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History
1 credit, full year
In this Mandarin Chinese course, students continue to be exposed to oral sounds and tonality through Pinyin Romanization, as well as characters and meaning together. Complex grammatical structures and new essential vocabulary words are systematically introduced and learned through various classroom activities and homework. Students continue to add supplementary topic-based vocabulary to their daily practice. Students also start to comprehend adapted authentic reading materials and will produce theme-based longer writing pieces. Intermediate-level communication in various social and cultural contexts is emphasized.
1 credit, full year
In this Chinese IV course, students continue to be exposed to oral sounds and tonality through Pinyin Romanization, characters and meaning together. Complex grammatical structures and new essential vocabulary words are systematically introduced and learned through various classroom activities and homework. Students continue to add supplementary vocabulary according to the topics in the IB Language B (SL) guide including: communication and media, global issues, social relationships, health, science and technology, among others. Students also continue to comprehend authentic reading materials and are required to produce longer, topic-based writing pieces of 200-400 characters. We focus on increasingly authentic communication in various social and cultural contexts at the middle-intermediate level. Placement is at the recommendation of the teacher.
1 credit, full year
In this Chinese V course, students continue to learn vocabulary and grammatical structures at and beyond the textbook scope to express the essential IB Language B SL topics, including communication and media, global issues, social relationships, health, and science and technology. Reading, interpreting, and writing different texts such as blogs, interviews, news reports, brochures, instructions, guidelines, and advertisements are the main focus of this course. Students who take this course as a second-year language B SL course will be ready to take the IB Language B Mandarin SL exam in their senior year. Students who take this course as a one-year SL course will need to do some summer work and take the IB Language B Mandarin SL exam in their junior year. Placement is at the recommendation of the teacher.
The upper school history curriculum seeks to develop a lifelong learner and catalyst for social improvement who has the ability to question events that transform our world. Students will learn about the inspiration that drives major faiths, trace patterns of competition and The upper school hiscooperation among and within tory curriculum seeks to world civilizations, examine develop a lifelong learner the development of the modern nation-state, understand what and catalyst for social it means to be “American,” and improvement who has explore what it takes to be a the ability to question peacemaker in the 21st century. events that transform our Students will analyze how past world. generations confronted and solved questions of political, social, economic, and cultural significance. Through work with stimulating primary sources as well as authoritative secondary sources, students will learn to analyze, interpret, and evaluate such documents. These experiences will enable the learner to make informed decisions about political, social, and civic affairs in a climate that stimulates students to respond to the human condition in the world today. All ninth graders take Global Peace and Justice and all tenth graders take American History.
553 Global Peace and Justice (9)
1 credit, full year
In this course, students realize the power of individuals to initiate change and to create solutions. After grasping realities of global problems, students learn how to live a culture of peace and nonviolence by studying successes in the United States as well as around the world. Using social scientists’ tools we study human rights and social justice, both here and abroad. Students learn about varying injustices regarding violence, poverty, race and incarceration. Students learn how women’s rights are human rights, and the impact women have around the world. They connect units by creating nonviolent solutions for the problems they encounter that are globally applicable. Students learn how women build sustainability by role-playing activists and peacemakers. Students also analyze the partition of India and Pakistan and the challenges in creating sustainable peace in Israel and Palestine. At the end of the year, students are able to articulate both challenges and solutions to conflict and injustice.
554 American History (10)
1 credit, full year
American History emphasizes research and critical thinking skills. Starting with early colonization and reaching the 21st century, the curriculum addresses the breadth and depth of historical events. Students will use a mixture of sources, from primary to film, in order to better understand themes and perspectives on events through analysis of documents, oral presentations, essay projects, and web-based creative assessments. In teaching the skills of historical study and comprehension of American History, our goal is for students also to develop habits of mind including active listening and thoughtful speaking; careful reading and incisive writing; empathy and cooperative group skills; intellectual curiosity and creative thinking; integrity and honesty. This course satisfies the American History graduation requirement.
