• Social Science Courses:

    ECONOMICS (P)/SHELTERED 

    • Prerequisite(s): Grade 12
    • Economics is the study of how people and countries use their resources to produce, distribute and consume goods and services. By understanding economics, students will be helped to make better economic decisions in a modern world. Students will learn fundamental economic concepts and terminology, be exposed to the various economic systems in the world, and be fully acquainted with the U.S. economy and the forces that influence it.

    EUROPEAN HISTORY AP (P) 

    • Prerequisite(s): 10th grade. Recommended pass English 9, and English Teacher recommendation.
    • The AP European History course meets the EMUHSD graduation requirement for World History and develops an understanding of the main themes in modern European History. The course is designed to provide students with the analytic skills and factual knowledge necessary to deal critically with the problems and materials in European history. The program prepares students for intermediate and advanced college courses by making demands upon them equivalent to those made by full-year introductory college courses. Students should learn to assess historical materials-their relevance to a given interpretive problem, their reliability, and their importance-and to weigh the evidence and interpretations presented in historical scholarship. An AP European History course should thus develop the skills necessary to arrive at conclusions on the basis of an informed judgment and to present reasons and evidence clearly and persuasively in essay format. The covers European history from 1450 to the present.

    MACROECONOMICS AP (P) 

    • Prerequisite(s): 12th grade
    • This two-semester course in macroeconomics will include a simulation which will tie in microeconomic concerns through individual economic decision making. This course is intended to give the student an in-depth view of the economic issues and processes which are of vital importance to our world. Students will analyze such issues as competition, supply and demand, unemployment and inflation, income and spending, and many more. We will also examine the role of the Federal Reserve System, the process by which money is created, and the challenges to capitalist economic systems. This intensive course will be comparable to a college economics class in reading levels and conceptual content.
    • Macro Economics is a study of how economic decision-makers affect the economy as a whole in terms of employment, price stability, and economic growth. After defining and analyzing tools and models that describe the conditions of our national economy, our fundamental purpose will be to analyze how fiscal and monetary policies may be used to promote full employment, price stability, and economic growth. Competing economic theories and models will be used to test the conventional Classical and Keynesian conclusions. While international economics formally concludes the study in Macro Economics, an integration of international topics through the entire course will complete the study of economy in dealing with macro problems. Moreover, throughout the course, learning emphasis is placed on reasoned, logical argument. As the quote by Keynes suggests, the purpose of this course is not to develop or solicit a normative or political point of view, but rather use economics as a method and model for decision-making. Since this is the students’ first introduction of any kind of economics; both micro and macro concepts will run throughout the school year. This course will help students understand the concepts tested in the Advanced Placement Exam in economics. It will teach students to think like an economist and gain some very crucial insights into human behavior. You should never forget that economics is, first and foremost, a study of human behavior. An understanding of human behavior is a necessary prerequisite to attaining your personal goals and to fulfilling any goals that you might have of helping other people. This course follows the AP College Board course outline and is a college equivalent course. Students will be required to take the AP exam in Macroeconomics.

    PSYCHOLOGY AP (P) 

    • Prerequisite(s): None
    • The advanced placement course in psychology will introduce students to the systematic and scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of human beings and other animals. Students are exposed to the psychological facts, principles and phenomena associated with each of the major subfields within psychology. They also learn about the methods psychologists’ use in their science and practice. Students are expected to take the psychology AP exam for which they may receive college credit. The aim of the course is to provide the student with a learning experience equivalent to that obtained in most college introductory psychology courses.

    UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT (P)/SHELTERED 

    • Prerequisite(s): 12th Grade
    • All three aspects of the American governmental system--federal, state, and local--are studied in this course. Particular emphasis is given to the development of responsible active citizenship. This class fulfills one semester of the senior social science requirement.

    UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AP (P) 

    • Prerequisite(s): 12th grade
    • The AP course in U.S. Government and Politics will give students an analytical perspective on government and politics in the United States. This course includes both the study of general concepts used to interpret U.S. politics and the analysis of specific examples. It also requires familiarity with the various institutions, groups, beliefs, and ideas that constitute U.S. politics. Students will become acquainted with the variety of theoretical perspectives and explanations for various behaviors and outcomes. This course follows the AP College Board course outline and is a college equivalent course. Students will be required to take the AP exam in United States Government.

    UNITED STATES HISTORY (P)/SHELTERED/BILINGUAL 

    • Prerequisite(s): 11th grade.
    • A study of the development of our nation during the 19th and 20th Centuries, the course fulfills the junior social science requirement.

    UNITED STATES HISTORY AP (P) 

    • Prerequisite(s): 11th grade
    • The two-semester AP course is designed to provide students with the analytical skills and factual knowledge necessary to deal critically with historical materials. In addition to the historical content, students will interpret primary sources, including documentary material, maps, and statistical tables to better understand historical events. Students will learn to assess the relevance of these events to a given interpretive problem and weigh the evidence and interpretations presented in historical scholarship. The course follows the AP College Board course outline and is a college equivalent course. Students will be required to take the United States History AP Exam.

    WORLD HISTORY (P)/BILINGUAL/SHELTERED 

    • Prerequisite(s): 10th Grade
    • This course presents an accurate reflection of the world’s past. The course is designed to give students the widest panorama of world history with a greater emphasis devoted to modern times. World History and Geography covers traditional societies in the West and societies in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. The course is presented chronologically and permits the study of parallel developments in different parts of the world during each major period of history. This course gives a balanced presentation of political, economic, social, and cultural history, while describing how people lived in other times and places by in-depth focus units.