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Course Standards
General Course Information and Notes
General Notes
The learner, building on the foundations of Philosophy Honors as a prerequisite, will explore, understand, and apply the important ethical theories in philosophy to present day issues, and will focus on the ethical theories of the great thinkers, from the ancient era through the modern era, with the purpose of providing the students with the tools necessary to analyze, critique and evaluate current issues and to formulate a personal value system with which to evaluate any present day issue. Special emphasis will be on character education.
Honors/Advanced courses offer scaffolded learning opportunities for students to develop the critical skills of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation in a more rigorous and reflective academic setting. Students are empowered to perform at higher levels as they engage in the following: analyzing historical documents and supplementary readings, working in the context of thematically categorized information, becoming proficient in note-taking, participating in Socratic seminars/discussions, emphasizing free-response and document-based writing, contrasting opposing viewpoints, solving problems, etc. Students will develop and demonstrate their skills through participation in a capstone and/or extended research-based paper/project (e.g., history fair, participatory citizenship project, mock congressional hearing, projects for competitive evaluation, investment portfolio contests, or other teacher-directed projects).
Mathematics Benchmark Guidance - Social Studies instruction should include opportunities for students to interpret and create representations of historical events and concepts using mathematical tables, charts, and graphs.
Special Notes: Instructional Practices
Teaching from well-written, grade-level instructional materials enhances students' content area knowledge and also strengthens their ability to comprehend longer, complex reading passages on any topic for any reason. Using the following instructional practices also helps student learning:
- Reading assignments from longer text passages as well as shorter ones when text is extremely complex.
- Making close reading and rereading of texts central to lessons.
- Asking high-level, text-specific questions and requiring high-level, complex tasks and assignments.
- Requiring students to support answers with evidence from the text.
- Providing extensive text-based research and writing opportunities (claims and evidence).
General Information
Educator Certifications
Student Resources
Original Student Tutorials
Learn about the Republican and Democratic political parties in the United States, including their origins, modern versions, and impact on public policy in this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
This is Part Two of a two-part series. Learn to identify faulty reasoning in this interactive tutorial series. You'll learn what some experts say about year-round schools, what research has been conducted about their effectiveness, and how arguments can be made for and against year-round education. Then, you'll read a speech in favor of year-round schools and identify faulty reasoning within the argument, specifically the use of hasty generalizations.
Make sure to complete Part One before Part Two! Click HERE to launch Part One.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn to identify faulty reasoning in this two-part interactive English Language Arts tutorial. You'll learn what some experts say about year-round schools, what research has been conducted about their effectiveness, and how arguments can be made for and against year-round education. Then, you'll read a speech in favor of year-round schools and identify faulty reasoning within the argument, specifically the use of hasty generalizations.
Make sure to complete both parts of this series! Click HERE to open Part Two.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Examine President John F. Kennedy's inaugural address in this interactive tutorial. You will examine Kennedy's argument, main claim, smaller claims, reasons, and evidence.
In Part Four, you'll use what you've learned throughout this series to evaluate Kennedy's overall argument.
Make sure to complete the previous parts of this series before beginning Part 4.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Examine President John F. Kennedy's inaugural address in this interactive tutorial. You will examine Kennedy's argument, main claim, smaller claims, reasons, and evidence. By the end of this four-part series, you should be able to evaluate his overall argument.
In Part Three, you will read more of Kennedy's speech and identify a smaller claim in this section of his speech. You will also evaluate this smaller claim's relevancy to the main claim and evaluate Kennedy's reasons and evidence.
Make sure to complete all four parts of this series!
Type: Original Student Tutorial
This is Part Two of a two-part tutorial series. In this interactive tutorial, you'll practice identifying a speaker's purpose using a speech by aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart. You will examine her use of rhetorical appeals, including ethos, logos, pathos, and kairos. Finally, you'll evaluate the effectiveness of Earhart's use of rhetorical appeals.
Be sure to complete Part One first. Click here to launch PART ONE.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
This is Part One of a two-part tutorial series. In this interactive tutorial, you'll practice identifying a speaker's purpose using a speech by aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart. You will examine her use of rhetorical appeals, including ethos, logos, pathos, and kairos. Finally, you'll evaluate the effectiveness of Earhart's use of rhetorical appeals.
