History

History I is a skills-based course that prepares students for all upper-level and AP history classes. Divided into three trimesters, the course emphasizes historical thinking skills, spatial thinking skills, and the foundations of U.S. government and politics. Students spend the first trimester analyzing primary and secondary sources, creating narrative representations of important events, and exploring the multiple forces that produce change over time. Toward the middle of the year, they begin a trimester on spatial thinking skills in which they learn the five themes of geography, become experts at reading and creating maps, and contemplate the significant role that space plays in shaping human identity. Students spend the third trimester studying the elements of political participation and examining the functions of local, state, and national governments.

An interest in Western New York underlies the three trimesters of History I. Even as they acquire skills in history, geography, and civics, students will become more familiar with Buffalo and its surrounding communities, both through the activities and assignments they complete and through the excursions they make in the city and region. By the end of the year, they will be prepared for future coursework and, just as importantly, well-equipped to become active and informed citizens.

This is a survey course that begins with the first Americans and extends through the late 20th century, although students are asked to make connections to the America of today throughout the course. Students develop a foundational understanding of American history through textbook readings, online supplemental texts, and brief lectures, but an emphasis is placed on the use of primary source documents and texts that require students to think critically about historical context, purpose, and point of view. Writing is an integral part of the course; students learn to develop an argument and analyze relevant evidence in order to communicate their own ideas about history as clearly and convincingly as possible.

In the first trimester, the curriculum focuses on America through the early 1800s. Students trace the development of both Native American and colonial civilizations, and special attention is paid to questions of identity and political power. As students study America’s path toward independent nationhood, they are asked to consider the meaning of terms like “freedom” and “equality” to different groups of Americans in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

In the second trimester, students turn their focus to the growing nation. As students examine America’s early national identity, they use key events and phenomena such as westward expansion and the Civil War to help them analyze the ways in which America remained true to its earliest ideals as well as the ways in which American ideals changed over time.

In the third trimester, students study America’s industrialization and emergence as a world power. Students analyze the concept of the “American Dream” and identify the ways in which that concept contributed to the world we live in today, while also looking at the ways in which that dream was not always consistent with reality. Beginning with American imperialism and extending through both world wars, Korea, and Vietnam, students examine America’s expanding role in world events.

Students who perform exceptionally well in their freshman year will be recommended for AP U.S. History.

This challenging and fast-paced course offers extremely motivated sophomores a chance to study American History at the college level. AP US History combines broad knowledge of American history with in-depth understanding of how and why historical events unfolded. Students in this course practice the historical thinking skills necessary to succeed on the AP US History exam. At the same time, they study the sweep of American history from the pre-Columbian era to the present, and seek out the common strands that connect each period to the next. This class requires a great deal of reading, including a college-level textbook and many diverse primary sources, as well as focused, structured analytical writing and high-level discussion.

The junior world history class is designed to continue building the historical thinking skills students have practiced in their previous history classes at SEM while exposing them to more challenging readings and preparing them for college-level humanities coursework. Throughout the year, as students examine global historical developments, they keep an eye on patterns and large-scale changes, as well as continuities.

This course introduces students to ancient, classical, medieval, and modern civilizations from across the globe, with an emphasis on the ways that societies interact and develop over time. Students will learn to assess and analyze the different ways in which the cultures of the world think about major issues, including political structures, social norms, technology, economics, the environment, and identity.

World History students continue to strengthen their writing skills, with a focus on developing an argument, analyzing evidence, supporting their salient points, and addressing relevant counter-arguments. We also expect students to read and annotate complex texts, make substantive contributions to class discussions, and demonstrate their knowledge and understanding through tests, quizzes, and projects.

Students who perform exceptionally well in their sophomore year American History course are recommended for AP World History.

SEM offers Advanced Placement World History for highly motivated and qualified juniors. The objective of this advanced, fast-paced, college-level course is to prepare students for success on the national AP World History exam. Reaching this objective includes understanding the broad themes and important events of world historical development from roughly 8000 BCE to the present; learning how to construct a historical argument based on primary and secondary sources; understanding long-term and large-scale historical change; and being able to make valid comparisons between diverse civilizations.

On a broader academic level, students in AP World History practice and improve their formal writing skills, learn how to take effective and accurate class notes; and hone their critical and analytical thinking skills. Throughout the year, as students examine world historical developments, they keep an eye on patterns, large-scale changes, as well as continuities. They analyze how particular historical developments have impacted gender roles, religious traditions, political traditions, technology, social norms, economics, and the environment. AP World History emphasizes both a clear understanding of regional developments and an understanding of how the world’s diverse civilizations comprise a global history.