12th Grade

Course Descriptions

12th Grade Course Descriptions

English and Literature

INTEGRATED ENLISH AND LITERATURE IV

English and Literature IV focuses on British literature, starting in the Anglo-Saxon Era and moving through the Medieval Period, the Renaissance and Shakespeare Era, the Restoration, the Romantic Period, the Victorian Period, and the 20th and 21st Centuries. In studying the history of each period, students learn to recognize the relationship between writing and the development of political, socio-economic, gender, religious, and historic ideologies. In addition to the literature, students expand their writing skills, deepening their analyses and improving their form through both academic and creative pieces designed to prepare them for college level writing.

HONORS

Honors English/literature at the junior and senior levels focuses heavily on independent reading, discourse, and the styles of writing that will prepare students for college level work. Each unit follows a thematic structure, connecting readings, discussions, and writing assignments that generate higher critical analysis skills. In addition to comprehension quizzes, several analytical essays, and a great deal of reading, lessons require students to write a personal response journal for each week’s assignments and participate in Socratic discussions with their peers.Honors course registration requires a recommendation.

Download Coarse Catalog PDF

Math

ALGEBRAIC REASONING

Algebraic Reasoning helps students develop skills in graphical, geometric reasoning pattern recognitionmodel information, and solve problems from a wide variety of advanced applications in both mathematical and nonmathematical situations.

PRE-CALCULUS

In pre-calculus, students use symbolic reasoning and analytical methods to represent mathematical situations, express generalizations, and further their study of mathematical concepts. Concrete, pictorial, numerical, symbolic, graphical, and verbal representations help students model functions and equations and solve real-life problems.

CALCULUS

Through the interplay between geometric and analytic information, calculus is taught to both predict and explain the observed local and global behavior of functions. Derivatives are presented graphically, numerically, and analytically, with an understanding of the relationship between differentiability and continuity. This is a one-year, honors-level course designed for the accelerated 12th grade mathematics student who is considering advanced placement in college or wishes to have maximum preparation for college calculus.

Science

CONCEPTUAL PHYSICS

Conceptual Physics is a conceptual based introductory physics course. Students are introduced to basic physics concepts, including mechanics, properties of matter, heat, sound, light, electricity, magnetism, and atomic physics. Concepts are introduced via lecture and reinforced through the use of demonstration, video, class discussion, and lab activities. Selected projects allow students to creatively demonstrate their understanding of specific concepts.

HONORS PHYSICS

Honors Physics is a project based course allowing students to gain hands on experience of physics concepts through construction and implementation of projects. Students are introduced to basic physics concepts, including motion, accelerated motion, one and two dimensional forces, gravitation, rotational motion, momentum, energy, work, simple machines, thermal energy, and states of matter. Through a combination of class work, lecture, demonstration, video, and hands on projects, students experience physics concepts. Critical thinking skills are practiced through project construction.

Social Studies

WORLD GEOGRAPHY

World geography extends Social Studies studies to more closely look at the cultures and customs of various regions around the world, such as the United States, Canada, Latin America, Russia, Eurasia, Africa, Australia, the Middle East, the Polar Regions, and Oceania. Topics covered include map making and map studying, weather, climate, vegetation, religions, cultures and their traditions, and governments. Students use periodicals as a basis for discussion, debate, and weekly research about current events in different societies.

WORLD HISTORY

World history covers many topics, including the transformations of civilizations, political systems, the expansion of world nations, the first empires, the development of religions, and the world at war. Periodicals serve as a catalyst for discussions and debates, inviting students to immerse themselves in the events taking place around the world. Additionally, students keep a notebook of weekly assignments concerning current events, and note taking skills are emphasized on a daily basis.

GOVERNMENT

The government curriculum consists of studies of various forms of foreign governments, the fundamentals of the United States government, the establishment of political parties, the roles of key figures, taxes, the powers of Congress, the constitution, and amendments. Local and national periodicals provide topics for class discussion and debate, while weekly current event assignments encourage independent research of the topics affecting and influencing our government today. This is a one-semester course.

ECONOMICS

Economics is a one-semester course that covers information in the areas of economic systems, business organizations, supply and demand, the Stock Market, competition, market failures, bankruptcies, microeconomics, and macroeconomics. Periodicals provide topics for class discussion and debate, and students keep a notebook of current event news stories as a weekly assignment.