SOCIAL STUDIES

 

      The courses in the Social Studies Department are carefully designed to meet the needs of our students as they prepare for further education or a career of choice. The New Jersey State Department of Education requires three years of Social Studies instruction.  In order to meet these requirements, Roxbury High School offers World History in the ninth grade, and United States History I and II in the sophomore and junior years.  Students must take the required Social Studies courses each year for graduation.  Students are placed in Social Studies courses based upon achievement, teacher recommendations, writing ability, counselor recommendations, and student interest.

 

WORLD HISTORY I HONORS                    Grade 9                                                  5 Credits

PREREQUISITE:  Must achieve a grade of at least a 90 in A Social Studies.

        This course is available to students who are highly motivated and who have demonstrated facility with reading and writing skills, and indicated evidence of the ability to read and interpret maps, charts, graphs and political cartoons. This course examines world events from 1500 to present day.  The World History program evaluates the development of political institutions, economic trends, cultural change, and armed conflict, as well as their impact on contemporary interdependence.  The goal of World History is to link historical events to relevant trends in today’s world, and develops student’s analytical and writing skills to enable students to function as contributing citizens in an ever-increasing global society. These skills will be reinforced through numerous challenging reading, writing and oral assignments with emphasis placed on critical analysis and the ability to work independently. Students are recommended for this course by the middle school staff.

 

WORLD HISTORY I A                                         Grade 9                                                          5 Credits

        This course is for students who will use their knowledge of above average social studies skills as the foundation for more challenging reading, writing, graphic and oral assignments. This course examines world events from 1500 to present day.  The World History program evaluates the development of political institutions, economic trends, cultural change, and armed conflict, as well as their impact on contemporary interdependence.  Emphasis will be placed on integrating and applying these skills.

 

WORLD HISTORY I B                                         Grade 9                                                          5 Credits

        This course will give students a foundation in reading and interpreting maps, charts, graphs, and political cartoons.  This course examines world events from 1500 to present day.  The World History program evaluates the development of political institutions, economic trends, cultural change, and armed conflict, as well as their impact on contemporary interdependence.  Emphasis will be placed on developing and reinforcing social studies skills, writing, and critical thinking.

 

UNITED STATES HISTORY I HONORS         Grade 10                                                    5 Credits

PREREQUISITE:  Must achieve a grade of at least an 85 in World History I Honors or a 93 in World History I A.

        This course is designed for the highly motivated student and is required for those wishing to progress to Advanced Placement U.S. History II.  Content includes the European discovery of the New World through Reconstruction.  Students are expected to evaluate a variety of challenging readings.  Classroom activities focus on learning and applying the historical method through a series of interpretive problems. Students will be expected to actively participate in a variety of debates, discussions, presentations, and research projects.  Students selecting this course must possess the motivation and self-discipline to engage in serious study, must receive the recommendation of the previous Social Studies teacher and obtain the approval of the department supervisor and counselor.

 

UNITED STATES HISTORY I A                         Grade 10                                                    5 Credits

        This course is designed to provide motivated students with a solid foundation of our nation’s early history from the colonial era through Reconstruction. Students will be exposed to primary source materials, mass media resources, historical research, interpretation and evaluation of maps, charts, graphs, political cartoons, and class discussion.  Students will continue the development of social studies skills to more challenging reading and writing assignments with emphasis on critical analysis and compare and contrast activities. 

 

UNITED STATES HISTORY I B                     Grade 10                                                          5 Credits

        This course will give students a foundation in the chronology of American history from the colonial period through Reconstruction.  A factual basis is given students so as to help them interpret issues and themes of the character of colonial society, American expansionism, the Constitution, nationalism, sectionalism, abolition and the impact of wars and their aftermath on our nation’s growth and development.  Students enrolled in this program will be afforded the opportunity to develop their reading and writing skills as well as map reading skills, graph and political cartoon interpretation.  Critical and analytical thinking skills, the ability to work independently and to work with primary source materials will be developed.

 

ADVANCED PLACEMENT UNITED STATES HISTORY II       Grade 11                        5 Credits

PREREQUISITE:  Must achieve an 85 in US History I Honors.

        This United States history class is open to those students who wish to pursue college-level studies while still in high school.  The course is designed to provide students with both a chronological study of United States history and major interpretive questions that derive from the study of selected themes.  Students will examine a series of problems through specialized writing by historians and through supplementary readings, including documentary material. The course content will cover from Reconstruction through the Modern Era.  Students who take this course will be prepared for, and are expected to take, the Advanced Placement U.S. History Examination. Students must receive the recommendation of the previous Social Studies teacher, and the approval of department supervisor, and the counselor.

 

UNITED STATES HISTORY II A                         Grade 11                                                     5 Credits

PREREQUISITE:  United States History I

        This course is designed to provide motivated students with a solid foundation of our nation’s later history from the Reconstruction through the Modern Era.  Students will gain invaluable insight into the decisions and implications affecting our social, economic and political growth as a nation in the 20th century.

        Students will be exposed to primary source material, mass media resources, historical research, interpretation and evaluation of maps, charts, graphs, and political cartoons, and class discussions. Students will continue the development of Social Studies skills to more challenging reading and writing assignments with emphasis on critical analysis and compare and contrast activities. 

