Academics at Champion

Students will analyze economic principles that have shaped our world past and present. Students will use the textbook sources along with outside primary and secondary sources to compare the impact of international trade, economic systems, fiscal policy, money and banking in the world. This course will be student-centered providing opportunities for critical thinking and questioning of economic principles. Students will have the opportunity to study economic events and differing perspectives from people who were involved in or affected by these events. The emphasis will be for students to develop an understanding about the events that shaped the world we now live in and what alternatives options were available and not used that may have changed their outcomes.
Students will gain new insights about the economy, our government, and other world economies. Themes will be used as springboard to understanding the elements of economics and how they function. Themes like; entrepreneurs, factors of production, science & technology, cause and effect, government, and conflict,
The semester will cover scarcity, supply, demand, and opportunity cost to understand how these drive our wants. Students will analyze the factors of production along with Capitalism, Mercantilism, Socialism and Communism to better understand these economies, the people responsible for developing these economies and how and why each one was created. Students will compare the Economy of the United States with other countries in the world to discover how international trade and global economics influences the United States Government and Economy. Students will compare several entrepreneurs in order to see what they have in common and why they were successful. Each student will research an entrepreneur and report about how they have impacted our world and economics.
Students will follow several stocks in the Stock Exchange for several weeks to better understand how the Stock Exchange operates. They will create charts to show the progression of their stock picks and present to the class their success or lack of success. They will speculate on what created their stocks success or lack of success.
The major research project will be creating a brochure describing one of the alternative forms of energy available to the government and people to use. The brochure will include the history of the form of energy, how this energy is produced and how it works, the costs of producing this form of energy and the cost per kilowatt to operate, the negative impact on the environment and people, the positive impact of this form of energy, and their opinion about the form of energy. Student will orally present their brochures to a panel of people who will grade the presentation using the school’s rubric for oral presentations. The panel will ask questions of the students to gain further knowledge about the student’s knowledge of the form of energy.

Economics in action – each student will prepare an income tax return, prepare a financial aid packet for college, prepare to rent an apartment, analyze the drawbacks to borrowing money, and prepare a resume. Each student will research a Fortune 500 Company and present the research in a paper, and orally to the class.
The class will emphasize critical thinking skills like reading charts and graphs and analyzing economic cartoons. The class will also focus on reading, writing, and vocabulary. Current events will be part of the classroom experience.

To provide students with the knowledge of how physical geography affects the political and economic features of countries and the way of life of their peoples. To teach students how physical features affect climate, vegetation, history, economics and human lifestyle. To help students produce a clear mental map of the main countries and regions of the world. To equip students for further learning in other areas.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:
Students will be able to:
1.  Identify the five oceans and seven continents and their major physical features.
2.  Explain the primary characteristics of the eight world culture regions.
3.  Identify the regions within the eight world regions, such as Western Europe’s four parts (British Isles, Scandinavia, Continental Europe, and Mediterranean Europe).
4.  Identify the major countries in the world.
5.  Identify every major city and capital in the world.
6.  Identify Regions within each major country, especially the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia.
7.  Associate with each major country Major land and water features, Famous buildings, Famous people, and World changing events.
8.  Interpret basic types of maps; physical relief, climate, land use, and population.
9.  Define and use basic geographic terms.
10.  Interpret common geographic tools, (topographic maps, flow charts)
11.  Describe the limits of maps in representing reality.
12.  Compare and contrast different regions using maps and facts from the geography course.
13.  Show the relationship between physical geography and human activity in any region.
14.  Explain the motivations behind modern conflicts, such as wars and tariffs.
15.  List special challenges to mission work in any region.
16.  Evaluate news reports.

MAJOR ACTIVITIES:
1.  Map studies
2.  Discussion
3.  Topical lectures
4.  Reports
5.  News items
6.  Written Assignments
7.  Geography fair

MAJOR RESOURCE MATERIALS:
1.  Selected text
2.  Maps
3.  Atlas
4.  Almanac
5.  Library materials
6.  Various periodicals
7.  Videos

MEANS OF STUDENT EVALUATION:
1.  Coursework
2.  Quizzes and tests
3.  Participation
4.  Reports
5.  Projects

Students will analyze the principles government that have shaped our world past and present. Students will use the textbook sources along with outside primary and secondary sources to compare the different forms of government, how the executive, legislative and judicial branches operate, how political parties and lobbyists impact legislature and the role of citizens in government. This course will be student-centered providing opportunities for critical thinking and questioning of the principles of government. The emphasis will be for students to develop an understanding about the events that shaped governments in the world and what alternative options were available and not used that may have changed their outcomes.

Students will gain new insights about government, and other world government systems. Themes will be used as springboard to understanding the elements of economics and how they function. Themes like; forms of government, revolutionary ideas, separation of powers, checks and balances, branches of government, and Supreme Court cases that changed our lives. Ideas of Locke, Rousseau, Montesquieu and Voltaire will be analyzed in light of democratic ideals they helped to set down along with how to protect the rights of citizens.

