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 religious studies requirements for the 9th grade year. Developing a nuanced understanding of different cultures means developing religious literacy; these are intertwined, fundamental elements of these two disciplines. Students will examine multiple perspectives as they deepen their understanding of the world around them, past and present. By bringing two subjects together, 58 students have the opportunity to build a framework to analyze the religious and social justice dimensions of social, political, and cultural life and to apply these skills to global issues such as human rights, the environment, and world health.

Students will engage in the study of world religions as a key component of understanding our global world and developing greater perspective-taking. In this course we also seek to examine and critique our own lenses, recognizing that Forest Ridge is a Sacred Heart School in a U.S. context, and to explore the diverse ideas that shape our increasingly interconnected global community. Skills developed include understanding human geography, textual analysis and interpretation, inquiry, discussion, research and writing, and personal reflection. Students will engage in case studies, seminar discussions, creative and real-world writing assignments, Model UN, and other debates.

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. Using the lenses of race, class, and gender, this course will critically examine the founding ideals of the United States in history and literature. Depending upon perspective and identity, these ideals, such as equality, liberty, opportunity, respect for rights, and popular sovereignty, have been applied and interpreted differently. Students will further develop their writing skills, with a focus on clarity and well-supported claims. Students will also work to develop habits as independent readers, focusing on comprehension and close reading. Written work will include in-class composition, primary source analyses, and a major thesis-driven research paper.

This 10th grade class comprises a study of U.S. history, culture and institutions. This year, students examine the stated ideals of the United States, specifically - equality, liberty, opportunity, respect for rights and popular sovereignty, as articulated and supported in the founding documents. Selected historical events from the founding of the country through the Civil Rights Movement are evaluated through the lens of these ideals. Resources include textbook and primary source readings, lectures and presentations and online databases. Assessments include in-class essays, analyses of primary sources, content quizzes, class activities and an independent research paper.

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.

This course is offered in alternate years. It will be offered next in the 2023-2024 school year.

Following the delicious trail of our everyday consumables, we discover the history of their production to be much less savory. We examine the global trade of three tropical crops: coffee, sugar and chocolate, from 1500 to the present. Political and economic events, as well as technical changes, nutrition, migration and the experience of enslavement are examined. Students take the initiative in discussions and in explorations of current events relevant to our study, and each student researches another globally traded product for comparison and written analysis. This study raises our awareness of the consequences, both long-distance and nearby, of large-scale human interactions.

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. 

This course is offered in alternate years. It will be offered next in the 2023-2024 school year.

Economics is the study of choices. In this one semester class, students will study economic models and analyze the outcome of the choices made when wants and needs are in conflict. By the end of the course, students will have a better understanding of the role that economics plays in local and global politics, as well as how economics functions in their everyday lives.

The study of psychology is the study of the 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.

This course is offered in alternate years. It will be offered in the 2022-2023 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 a 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.