 

UNITED STATES HISTORY II B                        Grade 11                                                       5 Credits

PREREQUISITE:  United States History I

        This course is designed to give students a foundation in the decisions and implications affecting our social, economic, political, and psychological growth as a nation in the 20th century.  Emphasis will be placed on developing writing, critical thinking, and Social Studies skills.

 

ANTHROPOLOGY                                                Grades 10, 11, 12                                    2 ½ Credits

This semester elective course deals with the science of man and the development of cultures over time. Included in this course are units on physical anthropology, archaeology, language, and socio-cultural comparative analysis. This course examines the human experience from prehistoric times to the present, from simple cultures to those that are more complex. Cultural patterns, structures, and functions are evaluated. Numerous basic concepts are discovered after an objective examination of evidence. Cultural case studies are used to supplement learned anthropological data and to bring about a better understanding of the behavior of man and society, and the rewards of adaptation. 

 

ADVANCED PLACEMENT PSYCHOLOGY         Grades 11, 12                                           5 Credits               

PREREQUISITE: Must achieve a grade of at least an 85 in Honors English or a 93 in an A level English during the previous year.  In addition, students must receive the recommendation of the previous social studies teacher.

           The AP Psychology course is designed to be the equivalent of a one-semester introductory college course in psychology (Psych 101).  The goal of this course is to provide students with the principles, concepts, and methodologies needed to understand and analyze human behavior.  Areas of study include psychophysics, learning and memory, motivation and perception, normal vs. abnormal behavior, and the developmental areas of childhood through aging.  Activities include laboratory, perceptual, and social experimentation, case studies, survey analysis, and preparation for the AP Exam. 

 

ADVANCED PLACEMENT EUROPEAN HISTORY   Grades 11, 12                     5 Credits

PREREQUISITE:  Must achieve a grade of at least an 85 in Honors English or a 93 in an A level English during the previous year.  In addition, students must receive the recommendation of the previous social studies teacher.

           The European History-Advanced Placement course is designed to provide selected students with the analytical skills and factual knowledge necessary to deal with problems and materials in European History.  Students will be expected to closely examine a series of problems or topics through readings and college-level textbooks.  After an intensive study of the Renaissance, Reformation, Rise of Absolutism, the Enlightenment and the French Revolution and Napoleon, students will closely examine the development of Modern European History.  Emphasis will be placed upon Liberalism and Conservatism, the Rise of Nationalism and International and Domestic changes throughout the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries.   Experiences will be provided that will develop students' abilities to assess historical materials-including relevance to a given interpretive problem, reliability, and importance.  They will also learn to evaluate evidence and interpretations of history.  This program shall prepare students for intermediate and advanced college courses through requirements equivalent to those found on the college level. 

 

POLITICAL / LEGAL STUDIES                    Grades 9, 10, 11, 12                                             5 Credits

        This course is designed to prepare students for full citizenship responsibilities by attempting to provide a realistic understanding of the processes of governing in present day United States.  Students are expected to participate in supervised activities designed to acquaint them with the political and legal processes of the community, state, and nation.  Activities include preparing and participating in court cases in the Morris County Bar Association’s annual competition and participating in appropriate elections held throughout the year.

 

HUMAN BEHAVIOR                                  Grades 11, 12                                           5 Credits

        Human Behavior is a full-year course designed to introduce the fields of psychology and sociology to high school juniors and seniors. The course acquaints students with the scientific method and tools of research used in the study of human behavior.  Emphasis is also put on self-awareness and the development of a positive self-concept in preparation for living in an adult society.

 

FUNDAMENTALS OF ECONOMICS                   Grades 9, 10, 11, 12                                2 ½ Credits

        This course compares and contrasts varied types of economic systems such as Capitalism, Communism, and Socialism.  It also focuses on the study of basic economic features: money and banking; supply and demand; competition; the price system; corporate structure; the business cycle and international trade and finance.

 

ETHICAL STUDIES                                Grades 11, 12                                           2 ½ Credits

        Ethical Studies will allow students the opportunity to study a variety of ethical beliefs and moral actions in relation to the modern world and contemporary problems.  Emphasis will be placed on the students’ self-examination of human values and the reinforcement of a positive self-concept.  An in-depth analysis of the Holocaust will allow students to examine issues of genocide, racism and prejudice.  A major focus of the course is prejudice reduction.  Students will be encouraged to develop ideas to encourage social justice in the United States and in the world.

 

CONTEMPORARY WORLD ISSUES        Grades 9, 10, 11, 12                                    2 ½ Credits

        Contemporary World Issues offers students the opportunity to discuss current world events as well as the historical and geographic background of world situations.  Current magazines, newspapers, and selected readings will provide the resources for the content of this course.

 

THE VIETNAM ERA                               Grades 11, 12                                           2 ½ Credits

           This semester course is designed to give students an understanding of a period in world history from 1945 to 1975, which has come to be known as the Vietnam era.  The major objectives of the course will be student evaluation of the issues of the period; an understanding of the war, its causes, execution, immediate results, and its long-term economic, political and military impact on the United States.  The American domestic political and social climate, focusing on the counter-culture, anti-war movement, and treatment of veterans, will also be examined.  At the culmination of the course an in-depth comparison will be made between the Vietnam Era and current U.S. involvement in the Middle East and Asia.