Social Studies

The fifth-grade social studies curriculum focuses on a complete study of America’s past. In our first unit, students review and practice basic geography and map skills, including labeling features on maps, determining absolute location using latitude and longitude, and identifying physical features of the United States. Students discover how and why Europeans came to the New World. Throughout the year in humanities, we work toward understanding our diversity as a class and appreciating the diverse people and cultures of the United States.

The students simulate the actions of the British that angered the colonists in the 1700s, and they reflect on how it feels when their freedoms and rights are revoked, and what their choices are when harsh new rules and regulations are imposed. The students discover the main ideas in the Declaration of Independence, and later they will uncover how the unlikely victory of the colonists in the American Revolution unfolded. Students also spend time exploring and interpreting the remaining freedom documents, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

In the spring, in an integrated humanities unit, the students explore Westward Expansion in depth. This unit emphasizes nonfiction reading strategies and the thinking skills needed to write as a well-researched historian.

Finally, we end our yearlong study of America’s past with a unit on the causes and events of the Civil War. Each social studies unit in fifth grade provides an opportunity for each girl to recognize her personal rights and responsibilities as a young citizen. These historical topics push each student to grow and apply critical thinking and discussion skills while developing a deep knowledge of American heritage and ideals.

Sixth grade social studies curriculum is part of an integrated humanities program focused on a year-long study of ancient cultures. Understanding the characteristics of civilization becomes a lens through which we examine a wide range of ancient people. Throughout the year, students investigate ancient civilizations in Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, China, Greece, and Rome. We begin each unit exploring maps to identify physical features of each region and see how geography influenced the location of early settlements. Students explore the culture and achievements of each civilization. Throughout the year, students develop an understanding of different types of government and begin to compare and contrast different civilizations. Activities, projects, and historical fiction immerse students in the cultures and civilizations studied. Students practice a variety of academic skills including analytical writing, presentation, note taking, study strategies, researching, and citing sources.

The seventh-grade social studies program focuses on educating students to be global citizens in an increasingly interconnected world. We will explore how the world has shaped human culture and relationships over time and how major events connect or divide people. Major topics include nationhood, government, revolution, imperialism, colonialism, world conflicts, peacebuilding, and social change. Our guiding questions are: “Who has power in a particular situation? How did they get power? How can we use our own power for the good of the world?” Students will be challenged to think critically about history and investigate contemporary global issues.

The content of the class provides an opportunity for students to build skills that will help them to develop and practice their abstract critical thinking skills, ask meaningful questions, and become global leaders. Students will practice notetaking, annotation, reading for information and analysis, discussion, study skills, research, and writing. Simulations, class discussions, project-based learning, and a long-term research and writing project will help students gain an appreciation of the multicultural world in which we live using. Student materials and tools will include a shared class notebook, textbook excerpts, news articles, online resources, videos, and stories. 

Please note that this is a two-period, co-curricular class.

This integrated course fulfills both the social studies and Religion requirements for the 9th grade year. Religion and social studies content is fully integrated in all units, which are organized around the themes of colonization, health care, climate change, education, nationalism, and conflict and peace building. Students study world religions as a key component of understanding our global world and developing greater perspective-taking. Skills developed include geography, textual analysis and interpretation, inquiry, discussion, research and writing, and personal reflection. Students engage in case studies, seminar discussions, creative and real-world writing assignments, and Model UN. All 9th grade students take this class together, making it a formative part of the Forest Ridge 9th grade experience.

 

In this integrated English and Social Studies course, students will explore the diversity of the American people and their patchwork of voices and perspectives through multiple sources and artforms. This course will critically examine the various stories of American identity told in history and literature. We will begin with an exploration of the foundations of the United States; the majority of the course will then investigate the Reconstruction Era through modern day. Students will build habits as independent readers, focusing on comprehension and close reading. Students will further develop their writing skills, with a focus on clarity and well-supported claims. Written work will include in-class writing, primary and secondary source analyses, and a culminating research project. Students will advance their speaking and listening skills through dialogue and presentations.

Students in this course will learn concepts and theories related to United States government and politics with a focus on civic engagement. Through research, discussion, and reading, students will gain a critical understanding of the principles, values, and social structures that shape American political life. Students are challenged to grow as reflective critical thinkers, recognize their own assumptions, and become more engaged citizens. Students will also complete a Civic Action Project, an independent civic engagement project on an area of interest to them.

