Social Studies

Full Year (32806)

Level: High School

Content Area: Social Studies

Credits: 1.0

Grade(s): 10, 11, 12

Quality Points: 1.0

Designation: AP

This course is part of the Advanced Placement Program, which makes demands on students “equivalent to those of an introductory year in economics at the college freshman level.” Students enrolled in this course will take a semester of Macro Economics which focuses on a thorough understanding of the principles of economics that apply to an economic system as a whole. In addition, students will take a semester of Microeconomics which focuses on the principles of economics that apply to the functions of individual decision makers, both consumers and producers within the economic system.

Prerequisites: None

Notes: Students are required to take the two AP exam associated with this course. Students not taking the exams will not earn the additional quality point (22806). Successful completion of this course will meet the Economics and Personal Finance graduation requirement for students*. Segments of this course will be taught online, thereby satisfying the graduation requirement for a virtual course. *If this course is taken through Virtual Virginia, students will need to take additional personal finance modules at their home school to meet the Economics and Personal Finance graduation requirement.

Full Year (22212)

Level: High School

Content Area: Social Studies

Credits: 1.0

Grade(s): 10, 11, 12

This course meets face to face. Segments of the course will be taught online, thereby satisfying the graduation requirement for a virtual course.

Prerequisites: None

Semester (20209)

Level: High School

Content Area: Social Studies

Elective Credits: 0.5 Elective

Grade(s): 11, 12

Students engage in remedial work in the academic areas in which they have passed the class but failed the SOL assessment, using instructional software and/or on-line programs. Although study will be teacher assisted, the majority of student work will be completed on an independent study basis. Courses offered for remediation include English (writing), English (reading/literature and research), Algebra I, geometry, biology, earth science, world geography, world history and Virginia & US history.

Prerequisites: Students have passed the class(es) but failed the SOL assessment(s) and are lacking the necessary verified credits to graduate.

Notes: Students will take this class on a pass/fail basis.

Semester (20208)

Level: High School

Content Area: Social Studies

Elective Credits: 0.5 Elective

Grade(s): 11, 12

Students engage in remedial work in the academic areas in which they have passed the class but failed the SOL assessment, using instructional software and/or on-line programs. Although study will be teacher assisted, the majority of student work will be completed on an independent study basis. Courses offered for remediation include English (writing), English (reading/literature and research), Algebra I, geometry, biology, earth science, world geography, world history and Virginia & US history.

Prerequisites: Students have passed the class(es) but failed the SOL assessment(s) and are lacking the necessary verified credits to graduate.

Notes: Students will take this class on a pass/fail basis.

Semester (20207)

Level: High School

Content Area: Social Studies

Elective Credits 0.5 Elective

Grade(s): 11, 12

Students engage in remedial work in the academic areas in which they have passed the class but failed the SOL assessment, using instructional software and/or on-line programs. Although study will be teacher assisted, the majority of student work will be completed on an independent study basis. Courses offered for remediation include English (writing), English (reading/literature and research), Algebra I, geometry, biology, earth science, world geography, world history and Virginia & US history.

Prerequisites: Students have passed the class(es) but failed the SOL assessment(s) and are lacking the necessary verified credits to graduate.

Notes: Students will take this class on a pass/fail basis.

Full Year (22440)

Level: High School

Content Area: Social Studies

Credits: 1.0

Grade(s): 12

This course is organized around the theme of power. The objectives focus on the sources from which American governmental institutions derive their authority to function, and the applications of this authority to critical processes, procedures, and systems. The influence of various groups and the patterns of other world governments are also studied. The key concepts for study are the foundations of government, rights, responsibilities, liberties, institutions, political processes, public programs, policy making, and comparative political and economic systems.

Prerequisites: None

Full Year (32445)

Level: High School

Content Area: Social Studies

Credits: 1.0

Grade(s): 12

Quality Points: 1.0

Designation: AP

This course is part of the Advanced Placement Program of the College Entrance Examination Board, which makes demands on students’ equivalent to those of an introductory year in political science at the college freshman level. The course is designed for the serious student who is willing to meet the demands of an in-depth analysis of both American Government and Politics and Comparative Government and Politics. In addition, course emphasis will be given to political theory and local and state government. Much emphasis is placed on writing and the student is expected to read extensively.

