Social Science Department Course Offerings
Social Science Course Offerings
Three and one half years (35 credits) of Social Science are required for graduation.
CONTEMPORARY WORLD STUDIES
Grade: 9
Duration: One Semester
Credits: 5
University of California (U.C.)/California State University (C.S.U.): Yes; “a” - History/Social Science
Prerequisite: None
This semester-long course is a survey of three non-Western regions. Themes include globalization, human rights and nation-building. Each unit starts with a focus on cultural heritage. After students learn about the basic religious, cultural and ethnic background of each country, we focus on the challenges that people and nations have faced while modernizing. The course is designed to teach students a few basic social studies skills that they will need during high school. It is also intended to give students knowledge about non-Western regions of the world, and to make them sensitive to cultural differences.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE (E.L.) CONTEMPORARY WORLD STUDIES
Grade: 9-10
Duration: Year
Credits: 10
U.C./C.S.U.: Yes; “a” - History/Social Science
Prerequisite: Concurrent enrollment in English Language Development 2 or 3
The curriculum and standards in this course parallels the mainstream Contemporary World Studies course. The teacher ensures material is accessible for English Language Learners.
MODERN WORLD HISTORY
Grade: 10
Duration: Year
Credits: 10
U.C./C.S.U.: Yes; “a” - History/Social Science
Prerequisite: None
After a brief review of the foundations of Western society, students focus on the history of Europe and the United States from the French Revolution through the Cold War. The course focuses on a core of information that helps to explain why Western nations have come to power in the last two centuries. The course is designed to further the development of skills that students will need in social sciences at San Mateo High School.
E.L. MODERN WORLD HISTORY
Grade: 10-12
Duration: Year
Credits: 10
U.C./C.S.U.: Yes; “a” - History/Social Science
Prerequisite: Concurrent enrollment in English Language Development 2 or 3.
The curriculum and standards in this course parallels the mainstream Modern World History course. The teacher ensures material is accessible for English Language Learners.
ADVANCED PLACEMENT (A.P.) EUROPEAN HISTORY
Grade: 10
Duration: Year
Credits: 10
U.C./C.S.U.: Yes; “a” - History/Social Science
Prerequisite: None
Approximate Homework: 1 hour/day, 7 days/week; summer reading
Students focus on the history of Europe from the Renaissance to the present. The course is designed to cover the Modern World History (College Preparatory -- C.P.) content, but there are additional units which give students specific insight into Europe’s history. Students read intensively, work with primary documents and take timed essays and multiple choice exams. Successful students will spend 1-2 hours a day on reading, working and studying for the course. There is an abundance of facts and also an emphasis on abstract historical concepts. This course is designed to prepare students to take the Advanced Placement test in May.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (U.S.) HISTORY
Grade: 11
Duration: Year
Credits: 10
U.C./C.S.U.: Yes; “a” - History/Social Science
Prerequisite: None
This is a survey course of the United States after Reconstruction. After a brief review (approximately 9 weeks) of American history prior to 1900, students focus mainly on the 20th Century. Social, political and economic aspects of American life will be studied, as well as various eras and movements that have shaped the nation.
E.L. U.S. HISTORY
Grade: 11-12
Duration: Year
Credits: 10
U.C./C.S.U.: Yes; “a” - History/Social Science
Prerequisite: Concurrent enrollment in English Language Development 2 or 3
The curriculum and standards in this course parallels the mainstream U.S. History course. The teacher ensures material is accessible for English Language Learners.
ADVANCED PLACEMENT U.S. HISTORY
Grade: 11
Duration: Year
Credits: 10
U.C./C.S.U.: Yes; “a” - History/Social Science
Prerequisite: None
Approximate Homework: 1 to 1.5 hours/day, 7 days/week; summer reading
This course prepares students with additional skills and content that they will need to pass the Advanced Placement exam. This course begins with colonial history, focuses intently on the 19th Century, and brings students up through the Cold War. A minimum of one to one and a half hours of study per night is expected and students are assessed primarily through a mixture of multiple choice and essay tests that are designed to be as similar to the Advanced Placement test as possible. Students will be asked to analyze the meaning of historical facts in terms of cause and effect and other methods typically used by historians. Materials used for this course will come from college-level textbooks, supplementary readings and primary source documents.
