• Social Studies

    The Social Studies Department @ Brandon High School has a long rich history of excellence in education. we strive to instill and foster critical thinking, productivity, and ethical values in order for our students to reach their highest potential as an active member of society.

  • Social Studies Course Descriptions

     

    Advanced Placement Human Geography

    1 credit                                                      Grade 9-12

     

    The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the systematic study of patterns and processes that have shaped human understanding, use and alteration of Earth's surface. Students employ spatial concepts and landscape analysis to examine human social organization and its environmental consequences. They also learn methods and tools geographers use in their science and practice.

     

    World History Academic & Honors

    1 credit                                                    Grade 10

     

    This course provides students with the opportunity to acquire a comprehensive understanding of the past in terms of what has been interpreted about change or process as it relates to the development of humanity. You will analyze the political, economic, social, religious, military, dynastic, scientific, and cultural events that have shaped and molded humanity. Implicit in this is an understanding of interpretation, and the issues of external and internal validity.

     

    Advanced Placement World History

    1 credit                                                     Grade 10

    Prerequisite: Teacher Recommendation from AP Human Geography or English

     

    Students investigate significant events, individuals, developments, and processes from 1200 to the present. Students develop and use the same skills, practices, and methods employed by historians: analyzing primary and secondary sources; developing historical arguments; making historical connections; and utilizing reasoning about comparison, causation, and continuity and change over time. The course provides six themes that students explore throughout the course to make connections among historical developments in different times and places: humans and the environment, cultural developments and interactions, governance, economic systems, social interactions and organization, and technology and innovation.

     

    US History Academic & Honors

    1 credit                                                      Grade 11

     

    This course provides students with an in-depth study of American history from the Civil War to the contemporary issues that face American citizens. The emphasis is on developing an understanding of American life and attitudes today by looking at our political, social, and economic past.

     

    Advanced Placement US History

    1 credit                                                       Grade 11

    Prerequisite: AP World History, Teacher Recommendation

     

    AP US History is an American history course which

    chronicles our country's history from early exploration through to present times. Students can earn AP points for this class, as well as an opportunity to earn college credit by passing an AP exam at the end of the year. It will require a great deal of dedication and responsibility on the student's part, but with that dedication students will learn the writing and study skills to be successful in other future courses. Class discussion and debates make this an exciting history course!

     

    US Government Academic & Honors

    ½ credit (1 Semester)                              Grade 12

     

    This course provides students with the opportunity to acquire a comprehensive understanding of American government and political behavior. Students will be asked to analyze and incorporate information dealing with our political structure. Major documents dealt with in this course include the Declaration of Independence, The Constitution, and The Bill of Rights.

     

    Economics Academic & Honors

    ½ credit (1 semester)                                Grade 12

    Prerequisite: Honors requires teacher recommendation

     

    This course provides students with the opportunity to acquire an understanding of the way in which society organizes its limited resources to satisfy unlimited wants. Students will be introduced to the major characteristics of the mixed market economic system in the U.S.A. & how the basic economic questions are answered.

     

    Advanced Placement Macro Economics

    ½ credit (1 Semester)                                    Grade 12

    [Must be taken as a year course with Micro Econ]

     

    This course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the American economy as a whole. Learn about world trade, the effect spending has on an economy, and the Gross Domestic Product. The student will take the Advanced Placement exam.

     

    Advanced Placement US Government & Politics

    ½ credit (1 semester)                                  Grade 12

     

    This course is intended for qualified students who wish to complete studies in secondary school equivalent to a

    one- semester college introductory course in American government and politics. The student will take the Advanced Placement examination. Paired with AP Macroeconomics.

     

    Cambridge (AICE) Psychology

    1 credit                                                     Grades 10-12

     

    This course provides an in-depth study of key biological concepts as outlined by the Cambridge Program Standards. This course emphasizes the application of knowledge, scientific methods and procedures, and independent research. At the end of this rigorous and demanding course students will sit for the 3-part AICE exam.

     

    Latin American History

    ½ credit (1 semester)                            Grades 9-12

     

    This course provides students with an opportunity to trace the political, economic, social and cultural history of Central and South American countries.

     

    Philosophy Honors

    ½ credit (1 semester)                            Grades 9-12

     

    The learner will explore the foundations of philosophy through a historical exploration of the great thinkers. The course will focus on the definition and application of philosophy, appropriate vocabulary, and the notion that everyone should be engaged in the “doing” of philosophy. The content should include, but not be limited to, the following: definition and application of philosophy, vocabulary of philosophy, master philosophies, and development of a personal philosophy.

