Westbrook High School

Social Studies Department Placement Guidelines

1. Teacher recommendation is the method of placement for Social Studies classes. 
2. Placement in the Honors Social Studies Program is by departmental recommendation only. In order to maintain Honors Placement, students must earn an 80 or better in both semesters of the previous Honors Social Studies Course. In order to move to Honors, students must earn a 90 or better in both semesters in the previous College Prep Course.

Sequences

Honors Sequence

 9th Grade:  Honors World History I 
10th Grade:  Honors World History II or A.P. European History
11th Grade: Honors US History* or A.P. United States History or A.P. Psychology  
12th Grade: A.P. World History or A.P. Psychology

*Civics must be taken one semester (9, 10, 11, or 12) in order to graduate

College Prep Sequence

9th Grade: World History I (CP)
10th Grade: World History II (CP)
11th Grade: United States History* (CP)
12th Grade Electives 

*Civics must be taken one semester (9, 10, 11, or 12) in order to graduate

600371 - World History I (CP)         Grade 9  

World History emphasizes the understanding of cultures from both a historical and contemporary perspective. Cultures can be grouped socially, ethnically or racially, religiously or geographically. This course points out these differences within the context of the modern nation-state. While people have basic physical and psychological needs, world history explores how laws, customs, social codes, and institutions influence behavior. Specific cultures studied may vary due to the interest of the teacher and students in a given semester. Units normally include China, India, Japan, Africa, and the Middle East.  If time permits, shorter units on other countries and cultures may be included.

Prerequisite: None
Credit: 1
Grade: 9
Length: 1 year
Weight: 1.0

600381–  World History I (H)    Grade 9

World History emphasizes the understanding of cultures from both a historical and contemporary perspective. Cultures can be grouped socially, ethnically or racially, religiously or geographically. This course points out these differences within the context of the modern nation-state. While people have basic physical and psychological needs, world history explores how laws, customs, social codes, and institutions influence behavior. Specific cultures studied may vary due to the interest of the teacher and students in a given semester. Units normally include China, India, Japan, Africa, and the Middle East.  If time permits, shorter units on other countries and cultures may be included. This course will require extensive reading and writing

Prerequisite: Teacher recommendation (90 or better in 8th-grade history)
Credit: 1
Grade: 9
Length: 1 year
Weight: 1.05

600372 - World History II (CP)   Grade 10

World History emphasizes the understanding of cultures from both a historical and contemporary perspective. Cultures can be grouped socially, ethnically or racially, religiously or geographically. This course points out these differences within the context of the modern nation-state. While people have basic physical and psychological needs, world history explores how laws, customs, social codes, and institutions influence behavior. Specific cultures studied may vary due to the interest of the teacher and students in a given semester. Units normally include the foundations of modern Western society.

Prerequisite: None
Credit: 1
Grade: 10
Length: 1 year
Weight: 1.0

600382 - World History II (H)  Grade 10

This historical survey studies the modern period in European history from the French Revolution through modern times. The course will follow a political, cultural, economic, and social thread to understand the nature of modern-day Europe. This course will require extensive reading and writing.

Prerequisite: Teacher recommendation (80 or better in 9th-grade honors class per semester)
Credit: 1
Grade: 10
Length: 1 year
Weight: 1.05

600324 - Civics

This course includes a study of the American government including the development of the American democracy, the Constitution, and the Rights and Responsibilities of citizenship. Comparisons will be made with other forms of government both historically and those in existence today. The role of the United States in the world today will be examined. The structure of state and local government will be studied. This course is required for graduation.

Prerequisite: None
Credit: 0.5
Grade: 9,10, 11, 12
Length: 1 semester
Weight: 1.0

600357 - United States History (CP)   Grade 11

US History is a full-year course and graduation requirement. The course focuses on the Social, Economic, and Political developments throughout US History, beginning with European Exploration and Contact to the present day. Students are expected to think critically, read complex texts, conduct research, and communicate in a variety of ways. There is an emphasis on primary source analysis. Students will draw upon knowledge gained from previous history courses. Students will be expected to make connections across historical topics and periods, including the present day. Class discussion will center on reading assignments. Students will be given the opportunity to study topics of interest in greater detail.

Prerequisite: None
Credit: 1
Grade: 11
Length: 1 year
Weight: 1.0

600332 – United States History  (H)  Grade 11

Honors US History follows the same content and structure of College Prep US History. The honors level course requires students to read more complex texts, and there is a greater emphasis on historical writing.

Prerequisite: Teacher recommendation (80 or better in 10th-grade honors class per semester)
Credit: 1
Grade: 11
Length: 1 year
Weight: 1.05

600337 AP United States History     

The Advanced Placement U.S. History course focuses on developing students’ understanding of American history from approximately 1491 to the present. The course has students investigate the content of U.S. history for significant events, individuals, developments, and processes in nine historical periods, and develop and use the same thinking skills and methods (analyzing primary and secondary sources, making historical comparisons, chronological reasoning, and argumentation) employed by historians when they study the past. The course also provides seven themes (American and national identity; migration and settlement; politics and power; work, exchange, and technology; America in the world; geography and the environment; and culture and society) that students explore throughout the course in order to make connections among historical developments in different times and places. There will be required reading to complete over the summer prior to the start of the course

