History

Course Code: HGS41, HGS42, HGS43, HGS44

Credits: 1 per course

Prerequisite: Students will have had exposure to some aspects of Global History in their middle school Social Studies classes

Course Description:

Global History & Geography is a New York State required course.  It is a course that is split into four segments that most students begin in the fall semester of freshman year and end in the spring semester of sophomore year.  At the end of their sophomore year, this four-term sequence ends with a New York State Regents.  Every New York State student is required to pass all four terms of Global History & Geography and earn a grade of at least 65 on the Global History & Geography Regents.  

Expectations: By the end of this course, students will be able to utilize primary and secondary sources to describe, analyze, and evaluate historical knowledge concerning topics in Global History & Geography.  Students will also be able to construct essays using content knowledge and evidence from primary and secondary sources.

United States History & Government 

Course Code: HUS21, HUS22

Credits: 1 per course

Prerequisite: Students will have had exposure to the skills and procedures of the social studies discipline in their Global History & Geography courses.  Students may have been exposed to some of the content of United States History in their middle school Social Studies classes.

Course Description:

United States History & Government is a New York State required course.  It is a course that is split into two terms that students begin in the fall semester of junior year and end in the spring semester of junior year.  At the end of their junior year, this two-term sequence ends with a New York State Regents.  Every New York State student is required to pass all two terms of United States History & Government and earn a grade of at least 65 on the United History & Government Regents.  

Expectations: By the end of this course, students will be able to utilize primary and secondary sources to describe, analyze, and evaluate historical knowledge concerning topics in United History & Government.  Students will also be able to construct essays using content knowledge and evidence from primary and secondary sources.

Participation in American Government

Course Code: HVS11

Credits: 1

Prerequisite: Students should have taken and successfully completed their course work in Global History and United States History. Students are expected to have had prior experience with working with primary and secondary source texts and documents as well as have background knowledge of how to write well developed DBQ and Thematic Essays.

Course Description:

Participation in American Government is designed to give students the knowledge and skills required to act as productive citizens in the United States democratic system.  Students will use higher level thinking and project based learning to create and analyze well-supported logical arguments related to government and politics in the United States.

Expectations: By the end of this course, students will be able to analyze both primary and secondary source texts. Students will develop skills such as historical thinking and writing, as well as historical interpretation which includes evaluation of diverse viewpoints.  Technology will be used to conduct research, process information and present written and oral arguments to the class.

Economics

Course Code: HES11

Credits: 1

Prerequisite: The students will have had exposure to some aspects of economics in their Global and U.S. History classes.

Course Description:

Economics is a New York State required course. The course gives students a better understanding of economics ranging from the viewpoint of the individual consumer or small business owner to the global economy.  The course will study the law of supply and demand, forms of business, labor unions, government finances and the influence of the economy, money and prices, inflation and deflation cycles.  The course relates history and politics to the study of economics.

Expectations:  By the end of the course, students will be able to develop an economic way of thinking, understand different economic systems used through the world, understand the nature of changes in, and the elasticity of supply and demand.  Students will also be able to identify the benefits and limitations of the price system and how prices are managed and determined.  The students’ knowledge will allow them to explain how markets are competitive and how they are regulated, identify and differentiate the types of business organizations that exist and lastly understand the role of labor unions, their history, and how they affect the economy.

AP European History

Course Code: HGS43X, HGS44X

Credits: 1 per course

Grade Level: 10

Prerequisite: Students should have taken and successfully completed their coursework in Global History Freshman year. Students are expected to have had prior experience working with primary and secondary source texts and documents.  Students should have background knowledge on formulating coherent thesis statements and know how to write well developed and organized essays.

Course Description:

The AP European History is covered over two terms (1 year) and is usually taken as an alternative to the 10th Grade, Sophomore Level required Global History Course.  Students are required to pass the Global History and Geography Regents Exam at the end of the 2nd term in order to receive a high school Regents diploma.  Students are also expected to take the College Board AP European History Exam for the opportunity to earn college credit(s) prior to their college enrollment.  The AP Exam includes three types of questions: multiple choice, free response essays, and a document-based essay.  The AP European History course focuses on cultural, economic, political, and social developments.   Students will be asked to use historical thinking skills such as applying relative evidence, identifying intent and bias in primary sources, and building historical arguments.

Expectations:  By the end of this course, students will be able to analyze both primary and secondary source materials. Students will develop historical thinking and writing skills, as well as the ability to evaluate and interpret diverse viewpoints. 

Course Code: HGS43X, HGS44X

Credits 1 per course

Grade Level:10

Prerequisite: Students should have taken and successfully completed their coursework in Global History Freshman year. Students are expected to have had prior experience working with primary and secondary source texts and documents.  Students should have background knowledge on formulating coherent thesis statements and know how to write well developed and organized essays.

