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Course Standards
General Course Information and Notes
Version Description
Humane Letters 4 - History is an integrated blending of History and Literature that centers on Western civilization from the Classical Roman world to Modernity. Emphasizing the classical approach to teaching and learning, this course fosters reading, discussion, and writing based on great works. This course is designed to be paired with Humane Letters 4 - Literature.
After three years of studying the linear and internal historical development of specific Western political entities (the United States; the several political units of Europe; ancient Greece, Rome, and Israel), Humane Letters 4—History takes a topical and comparative approach to all of these historical entities previously studied. The course theme is diachronic and transnational innovation within an historical and intellectual tradition of continuity. The selected texts present case studies in which innovative fusions occur between the concrete historical culture of an author and another text, author, or idea far removed in time and/or space. Students will be guided towards the features of texts which cause them to be considered a part of the ‘great conversation,’ which is the history of the development of thought in Western civilization. This development will be considered as both the cause of historical change and the effect of historical contingencies. Recommended texts for this course include, but are not limited to: Aeneid, Augustine’s Confessions, Aquinas’ Treatise on Law, Dante’s Inferno, Machiavelli’s Prince, the philosophy of Descartes, and The Brothers Karamazov (The recommended texts list entirely overlaps with Humane Letters 4—Literature, but the two complementary courses make use of these texts for different purposes).
Humane Letters 4 – History Learning Outcomes:
- Outline the mytho-historical parallels between Homer and the Aeneid; explain how Virgil fuses these elements to create a unique account of the origin and destiny of the Roman people.
- Identify the lines of Aquinas’ thought that are derived from the Christian and Augustinian tradition, and contrast these with Aristotelian innovations.
- Analyze how the spread and influence of the Latin language influenced Western civilization.
- Discuss how Dante fuses Christian monotheistic ideas into the form of epic poetry.
- Identify the ways in which contemporary politics inform Dante’s epic narrative techniques, and explain the ways in which this might have led to an historical evolution in the sense of European (Italian) identity.
- Describe the political influence of the church and its relation to secular sources of power which forms the cultural context of Machiavelli’s Prince; explain how this text marks a departure from the Constantinian fusion of church and state power.
- Contrast the authority of Descartes’ philosophical method with the traditional authorities of church and state; explain how Descartes may be considered a revolutionary turning point within modernity.
- Examine the conflict between religious thought and strains of modernist philosophy (rationalism, idealism, nihilism).
General Notes
Instructional Practices
The recommended primary mode of instruction in Humane Letters is the seminar, supplemented with direct instruction through lecture or coaching. The seminar format requires that students participate actively in their search for the fullest understanding of the texts under examination. While the instructor serves as a guide in the learning process, the students and the instructor together investigate and explore the many complex ideas presented in the texts. Students are expected to follow these rules governing the seminar format:
- Students must come to class having read the assignment in its entirety before they can participate in seminar discussion
- Students must mentally prepare serious questions for the class to consider during discussion.
- Each student must attend fully to the discussion at hand and refrain from carrying on side discussions.
- Students must limit their comments only to the selection assigned for homework, or previously discussed passages.
- Students must support their observations, arguments, or claims with specific textual evidence.
Literacy Standards in Social Studies
Secondary social studies courses include reading standards for literacy in history/social studies 6-12, and writing standards for literacy in history/social studies, science, and technical subjects 6-12. This course also includes speaking and listening standards. For a complete list of standards required for this course click on the blue tile labeled course standards. You may also download the complete course including all required standards and notes sections using the export function located at the top of this page.
