High School Course Descriptions

English/Language Arts

Creative Writing
- This course emphasizes paragraph creation and essay writing, while improving students’ skills in grammar, vocabulary, and spelling. Written assignments are based on various required readings.

English A
- Class focuses on improving comprehensive reading skills through short stories and poetry. Students will read selections from American writers. Improve verbal and writing skills through class discussionand writing about reading selections.

English B
- This course is designed to improve comprehensive reading skills through novels and plays. Students will read slections from classics and contemporary writers. Students will have an opportunity to improve their verbal and writing skills as well through acting, class discussions, and writing about the reading selections.

UNITED STATES HISTORY 1
- U.S. History from 1900 to 1939 – Study the industrialization of the economy, U.S. involvement in World War I, and the causes and problems of the Great Depression.

UNITED STATES HISTORY 2
- U.S. History from 1940 to present – Study U.S. involvement in World War II, the Cold War Era, various Civil Rights issues, and the important social, political, and technological issues of modern America.

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
- Focuses on U.S. attempts at self-governing from colonial times to the present. Study the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, the U.S. Constitution and Amendments, and the interaction of the three branches of government at the Federal, State, and local levels.

ECONOMICS
- Designed to convey a basic understanding of macro and microeconomic concepts in a capitalistic economy. Learn about the relationships of various components of the U.S. economy and their impact on each other. Class includes a brief introduction to world trade and other economic systems.

WORLD HISTORY 1
- Focuses on prehistoric man from Ice Age to Renaissance, archeology, and the rise and fall of ancient civilizations. Learn about the development of religions, differences in human cultures and political systems, the Black Plague, time lines, geography, and map reading. Students must see the High School Counselor to enroll in this course.

WORLD HISTORY 2
- Renaissance to the end of the twentieth century. Students will study the age of exploration, colonialism, the industrial revolution, the rise of democracy, imperialism, landmark human events in Europe, Asia, Africa, and India. Also covered are World War I and II, the post war world, the space age, the breakup of the Soviet Union, and the effects of terrorism. Students must see the High School Counselor to enroll in this course.

ALGEBRA A
- This course covers elementary Algebra according to California Mathematics Content Standards and satisfies one-hal of the Algebra requirement for a high school diploma. In this first of two courses in Aglebra, concepts of variables, single-variable equations, inequalities, and the basic Algeraic properties to solve problems involving one variable are introduced.

ALGEBRA B
- In this second of two courses in Algebra, students apply the concepts learned in Algebra A to problems of more complexity, including addition, subtraction, and multiplication of polynomials, factoring of polynomials, and graphing linear equations.

PHYSICAL SCIENCE
- The study of physics and chemistry of nature. The foundations of the physical sciences rests upon key concepts and theories, each of which explains and/or models a particular aspect of the behavior of nature. Examples of physical science courses are earth science, astronomy, chemistry, and physics.
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE
- The study of life or living matter in all its forms and phenomena, especially with reference to origin, growth, reproduction, structure and behavior. Examples of biological science courses are biology and life science.

FINE ARTS 1
- Basic art techniques and terminology is presented. Students learn the use of color, line, contrast, texture, shading, and lighting. No previous art experience required. Students must see the High School Counselor to enroll in this class.

FINE ARTS 2
- Study art history. The class focus is on Pre-Renaissance to the Post-Modern Era. Students learn about artists and their works, such as: Leonardo de Vinci, Michelangelo, Rembrandt, and Picasso. Students must see the High School Counselor to enroll in this class.