Back to Dorchester Academy Program of Study

History


History/SS Foundations  |  US History I  |  US History II  |  World History I  |  World History II |  African American Studies 

Law & Justice  |   Economics  |  Social Issues

History/Social Studies Foundation        Course Number: 201 

United States History I – 1763-1877                          Course Numbers: 2A1, 268 (Honors)

Statement:  This course is required of all students and may be used as one of three history courses students must pass to graduate from high school.  Prerequisites: None

Key Outcomes/Major Topics: The geography and history of the United States from 1763 to 1877 with studies of the political, economic, social and cultural developments of the nation throughout the eras. Major topics include

  1. The causes and consequences of the American Revolution
  2. The influence and ideas of the Declaration of Independence and the political philosophy of Thomas Jefferson
  3. The debate between Federalist and Anti-Federalists over the ratification of the Constitution
  4. Ideas contained in the Federalist Papers on federalism, checks and balances and an independent judiciary
  5. The causes, course and consequences of America’s westward expansion
  6. The Transportation Revolution of the 19th century.
  7. The emergence of New England’s textile industry
  8. Critical developments leading to the American Civil War
  9. The policies and consequences of Reconstruction

Required Documents: The following documents are required of all students and will be tested in the high school United States History MCAS.

  1. Mayflower Compact (1620)
  2. Declaration of Independence (1776)
  3. The Northwest Ordinance (1787)
  4. The United States Constitution (1787)
  5. Federalist Papers number 10 (1787–1788)
  6. The Bill of Rights (1791)
  7. The Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions (1848)
  8. Frederick Douglass: Independence Day Speech at Rochester, New York (1852)
  9. President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address (1863) and Second Inaugural Address (1865)

Instructional Time: minimum of 210 minutes per week

Required Student Product/Exams: Student products include:
•      History Notebook (daily class notes, summaries, reflections, personal responses, responses to open-response question, other assignments)
•      BPS Mid and End-of-Course Assessments

  1. BPS assessments will be guided by MCAS requirements and will include thematic essays and Document Based Questions.  A Document Based Questions will require students to 1) Read a passage from one or more required documents; 2) Read and interpret a political cartoon/drawing or photo or data from a chart or graph; 3) Respond to a question relating to the readings and/or data; and, 4) Write a response to a central question using information from the readings, drawing, charts or graphs. 

Instructional Materials – Those currently available at the school level.

United States History II - 20th Century American History             Course Numbers: 253 or 263 (Honors)

Statement:  This course is required of all students and may be used as one of three history courses students must pass to graduate from high school.  Prerequisites: United States History I – 1763 to 1877

Key Outcomes/Major Topics: The geography and history of the United States from1877 to the present with studies of the political, economic, social and cultural developments of the nation throughout the eras. Major topics include

  1. The causes and consequences of immigration.
  2. The causes, course and growth of America in world affairs 1861-1914
  3. The origins, accomplishments and failures of Progressivism
  4. Post-Civil War struggles of African Americans and women to gain civil rights
  5. The causes and consequences of the Great Depression
  6. American isolationism after World War I and impact on foreign policy
  7. The Cold War and the policy of Containment
  8. The causes, course and consequences of the Vietnam War
  9. The Civil Rights Movement and the Women’s Rights Movement
  10. The Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon Administrations
  11. The North American Free Trade Agreement
  12. The causes, course and consequences of recent American diplomatic initiatives

Required Documents: The following documents are required of all students. Documents will be included in the high school American history MCAS.

  1. Declaration of Independence (1776)
  2. The United States Constitution (1787)
  3. The Bill of Rights (1791)
  4. The Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions (1848)
  5. President Franklin Roosevelt’s “Fourteen Freedoms” speech (1941)
  6. Reverend Martin Luther King’s Letter from Birmingham City Jail” (1963) and “I have a Dream” speech (1963)

Required Student Product/Exams: Student products include:
•      History Notebook (daily class notes, summaries, reflections, personal responses, responses to open-response question, other assignments)
•      BPS Mid and End-of-Course Assessments

  1. MCAS in 2005-2006

Instructional Time: minimum of 210 minutes per week

Instructional Materials: McDougal Littell: The Americans: Reconstruction through the Present, Holt, Rinehart and Winston: The American Nation: Civil War to Present, Glencoe: The American Odyssey – The United States in the 20th Century

World History 1: 500 to c. 1815                    Course Numbers: 251 or 261 (Honors)

Statement:  This course may be used as one of three history courses students must pass to graduate from high school.              Prerequisites: None

Key Outcomes/Major Topics:
The history of Europe, Africa, Asia from 500 to 1815 with studies of the political, economic, social, religious, cultural and technological developments and interactions of nations and people throughout the eras.  Major topics include Western feudalism; African cities and states; societies in pre-Columbian America; Europe in the High Middle Ages; European expansionism and exploration and conquest of the Americas; the Enlightenment; and, the Industrial Revolution in the western world.

