Social Studies Curriculum
Length: Year
Prerequisite: None
Entry Level: 11
U.S. History covers the establishment of colonies in North America to modern times. The course includes such topics as the English heritage, independence, formation of the constitution, manifest destiny, sectionalism, Civil War reconstruction and 20th century developments.
Length: Year
Prerequisite: 3.25 in Social Studies courses & approved application
*Must be taken with A.P. Literature & Composition*
Entry Level: 11
This year-long class will help students improve their ability to critically evaluate scholarly work and methods in the field of American History. The AP US History curriculum will reflect national standards for college-level work in order to prepare students to take the AP US History Exam in the spring. Students must be prepared for a rigorous course with a strong emphasis on reading and writing. Students must submit an application and receive departmental approval. Exceptions to the GPA requirement will be made on an individual basis.
Length: Semester
Prerequisite: None
Entry Level: 12
This course is designed to familiarize the students with major problems in our American Democracy. A comparison will be made of how these philosophies are applied in the real world today by competing political/economic systems. The students will also become familiar with the actual workings of American government at its various levels. The purpose is to help the student prepare him/herself to become an active, effective member of our free society.
Length: Semester
Entry Level: 12
Prerequisite: None
This course will examine the roots, course, and results of the international conflict between the US and USSR in the last half of the Twentieth Century. Students will examine issues such as the space race, espionage, nuclear weapons, economics, and civil rights to gain an understanding of the continuing impact of this global conflict on today’s world.
Length: Semester
Entry Level: 12
Prerequisite: None
In Psychology, students will explore introductory topics such as: learning, memory, sensation and perception, personality, life-span development, physiological basis of behavior, stress and health, psychological disorders, social psychology, and research methods.
Length: Semester
Entry Level: 12
Prerequisite: None
Montana History explores the political, social, cultural, and economic history of Montana within the context of the larger western United States. The course will provide an overview of pre-history to modern Montana, addressing multiple perspectives including American Indian life and culture. Students will be challenged to see how a variety of internal and external forces helped shape the state of Montana as we know it today, and how a knowledge of the past can help inform their understanding of today's Montana
Length: Semester
Entry Level: 12
Prerequisite: None
This course is designed to familiarize students with the concepts, theories, and practices present in the study of criminology. Understanding crimes, as well as consequences, allows students to gain a further civic understanding of our legal system and its impact on society as well as the effects of crime on victims, the criminal, and society. The course will also encourage students to determine what causes crimes by examining different sociological, psychological, and biological theories behind criminal behavior.
Length: Year
Prerequisite: U.S. History, 3.25 GPA in Social Studies & approved applicatio
Entry Level: 12
The Advanced Placement Government course will help students improve their ability to critically evaluate scholarly works and methods and to synthesize data relating to political science. Students will also improve their writing skills and their ability to present arguments. The course will prepare students for the Advanced Placement test for college credit, should they chose to take the exam.
Length: Year
Prerequisite: None
Entry Level: 9
This course is designed to provide students the opportunity to better understand current global trends by focusing on major 20th century events with emphasis on the Holocaust, Middle East Peace, Cold War, Nationalism in India, and South African Apartheid.
Length: Year
Prerequisite: None
Entry Level: 9
World History covers the forces of change in history from the advent of written history to the mid-Twentieth Century. Through examination of the changes in economic, political, social, religious, and philosophical systems, students will be challenged to think for themselves about the history of mankind. Emphasis is placed upon the motivations, provocations, purpose and result of change throughout history.
Length: Semester
Prerequisite: Completion of the COMPASS test and teacher approval
Entry Level: 11 or 12
Prehistoric days to the mid-15th century, with emphasis on the political, social, cultural, and economic aspects of the great civilizations of the earlier period, and the revolutions in politics, commerce, industry and science which ushered in the modern era. Tuition costs do apply.
Length: Semester
Prerequisite: Successful completion of Western Civilization, COMPASS test and teacher approval
Entry Level: 11 or 12
Early modern period to the present with emphasis on the rise of national systems, and the on-going revolutions in Western Civilization with attendant philosophic, economic and political conflicts and influences. Tuition costs will apply.