Prerequisites: Recommendation of eleventh grade US. and Virginia History teacher

Notes: Students are required to take the AP exam associated with this course. Students not taking the exam will not earn the additional quality point. (22445)

Full Year (92240W)

Level: High School

Content Area: Social Studies

Credits: 1.0

Grade(s): 12

Quality Points: 1.0

Designation: Dual Enrollment

The objectives of this course focus on the sources from which American governmental institutions derive their authority to function, and the applications of this authority to critical processes, procedures, and systems. The influence of various groups and the patterns of their world governments are also studied. The key concepts for students are the foundation of government, rights, responsibilities, liberty, institutions political processes, public programs policy making, and comparative political and economic systems. In addition, this course provides an in-depth analysis of American Government and Politics with emphasis on critical thinking and writing skills.

Prerequisites: Students must meet the NOVA entrance requirementsNotesSome components of this course will be taught virtually. This course is only offered after school at a countywide location. The course meets twice weekly according to the NOVA college schedule.

Additional Credit: This course may be dual enrolled at Northern Virginia Community College. The NOVA entrance requirements must be met before registering. Please consult with your school counselor for more details.

Full Year (32319)

Level: High School

Content Area: Social Studies

Credits: 1.0

Grade(s): 11

Quality Points: 1.0

Designation: AP

This course is part of the Advanced Placement Program of the College Entrance Examination Board which makes demands on students equivalent to those of an introductory college course. Students electing this course in place of the regular Virginia and United States History course are expected to read extensively, give time to abstract concepts and thoughts, and deal with various topics in American History. The Advanced Placement syllabus gives a complete course description. Students electing this course are expected to work with materials and texts on an advanced level.

Prerequisites: Teacher recommendation; “B” or better in previous high school social studies and English courses

Notes: There are both an SOL Examination and an AP Exam at the end of the course. Passing the SOL test and the course earns a verified credit. Only students who need a verified credit are eligible to sit for the exam. Students are required to take the AP exam associated with this course. Students not taking the exam will not earn the additional quality point. (22319)

Full Year (22360)

Level: High School

Content Area: Social Studies

Credits: 1.0

Grade(s): 11

This course is organized around the theme of perspectives. The course objectives focus on the significant people, places, and events in American and Virginia history whose influence, position, and point of view have affected geography and environment, the democratization process, the development of enterprise, the evolution of global interaction, the impact of scientific and technological developments, and the meaning of the American Dream.

Prerequisites: None

Notes: There is an end-of-course SOL Examination. Only students who are in need of a verified credit in Social Studies are eligible to tale the SOL exam.

Full year or semester block (22212V)

Level: High School

Content Area: Social Studies

Credits: 1.0

Grade(s): 10, 11, 12

This course covers the same content as the EPF Course (22212) but is delivered in a fully virtual format. It satisfies the graduation requirement for a virtual course.

Prerequisites: None

Full year or semester block (22440V)

Level: High School

Content Area: Social Studies

Credits: 1.0

Grade(s): 12

This course is organized around the theme of power. The objectives focus on the sources from which American governmental institutions derive their authority to function, and the applications of this authority to critical processes, procedures, and systems. The influence of various groups and the patterns of other world governments are also studied. The key concepts for study are the foundations of government, rights, responsibilities, liberties, institutions, political processes, public programs, policy making, and comparative political and economic systems. The semester block of the course will include the 140 hours of the full year version.

Prerequisites: None

Notes: This course will be taught in a virtual format thereby satisfying the online graduation requirement for a virtual course.

Full year or semester block (22360V)

Level: High School

Content Area: Social Studies

Credits: 1.0

Grade(s): 11

This course is organized around the theme of perspectives. This course objective focus on the significant people, places, and events in American and Virginia history whose influence, position, and point of view have affected geography and environment, the democratization process, the development of enterprise, the evolution of global interaction, the impact of scientific, and technological developments, and the meaning of the American Dream. The semester block of the course will include the 140 hours of the full year version.

