History

We live within a complex world facing challenges that frequently have their roots in the past. In history classes, students explore, analyze, and evaluate these roots by looking at earlier political, religious, economic and social institutions. Students thereby acquire knowledge and develop skills that they can use to create meaning about their own lives and about the times in which they live. The department’s curriculum provides a framework and body of knowledge with which to organize an understanding of these aspects of human endeavor.

Instruction in the seventh and eighth grades addresses geography, global issues and American social and political institutions. Study in grades nine, 19, and 11 addresses the history of world civilizations, including a course in the history of the United States. In 12th grade, elective, specialized courses in history and the social sciences allow students to broaden, or to intensify, their program of study. The curriculum, grounded in factual information, develops critical thinking through reasoned classroom dialogue and logical, analytical writing. Teachers also strive in their classes to nurture each student’s personal growth, to promote the group’s mutual goals and responsibilities, and to engender a joy for learning.

Writing is an essential part of the history curriculum. Through an intentional writing sequence, students learn how to research, outline, compose a thesis and edit their work — all essential skills in their intellectual development.

8th Grade
Middle school students begin with paragraph construction and build towards essays before graduating to a term paper in the 8th grade. During the 8th grade term paper project, teachers introduce no new material and students study a contemporary issue of their choosing. They must present multiple sides of a policy proposal and craft a thesis that defends a specific policy that the government should pursue.

8th Grade Guide

9th Grade
Students select a historical topic to study. Once again, teachers introduce no new material for the duration of the project, allowing students to research their subject and craft a thesis that answers a historical question. Students must use a primary source in their writing.

9th Grade Guide

10th Grade
The 10th grade project is similar to the 9th grade one, but teachers introduce material concurrently with the term paper. While students have some days off from regular homework to work on their term papers, they must learn to balance their classwork with their term paper writing and research.

10th Grade Guide

11th Grade
In the 11th grade, students write a paper that compares arguments offered by historians. Teachers give students primary source documents to examine in order to determine which historian's argument is more persuasive than the other.

11th Grade Guide