Click here to launch PART TWO.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Practice writing different aspects of an expository essay about scientists using drones to research glaciers in Peru. This interactive tutorial is part four of a four-part series. In this final tutorial, you will learn about the elements of a body paragraph. You will also create a body paragraph with supporting evidence. Finally, you will learn about the elements of a conclusion and practice creating a “gift.”
This tutorial is part four of a four-part series. Click below to open the other tutorials in this series.
- Drones and Glaciers: Eyes in the Sky (Part 1)
- Drones and Glaciers: Eyes in the Sky (Part 2)
- Expository Writing: Eyes in the Sky (Part 3)
- Expository Writing: Eyes in the Sky (Part 4)
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn how to write an introduction for an expository essay in this interactive tutorial. This tutorial is the third part of a four-part series. In previous tutorials in this series, students analyzed an informational text and video about scientists using drones to explore glaciers in Peru. Students also determined the central idea and important details of the text and wrote an effective summary. In part three, you'll learn how to write an introduction for an expository essay about the scientists' research.
This tutorial is part three of a four-part series. Click below to open the other tutorials in this series.
- Drones and Glaciers: Eyes in the Sky (Part 1)
- Drones and Glaciers: Eyes in the Sky (Part 2)
- Expository Writing: Eyes in the Sky (Part 3)
- Expository Writing: Eyes in the Sky (Part 4)
Type: Original Student Tutorial
In Parts 1 and 2 of this interactive tutorial series, learn about the 26th President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt. "TR," as he was known, pursued a bold, progressive agenda that transformed America and the presidency.
CLICK HERE to open Part 1.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
In Parts 1 and 2 of this interactive tutorial series, learn in detail about the 26th President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt. "TR," as he was known, pursued a bold, progressive agenda that transformed America and the presidency.
CLICK HERE to open Part 2.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn how to better conduct research in this interactive tutorial. You'll learn to distinguish relevant from irrelevant sources when conducting research on a specific topic. In addition, you'll practice identifying authoritative sources and selecting the appropriate keywords to find quality sources for your topic.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn how speakers use rhetoric to achieve their purpose. In this interactive tutorial, you'll learn how speakers can achieve their purpose through the use of pathos, ethos, and logos. Using excerpts from President Wilson's "War Message to Congress," you'll analyze how speakers use rhetoric to make their case effectively.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
In this tutorial, you'll practice identifying and analyzing how specific concepts are addressed in texts from two different time periods. The featured texts include the Bill of Rights and an excerpt from the "Four Freedoms" speech by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. You'll practice analyzing the similarities and differences in how the two texts address certain concepts.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore the relationship between mutations, the cell cycle, and uncontrolled cell growth which may result in cancer with this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Assessments
Try this 12-question multiple choice quiz to see how much you know about the Civil Rights Movement.
Type: Assessment
Test your knowledge of American imperialism and the Age of Empire with this 9-question multiple choice quiz!
Type: Assessment
Text Resources
Learn more about the 1905 landmark Supreme Court decision Swift and Co. v. U.S. In this case, the Court considered issues of trusts, business practices, regulations, monopolies, and capitalism in the Gilded Age.
Type: Text Resource
Learn more about the 1895 landmark Supreme Court decision U.S. v. E.C. Knight. In this case, the Court considered issues of trusts, business practices, regulations, monopolies, and capitalism in the Gilded Age.
Type: Text Resource
Learn more about the 1919 landmark Supreme Court decision Abrams v. U.S. In this case, the Court decided issues of free speech during wartime: a group of immigrants and anarchists had criticized American involvement in World War I and urged resistance to the war. The Court's decision produced a famous dissent by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes.
Type: Text Resource
Learn more about the 1973 landmark Supreme Court decision Frontiero v. Richardson. In this case, the Court considered the matter of a female Air Force officer who applied for benefits for her husband--and was denied. The Court's ruling touched on issues of gender and civil rights.
Type: Text Resource
Learn more about the 2003 landmark Supreme Court decisions Grutter v. Bollinger and Gratz v. Bollinger. In these dual cases, the Court upheld the use of affirmative action (as one factor in many) in deciding college admissions.