In this class, we examine societies in recent history and the present day in which power has set itself against responsible civic engagement. We evaluate these authoritarian governments as well as resistance against them, in the twentieth century and today. Topics begin with Nazi Germany and Mussolini's Italy, and then we move on to other more recent developments around the world. A variety of books and articles provide the readings. The class takes shape around student-driven research, analytical essays, presentations, discussions and activities.

Psychology is the study of how we think, feel, and behave. This course is designed to give students an introduction to this subject by examining the major psychological perspectives including behavioral, cognitive, and social-cultural. Cognition, perception, learning, human development, motivation, and personality are some of the topics of the class. Through reading, demonstration and research, students will gain a better understanding of who they are and how they function as humans. They will also use their own lives as a practice field for applying the concepts.

False historical beliefs are pervasive in our culture. Students in this interdisciplinary course will apply critical thinking as they examine historical and literary texts through analytical historical and anthropological perspectives. Students will cultivate and learn to use these skills through the lens of myths, misconceptions, and manipulations of the past. Course topics include: myths about Westward expansion, race, Native American genocide, Colonialism and Antisemitism. We will examine the ways people manipulate the past, common techniques used to perpetuate problematic myths and claims about the past, and how and why the past has been appropriated throughout time. Students will consider how myths, misconceptions, and manipulations of the past influence ideas about their society and culture. An important focus of this class will be the methods and evidence used by scholars to interpret past peoples and events – specifically critical thinking, interpretative, and analytical skills used to disprove inaccurate and problematic claims about the past. Students will learn about these methods and apply them in analytical writing and presentation throughout the course, including assignments to help students to be more critical consumers of information as they examine their own beliefs about history.

This course is offered in alternate years. It will be offered next in the 2024-2025 school year.
 

This course is designed to support students in their discovery and appreciation of art history. They will learn to identify and critically analyze major forms of artistic expression from diverse cultures. They will examine what art can reveal about a society. Students write about art using specialized vocabulary to describe and critically analyze the work. A variety of art media and styles will be studied as the students look at architecture, painting, and sculpture. This class will give students the opportunity to use their prior knowledge of history, geography, politics, religion, languages, literature, and the visual arts. This course will be taught through a combination of materials such as selected readings, visual presentations, educational videos, and a museum visit. Students take leadership in explorations of assigned content, current events and topics of student choice.

One Semester
This course is a broad survey of the rich and complex history of East Asia. It begins by investigating the term itself, since the definition of “Asia” is contested. The class will then turn to a chronological organization of the region’s history since the 19th century, beginning with the challenges faced by the Qing Empire at the turn of the 20th century and ending with the most current events of the region. Along the way we will examine the extent to which imperialism, modernization, nationalism, and migration impacted the lives of different states and groups of people. Specific turning points that will be examined include: the impact of European colonialism; the rise of the Japanese Empire; WWI and WWII; the rise of Mao; the creation of a democratic Taiwan; the division of the Korean peninsula; the rise of the Little Tigers; and Sino-American relationships since 1980. Students will engage closely with an array of primary and secondary sources, weigh multiple perspectives, and develop their own evidence-based arguments in writing, research, and class discussions. As a final project, students will have the choice of either conducting an interview to aid in the research of a topic of their choice, or creating a secondary source that can be used to teach others about a topic of their choice.
 

One semester
“Chess is everything—art, science, and sport,” said former Soviet world champion Anatoly Karpov. Chess is widely regarded as an intellectual sport and understood to be scientific, especially in our age of powerful chess computers. But what makes chess an art? Masterpieces of chess—Anderssen’s Evergreen Game, Morphy’s Opera Box Game, Fischer’s Game of the Century--are celebrated for their beauty. Balance, symmetry, technical precision, improvisation (in chess, as in jazz, composition and performance happen at the same time), personal expression, creative problem-solving, and flow are all part of the beauty of chess. This course will integrate basic chess instruction in concepts, skills, and discipline with the art history of chess. Concepts and skills will include rules of game, basic checkmating patterns, opening principles, basic strategy, and tactics. Chess art history will focus on the ways in which chess mirrors culture. Students will create a piece of art that demonstrates their learning of both chess concepts and skills, and chess art history. No prior chess knowledge required.

Prerequisite: None
Grade level: Open to all students
Credit earned: 0.5 Elective