Dover-Eyota Jr/Sr High – Social Studies Course Descriptions

SOCIAL STUDIES COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

Course Offerings

7th Grade U.S. History

8th Grade Geography

9th Grade U.S. History

10th Grade World Geography/Contemporary U. S. History

11th Grade World Studies

12th Grade Principles of Economics & Government

Honors Psychology

Honors Sociology

7TH GRADE UNITED STATES HISTORY GRADE LEVEL: 7 LENGTH OF COURSE: Semester – Required

PREREQUISITE/S: None

DESCRIPTION: This course is a chronological study of America from1640 – 1920 AD. The major emphasis of our studies deal with the following topics: Pre-American History through 1607, Colonization of North America, the American Revolution, Growth and Westward Expansion, Civic Values, Rights, Skills and Responsibilities of being a Citizen of the United States, Beliefs and Principles of the United States as a Democracy, the Roots of our Constitution, and Governmental Process of the United States.

OUTCOMES: 1. The student will demonstrate knowledge of the rise of colonialism and its effect worldwide.

2. The student will understand that large and diverse American Indian nations were the original inhabitants of North America.
3. The student will demonstrate knowledge of the colonies and the factors that shaped colonial North America.
4. The student will demonstrate knowledge of how the principles of the American Revolution became the foundation of a new nation.
5. The student will articulate the range of rights and responsibilities in a republic.
6. The student will know the functions of the United States government and ways in which the power is delegated and controlled.

8TH GRADE GEOGRAPHY GRADE LEVEL: 8

LENGTH OF COURSE: Semester – Required

DESCRIPTION: Geography in the 8th grade covers the U.S. and the rest of the North American continent in detail, followed by Latin America and the islands of the Caribbean Sea. We then cover the Eurasia landmass. In covering these four continents, we concentrate on how geography has played a role in the development of various countries. We also look at the culture, natural resources and what the prospects are for the countries’ futures. Three weeks will be spent on an in-depth study of Australia and New Zealand. This unit is an independent study unit. Students will make charts, reports, and do oral reports.

OUTCOMES:

1. The student will be able to identify concepts of location.
2. The student will be able to utilize maps and globes.
3. The student will be able to identify physical features and processes.
4. The student will understand the interconnections between people, the environment and land use.

9TH GRADE UNITED STATES HISTORY GRADE LEVEL: 9

CREDIT: 1

LENGTH OF COURSE: Semester – Required

PREREQUISITE/S: None

DESCRIPTION: The course will begin with a review of the American Revolution and development of the new nation to the start of the Civil War. This course continues the chronological study of the Unites States, from 1860’s through the 1950’s. The course covers the following units of study: Prehistory and Beginnings of the United States (-1800), Creation of the United States (1763-1815), Growth and Change in the United States (1790-1860), Civil War and Reunification of the United States (1820-1900), United States Transformation (1860-1910), United States as a World Power (1897-1920), Prosperity and Crisis in United States (1919-1930), World Conflicts and the Role of the United States (1921-1960), and a Changing Homefront in the United States (1954-1960).

OUTCOMES:

1. The student will demonstrate knowledge of indigenous cultures in North America prior to and during western exploration.
2. The student will understand how European exploration and colonization resulted in cultural and ecological interactions among previously unconnected peoples.
3. The student will understand the economic development of the English colonies in North America and the exploitation of enslaved Africans.
4. The student will demonstrate knowledge of the causes, course, and consequences of the American Revolution.
5. The student will understand the foundation of the American government and nation.
6. The student will demonstrate knowledge of the early republic and how territorial expansion affected foreign relations.
7. The student will understand how explosive growth (economic, demographic, geographic) and technological innovation transformed American society.
8. The student will understand the sources, characteristics, and effects of antebellum reform movements.
9. The student will understand the extension, restriction, and reorganization of political democracy after 1800.
10. The student will demonstrate knowledge of the long- and short-term causes of the Civil War.
11. The student will understand the course, character, and outcome of the Civil War.
12. The student will demonstrate knowledge of the consequences of Civil War and Reconstruction.
13. The student will analyze the process of westward expansion in the late 19th century.
14. The student will describe and analyze the linked processes of industrialization and urbanization after 1870.
15. The student will demonstrate knowledge of the causes and consequences of immigration to the United States from 1870 to the First World War.
16. The student will understand the origins of racial segregation.
17. The student will describe how industrialization changed nature of work and the origins and role of labor unions in the 1870s, 1880s, and 1890s.
18. The student will understand the changing dynamics of national politics in the late 19th century.
19. The student will understand the causes and consequences of American expansionism and the Spanish-American War.
20. The student will analyze the wide range of reform efforts known as Progressivism between 1890 and the First World War.
21. The student will understand the causes and consequences of World War I.
22. The student will understand how the United States changed politically, culturally, and economically from the end of World War I to the eve of the Great Depression. The student will understand how the United States changed politically, culturally, and economically from the end of World War I to the eve of the Great Depression.
23. The student will understand the origins and impact of Great Depression and the New Deal, 1929-1940.
24. The student will understand the origins of World War II, the course of the war, and the impact of the war on American society.
25. The student will understand the social and economic changes in the United States, 1945-1960.
26. The student will understand the Cold War, its causes, consequences and its military conflicts.