Type: Text Resource
Learn more about the 1979 landmark Supreme Court decision U.S. Steel Workers v. Weber. In this case, the Court upheld a controversial affirmative action policy regarding the training and placement of skilled laborers.
Type: Text Resource
Learn more about the 2006 landmark Supreme Court decision Hamdan v. Rumsfeld. In this case, the Court considered issues of civil rights and the treatment of prisoners of war in the context of the global War on Terror.
Type: Text Resource
Learn more about the 1935 landmark Supreme Court decision Schechter v.U.S. In this Depression-era case, the Court ruled against one of the key parts of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal: the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA). Issues of economics, capitalism, and government power were all at stake.
Type: Text Resource
Learn more about the 1966 landmark Supreme Court decision Miranda v. Arizona. In this case, the Court considered the civil rights issues of due process and self-incrimination. The case set an important legal precedent and established the "Miranda Rights" which must be read to criminal defendants upon arrest.
Type: Text Resource
Learn more about the 1958 landmark Supreme Court decision Cooper v. Aaron. In this lesser known follow-up to Brown v. Board of Education, the Court held that states could not pass legislation that undermined the desegregation of public schools.
Type: Text Resource
Learn more about the 1906 landmark Supreme Court decision Lochner v. New York. In this case, the Supreme Court established an important precedent that would last for decades when it struck down a labor law setting maximum working hours.
Type: Text Resource
Learn more about the 1944 landmark Supreme Court decision Korematsu v. U.S. In this case, the Supreme Court considered the issue of domestic internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. The Court's ruling remains one of its most controversial decisions ever.
Type: Text Resource
Learn more about the 1963 landmark Supreme Court decision Gideon v. Wainwright. In this case, the Supreme Court decided issues related to due process and a criminal defendant's right to a lawyer's counsel even if he or she cannot afford one.
Type: Text Resource
Learn more about the 1873 landmark Supreme Court decision known as The Slaughterhouse Cases. In this case, the Supreme Court defined the limits of the then-new Fourteenth Amendment and its guarantee of equal "privileges and immunities" to citizens.
Type: Text Resource
Learn more about the 1896 landmark Supreme Court decision Plessy v. Ferguson. In this case, the Supreme Court declared legal "separate but equal" laws requiring black and white citizens to use segregated facilities. The decision ushered in an era of "Jim Crow" in the American South.
Type: Text Resource
Learn more about the 1995 landmark Supreme Court decision U.S. v. Lopez. In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that Congress could not ban the possession of firearms within "gun-free school zones." The decision touched on issues of gun control, federalism, and the powers of Congress under the Commerce Clause.
Type: Text Resource
Tutorials
Learn about the history of the Democratic Party, the party of Jackson, Wilson, FDR, and LBJ, in this tutorial video by Khan Academy. From its early roots in the era of Thomas Jefferson to the present day, the Democratic Party has played an integral role in shaping the government, policies and history of America.
Type: Tutorial
Learn about the history of the Republican Party, the party of Lincoln, Hoover, Eisenhower, and Reagan, in this tutorial video by Khan Academy. From its early roots tied to Alexander Hamilton to the present day, the Republican Party has played an integral role in shaping the government, policies and history of America.
Type: Tutorial
In this tutorial video brought to you by Khan Academy, you'll learn about the economic system called communism. This video explores the origins and history of communism and explains its connections to authoritarian forms of government.
Type: Tutorial
Learn about the factors that drove United States imperialism and the acquisition of territories in this short video provided by Khan Academy. Helpful graphics illustrate the content.
Type: Tutorial
This short video provided by Khan Academy features two historians reviewing the ratification of the 15th Amendment, which granted African American men the right to vote. The historians also explore ways in which the different Reconstruction Amendments were undermined and not fully realized for almost a century. Helpful graphics illustrate the content.
Type: Tutorial
Learn the historical context for a landmark Supreme Court decision, Hammer v. Dagenhart, in this short interactive tutorial. This case dealt with child labor in the early 20th century. You'll have a chance to evaluate the case on your terms before seeing how the justices actually ruled. Enjoy!