Prerequisites: None

Notes: This course will be taught in a virtual format thereby satisfying the online graduation requirement for the virtual course. There is an end-of-course SOL Examination. Only students who need a verified credit in Social Studies are eligible to take the SOL exam.

Full Year (22210)

Level: High School

Content Area: Social Studies

Credits: 1.0

Grade(s): 9, 10, 11, 12

This course will focus on the interactions of people and their environment in such regions of the world as Africa, Asia, Australia, Central America, the Caribbean, Europe, the Middle East, North America, South America, and areas of the former Soviet Union. The five themes of geography, location, place, human and environmental relationships, movement, and regions will be used to study physical, cultural, political, economic, and other types of geography.

Prerequisites: None

Notes: This course fulfills requirements for both the Advanced and Standard Studies Diplomas if the course as well as the SOL Examination are passed. Only students who need a verified credit in Social Studies are eligible to take the SOL exam. This course is identical to the World Geography course offered in the middle schools at grade eight.

Full Year (22216)

Level: High School

Content Area: Social Studies

Credits: 1.0

Grade(s): 9

This course will focus on the significant events, people, and ideas of western and non-western civilizations from 1500 AD to the present. The concept of “identity” will be the organizing theme for this course of study. Students will view themselves relative to the changes in political, economic, social, cultural, and geographic developments of contemporary history since 1500 AD. A brief review of ancient civilizations will take place at the beginning of the course. Students will study four eras of history: expansion of world populations around 1500 AD, encounters and exchanges of exploration, the age of revolutions, and the world since World War I.

Prerequisites: None

Notes: Students in need of a verified credit in social studies will engage in a local process to include performance assessments in lieu of the end-of-course SOL exam. In specific cases, the student may be eligible to take the end-of-course SOL exam in addition to the local process.

Full Year (22215)

Level: High School

Content Area: Social Studies

Credits: 1.0

Grade(s): 10, 11, 12

This fast-paced, challenging course will focus on an interdisciplinary study of ancient western and nonwestern civilizations from the beginnings of humankind to about 1500 AD. Students will read literature, compare, and contrast philosophies and religions, investigate archaeological findings, research the beginnings of written language, analyze works of art, music, and dance, examine patterns of human and environmental interaction, and investigate historical and legal documents that describe cultures of this time period.

Prerequisites: None

Notes: This course fulfills requirements for both the Advanced and Standard Studies Diplomas if the course is passed AND either the student completes the local process to verify credits in social studies or the SOL Examination is passed. Only students who need a verified credit in Social Studies are eligible to use the local process to verify credit or take the SOL exam. This course is identical to the World Geography course offered in the middle schools at grade eight.

Full Year (22219)

Level: High School

Content Area: Social Studies

Credits: 1.0

Grade(s): 10, 11, 12

This course, designed for advanced students, is a rigorous study of ancient world history from the dawn of humanity to about 1500 AD. An emphasis on integrating the humanities-literature, art, drama, and philosophy-will provide students a broad perspective of human development in the western and non- western worlds. From the earliest human settlements to the most advanced civilizations of the ancient world, students will learn the origins and growth of “community,” the focus of the course. As a result, this course will provide students with an excellent foundation for the understanding of the nature of our modern global community in terms of security, institutions, values and beliefs, culture, and the interaction with other communities. Specifically, students will study the Stone Age, early river valley civilizations, Ancient Greece and Rome, the Byzantine Empire, the rise of Christianity and Islam, the early Middle Ages, and the development of civilization in East Asia, India, Africa, and Mesoamerica.

Prerequisites: None

Notes: This course fulfills a requirement for the Advanced Studies Diploma and serves as an elective for the Standard Diploma. There is an end-of-course SOL Examination. Only students who need a verified credit in Social Studies are eligible to take the SOL exam.

Full Year (22343)

Level: High School

Content Area: Social Studies

Credits: 1.0

Grade(s): 9

This is a chronologically and thematically organized study of world history and geography.  Students study the world from 1500 CE through the present. The course weaves together the skills and content of both history and geography so that students may learn how both affect the world around them. Regions of study include North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Students continue to refine and expand critical thinking skills, practice decision making and problem solving, and formulate questions to guide research. Additionally, students will apply social science skills -historical thinking, geographic analysis, economic decision making, and responsible citizenship – to course content.The course is aligned with and goes beyond the Virginia Standards of Learning for World History & Geography: 1500 AD to the Present.Students in need of a verified credit in social studies will engage in a local process to include performance assessments in lieu of the end-of-course SOL exam.  In specific cases, the student may be eligible to take the end-of-course SOL exam in addition to the local process.