Course Description: In AP World History: Modern, students investigate significant events, individuals, developments, and processes from 1200 to the present. Students develop and use the same skills, practices, and methods employed by historians: analyzing primary and
secondary sources; developing historical arguments; making historical connections; and
utilizing reasoning about comparison, causation, and continuity and change over time. The
course provides six themes that students explore throughout the course in order to make
connections among historical developments in different times and places: humans and the
environment, cultural developments and interactions, governance, economic systems, social interactions and organization, and technology and innovation.

Expectations: : By the end of this course, students will be able to analyze both primary and secondary source texts. Students will develop skills such as historical thinking and writing, as well as historical interpretation which includes evaluation of diverse viewpoints.

AP United States History

Course Code: HUS21X, HUS22X

Credits: 1 per course

Grade Level: 11

Prerequisite: Students should have taken and successfully completed their course work in Global History and or AP European History. Students are expected to have had prior experience with working with primary and secondary source texts and documents as well as have background knowledge of how to write well developed DBQ and Thematic Essays.

Course Description:

The AP United States History is covered over two terms (1 year) and is usually taken as an alternative to the 11th Grade, Junior Level required United States History Course. Students are required to pass the US History and Government Regents Exam at the end of the 2nd term in order to receive a high school Regents diploma. Students are also expected to take the College Board AP US History Exam for the opportunity to earn college credit(s) prior to their college enrollment. The AP Exam includes four types of questions: multiple choice, short-answer, long-essay and document-based essay. Compared to most history tests, the AP Exam will place less emphasis on simple recall and more emphasis on students’ ability to use historical thinking skills such as applying relevant evidence, and or building a historical argument. 

Expectations: By the end of this course, students will be able to analyze both primary and secondary source texts. Students will develop skills such as historical thinking and writing, as well as historical interpretation which includes evaluation of diverse viewpoints.

AP Government and Politics

Course Code: HFS21X, HFS22X

Credits: 1 per course

Grade Level: 12

Prerequisite: Students should have taken and successfully completed their course work in Global History and or AP European and American History. Students are expected to have had prior experience with working with primary and secondary source texts and documents as well as have background knowledge of how to write well developed DBQ and Thematic Essays.

Course Description:

The AP Government and Politics class is covered over two terms (1 year) and is usually taken as an alternative to the 12th Grade, Senior Level required Participation in American Government and Economics Courses.   Students are expected to take the College Board AP Government and Politics Exam for the opportunity to earn college credit(s) prior to their college enrollment. The AP Exam includes two types of questions: multiple choice and free response questions. Compared to most history tests, the AP Exam will place less emphasis on simple recall and more emphasis on students’ ability to use historical thinking skills such as applying relevant evidence, and or building a historical argument.

Expectations: By the end of this course, students will be able to analyze both primary and secondary source texts. Students will develop skills such as historical thinking and writing, as well as historical interpretation which include evaluation of diverse viewpoints.  Emphasis will be placed on creation and analysis of logical arguments on political issues.

AP African American Studies

AP African American Studies is an interdisciplinary course that examines the diversity of African American experiences through direct encounters with authentic and varied sources. Students explore key topics that extend from early African kingdoms to the ongoing challenges and achievements of the contemporary era. Given the interdisciplinary character of African American studies, students in the course will develop skills across multiple fields, with an emphasis on developing historical, literary, visual, and data analytical skills. This course engages in a rigorous and academic study of the diversity of Black communities in the United States within the broader context of Africa and the African diaspora.

 

IB History of the Americas (Junior Year)

Course Code: HUS21B, HUS22B

Credits: 1 per course

Grade Level: 11

Prerequisite: Students are required to have taken and earned a grade of 85 or higher in their sophomore-year honors level Global History course.  

Course Description:

IB History is a two-year course that satisfies the requirements of both the IB Diploma program and NYS Board of Regents.  During their junior year, IB History students will study a Higher Level (HL) subject on “Aspects of the History of the Americas.”  Within this subject, students will focus on 3 in-depth topics.  The study of this subject during their junior year will satisfy both an IB requirement and NYS requirement and will culminate their junior year in a United States History & Government Regents exam.  Juniors will also be expected to plan, research, and report an IB Historical Investigation on a research topic of their choosing, which will be internally assessed by their junior history teacher. 

Expectations: Student will be expected to read college-level texts, analyze primary and secondary sources, and submit periodic essays that demonstrate their content knowledge and critical writing skills.  

IB History of the Americas (Senior Year)

Course Code: HFS21B, HFS22B

Credits: 1 per course

Grade Level: 12

Prerequisite: Students are required to have taken and earned a grade of 85 or higher in their junior-year IB History of the Americas course.  Students are also required to have adequately completed their Internal Assessment for IB History called the Historical Investigation.  