Prerequisite: AP Teacher Approval
Credit: 1
Grade: 11
Length: 1 year
Weight: 1.1

600354 - AP European History  

The Advanced Placement Modern European History course deals with the facts, ideas, events, and personalities, which have shaped Europe’s history from approximately 1450 to the present. The journey through Europe’s rich and diverse history takes the student from the tragedy of the Bubonic plague at the end of the Medieval Period to the establishment of contemporary Europe. Units of study will include the Renaissance and Reformation, the Age of Absolutism, the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment, the French Revolution and Napoleonic Europe, the rise of popular political ideologies (the “isms”) and the Revolutions of 1848 leading to the emergence of nation-states, the Age of Industrial and International expansion preceding World War I, the World Wars, the Cold War, and current issues. Within the frameworks of a chronological analysis, attention will also be given to unifying themes in intellectual and cultural history, political and diplomatic history, as well as social and economic history. There is an option to take the AP test at the end of the course.

Prerequisite: AP Teacher Approval. (90 or above in World History Honors)
Credit: 1
Grade: 10
Length: 1 year
Weight: 1.1

600338 - AP World History: Modern

AP World History: Modern is an introductory college-level modern world history course. Students cultivate their understanding of world history from c. 1200 CE to the present through analyzing historical sources and learning to make connections and craft historical arguments as they explore concepts like humans and the environment, cultural developments and interactions, governance, economic systems, social interactions and organization, and technology and innovation.

Prerequisite: AP Teacher approval
Credit: 1.0
Grades: 11,12
Length: 1 year
Weight: 1.1

600343 - The Law

The student will examine the structure, history, and leading principles of the American Legal System. An overview of criminal and civil law will prepare the student on court proceedings, lawyer etiquette, argumentative writing, advocacy techniques, plea agreements, and jury selection. Each unit will culminate with two in-class mock trials focusing on criminal and civil law. This course will also explore American Law Schools, while subsequently highlighting the path toward becoming a lawyer in the United States. A field trip to the Legislative Office Building and the Supreme Court of Connecticut in Hartford will be included.

Prerequisite: None
Credit: 0.5
Grades: 9, 10, 11, 12 
Length: 1 semester
Weight: 1.0

600345 - Introduction to Psychology

The student will be afforded the opportunity to survey the major principles that surround human behavior. An overview of the history of psychology, psychological frameworks, lifespan development, social interaction, learning, and motivation will be examined. The student will develop an analytical skill set to identify the basic biological, mental, and social aspects of personality. This course prepares the student to explore psychology at the A.P. level.

Prerequisite: None
Credit: 0.5
Grades: 9, 10, 11, 12
Length: 1 semester
Weight: 1.0

600356  AP Psychology

In the Advanced Placement Psychology course, the student will examine the relationship between psychological processes and human behavior. Biological and cognitive research will provide the student with an investigative approach to determining, evaluating, and treating psychological disorders and abnormal behavior. Personality theories, emotion, psychological testing, and individual differences will be assessed. After completing Introduction to Psychology and A.P. Psychology, the student is encouraged to sit for the A.P. Psychology Exam in May.

Prerequisite: 80 or above in Introduction to Psychology (600345), or under specific circumstances, instructor approval for seniors
Credit: 1
Grades: 11, 12
Length: 1 year
Weight: 1.1

600348 - Introduction to Sociology

Sociology is the scientific study of the patterns of human group life, how and why groups form and relate to each other, how they change, and the ways in which they affect their members. This course aims to study the development of man as a social person. Topics will include the organization of social life, social institutions, demographic trends, and selected social problems that confront the modern world. The student will be afforded the opportunity to learn about the group process by working in and assessing the quality of his participation in a variety of small group situations.

Prerequisite: None
Credit: 0.5
Grades: 9, 10, 11, 12
Length: 1 semester
Weight: 1.0

600349 - Economics 

Economics is the study of wealth and how people manage their resources to satisfy their needs. The course is designed to involve students in the practical everyday world of making intelligent decisions in money management. It stresses the necessity for planned spending and saving to achieve and maintain personal economic stability and security. Through study and discussion, each student will have a better understanding of the economic forces that will shape his or her life today and in the future.

Prerequisite: None
Credit: 0.5
Grades: 10, 11, 12
Length: 1 semester
Weight: 1.0

 600358 - American History through Film

American History through Film is a course that examines Hollywood feature films and historical dramas as historical evidence. Students will view movies on various topics, and they will participate in Socratic seminar discussions, while writing essays comparing film evidence to information in more traditional sources, such as articles, film reviews, and critical commentaries. Topics studied will range from the American Revolution to the War on Terror/Modern Day.

Prerequisite: None
Credit: .5
Grade: 10, 11, 12
Length: 1 semester
Weight: 1.0

600391 - Women’s Studies (Co-taught English/Social Studies)

This is an introductory, comparative, and interdisciplinary course offered by the English and Social Studies departments in which students will study the diverse status of women both past and present.  The course will examine literature, social institutions, intellectual history, and the contributions of women to science, art, and other disciplines. There will be a close examination of the ways in which race, ethnicity, class, and gender, as well as society, economy, culture, and politics shape the complex experiences of women. The course will also explore the history of women’s activism and participation in social and political movements.

Prerequisite: None
Credit: .5
Grade: 10, 11, 12
Length: 1 semester
Weight: 1.0