• Required Courses

    WORLD GEOGRAPHY STUDIES
    Grade: 9
    Prerequisites: none
    Credit: 1 required for graduation; 0.5 credit per semester
    World Geography is a two-semester course. Students examine physical geography, political geography, cultural geography, and economic geography. A significant portion of the course explores the influence of physical geography on events past and present. It explores how physical geography has shaped political, cultural, and economic geography. The course also emphasizes basic geography skills and interpreting data. The eight strands of the essential knowledge and skills for social studies are integrated into this course. To support the teaching f these strands, a variety of primary and secondary source materials such as contemporary and historic maps, satellite-produced images, photographs, graphs, and diagrams will be used. Students will also use problem-solving and decision-making skills to answer geographic questions. Upon completion of the course students will have an understanding of how cultures and countries interact with each other and their environment. The TAKS exam administered at grade 10 uses material from this course.

    PRE-AP COURSES –
    The purpose of Pre-AP is to engage students in active, high level learning to develop the skills, habits of mind, and concepts they need to succeed in college. Pre-AP is based on the expectation that all students can perform at rigorous academic levels. This is reflected in curriculum and instruction that challenges students to expand their knowledge and skills to the next level. Pre-AP strives to prepare students for higher intellectual engagement by starting the development of skills as early as possible.

    WORLD GEOGRAPHY STUDIES - PRE AP
    Grade: 9
    Prerequisites: none
    Credit: 1 required for graduation; 0.5 credit per semester
    World Geography is a two-semester course. Students examine physical geography, political geography, cultural geography, and economic geography. A significant portion of the course explores the influence of physical geography on events past and present. It explores how physical geography has shaped political, cultural, and economic geography. The course emphasizes basic geographic skills and their application, data interpretation, demographic information, ecology and the natural environment. The eight strands of the essential knowledge and skills for social studies are integrated into this course. To support the teaching of these strands, a variety of primary and secondary source materials will be utilized. These include historic and contemporary maps, satellite-produced images, photographs, graphs, sketches, political documents, and editorial cartoons. Students analyze, compare and contrast, use problem-solving and decision-making skills in order to understand complex content material and supplementary material. Upon completion of the course students will have a spatial perspective of the world and understanding of how countries and cultures interact with each other and their environment. The TAKS exam administered at grade 10 uses material from this course.

    WORLD HISTORY
    Grade: 10
    Prerequisites: none
    Credit: 1 required for graduation; 0.5 credit per semester
    World History is a two-semester survey class. The curriculum presents world history from the development of early civilization, the historical development of Western Civilization, and the historical development of Russia, Middle East, Asia, Africa, and Latin America through the 20th century. Emphasis is on the study of significant people, events, and issues from the earliest times to the present. Students analyze important events and issues in world civilizations, evaluate their causes and effects, trace the history and impact of major events, and use the process of historical inquiry to research, interpret, and use multiple sources of evidence, both primary and secondary. The course requires outside readings, projects, and research. The TAKS Exam administered at grade 10 and the exit level exam at grade 11 includes information from this course.

    AP WORLD HISTORY*
    Grade: 10
    Prerequisites: none
    Credit: 1 credit required for graduation; 0.5 credit per semester
    AP World History is a two-semester survey class. The curriculum presents world history from early civilization to the 20th century. This course is the equivalent to an introductory college course in world history. The purpose of the course is to develop greater understanding of the evolution of global processes and contacts in different types of human societies. The course highlights the nature of changes in global frameworks and their causes and consequences, as well as comparisons among major societies. It emphasizes relevant factual knowledge, leading interpretive issues, and skills in analyzing types of historical evidence.

    UNITED STATES HISTORY SINCE RECONSTRUCTION -
    Grade: 11
    Prerequisites: none
    Credit: 1 required for graduation; 0.5 credit per semester
    United States History is a two-semester course. It covers all major historical events that played a significant role in shaping the economic, social, and cultural development of America from 1865 to the present. It includes study of the following areas relative to the United States; he gilded age, progressive movement, emergence as a world power, the twenties, depression, world wars, cold war, geographic influences on its historical development, economic development and growth, social and cultural development, and political development. Students use primary and secondary source materials such as biographies, autobiographies, landmark cases of the Supreme Court, speeches, letters, diaries, poetry, songs, and artwork to understand the past, and critical-thinking skills to explain and apply different methods that historians use to interpret events from the past.

    AP UNITED STATES HISTORY*
    Grade: 11
    Prerequisites: none
    Credit: 1 required for graduation; 0.5 credit per semester
    AP United States History is a two semester survey course. It covers all major historical events from early exploration to the present. This course is the equivalent to an introductory college course in U.S. History. The 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. Students will learn to assess historical materials – their relevance to a given problem, and to weigh the evidence and interpretations given in historical scholarship. This 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.

    UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
    Grade: 12
    Prerequisites: none
    Credit: 0.5 credit required for graduation
    United States Government is a one-semester course. Students will be exposed to the origins of political thought and the development of the American constitutional system. Topics covered in the course include: the Articles of Confederation, the U. S. Constitution, Federalism, the three branches of government, voting rights and suffrage, political parties, interest groups, and the federal bureaucracy. Students analyze primary source documents, the relationship between governmental policies and the culture of the United States, evaluate the importance of voluntary individual participation in a democratic society, and use critical-thinking skills in a variety of activities.

    AP U.S. GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS *
    Grade: 12
    Prerequisites: none
    Credit: 0.5 credit required for graduation
    AP United States government is a one semester course. This course will give students an analytical perspective on government and politics in the United States. The course includes both the study of general concepts used to interpret U.S. government and politics and the analysis of specific examples. Familiarity with the various institutions, groups, beliefs, and ideas that constitute the U.S. government and politics will be learned. Students will become acquainted with the variety of theoretical perspectives and explanations for various behaviors and outcomes.

    ECONOMICS - FREE ENTERPRISE SYSTEM
    Grade: 12
    Prerequisites: none
    Credit: 0.5 credit required for graduation
    Economics is a one-semester course. Students are involved in analysis of fundamental economics concepts such as supply and demand, scarcity, consumption, the business cycle, exchange, income accounting, employment theory, cyclical fluctuation, money, credit, banking, and consumer economic issues.

    AP MACROECONOMICS *
    Grade: 12
    Prerequisites: none
    Credit: 0.5 credit required for graduation
    AP Macroeconomics is a one semester course. The purpose of this course is to give students a thorough understanding of the principles of economics that apply to an economic system as a whole. Emphasis is placed on the study of national income and price-level determination, economic performance measures, the financial sector, stabilization policies, economic growth and international economics.
     
    Electives
    (*10th grade and above)
     

    AP EUROPEAN HISTORY *
    Grade: 12
    Prerequisites: prior enrollment in AP courses preferred
    Credit: 1 credit; 0.5 credit per semester
    AP European history is a two semester course. This social studies elective is taught at the senior level and is the study of Europe since 1450 (Renaissance). Students are introduced to cultural, economic, political and social developments that played a major role in shaping the world in which they live. Without this knowledge, students would lack the context for understanding the development of contemporary institutions, the role of continuity and change in politics and society, and the evolution of artistic expression and intellectual discourse.

    AP PSYCHOLOGY *
    Grade: 11 & 12
    Prerequisites: prior enrollment in AP courses preferred
    Credit: 0.5 credit per semester
    This course is the equivalent to an introductory college course in psychology. The course is designed to introduce students to the systematic and scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of human beings and other animals. Students are exposed to the psychological facts, principles, and phenomena associated with each of the major subfields within psychology. Students also learn about the ethics and methods psychologists use in their science and practice.

    MODEL UN/GLOBAL CLASSROOMS
    Grade: 10-12
    Prerequisites: none
    Credit: 0.5 credit
    Model UN/Global Classrooms is a one semester course. This course is an authentic simulation of the debates and deliberations that occur in the United Nations. Students will become delegates from other nations and work to solve some of the world’s most pressing problems. Students will become expert researchers, skilled negotiators, public speakers, consensus builders and problem solvers. Students become part of this unique, interactive educational process that engages more than 200,000 students in the world each year.

    HISTORY IN FILM
    Grade: 10-12
    Prerequisites: none
    Credit: 0.5 credit
    History in Film is a one semester course. In this elective students focus on issues of history and how they are represented in film. Is Hollywood accurate? Is history really that bloody/dirty/unfair/violent/etc. or should its depiction in the movies be bloodier/dirtier/more unfair/more violent? This is a college style class that watches an average of one movie per week. Past movies have included: Marie Antoinette, Hoodwinked, Troy, Hero, Pride and Prejudice, Glory, The Seven Samurai, To Hell and Back, Samurai Champloo, Persepolis, Band of Brothers, Patton, and many others.

    PSYCHOLOGY
    Grade: 10-12
    Prerequisites: none
    Credit: 0.5 credit
    Psychology is a one semester course. This course examines human and animal behavior, relating experimental studies to practical problems. Topics include sensation/perception, learning, memory, motivation, emotion, stress, development, intelligence, personality, psychopathology, therapy, and social psychology.

    SOCIOLOGY
    Grade: 10-12
    Prerequisites: none
    Credit: 0.5 credit
    Sociology is a one semester course. This course focuses on the basic concepts, research, and theories involved in increasing the understanding of human behavior and human societies. Utilizing a sociological perspective, the interrelations among human societies, individuals, organizations, and groups are analyzed. Topics of analysis include culture, social interaction, social institutions, social stratification, community, and various social change strategies. Numerous contemporary social problems and issues such as racial and ethnic relations, sexism, and class bias are discussed.

    *Most colleges and universities will give college credit to students who have performed successfully on AP Exams.