Course Outline - United States History - Grade 10
Overview:
United States History is a 10th grade course designed to prepare students for both the Advanced Placement and IB assessments. While including an in-depth study of the scope of American history from colonial times to the present, the course will emphasize the late 19th and the 20th centuries. The development of writing, research and document skills is a key element of the course.
Aims:
1. To understand the dynamics of a democratic society and to sense that it
encourages but does not insure equality of treatment
or opportunity.
2. To realize that regions and cultures are interdependent and interconnected
through the communication of ideas and resources.
3. To be aware of achievements and values that constitute cultural diversity
through time.
4. To understand that conflict unresolved by compromise and change may
lead to violence.
5. To realize that the arts and literature generally reflect the society.
6. To know that through governments and other organizations and
institutions, man modifies and regulates the market economy.
7. To appreciate that history is an evolutionary and revolutionary process
that demands examination of cause-effect relationships.
8. To realize that history is comprised of recurring themes centering
upon the attempt to solve problems and improve circumstances and
that attempt to understand these themes enhances our wisdom in
confronting present and future situations.
9. To read, write, analyze and synthesize historical knowledge.
Objectives:
Students will:
1. Develop the analytical skills necessary to assess the relevance, reliability and importance of historical materials.
2. Develop the skills necessary to arrive at conclusions on the basis of an informed judgment.
3. Appreciate the diversity of peoples, cultures and institutions that contributed to the amalgamation of the American people from colonial times to the present.
4. Understand and appreciate the trials and complexities inherent in the formation of the American Republic: revolution; constitution-making; political parties and the evolutionary process of defining and refining our democracy.
5. Gain an understanding of the ways in which the Americans have expressed their hopes, frustrations and aspirations through the arts, literature and social protest.
6. Learn to understand the economic dynamics that have influenced and shaped political decision-making.
7. Appreciate the difficulties and stress of a democracy faced with war and conflict.
8. Gain insight into the role that geography has played in shaping the events that have resulted in nation-building.
Topics:
The Historian's task
Exploration and Colonization
The Revolutionary era
Creating a nation: Confederation; Constitution; the New Republic
From Jefferson to Jackson: the evolution of early democratic institutions
Antebellum America: North and South, diverging ways, slavery and expansion
Economic and social issues
Reform, and cultural expression through literature and the arts
The Civil War and Reconstruction
The Gilded Age: politics; industry; urban turmoil; the transformation of the
West and South
The Road to Empire and the Progressive era in turn-of -the-century America
The Great War
The Reckless Years, Great Depression and New Deal
The global crisis and world conflict
The bipolar post-war world
The Reagan revolution and a new world order
Text/materials:
The American Pageant, Bailey, Kennedy, Cohen. [Primary College-level text]
The American Spirit, Bailey, Kennedy. Vols. I and II. [Primary required collection of supporting documents and readings]
The American Political Tradition, Hofstadter
Interpretations of American History, Grob
After the Fact: The Art of Historical Detection, Lytle
American Record Since 1941, Graebner
America's Longest War: The U.S. and Vietnam, Swansinger
United States History: Preparing for the Advanced Placement Exam
A wide selection of videos. Representative titles include: Thomas Jefferson;
Lincoln; The Great Depression; The Twenties; LBJ; The History of the 20th
Century; Watergate.
Documents:
Examples include: Declaration of Independence; Constitution; Monroe Doctrine; Populist Party Platform; Wilson's Fourteen Points; Truman Doctrine; Brown v. Board of Education; Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.
Maps:
Classroom/Individual student atlases
Computer/reference material:
Example: CD-Rom Total History, History Reference Program.
Assessment:
Assessment will consist of a variety of exams, including: Document Based Questions; free-response essays; objective tests. Additional evaluation will consist of assigned research, group projects, oral presentations and original research (History Fair).