English Language Development ELD Standards Special Notes Section:
Teachers are required to provide listening, speaking, reading and writing instruction that allows English language learners (ELL) to communicate information, ideas and concepts for academic success in the content area of Social Studies. For the given level of English language proficiency and with visual, graphic, or interactive support, students will interact with grade level words, expressions, sentences and discourse to process or produce language necessary for academic success. The ELD standard should specify a relevant content area concept or topic of study chosen by curriculum developers and teachers which maximizes an ELL's need for communication and social skills. To access an ELL supporting document which delineates performance definitions and descriptors, please click on the following link: https://cpalmsmediaprod.blob.core.windows.net/uploads/docs/standards/eld/ss.pdf
General Information
Educator Certifications
Student Resources
Original Student Tutorials
Discover the origins and meaning of the document known as Magna Carta in this short video.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Travel around the state of Alabama to learn about three events during the Civil Rights era: the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the 16th Street Church bombing, and the March to Selma with this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn about President Franklin D. Roosevelt's use of the radio to communicate New Deal policies that are still relevant with this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Did you know our military personnel faced segregation and discrimination while serving our country? Learn about presidential powers, the use of executive orders by our presidents, and how Executive Order 9981 ended segregation in the U.S. armed forces with this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn about public policy solutions and how public opinion, the media, and interest groups all influence decision-making about public issues with this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
In this interactive tutorial, you'll analyze dozens of World War II propaganda posters in order to understand how Americans on the home front experienced the war years. The U.S. government commissioned propaganda to convince Americans to support the war in a variety of ways. You'll learn how these posters reveal U.S. domestic policy during the 1940s, as well as how the government tried to expand the involvement of different groups of Americans, including women and minorities, during WWII.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
In Parts 1 and 2 of this interactive tutorial series, learn about the end of World War I and the Paris Peace Conference that followed, from the point of view of the United States and President Woodrow Wilson. You'll learn about the Treaty of Versailles that ended the war with Germany, about the League of Nations, and about Wilson's failure to make the U.S. a part of the newly created international organization.
CLICK HERE to open Part 1.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
In Parts 1 and 2 of this interactive tutorial series, learn about the end of World War I and the Paris Peace Conference that followed, from the point of view of the United States and President Woodrow Wilson. You'll learn about the Treaty of Versailles that ended the war with Germany, about the League of Nations, and about Wilson's failure to make the U.S. a part of the newly created international organization.
CLICK HERE to open Part 2.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
In Parts 1 and 2 of this interactive tutorial series, learn how Americans on the home front experienced World War 1 while helping the U.S.A win the war. You'll learn about war bonds and about the changes WWI brought to America's economy. You'll also learn how propaganda and new laws against wartime dissent curbed Americans' civil liberties. Finally, you'll learn how the war lead to increased opportunities for women and African Americans.
CLICK HERE to open Part 1.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
In Parts 1 and 2 of this interactive tutorial series, learn how Americans on the home front experienced World War 1 while helping the U.S.A win the war. You'll learn about war bonds and about the changes WWI brought to America's economy. You'll also learn how propaganda and new laws against wartime dissent curbed Americans' civil liberties. Finally, you'll learn how the war lead to increased opportunities for women and African Americans.
CLICK HERE to open Part 2.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
In Parts 1 and 2 of this interactive tutorial series, learn about the 26th President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt. "TR," as he was known, pursued a bold, progressive agenda that transformed America and the presidency.
CLICK HERE to open Part 1.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
In Parts 1 and 2 of this interactive tutorial series, learn in detail about the 26th President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt. "TR," as he was known, pursued a bold, progressive agenda that transformed America and the presidency.
CLICK HERE to open Part 2.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
In Parts 1 and 2 of this interactive tutorial series, learn how World War II began in Europe and Asia. You'll learn about the aggression of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan that threatened world peace, and you'll learn how the United States responded with isolationism...until the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 caused America to join the Allies.
CLICK HERE to open Part 1.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
In Parts 1 and 2 of this interactive tutorial series, learn how World War II began in Europe and Asia. You'll learn about the aggression of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan that threatened world peace, and you'll learn how the United States responded with isolationism...until the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 caused America to join the Allies.
CLICK HERE to open Part 2.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
In Parts 1 and 2 of this interactive tutorial series, you'll analyze the Pullman Strike of 1894, a dramatic event in the American labor movement. In Part 1, you'll focus on the history of the strike. In Part 2, you'll practice your literary skills while learning more about the same event.
Click HERE to open Part 1.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
In Parts 1 and 2 of this interactive tutorial series, you'll analyze the Pullman Strike of 1894, a dramatic event in the American labor movement. In Part 1, you'll focus on the history of the strike. In Part 2, you'll practice your literacy skills while learning more about the same event.