Course Description:

During their senior year, IB History students will study an IB prescribed subject called “Communism in Crisis” and an IB HL subject called “20th Century World History.”  The “Communism in Crisis” subject will focus on the fall of communism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union at the end of the 20th century.  It will also focus on the changing nature of the Chinese government and economy after the death of Mao Zedong.  The “20th Century World History” subject will focus on two major topics: the Cold War and the growth of single-party states.  This class will culminate in IB External Assessments in April of the senior year.   

Expectations: Student will be expected to read college-level texts, analyze primary and secondary sources, and submit periodic essays that demonstrate their content knowledge and critical writing skills.  By the end of this course, students will be able expected to take three IB History External Assessments that will require them to write one document-based essay and five argumentative essays based on their historical knowledge from both their junior and senior years.

IB Psychology (SL)

Course Code: HBS41B, HBS42B, HBS43B, HBS44B

Credit: 1 per course

Grade Level: 11, 12

Prerequisite: Students should be in either the IB program or have been recommended by another honors program teacher. 

Course Description:

IB Psychology is a two year mandatory higher level elective course.  Students will learn 4 main levels of analysis (LOA’s) through which they study various topics in Psychology.  The areas of study are biological, cognitive, developmental and qualitative research.  In addition, students will examine how psychological knowledge is developed and applied.  An essential element of the course is the evaluation of ground-breaking case studies and experiments, which have changed the landscape of the understanding of the human mind. 

Expectations:  By the end of the course students should have a depth of knowledge in all 4 levels of analysis and be able to apply these concepts in examining a variety of psychological experiments, case studies and psychological reviews. As part of an internal assessment (IA), students will design and implement their own psychological experiment, and then analyze their findings in a formally written report. 

 

Criminal Law

Course Code: HLS 21T

Credits: 1 per course

Prerequisite: Students will not need any prerequisites

Course Description:

Criminal Law is a law elective class given to law house students at Curtis High School.  This course is designed to give students a basic introduction to the field of law.  The course will cover topics such as settling disputes and the criminal and juvenile justice systems  

Expectations: By the end of this course, students will be able to utilize primary and secondary sources to describe, analyze, and evaluate legal knowledge concerning topics in Criminal Law.  Students will also be able to construct essays using content knowledge and evidence from primary and secondary sources.

Civil Law

Course Code:     HLS22T

Credits: 1

Prerequisite: Students should have taken and successfully completed their course work in Criminal Law. Students are expected to have had prior experience with working with primary and secondary source texts and documents.

Course Description:

Civil Law is designed to give students the knowledge and skills required to act as productive citizens in the United States legal system.  Students will use higher level thinking and project based learning to create and analyze well-supported logical arguments related to government and law in the United States. Students will learn about topics such as consumer law, family law and civil justice system.

Expectations: By the end of this course, students will be able to analyze both primary and secondary source texts. Students will develop skills such as legal thinking and writing, as well as legal interpretation which include evaluation of diverse viewpoints.  Technology will be used to conduct research, process information and present written and oral arguments to the class.  An assigned project will be collected and considered as an entry in the schools Law Project Fair.

Criminology

Course Code: HLS61T

Credits: 1 per course

Prerequisite: Students should have taken Criminal Law and Civil Law.

Course Description:

Criminology is an elective course in the Law Enforcement Academy.  It is a course that students begin in the fall semester of usually, their sophomore year and ends in January.  At the end of the semester, students will have completed a project based on criminologists’ viewpoints of crime.  

Expectations: By the end of this course, students will be able to utilize primary and secondary sources to describe, analyze, and evaluate criminologists’ theories as to why crime exists.  They will analyze and preform their own methods of research and studies in the criminal field.  Students will learn about criminal profiling and crime analysis.

Drugs, Gangs and Juvenile Justice

Course Code: HLS62T

Credits: 1

Prerequisite: Students should have taken and successfully completed their course work in Criminal Law, Civil Law and Criminology. This is the fourth course in the Law Enforcement Academy sequence. Students are expected to have had some prior knowledge of law from those classes.

Course Description:

Drugs, Gangs and Juvenile Justice  is designed to give students the knowledge and skills required to analyze how drugs, gangs and juveniles play a role in the American criminal system.  Students will use higher level thinking and project based learning to create and analyze well-supported logical arguments explaining the connection between these topics and crime rates.  They will also research and determine preventative ways to reduce crime in the United States. 

Expectations: By the end of this course, students will be able to analyze both primary and secondary source texts. Students will develop skills in areas such as research, data analysis and criminal trends.  Technology will be used to conduct research, process information and present written and oral arguments to the class.  An assigned project will be collected and considered as an entry in the schools Law Project Fair.

