High School

The High School Curriculum (Grades 9-12)

Historical and Social Sciences Analysis Skills

The intellectual skills noted below are to be learned through, and applied to, the content standards for grades nine through twelve. They are to be assessed only in conjunction with the content standards in grades nine through twelve.
In addition to the standards for grades nine through twelve, students demonstrate the following intellectual, reasoning, reflection, and research skills.

• Chronological and Spatial Thinking
• Historical Research, Evidence, and point of View
• Historical Interpretation

World History, Culture, and Geography: The Modern WorldStudents will study major turning points that shaped the modern world, from the late eighteenth century through the present, including the cause and course of the two world wars. They trace the rise of democratic ideas and develop an understan

ding of the historical roots of current world issues, especially as they pertain to international relations. They extrapolate from the American experience that democratic ideals are often achieved at a high price, remain vulnerable, and are not practiced everywhere in the world. Students develop an understanding of current world issues and relate them to their historical, geographic, political, economic, and cultural contexts. Students consider multiple accounts of events in order to understand international relations from a variety of perspectives.

• Students relate the moral and ethical principles in ancient Greek and roman philosophy, in Judaism, and in Christianity to the development of Western political thought.
• Students compare and contrast the Glorious Revolution of England, the American Revolution, and the French Revolution and their enduring effects worldwide on the political expectations for self-government and individual liberty.
• Students analyze the effects of the Industrial Revolution in England, France, Germany Japan, and the United States.
• Students analyze patterns of global change in the era of New Imperialism in at least two of the following regions or countries: Africa, Southeast Asia, China, India, Latin America, and the Philippines.
• Students analyze the causes and course of the First World War.
• Students analyze the rise of totalitarian governments after World War I.
• Students analyze the causes and consequences of World War II.
• Students analyze the international developments in the post-World War II world
• Students analyze instances of nation-building in the contemporary world in at least two of the following regions or countries: the Middle East, Africa, Mexico and other parts of Latin America, and China.
• Students analyze the integration of countries into the world economy and the information, technological, and communications revolutions (e.g., television, satellites, computers).

United States History and Geography: Continuity and Change in the Twentieth Century

Students in grade eleven study the major turning points in American history in the twentieth century. Following a review of the nation’s beginnings and the impact of the Enlightenment on U.S. democratic ideals, students build upon the tenth grade study of global industrialization to understand the emergence and impact of new technology and a corporate economy including the social

and cultural effects. They trace the change in the ethnic composition of American society; the movement toward equal rights for racial minorities and women; and the role of the United States as a major world power. An emphasis is placed on the expanding role of the federal government and federal courts as well as the continuing tension between the individual and the state. Students consider the major social problems of our time and trace their causes in historical events. They learn that the United States has served as a model for other nations and that the rights and freedoms we enjoy are not accidents, but the results of a defined set of political principles that are not always basic to citizens of other countries. Students understand that our rights under the U.S. Constitution are a precious inheritance that depends on an educated citizenry for their preservation and protection.

• Students analyze the significant events in the founding of the nation and its attempt to realize the philosophy of government described in the Declaration of Independence.
• Students analyze the relationship among the rise of industrialization, large-scale rural-to-urban migration, and massive immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe.
• Students analyze the role religion played in the founding of America, its lasting moral, social, and political impacts, and issues regarding religious liberty.
• Students trace the rise of the United States to its role as a world power in the twentieth century.
• Students analyze the major political, social, economic, technological, and cultural developments of the 1920s.
• Students analyze the different explanations for the Great Depression and how the New Deal fundamentally changed the role of the federal government.
• Students analyze America’s participation in World War II.
• Students analyze the economic boom and social transformation of post-World War II America.
• Students analyze U.S. foreign policy since World War II.
• Students analyze the development of federal civil rights and voting rights.
• Students analyze the major social problems and domestic policy issues in contemporary American society.

Additional High School Social Studies Courses:

In addition to the grades 9, 10, and 11 required social studies courses students may elect one of the following courses during their senior year.
• Economics
• Psychology
• Sociology
• Asian Studies
• Anthropology
• World Cultures

Sciences

Physics
• Motions and Forces
• Conversation of Energy and Momentum
• Heat and Thermodynamics
• Waves
• Electric and Magnetic Phenomena

Chemistry
• Atomic and Molecular Structure
• Chemical Bonds
• Conservation of Matter and Stoichiometry
• Gases and Their Properties
• Acids and Bases
• Solutions
• Chemical Thermodynamics
• Reaction Rates
• Chemical Equilibrium
• Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry
• Nuclear Processes

Biology/Life Sciences
• Cell Biology
• Genetics
• Ecology
• Evolution
• Physiology

Earth Sciences
• Earth’s Place in the Universe
• Dynamic earth Processes
• Energy in the Earth System
• Biogeochemical Cycles
• Structure and Composition of the Atmosphere
• Investigation and experimentation

Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and addressing the content in the other four strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations.

Mathematics

The Standards for grades eight through twelve are organized differently from those for kindergarten through grade seven. In this section strands are not used for organizational purposes as they are in the elementary grades because the mathematics studied in grades eight through twelve falls naturally under discipline headings: algebra, geometry, and so forth. Many schools teach this material in traditional courses; others teach it in an integrated fashion. To allow local educational agencies and teacher’s flexibility in teaching the material, the standards for grades eight through twelve do not mandate that a particular discipline be initiated and completed in a single grade. The core content of these subjects must be covered; students are expected to achieve the standards however these subjects are sequenced.

Table 1 Mathematics Discipline, by Grade Level