Putnam High School

SOCIAL SCIENCE
It is the goal of the Department of Social Sciences to provide learning experiences for all students, which will help them develop into productive citizens.  Students shall understand the functions of government, it’s the role in foreign affairs, and how government relates and influences students’ lives.  Students will be introduced to various cultural patterns, geographical regions, and world economics.  The department fosters an appreciation for history in the areas of the United States and world civilizations while focusing on connections to past, present, and future events.

“History doesn’t remember the ones who grease its gears, only the ones who shift them.” . . . Anonymous

SOCIAL SCIENCES STAFF

Mr. Brian Germain            germainb@putnam.k12.ct.us

Mr. Garrison Rose            roseg@putnam.k12.ct.us

Mr. Thomas Driscoll        driscollt@putnam.k12.ct.us

COURSE OFFERINGS

Course:  AP EUROPEAN HISTORY                                 Level:  AP, 1 credit
Length:  Full Year                                                           Open to Grades: 10, 11, 12           
Prerequisites:  None
Description:  This AP course is an introductory college course; it is not easy, but neither is it impossibly difficult.  Compared with honor level courses, AP European History will be more demanding, but also more rewarding.  The course allows greater opportunity to master the subject and to explore it in greater depth.  The AP European History course follows a chronological approach emphasizing the relevance of history to today’s world, with an added emphasis on developing study habits.  All historical issues are examined by a multi-causal approach revolving around the following three broad themes:  (1) political/diplomatic; (2) social/economic; and (3) cultural/intellectual.  The course focuses on the changing views of man, God, science, and politics from the Renaissance to the present.  All students enrolled must take the AP European History examination in May sponsored by the Education Testing Service. Passing this strenuous test could allow the student to receive 3 college credits. 
 

Course: WORLD HISTORY                                             Level:  College Prep/Honors, 1 credit
Length: Full Year                                                            Open to Grade: 10
Prerequisites: None                                                         
Course Description: World History examines the major areas of the world, from pre-historic cultures to the present. The first term concentrates on the pre-historic period through the Renaissance.  The second term concentrates on the Renaissance through modern time.  In addition to the conventional treatment of political and military accomplishments, the course emphasizes achievements in industry, technology, science and culture.  The underlying theme of the course is each civilization’s contributions to the development of our contemporary world.  The honors level will be more comprehensive.

Course: CIVICS                                                             Level: College Prep/Honors, ½ credit
Length: Full Year                                                            Open to Grade: 9
Prerequisites: None                                                         
Course Description: This course will focus on the structure of our American Government. The basic units will revolve around the Constitution, the organization and operation of the federal, state, and local governments, politics, and the privileges and responsibilities of citizenship.  The honors level will be more comprehensive.

Course:  MEDIA LITERACY for the 21^st Century  Level:  College Prep/Honors, ½ credit
Length:  Semester                                                            Open to Grades:  10, 11, 12
Prerequisites:  None
Description:  This course provides framework to access, analyze, evaluate, and create messages in various forms from print video to the internet.  Media Literacy builds understanding of the Role of media in society as well as essential skills of inquiry and self-expression necessary for citizens of a democracy.  (Center for Media Literacy, 2008)

Course: ECONOMICS                                                  Level: College Prep/Honors, ½ credit
Length: Semester                                                             Open to Grade: 11, 12
Prerequisites: None.                                                        
Course Description: Economics is the study of how individuals and nations make choices about how to use scarce resources to fulfill their wants. They will learn about markets, prices, and business competition in the national and international scene.  The honors level is more comprehensive.


Course: AP US HISTORY                                              Level: AP, 1 credit
Length: Full Year                                                            Open to Grade: 11
Prerequisites: None                                                         
Course Description: AP US History is a challenging course that is meant to be the equivalent of a freshman college course and can earn students college credit. It is a survey of American history from the age of discovery to the present. Solid reading and writing skills along with a willingness to devote considerable time to homework and study are necessary to succeed. Emphasis is placed on critical and evaluative thinking skills, essay writing, and interpretation of original documents. A research paper is required. All students enrolled must take the AP US History examination in May.

Course: US HISTORY                                                   Level: College Prep/Honors, 1 credit
Length: Full Year                                                            Open to Grade: 11
Prerequisites: None
Course Description: United States History is the study of how the United States emerged from the Colonial Period into one of the most powerful countries in the world. Topics such as the Big Business, the Roaring 20's, the Great Depression, WWI, WWII, the Cold War and the Civil Rights Movement will be discussed. On units such as the Roaring 20's, students will be required to do a project demonstrating a particular aspect of life during this era.  The same topics will be covered as the honors level but not as much attention will be devoted to details such as criticisms and comparisons of various ideas.

Course:  SOCIOLOGY                                                  Level:  College Prep/Honors, ½ credit
Length: Semester                                                             Open to Grade: 11, 12
Prerequisites: None
Course Description: Sociology is the study of people in groups. The individual is discussed as both having and receiving an impact on its possible group affiliations; on the family, and on peers. Culture and society are discussed, as well as socialization and major social institutions.

Course: PSYCHOLOGY                                               Level: College Prep/Honors, ½ credit
Length: Semester                                                             Open to Grade: 11, 12
Prerequisites: None
Course Description: Psychology is the study of human behavior from infancy to old age. This course is an introduction to psychology and its principles and processes. It is broad in scope and focuses on physiological processes, sensation versus perception, memory, motivation, personality theories and disorders. Learn to understand yourself and others better.

Course:  INTEGRATED SOCIAL STUDIES                       Level:  Skills, 1 credit
Length:  Full Year                                                            Open to Grade: 9
Prerequisites:  Scores on the CMT intervention level. 
Course Description:  This course is a basic introduction to Social Studies and is intended to meet  the needs of students who require additional reading and writing skills in the Social Studies content area.  Students taking this course will receive instruction at their own level and pace.

Course:  PROJECT CITIZEN                                            Level:  College Prep/Honors, 1/2 credit

Length:  Semester                                                            Open to Grades:  11, 12

Prerequisites:  Civics

Course Description:  The Project Citizen course is designed to help students improve their capacity to participate competently and responsibly in the American political system.  It does so by providing them with a practical, first hand approach to developing the capacity to monitor and influence government on matters of concern to them.  Students will work together with fellow clasmates to conduct research in our community to discover problems that they think our local governments are not handling at all or not handling well.  Once a problem is identified, the class will:  conduct research, identify alternative solutions, propose a solution, and create an action plan to influence governmental agencies to consider or adopt our solution.  The culminating activity involves enacting our action plan by proposing it to the appropriate town officials.