Click HERE to open Part 2.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
In this interactive tutorial, learn about the Second Red Scare that swept America in the early years of the Cold War. You'll also learn about McCarthyism, the era of suspicion and persecution that gets its name from the actions of notorious Senator Joseph McCarthy.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Practice analyzing an informational text using President Abraham Lincoln's 2nd Inaugural Address. In this interactive tutorial, you'll determine Lincoln's purpose in this historical speech. You'll also analyze how his specific word choice and use of parallel structure help support his purpose.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
In this interactive tutorial, learn about the era of mass immigration from 1865 to 1914, when as many as 25 million immigrants entered the United States, many of them through Ellis Island. You'll learn where immigrants came from, why they emigrated, how they adjusted to life in the U.S., and you'll compare the experiences of European and Asian immigrants.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
In this interactive tutorial, learn some of the differences between the First and Second Industrial Revolutions, as well as key developments that drove the Second Industrial Revolution. You'll also learn about some of the leaders of industry during this era, including John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, and J.P. Morgan, and examine how their development of major industries and business practices affected America’s economy during the Second Industrial Revolution.
Check out this related tutorial: The Power of Innovation: Inventors of the Industrial Revolution.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
In this interactive tutorial, learn about the years immediately following World War I: 1919 and 1920. These were dangerous years of economic depression, racial violence, and anti-immigrant nativism in the United States. You'll learn about the Red Scare, the Palmer Raids, Sacco and Vanzetti, and the rise of the Ku Klux Klan.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
In this interactive tutorial, explore the central causes of America's bloodiest conflict: the Civil War.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
In this interactive tutorial, learn about landmark cases decided by the Supreme Court in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, including Brown vs. Board of Education, Miranda vs. Arizona, and Roe vs. Wade. This tutorial covers the backgrounds, outcomes, and impacts of eight important cases in detail.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Tutorials
In this tutorial video brought to you by Khan Academy, you'll learn about the economic system called communism. This video explores the origins and history of communism and explains its connections to authoritarian forms of government.
Type: Tutorial
Learn about America's history in this interactive tutorial. This webisode from PBS's History: A Freedom of Us provides detailed informational texts, primary source documents that include photographs, and online quizzes to help you explore aspects of this complex time in American history. You'll learn about the 1862 Homestead Act, the rise of immigration, different aspects of the immigrant experience, the expansion of the American West, and the violent conflicts that resulted in the deaths of Native Americans and the removal and relocation of different tribes onto reservations.
Type: Tutorial
In this tutorial, you'll interact with a chronological map of the attacks on Pearl Harbor. Trace the timeline of events as you listen to, read, and explore the devastating sneak attack that brought the U.S. into World War II on December 7, 1941.
Type: Tutorial
In this tutorial, you will view an outstanding video on the meaning and history of habeas corpus: the law that prevents a person being held in jail or prison without being able to hear and contest the charges being brought against them. You'll then learn about 4 recent Supreme Court cases where habeas corpus has been called into question in the context of the global war on terror.
Type: Tutorial
In this resource, you will experience a blast from the past! Go on a journey through U.S. political history as you view various campaign ads from past presidential elections. From the earliest television ads aired in 1952 to ads from 2012, this is a one stop shop with over 300 political commercials available to watch. Each election year contains information to set the context for the collection of commercials, as well as information about the major candidates who ran, and a map that displays the final election results. Enjoy this journey into America's political past!
Type: Tutorial
In this tutorial, you will explore an interactive map featuring video and audio clips that help you explore the sights and sounds of New York City in the 1920s. During this time in American history, life for Americans was in a constant state of change - culturally, politically, socially, and economically. Things were booming, especially in New York City. Enjoy this interactive exploration through an exciting time in American history!
Type: Tutorial
In this tutorial video, you'll take a whirlwind journey through the Progressive Era in American history. During this time, people were attempting to solve governmental and societal issues, all while trying to better implement equality for all. Enjoy this "crash course" in U.S. history!
Type: Tutorial
Video/Audio/Animations
Learn how to "think like a historian" in this brief video from Khan Academy. Your hosts analyze in detail President Franklin D. Roosevelt's First Inaugural Address, in which he told the American people, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
Type: Video/Audio/Animation
Learn how to "think like a historian" in this brief video from Khan Academy. Your hosts explain the difference between primary and secondary sources and analyze the beginning of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's First Inaugural Address.
Type: Video/Audio/Animation
Learn how to "think like a historian" in this brief video from Khan Academy. The speaker describes how thinking like a historian entails using the skills of a storyteller, a scientist, and a lawyer!
Type: Video/Audio/Animation
View a 10-part video on the Battle of Yorktown, the culminating battle of the Revolutionary War. With French aid, George Washington led American troops to a victory that ensured American independence.
In addition to the video, you will find primary source documents and a graphic organizer to help you analyze the Battle of Yorktown in greater detail.
Type: Video/Audio/Animation
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