Grade 11 - Social Studies

Honors: World History (Credit: 1.00)

World History is a robust, writing-intensive course that uses multiple perspectives to trace the development of civilizations around the world from prehistory to the present. Students are encouraged to use their knowledge of critical points in history to develop their points of view and apply what they have learned to the promotion of civic action in a rapidly globalizing world. The course explores how human-geographic relationships, political and social structures, economics, science and technology, and the arts have developed and influenced life in these civilizations. Students investigate the major religions and belief systems throughout history and learn about the importance of trade and cultural exchange. Other topics include the development of agriculture, the spread of democracy, the rise of nation-states, the industrial era, the spread of imperialism, and the issues and conflicts of the 20th century. World History is designed as the second course in the social studies sequence. Students continue to improve their analytic writing and develop confidence by writing multiple short analytic pieces and longer essays, including document-based questions. Primary documents are embedded in the instruction to encourage students to make frequent connections to evidence from the past. The content is based on standards from the National Council for History Education (1997), the National Center for History in the Schools (1996), and the National Council for Social Studies (1994) and is aligned to state standards.