AMERICAN GOVERNMENT
Grade: 12
Duration: One Semester
Credits: 5
U.C./C.S.U.: Yes; “a” - History/Social Science
Prerequisite: None
This is a one-semester course required for graduation in California. Students study the functions and structure of the executive, legislative and judiciary branches at all levels of government: national, state and local. The study of governmental processes will be balanced out by an emphasis on the rights and responsibilities of individual citizens.
ADVANCED PLACEMENT GOVERNMENT & POLITICS U.S.
Grade: 12
Duration: One Semester
Credits: 5
U.C./C.S.U.: Yes; “a” - History/Social Science
Prerequisite: None
Approximate Homework: 1 hour/day, 7 days/week
This is a one-semester course that focuses on the forces that shape and influence U.S. government. Political parties, pressure groups, propaganda and the role of the citizens will be considered in relation to the legislative process. Special attention will be given to how citizens can affect contemporary society constructively and positively. Extensive writing and especially reading will be required. This course prepares students to take the Advanced Placement exam in American Government. Students enrolled in Advanced Placement Government will be expected to enroll in Advanced Placement Macro-Economics.
ECONOMICS
Grade: 12
Duration: One Semester
Credits: 5
U.C./C.S.U.: Yes; “g” - Elective
Prerequisite: None
This is a one-semester course required for graduation. Students will study the general theories, structures, functions and processes of the American economic system. Students will focus on the role of the citizen as a consumer, producer and investor.
ADVANCED PLACEMENT MACRO-ECONOMICS
Grade: 12
Duration: One Semester
Credits: 5
U.C./C.S.U.: Yes; “g” - Elective
Prerequisite: None
Approximate Homework: 1 hour/day, 7 days/week; summer reading
This semester-long course will focus on macroeconomics, linking economic concepts to government policies, fiscal policies and aggregate supply and demand. Students are held to a rigorous course of study, including nightly homework assignments and extensive reading for this college-level course. Strong mathematical and analytical skills will be required for students to succeed in the class. Students enrolled in Advanced Placement Economics will be expected to enroll in American Government Advanced Placement. Finally, all students enrolled in Advanced Placement Economics are strongly encouraged to take the Advanced Placement Exam in May, regardless of the semester in which they have taken the course.
PSYCHOLOGY
Grade: 11-12
Duration One Semester (matched with Sociology)
Credits: 5
U.C./C.S.U.: Yes; “g” - Elective
Prerequisite: None
This one-semester elective course introduces students to the basic tenets of psychology. Students learn about social psychology, cognitive development, personality, learning and intelligence. Students participate in research and experimentation while learning about theories and thinkers that have influenced the field. There is an emphasis on self-awareness and personal growth. The course should be regarded as an advanced social science for students who excel in critical thinking.
ADVANCED PLACEMENT PSYCHOLOGY
Grade: 11-12
Duration: Year
Credits: 10
U.C./C.S.U.: Yes; “g” - Elective
Prerequisite: None
Approximate Homework: 1 Hour/Day, Extra hours for projects/assignments; Possible summer reading.
This course delves into issues of behavior and mental process over the life span. Students are expected to be self-directed, ethical and academically disciplined. Students will be expected to read intensively in college-level textbooks, analyze supplementary readings such as current articles, take Advanced Placement-style multiple choice exams and participate in class presentations and discussions. Successful students will spend 1 or more hours per day reading, synthesizing information and studying. Topics include: The Origins of Psychological Thought, Infant Development, The Adolescent Experience, The Brain, Sleep and Dreams, Conditioning, Personality, Learning & Memory, Sensation & Perception, Social Psychology and Psychological Disorders. This course is a year-long opportunity to gain knowledge of human behavior and to analyze and examine recent contributions to the field of psychology. Students are highly encouraged to take the Advanced Placement Psychology exam in May.
