History

That individual values are created by and exist in a historical context is the foundation of the SAAS History Department. To understand both the past and present, one needs to understand the context shaping and influencing individual, national, and cultural values. The department emphasizes the development of specific thinking, writing, and speaking skills that help prepare students for college and life. These skills include the ability to research, to analyze, and to develop, articulate, and defend a thesis. Students demonstrate all of these skills through various assignments and projects, showcased especially when students participate in the school’s Culture of Performance during in-class presentations. Such skills and activities expand students’ understanding of major historical causes and effects, and they enable students to become thoughtful, active members of our society.

Middle School
Upper School

Middle School

History 6 focuses on Civics, developing familiarity with government systems and how they can interact with and influence their communities. They build skills in developing arguments in writing and close the year with a research project on a “changemaker” who inspires them.

History 7 is a course on Pacific Northwest History, in which students learn about the past and present of their home community, Washington state, and its surroundings. The course includes components of history, civics, and contemporary issues and focuses on topics such as the expansion of democracy over time, the tribal nations who have lived in what we now call Washington since time immemorial, and the contributions of the many groups of people who have arrived in Washington since the 19th century.

In 8th grade Global Systems, students use geography and current events to study the systems that exist in our world. They apply lenses of understanding like geography, economics, politics, and culture to build a more sophisticated sense of how those systems impact people’s lives. This gives them a toolkit of social studies vocabulary to apply through textual analysis and research projects.

MIDDLE SCHOOL CURRICULUM GUIDE

Upper School

In the 9th grade course, students learn about a variety of ancient world civilizations, including those in Asia, Africa, and the Islamic world. While the focus is on ancient history, various projects also link ideas and developments in the ancient world to contemporary society. Students also participate in major projects in collaboration with the English department, focusing on ethical frameworks and their application, and later in the Spring, a unit focusing on Civics.

The 10th grade year picks up after the 9th with a study of modern world history. We examine the growth of political, economic, and social structures from the 16th through the late 20th century, including revolutions that led to the rise of democracy, industrialization and various economic systems, the impact of and response to colonization in the developing world, and the rise of nationalism and extreme political ideologies.

In the 11th grade, students can take a non-integrated History course with an Honors option, or an Honors-level, integrated American Studies course. In all 11th-grade courses, students study American history to accompany their study of American literature and continue to develop skills in areas of critical reading, research, writing, and collaboration.

For 12th grade students, the History Department offers elective History choices each term so that students can pursue emerging interests in History. As in the 11th-grade year, students will have the option to take courses with Honors designation. Those courses typically explore topics ranging from cultural and global studies to anthropology and politics.

Upper School Curriculum Guide

MEET THE HISTORY FACULTY

Civil Disobedience

The 11th grade American Studies Civil Disobedience Project requires students to prepare a solution for a set of injustices set in a school. Students consider ethical and constitutional arguments regarding those injustices. They analyze the situation from the perspective of thinkers like James Madison, Henry David Thoreau, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. They consider the real-life ramifications of the divisions created within a community when injustice occurs and create an action plan demonstrating how to repair those divisions.

History at SAAS FAQ

Are there AP or Honors level classes?

Are there AP or Honors level classes?

Because Seattle Academy offers a college preparatory curriculum, students in 6th-10th grades take the same grade-level course in history. Students can take Honors-level classes in the 11th or 12th grade by engaging in an embedded Honors option or by taking our American Studies class for juniors. Seattle Academy does not offer AP courses. We communicate this information to colleges, who understand and appreciate this choice.

Student Profile:

For Anna N. (class of 2018),the American Studies course required that she work hard to gain confidence in her ability to “put herself out there” when she had to perform. Throughout the year, she developed the poise required to effectively communicate her ideas. That competence translated to success in our school’s Youth Legislature program. In her second year, she went beyond her regular role of arguing bills as a Senator to successfully run for a state-level leadership position and serve as a committee chair. Being able to respond to critique in the moment in an academic setting and calmly defend her position helped her become an accomplished Senator, and Anna described her growth over two years this way: “I went from not speaking at all, to presenting a topic that I was passionate about and being able to handle the opposition.”