Social Studies

Social Studies Required Course Sequence

*Honors and Advanced classes are taught at an increased level of rigor. Students who have been consistently earning As and Bs in academic classes are good candidates for success in these higher-level courses. Placement in UNR dual credit classes requires approval from the student’s current Social Studies teacher.

Arts/Humanities Electives within Social Studies

World History 1-2 Course #4101-4102 

Full year = 1 World History/World Geography credit 

This course focuses on World History from approximately the mid-1300s to the modern day. Students will examine important concepts in geography, history, and culture pertaining to regions around the globe. Students will analyze significant events, individuals, developments and processes across the world from the perspective of multiple and varied voices for a vivid and complex picture of history. This course is global in nature, with a multicultural, rather than Eurocentric, approach. Students will engage in historical thinking, robust academic discussions, and informational and argumentative writing. Some of the topics of study will include, but are not limited to, the following: the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and Reformation, global expansion, empires and kingdoms of the world, the Enlightenment and revolutions, the rise of nation states, imperialism, industrialization, WWI, 20th Century revolutions, global depression, WWII, decolonization, the Cold War, globalization, and modern issues. 

This course has been approved by the NCAA and meets requirements to pursue collegiate level athletics. 

World Geography (H) Course #4119-4120 

Full year = 1 World History/World Geography credit (Honors) 

This course is an integrative discipline that brings together the physical and human dimensions of the world in the study of people, places, and environments. Designed within the guidelines set forth in the National Geography Standards, its subject matter is Earth's surface and the processes that shape it, the relationships between people and environments, and the connections between people and places. Students will analyze significant events, individuals, developments and demographics across the world from the perspective of multiple and varied voices for a vivid and complex picture of cultural geography. Students will be encouraged to examine and understand the inter-connectedness of the world around them. The course will focus on major world regions, including: the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, the former Soviet Union, Asia, Africa, and Oceania. The content of this course meets the World History requirement for graduation. The honors course focuses heavily on the development of academic writing and discourse.  

This course has been approved by the NCAA and meets requirements to pursue collegiate level athletics. 

US History 1-2 Course #4131-4132 

Full year = 1 US History credit 

This course focuses on the history of the United States from the turn of the century to the present day. American founding documents and democratic principles will provide for the foundation referenced throughout this course while maintaining focus on the multicultural history, economics, civics, and geography of the modern era. This course includes multiple and varied voices and perspectives for a vivid and complex picture of U.S. History. Students in the course will engage in historical thinking, robust academic discussions, and informational and argumentative writing. Some of the topics of study will include, but are not limited to, the following: Nativism/Populism, Imperialism, the Gilded Age/Industrial Revolution, Progressivism, WWI, the 1920s, the Great Depression, WWII, the Civil Rights Movement, the Cold War, the rights movements of the 1970s, globalism, terrorism, and modern issues. 

This course has been approved by the NCAA and meets requirements to pursue collegiate level athletics. 

American Government Course #4161 

One semester = 0.5 American Government credit 

Productive civic engagement requires knowledge of the historical foundations and principles of American democracy, understanding the unique processes of local, state, and national institutions, and the skills necessary to apply civic dispositions and democratic principles. In this semester long course, students will analyze the powers and civic responsibilities of citizens and examine the origins, functions, and structure of the U.S. government. Content will include multiple historical eras and the various changing perspectives in America’s past, as well as connections between historical events. Some of the topics of study will include, but are not limited to, the following: founding documents, the federal system, the legislative process, the judicial system, the executive branch, elections, political parties, interest groups, rights and responsibilities of citizens, international relations, public policy, economic policies, media literacy, and contemporary issues. 

This course has been approved by the NCAA and meets requirements to pursue collegiate level athletics.