SOCIOLOGY
Grade: 11-12
Duration: One Semester (matched with Psychology)
Credits: 5
U.C./C.S.U.: Yes; “g” - Elective
Prerequisite: None
This one-semester elective course introduces students to the basic tenets of sociology. Students learn about socialization, characteristics of groups, inequality, ethnicity, gender and social deviance. Students reflect on their own social situations while learning about social theory and thinkers who have influenced the field. There is an emphasis on understanding the self in relation to social forces, patterns and problems. The course should be regarded as an advanced social science for students who excel in critical thinking. Students are exposed to college-level readings and ideas.
ETHNIC STUDIES
Grade: 11-12
Duration: Year
Credits: 10
U.C./C.S.U.: No (to be submitted for 2018-19 “g” credit approval)
Prerequisite: None
Ethnic Studies is the interdisciplinary and critical study of power and its locations around the lines of race and ethnicity, gender and sexuality, social class, and immigration status. Drawing on the insights of sociology, anthropology, history, literature, political science, and the health sciences, this course centers on the experiential knowledge, structural realities, and intellectual traditions of people of color in the U.S. (and globally) and takes as a central assumption that race and racism have been, and continue to be, formidable political, economic, and social forces within society. In this sense, then, the purpose of ethnic studies is not only to rectify the glaring absence in social science curriculum of people of color and their ways of being and knowing but, also, to utilize a critical, constructivist pedagogy as a means to empower students to become change agents within their local communities. Examining the history and influence of hip-hop as a musical genre, investigating the (mis)representation of various groups in television and film, and exploring the lived experience of both U.S.-born and immigrant children who transcend and inhabit the U.S.-Mexico borderlands figure as a few of the many learning exercises that we will tackle throughout the year.
ADVANCEMENT VIA INDIVIDUAL DETERMINATION (A.V.I.D.) 1, 2, 3, A.V.I.D. SENIOR SEMINAR
Grade: 9-12
Duration: Year
Credits: 10
U.C./C.S.U.: No U.C./C.S.U. admission requirements met by this course for 1, 2, & 3; YES “g” - Elective; (pending submission) for only AVID Senior Seminar
Prerequisite: None for A.V.I.D. 1, 2, 3. For A.V.I.D. Senior Seminar, students must have taken or are currently enrolled in an Advanced Placement class.
A.V.I.D. is a four-year program that helps students succeed in high school as they prepare for college. A.V.I.D. targets students in the “academic middle” (Grade Point Average - G.P.A. - range from 2.0 to 3.5) and who have a strong desire to go to college. Typically, they will be the first in their families to attend college and be a member of an underrepresented group in higher education. The A.V.I.D. faculty ensures that the students remain on track to meet university admission requirements. Students learn organizational and study skills and develop critical thinking skills. Students are invited to participate in two college campus visits per year.
LEADERSHIP
Grade: 11-12
Duration: Year
Credits: 10
U.C./C.S.U.: No U.C./C.S.U. admission requirements met by this course
Prerequisite: Election or application needed to enroll
Leadership is a class composed of juniors and seniors who have been elected or appointed to student body or senior class offices. The class forms the core of our activities program, since about 40 events during the school year are planned and carried out by the class members. These events range from Spirit Week to our food drive for the Samaritan House to Health Awareness Week.
RENAISSANCE LEADERSHIP
Grade: 9-12
Duration: Year
Credits: 10
U.C./C.S.U.: No U.C./C.S.U. admission requirements met by this course
Prerequisite: Application needed to enroll
The goal of the Renaissance Leadership class is to teach students the philosophies and strategies of the Renaissance System. Students will study leadership, character, communication and organizational skills to enhance their efforts in developing Renaissance at San Mateo High School. We will explore the 10 building blocks of Renaissance and play to them throughout the year. We will provide a wide range of new activities to celebrate excellence, achievement and improvement by the students and staff. These events will provide unity and foster positive relations among our student body, the staff at San Mateo High School and our partners outside of school.