10TH GRADE WORLD GEOGRAPHY GRADE LEVEL: 10

CREDIT: 1/2

LENGTH OF COURSE: Quarter – Required

DESCRIPTON: Before the 1980’s, many people thought of geography in much the same way: find this place on the map and give some reasons why it is there. Instead, today geographers have identified five guidelines for the study of geography:

Location: the name of a place, either absolute or relative;

Place: the physical and human characteristic of a place;

Interaction: how people and environments affect each other;

Movement: how people, goods, and ideas move from place to place;

Regions: the human and physical traits that distinguish one area from another.

OUTCOMES:

• The student will use maps, globes, geographic information systems, and other databases to answer geographic questions at a variety of scales from local to global.
• The student will understand the regional distribution of the human population at local to global scales and its patterns of change.
• The student will describe and provide examples of the primary factors behind the regional pattern of culture groups in the United States and the world.
• The student will explain how the regionalization of space into political units affects human behavior.
• The student will analyze the patterns of location, functions, structure, and characteristics of local to global settlement patterns and the processes that affect the location of cities.
• The student will use regions and the interaction among them to analyze the present patterns of economic activity in the United States and around the world at various scales.
• The student will describe how humans influence the environment and in turn are influences by it.

CONTEMPORARY UNITED STATES HISTORY GRADE LEVEL: 10

CREDIT: 1/2

LENGTH OF COURSE: Quarter – Required

PREREQUISITE/S: None

DESCRIPTION: This course will cover the history of the United States and the world as a whole, from the time, immediately after World War II (1945) until the present time.

OUTCOMES:

• The student will understand the social and economic changes in the United States, 1945-1960
• The student will understand the Cold War, its causes, consequences and its military conflicts.
• The student will understand the key domestic political issues and debates in the postwar era to 1972.
• The student will understand the changes in legal definitions of individual rights in the 1960s and 1970s and the social movements that prompted them.
• The student will understand the evolution of foreign and domestic policy in the last three decades of the 20th Century and the beginning of the 21st Century.
• The student will demonstrate knowledge of major events and outcomes of the Cold War.
• The student will demonstrate knowledge of significant political and cultural developments of the late 20th century that affect global relations.
• The student will identify challenges and opportunities as we enter the 21st century.

WORLD STUDIES GRADE: 11

CREDIT: 1

LENGTH OF COURSE: Semester – Required

DESCRIPTION: This course is a survey of the events, trends, people and ideas that have shaped world history dating back to the first cave drawings made by pre-historic man. Initial units will focus on ancient civilizations such as Egypt and Mesopotamia. Other units including Rome, The Explorers and The Renaissance, will end with a look at World War from a global perspective. The course will include analysis of current events in relation to world history and will satisfy the Minnesota State Standards for World History and Global Cultures.

PRINCIPLES OF ECONOMICS AND GOVERNMENT GRADE LEVEL: 12 CREDIT: 1

LENGTH OF COURSE: Semester

PREREQUISITE/S: US History 9, World Geography 10, Contemporary United States History, World Studies

DESCRIPTION: Course outlines the origins of self governing rule, the founding principles of democracy and the self governing of people. It also includes the study of constitutional principles and the democratic foundation of our national, state and local institutions. In addition this course will study the role of economics of how people coordinate their wants and desires, given scarce resources and the decision-making mechanisms, social customs and political realities of their societies.

Units of study will include:

Civic Values, Skill, Rights and Responsibilities

Beliefs and Principles of United States Democracy

Roots of the Republic

Governmental Institutions and Processes of the United States

The Market Economy (Micro Economics)

The National Economy (Macro Economics)

Essential Skills of Economics

International Economic Relationships

Economics and Public Policy

Outcomes:

1. The student will analyze various methods of civic engagement needed to fulfill responsibilities of a citizen of a republic.
2. The student will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the principles upon which the US government is based.
3. The student will know sources of power and authority of the United States government.
4. The student will know how constitutional amendments and Supreme Court interpretations of the Constitution have increased the impact of the Constitution on people’s lives.
5. The student will understand how public policy is made, enforced and interpreted by the legislative, executive and judicial branches.
6. The student will understand the role and influence of political processes and organizations.
7. The student will understand business organizations, market structures and financial institutions that operate within our economy.
8. The student will understand the basic characteristics of markets and the role of prices in modern market economies.
9. The student will understand the economic role of government in a free market economy.
10. The student will understand the economic activities of government.
11. The student will understand the concepts that measure the national economy.
12. The student will analyze the causes and consequences of overall economic fluctuations.
13. The student will understand the influence of federal government budgetary policy and the Federal Reserve System’s monetary policy.
14. The student will understand the key factors involved in the United States’ economic relationships with other nations.

