History

Upper School students engage in the study of American and World History through close analysis of primary and secondary text resources, project-based assignments and the use of cross-curricular connections. This study leads to a survey course in 12th grade that focuses on a different geographic region each year and culminates in a domestic or international travel opportunity and a Senior Capstone Research Project. Strategies for text reading, note taking, research projects and papers, and assessments are taught and reinforced. Our students also learn a great deal beyond the walls of the school by traveling to places both domestic and international for field study. History courses include:

9th and 10th Grade History: World History, Thematic

Experience a far-reaching and diverse history that is engaging and made relevant.

The 9th and 10th grade history courses are mixed grade. What is unique about the course is that the histories are present thematically, not chronologically. Research has shown that for students who learn differently, attaching content to themes promotes stronger long-term retention. Thematic units also make the histories more relevant to the present by presenting students a structure to categorize events from the past and teaches an ability to evaluate contemporary events, political issues, and debates relative to our basic values.

Students move through four themes:

Theme One: Patriotism and Nationalism (covering Italy and Germany)

Theme Two: Imperialism and Resistance (covering Ireland and India)

Theme Three: History on the Sea (for example, the Atlantic slave trade)

Theme Four: Revolution (for example, in Haiti and the French Polynesian)

11th Grade History: American History

Become an American historian, unafraid to dig deeper and challenge the dominant narrative.

Designed in tandem with the 11th Grade American Literature class, the 11th Grade American History class focuses on the evolution of government and society in America beginning in the early 20th century. Relying heavily on primary document analysis, the course explores topics in government, domestic politics, imperialism, foreign affairs, economic and social reform, philosophy, and gender.

12th Grade History: Senior Seminar

The Four Threads for the Future experience at AIM Academy culminates in a year long multidisciplinary course that connects History, Science, Literature and the Arts in what is called Senior Seminar. Each senior at AIM is enrolled in a set of college preparatory courses, in addition to their dual-enrollment college class at a nearby university, which allows them to dive deeply into learning about a specific region abroad. By preparing students with rich content through traditional and mixed methods including projects, presentations and collaborative problem solving experiences, we believe that this global travel experience deeply enhances our students learning by turning the world into the classroom.

By the time all seniors embark on their international journey, they are experts about the areas they will visit and ready to share their knowledge with peers in international, on-sight presentations. Students keep thorough and detailed journals of their travel experience where they collect information from specific tours, artifacts from the places they visit and document photo challenges that take place abroad. When they return, seniors prepare to give their final Senior Capstone projects which include a public presentation, a paper and a visual, arts-based, 3-D representation informed by their research.

See section on “Senior Seminar” for more details about this unique offering.