SOCIAL STUDIES

The Social Studies curriculum includes instruction and assessment in the state-mandated content standards of civics and government, economics, geography, and history.

1. Freshmen are required to take one year of World History.  Placement in Honors World History is based on student performance data during the 8th grade.

2. Sophomores are required to take one semester of 20th Century World History.  Placement in Honors 20th Century World History is based on student performance data from the previous year.   Sophomores are also required to take either one semester of U.S. Civics and Government or the year-long AP U.S. Government and Politics.  Placement in AP U.S. Government and Politics is based on student performance data from the previous year.

3. Juniors are required to take one year of American History or AP U.S. History.  Placement in AP U.S. History is based on student performance data from the previous year.

4. Juniors and seniors may earn additional Social Studies credits by choosing from the various electives that are offered.

This year-long course surveys the political, economic, and social history of Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa to 1918. Skills emphasized include research, writing, and public speaking.

This year-long course surveys the political, economic, and social history of Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa to 1918. Skills emphasized include note taking, research, essay writing, and public speaking. In addition, this course requires extensive analysis and interpretation of primary and secondary sources.

This semester course explores the political, economic, and social history of Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa during the 20th century as well as contemporary global issues. Skills emphasized include note taking, research, essay writing, and public speaking.

This semester course explores the political, economic, and social history of Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa during the 20th century as well as contemporary global issues. Skills emphasized include note taking, research, essay writing, and public speaking. In addition, this course requires extensive analysis and interpretation of primary and secondary sources.

This semester course involves the study of general concepts in political science as well as American political history, especially of the Revolutionary and early Federal periods. Topics covered include the constitutional basis of U.S. government; political culture; political parties; interest groups and media; institutional and informal sources of political power; development of public policy; and civil rights and liberties.

This year-long course gives students an analytical perspective on government and politics in the United States. It includes the study of general concepts in political science as well as an examination and evaluation of American political history. Topics covered include the constitutional basis of the U.S. government; political culture and socialization; political parties, interest groups, and the media; national institutions and informal sources of political power; the development of public policy; and civil rights and liberties. Students enrolled in this course will be required to take the national AP U.S. Government and Politics examination in May. *Juniors and Seniors may enroll in this course if space is available.

This year-long course examines the development of the United States from a federal republic in the early 19th century to the world power that it is today. Thematic emphasis will be placed on the spread of democracy and civil liberties, the rise of the middle class, the effects of immigration, the growth of the central government, and the influence of the United States on global history in the 20th century. While the curricular emphasis is primarily on the United States, the course will include selected topics in the history of Canada and Latin America.

This year-long course is a rigorous thematic survey of U.S. history, designed to strengthen the analytical skills and factual knowledge necessary to deal critically with problems in United States history. The course begins with Pre-Columbian America and ends with the Clinton Era. The reading and writing components of this course are significantly greater in quantity and complexity over the American History course, and enrolled students will be required to take the national AP U.S. History examination in May.

ELECTIVES

This semester course is designed to introduce students to political science through the comparison of contemporary political systems. Students will learn some basic political philosophy and will then compare and contrast some of the world's diverse political systems, including the industrialized democracies as well as nations undergoing fundamental change. Topics include the sources of power and the contrast between theory and reality in the politics of each country examined. Special emphasis will be given to the study of contemporary issues within each nation and current international problems, and students planning to participate in the Falmouth Model United Nations program are encouraged to enroll in this course.  Also, students enrolled in this course will be required to take the national AP Comparative Government and Politics examination in May.

This year-long course is an intensive chronological survey of major events and trends in Europe from approximately 1450 to the present. Within this approach, major cultural, social, economic, and political themes will be explored. During the first semester, students will examine the period from the High Middle Ages/Late Renaissance and Reformation to the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Eras. The 19th and 20th centuries are the focus during the second semester. Students enrolled in this course will be required to take the national AP European History examination in May.

This year-long course is designed to introduce students to the systematic and scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of human beings. Important psychological experiments, facts, principles, and phenomena associated with each of the perspectives and major subfields within psychology are explored. Students also learn about the methods psychologists use in their science and practice. Students enrolled in this course will be required to take the national AP Psychology examination in May.

"The World According to John Ford"… and Charlie Chaplin and Frank Capra and Lucille Ball, etc.  In this semester course, reality and myth in classic American film and television will be examined.  The “Golden Age” of American movies and T.V. from the 1920’s to the 1970’s will be the “primary documents” in the critical analysis of content, form, aesthetic and social values, the history of popular communication media, and what cultural products reveal about the context and times in which they were created.  Reading, writing, and discussion will be the central activities.  Excerpts from two main texts will be supplemented by articles and essays chosen by the teacher and students.

 

This course will examine the trials and tribulations of civil rights throughout the history of the United States. We will examine the roots and history of the Civil Rights Movement using film, music, literature and primary documents.  We will examine the quest for equal rights of African-Americans, Asian-Americans, American Indians, Women, Hispanic-Americans,Gay/Lesbian Americans, and others.  We will analyze the evolution of major U.S. Supreme Court decisions and the impact of changing societal attitudes.  Resources we will use include the documentaries such as Eyes on the Prize and Against the Odds; books such as  Putting the Movement Back into Civil Rights Teaching, From Slavery to Freedom , Maine's Visible Black History and We Shall Overcome; and films such as Remember the Titans, The Murder of Emmett Till and Two Towns of Jasper.

In this semester course, students learn how to prepare and deliver persuasive arguments in a variety of formal and informal styles, with emphasis on developing research skills, formulating affirmative and negative positions, and analyzing, evaluating, and rebutting arguments.  Students are trained to argue for and against resolutions on policies for Public Forum Debate, on ethical issues for Lincoln-Douglas Debate, and on legislation for Congressional Debate.  Students who intend to join the Falmouth Debate Team are encouraged to enroll in this course. 

 

This semester course familiarizes students with economic terms and theories and seeks to enable a better understanding of current economic and political issues. Macroeconomic topics addressed include economic systems, economic measurement, monetary policy, fiscal policy, and the business cycle. Microeconomic topics addressed include supply and demand, business organization, and resource and product markets. The course requires students to examine these topics historically and apply them to the current U.S. and world economies.

This semester course examines the Holocaust -- the Nazi destruction of almost 3/4 of the European Jews during World War II -- in an interdisciplinary manner, utilizing literature, art, music, film, psychology, philosophy, and sociology as well as history. Students examine ethical values as they analyze and assess the decisions and actions of perpetrators, bystanders, victims, and resisters. We will explore the complexities of human nature throughout the course. The lessons of the Holocaust will be universally applied to global events, past and present.

This semester course is designed as a basic intoduction to psychology and its application to daily living. The primary goal of this course is to familiarize students with the major principles and applications of the field. The course focuses on the study of human behavior, stressing the development of humans as individuals and as social beings, how they learn, what influences their behavior, and how they influence each other's behavior.