     

    Women’s Studies

    ½ credit (1 semester)                            Grades 9-12

     

    Women’s Studies gives students an opportunity to look at political, social, and economic world history through a female perspective starting with the role of women in ancient civilizations to the modern-day women. This class will also compare experiences of women based on race, class, and other social inequalities. Content will include queens and empresses of the ancient world, European and American witch hunts/Salem witch trials, cultural beauty practices from around the world. Joan of Arc, Sacagawea, Abolitionism, Women’s Suffrage, Women’s Role in World War 1 and II, and legal cases about women’s rights. Not a girl’s only class, we welcome anyone who would like to widen their perspective in history (his-story) to include her-story.

     

    African American History

    ½ credit (1 semester)                            Grades 9-12

     

    This course consists of the following content area strands: World History, American History, Geography, Humanities, Civics and Government. The primary content emphasis for this course pertains to the study of the chronological development of African Americans by examining the political, economic, social, religious, military and cultural events that affected the cultural group. Content will include, but is not limited to, West African heritage, the Middle Passage and Triangular Trade, the African Diaspora, significant turning points and trends in the development of African American culture and institutions, enslavement and emancipation, the Abolition, and Civil Rights movements, major historical figures and events in African American history, and contemporary African American affairs.

     

    Cambridge (AICE) Travel & Tourism

    1 credit                                                    Grades 10-12

     

    The AICE Travel and Tourism course encourages students to appreciate the scale and importance of the travel and tourism industry in the world. Students will also learn about the positive and negative impacts the industry may have on people, environments, and economies.

     

    Personal Finance and Money Management

    ½  credit (1 semester)                        Grades 11-12

     

    The goal of this course is to help students make informed financial decisions and understand how their choices impact their future earnings and occupational goals. It examines personal incomes and budgets, home and consumer financing, insurance of personal assets, personal investing and retirement planning. Topics covered will include the time value of money, investments, loans and credit, cash management, taxes, life and health insurance, and economics. This course fulfills the financial literacy graduation requirement.

     

    Advanced Placement European History

    1 credit                                                    Grades 10-12

     

    In AP European History, students investigate significant events, individuals, developments, and processes from approximately 1450 to the present. Students develop and use the same skills, practices, and methods employed by historians: analyzing primary and secondary sources; developing historical arguments; making historical connections; and utilizing reasoning about comparison, causation, and continuity and change over time. The course also provides seven themes that students explore throughout the course in order to make connections among historical developments in different times and places: interaction of Europe and the world, economic and commercial development, cultural and intellectual development, states and other institutions of power, social organization and development, national and European identity, and technological and scientific innovations.

     

    Sociology

    ½  credit (1 semester)                        Grades 10-12

     

    Through the study of sociology, students acquire an understanding of group interaction and its impact on individuals in order that they may have a greater awareness of the beliefs, values and behavior patterns of others. In an increasingly interdependent world, students need to recognize how group behavior affects both the individual and society.

     

    Holocaust Education

    ½  credit (1 semester)                        Grades 10-12

     

    This course consists of the following content area strands: American History, World History, Geography, Humanities, Civics and Government. The primary content emphasis for this course pertains to the examination of the events of the Holocaust (1933-1945), the systematic, methodically planned, and annihilation of European Jews. Students will explain the effect Nazi policies had on other groups targeted by the government of Nazi Germany.  Students will analyze the circumstances from the end of the First World War, the effects of the Treaty of Versailles, the duration of the Weimar Republic and Hitler's rise to and consolidation of power.  Students will explore the pseudoscientific and eugenic roots of Nazi ideology, the development of anti-Jewish policies and the Nazi propaganda campaign.

     

    Law Studies

    ½  credit (1 semester)                        Grades 10-12

     

    This course consists of the following content area strands: American History, World History, Geography, Humanities, Economics, and Civics and Government. The primary content for the course pertains to the study of the American legal system as the foundation of American society by examining those laws which have an impact on citizens' lives and an introduction to fundamental civil and criminal justice procedures. Content should include, but is not limited to, the need for law, the basis for our legal system, civil and criminal law, adult and juvenile courts, family and consumer law, causes and consequences of crime, individual rights and responsibilities, and career opportunities in the legal system.

     

    Florida History

    ½  credit (1 semester)                        Grades 10-12

     

    The primary content emphasis for this course pertains to the study of the chronological development of the state of Florida by examining the political, economic, social, military and cultural events that affected the state. Students will be exposed to the historical, geographic, political, economic, and sociological events which influenced the progression of Florida including, but not limited to, the evolution of Florida's diverse heritage through Spanish, French, British and American occupations, Florida's Native American population, United States annexation and territorial experience, statehood and an analysis of Florida's first constitution, Florida's system of slavery, Florida under the Confederacy and Reconstruction, Florida's role as a part of the new South, technological and urban transformations of the state, the evolution of Florida lifestyles and ideals over the centuries, the historic evolution of the Florida economy, Florida's diverse geographic regions and population groups, state government, modern day Florida's successes and challenges, and the projection of Florida's future development.