Prerequisites: None

Full Year (32400)

Level: High School

Content Area: Social Studies

Credits: 1.0

Grade(s): 9, 10, 11, 12

Quality Points: 1.0

Designation: AP

This course is part of the Advanced Placement Program of the College Entrance Examination Board that makes demands on students equivalent to those of an introductory college course. In AP World History: Modern, students investigate significant events, individuals, developments, and processes from 1200 to the present. Students develop and use the same skills, practices, and methods employed by historians: analyzing primary and secondary sources; developing historical arguments; making historical connections; and utilizing reasoning about comparison, causation, and continuity and change over time. The course provides six themes that students explore throughout the course in order to make connections among historical developments in different times and places: humans and the environment, cultural developments and interactions, governance, economic systems, social interactions and organization, and technology and innovation. The Advanced Placement syllabus gives a complete course description.

Prerequisites: Teacher recommendation; “B” or better in previous social studies course

Notes: Students are required to take the AP exam associated with this course. Students not taking the exam will not earn the additional quality point. (22400)

Full Year (22371)

Level: High School

Content Area: Social Studies Elective Courses

Credits: 1.0

Grade(s): 10, 11, 12

The African American Studies course is designed to develop an understanding of the causes, character, and consequences of the African American experience and its influence on the world, the United States, and the African American community, the courses will provide a descriptive and corrective overview which will introduce the student to the study of the African and American experiences.

Prerequisites: None

Full Year (32371)

Level: High School

Content Area: Social Studies Elective Courses

Credits: 1.0

Grade(s): 10, 11, 12

Quality Points: 1.0

Designation: AP

African American Studies, AP is an interdisciplinary course that examines the diversity of African American experiences through direct encounters with authentic and varied sources. Students explore key topics that extend from early African kingdoms to the ongoing challenges and achievements of the contemporary moment. Given the interdisciplinary character of African American studies, students in the course will develop skills across multiple fiends, with an emphasis on developing historical, literary, visual, and data analysis skills. The course foregrounds a study of the diversity of Black communities in the United States within the broader context of Africa and the African diaspora.

Full Year (32399)

Level: High School

Content Area: Social Studies Elective Courses

Credits: 1.0

Grade(s): 10, 11, 12

Quality Points: 1.0

Designation: AP

This course is part of the Advanced Placement Program of the College Board which makes demands on students equivalent to those of an introductory college course. This rigorous course introduces students to cultural, economic, political, and social developments that played a fundamental role in shaping our world. Students are expected to demonstrate knowledge of the basic chronology, major events, movements, changes, and trends in Modern European history beginning with the Renaissance in the 1400s and ending with the creation of the European Union in the 1990s. This course stresses analytical thinking and writing skills, which are applied to document-based question essays, seminars, class discussions and/or debates. The Advanced Placement syllabus gives a complete course description.

Prerequisites: Teacher recommendation; “B” or better in previous social studies course

Notes: Students are required to take the AP exam associated with this course. Students not taking the exam will not earn the additional quality point. (22399)

Full Year (32212)

Level: High School

Content Area: Social Studies Elective Courses

Credits: 1.0

Grade(s): 10, 11, 12

Quality Points: 1.0

Designation: AP

This course is part of the Advanced Placement Program of the College Board which makes demands on students equivalent to those of an introductory level college course. AP Human Geography introduces students to the systematic study of patterns and processes that have shaped human understanding, use, and alteration of the Earth’s surface. Students learn to employ spatial concepts and landscape analysis to examine human socioeconomic organization and its environmental consequences. On successful completion of the course, students should have developed skills that enable them to interpret maps and analyze geospatial data, understand, and explain the implications of associations and networks among phenomena in places, recognize and interpret the relationships among patterns and processes at different scales of analysis, define regions and evaluate regionalization process, and characterize and analyze changing interconnections among places. Geographic concepts emphasized through the course are location, space, place, scale, pattern, regionalization, and globalization. Topics covered will include nature and perspectives of geography; population and migration; cultural patterns and processes; political organization of space, agriculture, food production and land use; industrialization and economic development; cities and urban land use. The Advanced Placement syllabus gives a complete course description.