HONORS PSYCHOLOGY GRADE LEVEL: 11, 12 CREDIT: 1/2

LENGTH OF COURSE: Quarter – Elective

PREREQUISITE/S: “B” or better in previous social studies course. Students will be introduced to college level course material, college level lecture material, and college level exams. Therefore it is suggested that students wait to take course until Senior year of high school to receive maximum benefit of this course. CLEP test may also be available.

TEXT: College Text: Charles G. Morris and Albert A. Maisto. Psychology, An Introduction. Eleventh Edition. Prentice Hall, 2002. (The most used text for Psychology Advance Placement courses in the United States.)

DESCRIPTION: Junior and senior students will be offered a quarter course that will cover the following concepts related to the field of psychology. The Science of Psychology – students will understand the history of the field of psychology to its present day theories and the applications of psychology. The Biological Basis of Behavior – students will understand how genetics effect behavior. Sensation and Perception – students will compare and contrast how sensation and perception are related to human behavior. States of Consciousness – students will understand different types of states of consciousness, natural and substance induced states of consciousness and its effect on behavior. Learning – students will compare contrast classical conditioning and operant conditioning, how reinforcements effect human behavior and insights into learning techniques that will enable them in life. Memory – students will understand how human memory is stored and retrieved and how interference can decay memory and students will be exposed to memory techniques to enable them in life. Cognitive and Language – students will describe problem solving and decision making steps and how language plays a role in psychology. Motivation and Emotion – students will define how motivation and emotion play a role in human behavior and identify primary drives and their psychological bases. Psychological Disorders – students will understand the standards for defining psychological disorders, how society views them, historical attitudes towards psychological disorders and understand the four current models of psychological disorders. Therapies – students will differentiate between insight therapies, behavior therapies, cognitive therapies, and group therapies and understand criticisms of therapies.

OUTCOMES: 1. Students will understand the history of psychology.

2. Students will learn different methods used by psychologists to study people.
3. Student will understand the various types of development humans go through (prenatal, physical,

motor, emotional, social, and moral).

4. Student will understand both sides of the nature vs. nurture argument.
5. Personality theory will be understood, to include: humanism, psychoanalytic theory, and behaviorism.
6. Student will understand the various uses of intelligence tests, and learn the different factors of

intelligence.

7. Students will understand the concepts behind learning, remembering and forgetting.

HONORS SOCIOLOGY GRADE LEVEL: 11, 12 CREDIT: 1/2

LENGTH OF COURSE: Quarter – Elective

PREREQUISITE/S: “B” or better in previous social studies course. Students will be introduced to college level course material, college level lecture material, and college level exams. Therefore it is suggested that students wait to take course until Senior year of high school to receive maximum benefit of this course. CLEP test may also be available.

TEXT: College Text – James M. Henslin, Sociology, A Down-To-Earth Approach. Sixth Edition. Allyn and Bacon. 2003

DESCRIPTION: Junior and senior students will be offered a quarter course that will cover the following concepts related to the field of sociology. The Sociological Perspective – students will understand the sociological perspective, sociology and the other social sciences, origins of sociology, the role of values in social research, and trends shaping the future of sociology. Culture – students will understand what is culture, the many cultural worlds, subcultures and countercultures. values in US society, cultural universals and technology in the world. Socialization – students will be able to explain the statement “It is society that makes people human; identify what is human nature, socialization into the self, mind and emotions, socialization into gender, agents of socialization, resocialization, and socialization through the life course. Social Structure and Social Interaction – students will compare and contrast levels of sociological analysis, social institutions, and the need for both macrosociology and microsociology. Social Class in the United States – students will understand what is social class, sociological models of social class, social mobility and poverty. How Sociologists Do Research – students will understand what is a valid sociological topic, the research model, research methods, ethics related to research, and complete an actual sociological research project incorporating the 8 steps of a research model. Global Stratification – students will identify the systems of social stratification, global stratification, and how world nations become stratified. Race and Ethnicity – students will understand theories of prejudice, race and ethnic relations in the United States and looking toward the future related to race and ethnicity. Religion – students will understand what is religion, the symbolic interactionist perspective, the conflict perspective, religion and the spirit of capitalism, the world’s major religions and religions in the United States. Deviance and Social Control – students will identify what is deviance, the perspectives of symbolic interactionist perspective, functionalist perspective, and conflict perspective, class, crime and the criminal justice system and reactions to deviance.

OUTCOMES: 1. Student will learn the steps used in the sociological approach, and apply them to a research project.

2. Student will understand the make-up of culture.
3. Student will learn about values, norms, and deviance within culture.
4. Student will understand the make-up of groups, and stratification within a society.
5. Student will understand the problems that are unique to communities of different sizes.
6. Student will understand the underlying concepts of discrimination.