Social Studies

Social Studies at CSS is a seven-year course sequence that prepares students for civic participation in our globalized, democratic society. Through the development of critical literacy skills, our courses provide students with opportunities to explore issues of human identity by drawing connections between ourselves and our pasts. We examine anthropological, sociological, economic, political, and geographical concepts through the analysis of both modern and historical perspectives. We serve to open dialogue among our students about whose stories are being told throughout history and what implications this has for communities whose experiences have been excluded or underrepresented in traditional narratives. It is through these dialogues that we facilitate the emergence of, and appreciation for, diverse perspectives. By the end of our course sequence, our students will leave CSS with the ability to interpret the ideas, intended audiences, and biases of complex texts as well as the ability to express ideas through fluent writing and verbal expression. This, in turn, provides them the skills and perspectives needed to serve as agents of social action in our pluralistic society.

Social Studies Course Sequence

Social Studies Department

Course Name	Grade Level	Course Description	Prerequisites and Credit Granted
The Eastern Hemisphere	6	The grade 6 social studies program emphasizes the interdependence of all people, keying on the Eastern Hemisphere. Many of the lessons and activities for this grade level draw on specific examples of nations and regions in the Eastern Hemisphere chosen by the district. It is highly recommended that lessons also compare and contrast this specific information with similar data from the United States, Canada, and Latin America. The grade 6 program focuses on a social science perspective emphasizing the interaction of geography and economics. The core disciplines of geography and economics are used to develop and draw relationships and understandings about social/cultural, political, and historic aspects of life in the Eastern Hemisphere. Historical insights are used as a means of developing a total perspective rather than an organizing framework. The focus should be on major turning points that sequence into the 7th-grade social history of the United States. The content covers cultures other than the student’s own, and from a variety of geographic, socioeconomic, ethnic, and racial groups.	No Prerequisite
US History	7-8	Social studies content in grades 7 and 8 focuses on a chronologically organized study of United States and New York State history. Course content is divided into 11 units, tracing the human experience in the United States from pre-Columbian times to the present, and tying political, geographic, economic, and social trends in United States history to parallel trends and time frames in New York State history. The 11 units of study are covered within a two-year time frame. Knowledge of the needs of students and availability of instructional material and resources will assist in determining which units to study in which grades. The grades 7-8 course builds on and seeks to reinforce skills, concepts, and content understandings introduced in the K-6 program. It is, therefore, a vital link in the overall goals of the K-12 social studies program, and provides a solid content base in American history, allowing the grade 11 course to do greater justice to the study of the United States as a developing and fully developed industrial nation. By including hemispheric links to Canada and Mexico when appropriate, teachers will provide students a model for the global connections they will discover in the grades 9 and 10 social studies program.	Prerequisite: 6th Grade SS
Global I	9	Over the course of the next two years we will be exploring human history from the first human civilization (4000 B.C.E.) through to Globalization (present day). That is over 6,000 years of human history! *“…To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child…”* ― Marcus Tullius Cicero *“…The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see…”* ― Winston Churchill We will explore human existence through our primary text (course textbook), class discussions/debates, activities/projects (group and individual projects), and by analyzing and dissecting primary source documents from the different eras/events we explore (i.e. diary entries, etc.). During your first year of global history we will explore many different events and turning points in human history such as the Neolithic Revolution, the Birth/Development of Civilizations, the Classical Civilizations, the Middle Ages, the Crusades, the Renaissance, the Age of Discovery/the Encounter, the Age of Absolutism and the world’s Response to Absolutism (this is by no means an exhaustive list of everything we will explore together during your 9th grade year).	Prerequisite: 8th Grade SS 2 HS credits
Global II	10	The goal is to prepare you for your role as global citizens. This course is a continuation of the 9th grade global history course. Our studies in tenth grade will specifically focus on the major developments, events, and ideas in world history from the age of revolutions of the late 1700's through the present day. Student work will fulfill requirements of the five New York State Social Studies standards in the areas of (1) U.S. History (2) World History (3) Economics (4) Geography, and (5) Civics, Citizenship, and Government. This type of reflection is critical for becoming a person and adult who is best equipped to comprehend, be of service, find a life passion, and find solutions to the challenges facing our globalized world—a Global Citizen. Another hallmark of this course is the completion of a 10-15 page research paper with a supplemental visual on a topic related to the modern and contemporary periods of history. Students hone reading, research, organizational, writing, editing, revision, and presentation skills as they interpret and draw conclusions about history. This project is modeled on the National History Day program and replaces the global history regents as a culminating summative assessment for the course. Students who fulfill the requirements and wishing to enter the local NYC contest also have this opportunity.	2 HS credits
US History*	11 or 12	The U.S. History course focuses on the development of historical thinking skills (chronological reasoning, comparing and contextualizing, crafting historical arguments using historical evidence, and interpreting and synthesizing historical narrative) and an understanding of content learning objectives organized around seven themes, such as identity, peopling, and America in the world. In line with college and university U.S. history survey courses’ increased focus on early and recent American history, the AP U.S. History course expands on the history of the Americas from 1491 to 1607 and from 1980 to the present. The course provides opportunities for students to develop coherent written arguments that have a thesis supported by relevant historical evidence-historical argumentation. The course also provides opportunities for students to identify and evaluate diverse historical interpretations. Students have an opportunity to appropriately use historical evidence about the past from diverse sources (charts, graphs, tables). In addition, the course provides opportunity for students to examine relationships between causes and consequences, identify and analyze patterns of continuity and change over time, investigate and construct different models of historical periodization and work in order to create a persuasive understanding of the past.	2 HS credits Prerequisite: Global History I - IV
Participation in Government & Economics	11 or 12	You will be learning about the political system of the United States and your role and responsibilities as a citizen. Student work will fulfill requirements of the five New York State Social Studies standards in the areas of (1) U.S. History, (2) World History, (3) Economics, (4) Geography, and (5) Civics, Citizenship, and Government. This course is designed to provide students with the information needed to be effective, participatory citizens at the local, state, national, and international levels. The course will help students learn essential roles, rights, and responsibilities inherent in being a citizen or resident of the United States, and compare this to systems around the world. It is hoped that students gain a greater appreciation for their own individual power and potential to be agents of change and keepers of democracy. A key component of the government course is the Civic Action Project. Students will select, design, write, and present a unique project of their own interest that incorporates real world civic activities. For Economics we examine the principles of the United States free market economy in a global context. Students will examine their individual responsibility for managing their personal finances. Students will analyze the role of supply and demand in determining the prices individuals and businesses face in the product and factor markets, and the global nature of these markets. Students will study changes to the workforce in the United States,and the role of entrepreneurs in our economy, as well as the effects of globalization. Students will explore the challenges facing the United States free market economy in a global environment and various policy-making opportunities available to government to address these challenges. Project based learning and relevant activities related to their own personal finance in this course helps students further refine their understanding of important concepts.	2 HS credits