History as a scholarly discipline is taught beginning in the first grade. Biography is the primary means of history instruction in the early grades. Students listen to and read lively historical literature, such as myths, legends, and true stories. United States history is emphasized, while a vital knowledge of other places and cultures is also taught. The history/geography curriculum is broad, encompassing the art, literature, philosophy, law, architecture, language, government, economics, and social life of various times, places and cultures. Through the study of history and geography, students acquire historical knowledge in depth and an appreciation of global heritage and traditions. Field trips are an essential part of the history curriculum.  

Geography is taught both as a separate subject and as an integrated topic in other disciplines, such as history, science, and foreign language.  Students learn not only the geography of their own community, region, state, and nation, but international geography as well.  A complete understanding of geography helps students participate in an ever-changing world.  Students study geographical regions, the human and physical processes that shape them, and the peoples who live in them.

The School establishes links with schools in other countries to enable students to compare their local environment with other regions.  Student assessment is based not only upon written work and projects, but also on individual contributions to class discussions, as well as demonstrated thinking skills and the ability to work cooperatively within the framework of the lessons studied.

Program Goals

• To provide a valuable foundation of knowledge of World History and Geography
• To develop creative thinking and problem-solving skills related to historical events and geographical concepts
• To identify and teach the major geographical regions and features of the world
• To promote an understanding of the relationships amongst climate, agriculture, land, history, and cultures around the world
• To foster intelligent analysis and comparison of past and present events
• To facilitate understanding of actions of individuals, communities, and governments throughout history

Program Curriculum
The topics for our History/Geography curriculum are selected from those suggested in The Core Knowledge Series designed by E. D. Hirsch.  The curriculum goals are met through a multi-sensory approach to learning.  The children are encouraged to use their own creative potential to develop projects and to become independent thinkers.

Grade 5
World History topics include the early civilizations of the Mayas, Aztecs, and Incas; the European explorers; and the Italian Renaissance and contemporaneous histories of Japan and Russia. American history focuses on the Civil War, westward expansion and Native Americans.

Grade 6
Topics include important philosophies from the ancient world, the Enlightenment, the French Revolution, and Romanticism. An additional unit covers the Latin American independence movements occurring during this period. Students study the history of the United States during the periods from post-Civil War and immigration to industrialization and urbanization. They also study the great deserts of the world.

Grade 7
Students begin with a study of the Spanish-American War and America’s move toward becoming a world power. Following is a unit on World War I and the relationships among European countries in the early 1900s. Geography is studied in relation to the historical events and students learn the geography of western and central Europe and Asia. Students study the Russian Revolution and the United States during the period of the 1920s to the New Deal, including isolationism, the Scopes “Monkey Trial,” the Harlem Renaissance, the technological advances of the time, and the Great Depression. They study the rise of totalitarianism in Europe and the approach of World War II and study World War II in Europe, the Pacific, and events on the home front.

Grade 8
E.D. Hirsch’s Core Knowledge sequence continues to be the framework for history and geography in eighth grade. The time period of this year’s studies encompasses the mid to late twentieth century. Topics covered this year include The Decline of European Colonialism, The Cold War, The Civil Rights Movement, The Vietnam War and the Rise of Social Activism, The Middle East and Oil Politics, The End of the Cold War: Expansion of Democracy, and Civics: the Constitution.