Type: Tutorial
Learn the historical context for a landmark Supreme Court decision, New York v. United States,in this short interactive tutorial. This case dealt with federal laws regarding radioactive waste removal in the late 20th century. You'll have a chance to evaluate the case on your terms before seeing how the justices actually ruled. Enjoy!
Type: Tutorial
Learn more about the 1954 landmark Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. This case was a pivotal moment in the struggle for racial equality in America.
Type: Tutorial
Explore key events from the 1970s, 80s, 90s, and early 2000s in this webisode from PBS. During these decades, America closed out the Vietnam War era, saw the collapse of communism and the end of the Cold War, and experienced a rise in terrorist attacks against Americans abroad and on American soil. In this resource you can examine primary source documents and photographs, listen to segments of key speeches, examine a timeline and glossary, take a quiz, and explore additional resources connected to this era. Enjoy this journey into American history!
Type: Tutorial
View a documentary about the First Amendment protections of freedom of speech and freedom of the press. You'll review the historic origins of these rights and then go into detail about the Supreme Court's landmark ruling in New York Times v. United States, the Pentagon Papers case. Enjoy!
Type: Tutorial
With this interactive timeline, you can explore key cases and events in the history of the Supreme Court, ranging from 1787 to 2005. To learn specifically about cases related to integration, busing, affirmative action, the rights of the accused, and reproductive rights, click on the years 1954, 1963, 1966, and 1973, though ALL the links will lead you to valuable information. Have fun exploring!
Type: Tutorial
In this tutorial, you will view an outstanding video on the meaning and history of habeas corpus: the law that prevents a person being held in jail or prison without being able to hear and contest the charges being brought against them. You'll then learn about 4 recent Supreme Court cases where habeas corpus has been called into question in the context of the global war on terror.
Type: Tutorial
In this video, you will hear from Supreme Court Justices O'Connor, Breyer and Kennedy as they recount the landmark Supreme Court decision on the Brown v. Board of Education case in 1954. This case was instrumental in the advancement of the Civil Rights Movement and to desegregating public schools in America. The video also include discussion of a key event that followed the Brown v. Board ruling, specifically that of the nine students who integrated Little Rock Central High School in 1957, a group known as the Little Rock Nine. Enjoy this conversation on the Constitution!
Type: Tutorial
In this webisode brought to you by PBS, you will explore key events that took place in American history from 1963-1968, including the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement. In this resource you can examine primary source documents and photographs, listen to segments of key speeches, examine a timeline and glossary, take a quiz, and explore additional resources connected to this era. Enjoy this journey into American history!
Type: Tutorial
In this tutorial, you will explore key events that took place in American history from 1955-1963, including the rise of the Civil Rights Movement and early events in the Cold War. Through this interactive tutorial, you can examine primary source documents and photographs, listen to key speeches, and interact with a wealth of information during this webisode brought to you by PBS. The webisode even includes a timeline, glossary, quiz, and additional resources that you can examine to further explore this era. Enjoy this journey into American history!
Type: Tutorial
In this tutorial video, you'll take a whirlwind journey through the 1960s, a decade in American history marked by social, political, and governmental change, as well as influential leaders such as JFK and Martin Luther King, Jr. You'll learn more about the Civil Rights Movement and the laws and court decisions that sought to bring equality to more groups of people in our nation. Enjoy this "crash course" in U.S. History!
Type: Tutorial
In this tutorial video, you'll take a whirlwind journey through key events of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s in America. During this time, society focused on achieving equal rights and more protections for all groups in America, especially African-Americans. Enjoy this "crash course" in U.S. History!
Type: Tutorial
In this tutorial video, you'll take a whirlwind journey through the Progressive Era in American history. During this time, people were attempting to solve governmental and societal issues, all while trying to better implement equality for all. Enjoy this "crash course" in U.S. history!
Type: Tutorial
Video/Audio/Animation
View a 10-part video on the Battle of Yorktown, the culminating battle of the Revolutionary War. With French aid, George Washington led American troops to a victory that ensured American independence.
In addition to the video, you will find primary source documents and a graphic organizer to help you analyze the Battle of Yorktown in greater detail.
Type: Video/Audio/Animation
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