Mentor Law I and II (Law as a Profession I and II)

Course Code: HLS21T10

HLS22T10

Credits: 1 per course

Prerequisite: Students should have taken and successfully completed their course work in Criminal Law and Civil Law.  These courses are considered the third and fourth classes in the Human and Legal Studies sequence.

Course Description:

Mentor Law I and Mentor Law II are elective courses.  It is split into two terms that students usually begin in the fall semester of sophomore year and end in the spring semester of sophomore year.  At the end of their sophomore year, this two-term sequence ends with a project which may be entered in the schools Law Project Fair.  

Expectations: By the end of these courses, students will be able to discuss the requirements needed in order to become a lawyer.  They will be familiar with the LSAT test, and the courses one takes in Law School.  Students will be able to describe what the Bar Exam consists of and the importance of Bar Associations.  Students will also analyze the Code of Professional Responsibility and explain why this code is imperative in the law field.  By the end of the second semester, students will also describe the different legal fields one may follow, as well as the qualifications and skills needed, such as interviewing techniques.  An assigned project will be collected and considered as an entry in the schools Law Project Fair.

Police and the Community

Course Code: HLS63T

Credits: 1

Prerequisite: Police and the Community is the fifth elective course in the Law Enforcement Academy sequence. Students should have taken the first two years of this sequence and have had exposure to the skills and procedures of reading and analyzing primary and secondary sources about crime, civil law, statistics and theory. 

Course Description:

Police and the Community is a Law Enforcement Academy course.  Students usually take this course at the beginning of the fall semester of junior year and ends in January of junior year. This course will help prepare students for college classes in Criminal Law and Justice.

Expectations: By the end of this course, students will be able to utilize primary and secondary sources to describe, analyze, and evaluate historical knowledge concerning topics dealing with police work and criminal Justice.  They will also deliberate and argue the authority police should have within the community, as well as, the importance of their presence and rapport within a community.  Students will also be able to construct essays using content knowledge and evidence from primary and secondary sources. 

Prison, Probation and Parole

Course Code: HLS64T

Credits: 1

Prerequisite: Students should have taken and successfully completed their course work in Police and the Community class. Students are expected to have had prior experience with working with primary and secondary source texts and documents.

Course Description:

Prison Probation and Parole is designed to give students the knowledge and skills required to understand how the prison system works and what skills are required for a career in the field.  Students will use higher level thinking and project based learning to create and analyze well-supported logical arguments related to the prison and corrections systems.

Expectations: By the end of this course, students will be able to analyze both primary and secondary source texts. Students will develop skills such as historical thinking and writing, as well as historical interpretation which include evaluation of diverse viewpoints.  Technology will be used to conduct research, process information and present written and oral arguments to the class.  An assigned project will be collected and considered as an entry in the schools Law Project Fair.

Trial and Debate I and II

Course Code: HLS21T1 HLS22T11

Credits: 1

Prerequisite: Students should have taken and successfully completed their course work in Mentor Law I and II.  These courses are considered the third year of the Human and Legal Studies sequence.

Course Description:

Trial and Debate I and II are designed to prepare students to allow them to have a hand on experience in the courtroom through trials and debate.  They will understand the set-up of the American Court systems and the foundations of it.  These courses will give students the knowledge and skills required to act as lawyers and players in the United States legal system.  Students will use higher level thinking and project based learning to create and analyze well-supported logical arguments related to government, politics and law in the United States.

Expectations: By the end of this course, students will be able to analyze both primary and secondary source texts. Students will develop skills such as legal analysis, writing, as well as trial and debate skills.  Moot court competitions and mock trial competitions will take place within the classroom.  Technology will be used to conduct research, process information and present written and oral arguments to the class.

Advanced Topics in Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice I and II

Course Code: HLS65T & HLS66T

Credits: 1 per course

Prerequisite: Students will have had exposure to the content and procedures of

both the United States Constitution and the criminal justice system in their United States History and Government courses and many of the law courses previously listed.

Course Description:

Advanced topics in law is an elective class offered in the Human and Legal Studies/Law Enforcement Academy at Curtis High School. The course is split into two terms that students begin in the fall semester of their senior year and ends in the spring semester of their senior year.  These courses will fulfill the elective credit requirement needed for graduation from a New York City Public High School. The course will cover historical events, laws, Supreme Court cases, legal issues and the impact each has on the United States Constitution and its citizens.

Expectations:

By the end of the course, students will be able to utilize primary and secondary sources to describe, analyze and evaluate historical and legal knowledge concerning topics in Constitutional Law. Students will be able to construct argumentative essays using content knowledge and evidence from primary and secondary sources.