Within AP U.S. Government and Politics, students develop and use disciplinary practices and reasoning processes to explore political concepts, policies, interactions, roles, and behaviors that characterize the constitutional system and political culture of the United States. Students examine core principles, theories, and processes through direct study of U.S. foundational documents and Supreme Court opinions. They also participate in a civic project in which they research, study, and compile data on a political science topic and create a presentation that exhibits their findings and experiences. The AP U.S. Government and Politics course is structured around five big ideas outlined within the College Board Advanced Placement Course Framework. Each big idea is aligned to enduring understanding statements and learning objectives that focus on key concepts and essential knowledge about the foundations of American democracy, civil liberties and civil rights, interactions among branches of government, American political participation, ideologies, and beliefs.
Prerequisite: A or B in prior Social Science courses.
Journey through world history from 1200 CE to the present day, exploring the pivotal events, people, and processes that have shaped our modern world. We’ll examine this vast history through six recurring themes: the relationship between humans and the environment, cultural developments, systems of governance, economic systems, social interactions, and the impact of technology and innovation. Along the way, you will learn to think like a historian by analyzing primary and secondary sources, constructing historical arguments, and connecting historical events across different times and places.
Prerequisite: A or B in prior Social Science courses.
AP United States History focuses on developing students’ abilities to think conceptually about U.S. history from approximately 1491 to the present and apply historical thinking skills as they learn about the past. Seven themes of equal importance, American and national identity; politics and power; work, exchange, and technology; culture and society; migration and settlement; geography and the environment; America in the World, provides areas of historical inquiry for investigation throughout the course. These require students to reason historically about continuity and change over time and make comparisons among various historical developments in different times and places.
Prerequisite: A or B in prior Social Science courses.
Explore the core questions of what it means to be human in AP Psychology, a course that provides a scientific and systematic look at behavior and mental processes. You’ll delve into the foundational studies that have shaped the field, applying key theories and concepts across major topics like the biological basis of behavior, cognition, development, and social psychology. You won’t just learn about the mind; you’ll learn how to think like a scientist, using psychological research methods and data analysis to evaluate claims, weigh evidence, and communicate your own insights effectively. Get ready to understand yourself and the world around you in a whole new way.
Understanding the thoughts, emotions, and behaviors of self and others is critical to developing and maintaining interpersonal relationships. In Psychology, students learn theories of historically significant psychologists who laid the foundation for scientific research and gain a clearer understanding of the human mind. This course explores how psychological perspectives influence personality and play a role in human development across the lifespan. Students examine how behaviors are developed, memories are stored and language is acquired. Students also learn about the symptoms and classifications of psychological disorders, along with the various forms of treatments available. After completing this course, students will be equipped with problem- solving strategies and even learn methods to cope with stress. Practical, everyday application of the content is a focus of this course.
Economic decisions affect us every day of our lives. Understanding economics means thinking about how scarcity requires us to make choices and evaluate one option against others. In this course, students will recognize examples of economics in their daily lives. Students will examine how the economic choices of larger groups, like businesses and governments, affect students and others. As students progress through the course, they will recognize that the costs and benefits of choices connect individuals and groups around the world. The purpose of this course is to help students become a more conscientious consumer who understands the flow of an economy between individuals, businesses, governments, and the rest of the world.
Responsible citizenship, including civil and political participation, is essential to maintain a representative government that truly represents the people of the United States. In this course, students learn about the structure of government and how it shares power at the local, state, and federal levels. This course also explores the founding principles that inspired the Constitution and Bill of Rights, preserving the freedoms that students experience daily. Students will examine the processes of each branch of government, the election process, and how citizens can impact public policy. The media, interest groups, and influential citizens provide examples of how the government can be affected by informed and active participants. Students will examine the U.S. Court system, and become a part of the process by participating in the judicial decision- making process. They will also discover ways the United States interacts with countries around the world, through domestic policy, foreign policy, and human rights policy.
This introductory course covers the basics of United States Law; Civil and Criminal Law; Consumer and Family Law; Immigration Law; Internet and Intellectual Property Law; Juvenile Law; Public Health Law; and Labor Law.
The United States began as an experiment in freedom and democracy. Since its establishment, the country and its people have endured social, political, and economic revolutions. In this course, students will investigate the people, events, and ideas that have shaped the United States from the end of the Civil War through today. Students are asked to analyze and evaluate decisions made by political, business, and military leaders. Emphasis is placed on connections between events of the past and present. This course also gives students the opportunity to conduct research and apply their learning to current, real-world problems. (Recommended for 10th or 11th grade).
Immerse yourself in the rise and fall of ancient empires, the beauty and contributions of other cultures, and the sequential progression of humanity across the globe. Students in Segment 1 will explore the interaction between the Eastern and Western Roman Empires, the Islamic and Ottoman Empires, the Middle Ages across Europe and Japan, the early civilizations of the Americas and Africa, ending with the Renaissance and Reformation in Europe. In Segment 2, students explore scientific and philosophical progress during the Enlightenment, the following political revolutions, and the Industrial Revolution into the twentieth century. By applying themes like nationalism, expansion, and colonialism, students will learn to think like historians and transform into informed citizens of the world.
Learning about history allows people to see how far we have come and what awaits us on our path to the future. In this course, students will explore the history of the United States and analyze cause and effect in historical events. They will investigate history by examining the historical, geographic, political, economic, and sociological events that influenced the development of the United States. This course begins with the engaging stories of what brought the earliest American colonists to the New World and ends with the struggles to repair the United States following the Civil War. Engaging in this study allows students to recognize the themes of history that span across centuries and leads to a greater appreciation of the development of the United States and the resulting impact on world history.
Following MS World History I, students will expand their reading and writing skills while continuing the study of history. Studying history helps students connect events from the past to the world around them. In this course, students examine civilizations that have left their mark on history. They join travel agent Mr. Lightfoot on a journey back in time, digging through the past and examining its impact on our world today.
In this course, students discover the mysteries of past civilizations. From the ancient river civilizations to China and its legendary dynasties, different civilizations left their mark on history. In ancient Egypt, students visit the pyramids and find out the secrets of preserving mummies. They will see how the Mayans developed astronomy into a precise science. Students will investigate the difference between the Athenians and the Spartans and journey through India discovering their contributions to medicine, before moving on to Africa to follow the rise and fall of the ancient East African kingdoms of Kush and Axum. Throughout the centuries, and still today, our world is made up of dozens of different cultures.