Prerequisites: Recommendation of current social studies teacher

Notes: Students are required to take the AP exam associated with this course. Students not taking the exam will not earn the additional quality point. (22209)

Semester (22218)

Level: High School

Content Area: Social Studies Elective Courses

Credits: 0.5

Grade(s): 10, 11, 12

This course introduces students to the function of law in our society. It will include an overview of the American legal process, sources of laws, and the organization of both federal and state courts. Students will examine the litigation process, with comparisons between civil and criminal litigation. This course will include looking at and discussing constitutional protections, judicial policymaking, tort, contractual and constitutional law and criminal justice. Students will examine trial procedures and participate in class mock trials, simulations, and legal case studies.

Prerequisites: None

Full Year (22373)

Level: High School

Content Area: Social Studies Elective Courses

Credits: 1.0

Grade(s): 10, 11, 12

This course will cover the histories of ancient civilizations through the 21st century in Latin America. Students will learn about Latin American cultures, their political and economic structures, and their impact on the globalized world through a variety of lenses. Though analysis of historical and current issues, students will gain a deeper understanding of Latin America and explore the ways in which the region’s history influences interactions and patterns across the globe.

Prerequisites: None

Full Year (22700)

Level: High School

Content Area: Social Studies Elective Courses

Credits: 1.0

Grade(s): 10, 11, 12

This course is designed to train students to facilitate workshops for their peers that address diversity issues and promote tolerance and mutual respect. Students will develop awareness and understanding of (1) prejudice, discrimination, stereotyping, and (2) the means by which they can become more directly involved in the school and community.

Prerequisites: None

Full Year (22900)

Level: High School

Content Area: Social Studies Elective Courses

Credits: 1.0

Grade(s): 10, 11, 12

This course introduces the student to the general field of psychology. Study includes the physiological basis of behavior, child growth and development, learning, personality, social psychology, abnormal psychology, and the adolescence and general psychological development of the human organism.

Prerequisites: None

Full Year (32902)

Level: High School

Content Area: Social Studies Elective Courses

Credits: 1.0

Grade(s): 11, 12

Quality Points: 1.0

Designation: AP

The science of behavior is psychology. The purpose of the Advanced Placement Psychology course is to introduce students to the systematic and scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of human beings and other animals. Major topics in the AP course include the following: I. methods, approaches, and history. II. biological bases of behavior. III. sensation and perception. IV. states of consciousness. V. learning. VI. cognition. VII. motivation and emotion. VIII. developmental psychology. IX. personality. X. testing and individual differences. XI. psychological disorders. XII. treatment of psychological disorders. XIII. social psychology.

Prerequisites: Recommendation of current social studies teacher

Notes: Students are required to take the AP exam associated with this course. Students not taking the exam will not earn the additional quality point. (22902)

Full Year (22500)

Level: High School

Content Area: Social Studies Elective Courses

Credits: 1.0

Grade(s): 10, 11, 12

Sociology is the scientific study of groups of people and their impact on our individual lives. Emphasis is placed on an understanding of the “social facts” in each person’s life. From parents to schoolteachers to our peers, groups of people impact who we are, what we value and who we will become. In-depth attention is also given to societal problems such as racism, and poverty and crime. The essential goal of Sociology is to help the student better understand society’s impact on the individual and one’s role within that society.

Prerequisites: None

Semester (22388)

Level: High School

Content Area: Social Studies Elective Courses

Credits: 0.5

Grade(s): 10, 11, 12

This course starts by reviewing the role of the United States in world affairs through the history of American foreign policy. We will examine the role of the United States and the United Nations in various conflicts and discuss how foreign policy decisions and resolutions are made. Other topics covered include diplomacy, international relations, institutions and organizations, human rights, terrorism, genocide, global and regional conflicts and issues, and recent and current events.

Prerequisites: None