 through 12

4 periods per week, 4 periods per week, one semester course , 1/2 credit

This course will examine the role that race and cultural identity play in America’s pluralistic society. Students will learn how our history, mythology, and beliefs have contributed to our sense of who we are as individuals and as a nation. Students will examine the values which shape their common identity as well as those that can lead to conflict. The role of the media as a shaper and reflector of social attitudes will be explored. We will analyze the consequences of alternative responses to ethical and moral dilemmas around issues of race, ethnicity, and prejudice, and help students make informed decisions about their attitudes and behavior when those dilemmas arise in their lives. Students will read primary and secondary sources, conduct interviews, write several short papers, and participate in discussions and simulations.

SEXUAL POLITICS

Grades 11 and 12 4 periods per week, one semester course, 1/2 credit

4 periods per week

This course will examine the role that gender, race, sexuality and social expectations play in the development of individual identity and interpersonal relationships. Students will explore the creation and perpetuation of gender inequalities as well as various forms of resistance and activism. Students will critically analyze the representation of gender and sexuality with in America's political, cultural and educational institutions. Topics covered include sexual identity and relationships, gender roles, body image, employment, and historical developments in feminist thought.  Students will engage in social science experiments, simulations, debates, and discussions, which validate personal perspectives as well as objective analyses.

THE WAKING MIND: AN INTRODUCTION TO MODERN PHILOSOPHICAL THOUGHT

Grade 11 and 12 4 periods per week, one semester course ½ credit

This course will present a variety of big picture philosophical topics for students to explore, such as the nature of reality, existence, identity, justice, truth, ethics and morality. The course is designed to tackle timeless questions posed by the great thinkers throughout history (both Western and Eastern). Students will read a variety of excerpted classical works, deconstruct the philosophical questions presented, and collectively evaluate an argument’s validity. In addition, these questions will also be explored through contemporary methods of philosophical discovery—i.e., cinema, music, art, and literature.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Grades 11 and 12 4 period per week, one semester course, 1/2 credit

4 periods per week

This course will investigate the different aspects of the criminal justice system. Students will examine the causes of crime and the ways criminals are treated from arrest to release after their incarceration. In addition to classroom activities, students will interact with police, lawyers, correction officers, and inmates. Simulations and several short papers will be required.

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download