Required Student Product/Exams:
•      History Notebook (daily class notes, summaries, reflections, personal responses, responses to open-response question, other assignments)

Instructional Time: minimum of 210 minutes per week

Instructional Materials:

McDougal Litell: World History: Patterns of Interaction; Prentice Hall: World History: Connections to Today Vol. 1; West Publishing (Now NTC Contemporary Publishing Group): World History to 1800

Resource materials: Amsco:  (Used as a resource book.) World History; Globe Fearon (Supplement for bilingual students)La Historia Mundail Para Una Edad Universal – Tomo 1: De la prehistoria a al revolucion industrial

World History 2: 1800 to the Present                    Course Numbers: 252 or 262 (Honors)

Statement:  This course may be used as one of three history courses students must pass to graduate from high school.
Prerequisites: Successful completion of World History I.

Key Outcomes/Major Topics: The history of European growth and development, European interaction with Africa and Asia and American intervention in world affairs from 1800 to the present with studies of the political, economic, social, religious, cultural and technological developments within nations throughout the eras. Major topics include:

  1. The causes, course and consequences of the Industrial Revolution
  2. The rise of unions and socialism in Europe
  3. African and South/Central American economic and political developments in the 19th and 20th centuries
  4. The causes, course and consequences of World Wars I & II
  5. The rise and goals of totalitarian states
  6. The establishment of the United Nations
  7. The Cold War Era1945-1989
  8. Nationalist movements in Africa, Asia South/Central America and the Middle East
  9. The decline and fall of the Soviet Union
  10. The causes and consequences of the fall of apartheid
  11. The rise of Islamic fundamentalism
  12. The causes, course and consequences of recent international events

Required Student Product/Exams:
•      History Notebook (daily class notes, summaries, reflections, personal responses, responses to open-response question, other assignments)
•      BPS Mid and End-of-Course Assessments

Instructional Time: minimum of 210 minutes per week

Instructional Materials:

Prentice Hall: World History: Connections to Today – The Modern Era; McDougal Litell: Modern World History: Patterns of Interaction ; West Publishing (Now NTC Contemporary Publishing Group): Modern World History

Material resources: AMSCO: (Used as a resource book.) World History;  Globe Fearon (Supplement for bilingual students) La Historia Mundail Para Una Edad Universal – Tomo 2: De la edad del imperialismo a la actualidad

African American Studies   Course Number:  257

Law and Justice   Course Number:  25C

This course develops student understanding of the notions of justice and the way the legal system operates. Various fields of law will be studied including criminal, civil, and constitutional law. Understanding the principals of the American justice system will deepen students' critical thinking, provide skills for resolving conflict and give insights into the work of legal professionals. At the heart of this course will be real-life experiences and practical examination of the American legal system.

Economics   Course Number:  25K

This course allows students to gain an understanding and working knowledge of the U.S. market society and how it functions. Students will construct a model of a market society.  They will study consumers and business, and the interaction they have.  Government will be added to the model to examine its function in a market system.  The students will learn how to graph economic information. We will evaluate each Federal Reserve board meeting to try and determine how the federal policies will affect the market.  Using the economic concepts that we learned, we will participate in a 10-week stock market competition sponsored by the Boston Globe.  Students will invest competition dollars based on their economic evaluation of the existing market conditions.  The course will then expand the students’ investing knowledge to the real estate market.

Social Issues   Course Number:  25Q

This course focuses on many of the issues that affect our society today. We will examine what makes an issue “an issue”; how these specific concerns (i.e. racism, classism, violence, death penalty, homelessness, etc.) affect society as a whole; how we personally view and relate to specific issues and how young educated adults can actually go about creating positive change in our society.

 

 
About DA | Program of Study | Students | Athletics | Activities | Family & Community