Each student will research a form of government and report about how these have impacted our world. The major research project will be researching a Supreme Court case that has influenced American life. Student will also research a Supreme Court Justice past or present and create a PowerPoint presentation about their life, what decisions they impacted, the positive and negative decisions they have made, how they changed history, and the president who appointed them to the bench. Student will orally present their PowerPoint presentation to the class who will grade the presentation using the school’s rubric for oral presentations. The class will ask questions of the students to gain further knowledge about the student’s knowledge about the Supreme Court Justice.
Critical thinking skills like reading charts and graphs, analyzing political cartoons, and recognizing points of view will be developed. Current events will be part of the classroom experience.

Students will analyze historical events and movements that helped to develop American society; including war, diplomacy, international relations, gender, racial and ethnic groups. Students will examine historical events and movements from the Age of Exploration where Europeans came to North America to colonize the continent to present day in order to understand how events in the United States along with world events and movements affected people in the United States. Students will become witnesses to history using the textbook sources along with outside primary and secondary sources to compare the impact of migration, immigration, isolation, art, music, literature, religion, civil war, world war, industrialization, economics, and geography had on the United States. This course will be student-centered providing opportunities for critical thinking and questioning of historical events and differing perspectives from people who were involved in or affected by these historical events. The emphasis will be for students to develop an understanding about the events that shaped the United States and what alternatives options were available and not used that may have changed their outcomes.

Students will travel through United States History to discover new insights, uncover mysteries and themes that will be used as passports, to understanding the time period being studied. Themes like; culture, foreign relations, science & technology, economics, cause and effect, geography, government, conflict, and cultural identity.

Students will reviews the age of exploration, the nation’s beginning, the American Revolution, manifest destiny, the Civil War and reconstruction. Students will analyze the impact of settlers on Native American cultures, the rise of big business, and the industrialization of America. Students will examine the Spanish American War, the Progressive Movement World War I, World War II, The Cold War, the decades of the 1920’s, 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. Students will analyze turning points in U.S. History like the Fourteenth Amendment, The Civil Rights Act of 1964, The elections of 1960, 1980 & 2000, the Apollo Moon missions. These topics will be analyzed, evaluated and discussed both orally and in written format by the students.

Current events will be an essential part of the classroom experience providing students an opportunity to gauge world affairs and their impact on the global community.

Written research assignments will be required on various movements, people, and a country brochure will culminate in a mock United Nations starting in the second semester. Mock Senate: Each student will research a state and become a senator for their state during the senate sessions held monthly in class starting in January. Sessions will cover subjects being debated in the United States Senate.

Students will analyze historical events and movements from the early modern times, A.D. 1300, to present day in order to understand how world events and various regional and world movements affected people in different geographic areas of the world. Students will become witnesses to history using the textbook sources along with outside primary and secondary sources to compare the impact of migration, immigration, isolation, art, music, literature, religion, war, regional conflicts, economics, and geography had on different regions in the world. This course will be student-centered providing opportunities for critical thinking and questioning of historical events and differing perspectives from people who were involved in or affected by these historical events. The emphasis will be for students to develop an understanding about the events that shaped the world we now live in and what alternatives options were available and not used that may have changed their outcomes.

Students will travel through World History to discover new insights, uncover mysteries and themes that will be used as passports, to understanding the time period being studied. Themes like; culture, foreign relations, science & technology, economics, cause and effect, geography, government, conflict, and cultural identity.

Students will examine; the Scientific Revolution, the Enlightenment and the Renaissance to discover their impact on the world. They will investigate the revolutions and movements that have occurred in Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America. The causes and effects of World War I, along with the Mexican and Russian Revolutions and their impact during World War I and relate to the world at large.

Students will evaluate totalitarian governments of Germany and Italy and Spanish Civil War and their impact on World War II. Analysis of what led to World War II and its effects on the rise of China and Russia leading to the Cold War with the United States along with atomic, hydrogen, and nuclear weapons and their impact of the Cold War will be completed. The creation of the nation of Israel and how this impacted the Middle East; the impact of the wars in both Korea and Vietnam and how they have impacted the world today. Revolutions that have changed the boundaries and countries of Africa, Central America and South America, along with the rise of dictators and how they have affected the people in these areas of the world; India’s separation from Great Britain and the conflict between India and Pakistan over Waziristan and Kashmir; what ultimately caused the break-up of the Soviet Union; ending with the examine the work of the United Nations in world affairs past and present. These topics will be analyzed, evaluated and discussed both orally and in written format by the students.

Current events will be an essential part of the classroom experience providing students an opportunity to gauge world affairs and their impact on the global community.

Written research assignments will be required on various movements, people, and a country brochure will culminate in a mock United Nations starting in the second semester. Mock United Nations sessions will be held monthly. The sessions will cover subjects being debated in the United Nations currently and providing students an arena for debating and solving the problems facing the world today.