2021-2022 2022-2023 CURRICULUM GUIDE
SOCIAL STUDIES GRADUATION REQUIREMENT: 3 CREDITS All courses are NCAA-approved.
0315 – AP HUMAN GEOGRAPHY One Credit (10) This year-long course in human geography is to introduce the systematic study of patterns and processes that have shaped human understanding, use, and alteration of the earth’s surface. Students employ spatial concepts and landscape analysis to examine human social organization and its environmental consequences. They also learn about the methods and tools geographers use in their science and practice. The course goals include: use of thinking about maps and spatial data, understanding and interpreting the implications of associations among phenomena in places, recognizing and interpreting different scales and the relationship among different patterns and processes, defining regions and evaluating the regionalization process, and characterizing and analyzing interconnections among places. The topics of study are geography, population, cultural patterns and processes, political organization of space, agriculture and rural land use, industrialization and economic development, and cities and urban land use. Additionally, general study skills, time management, and organization will be taught as well as skills for taking an AP Class, how to take an AP exam, and specific essay skills. Prerequisite: Department Approval. AP exam is required.
0334 – CIVICS One-half Credit (10) This course is required for graduation and should be completed by the end of sophomore year. Civics is a semester-long course which offers an overview of the structure and function of government, as well as the responsibilities of citizenship. Emphasis will be placed on becoming informed and engaged citizens capable of independent thought. Topics of study include: (1) foundations of American government, (2) United States and Illinois Constitutions, (3) branches of government, (4) civil liberties and civil rights, (5) political parties and political participation, and (6) the electoral process. The course will include a required service component, political simulations, and discussions on current and controversial issues. As part of the course, students must take and pass the United States Constitution and Illinois Constitution tests to receive credit.
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