SOPHOMORE YEAR – COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
ENGLISH II
This…world literature course is designed for the student who aspires to post-secondary college or career experience. This class focuses on reading, writing, speaking and listening, and language. Students should expect homework assignments and/or compositions that reinforce classroom instruction. Writing instruction at this level focuses on mechanical correctness, fluency, and structure. The student is expected to function at grade level in communication and thinking skills.
CIVIC LITERACY
The standards and objectives in the Founding Principles of the United States of America and North Carolina: Civic Literacy course will provide students the opportunity to engage in intensive application of the skills, concepts, processes, and knowledge gained in previous social studies courses and prepare them to be college, career, and civic ready. Despite there being a different overall focus for each subsequent course, students will explore the content through the following lenses: inquiry; behavioral sciences; civics and government; economics; geography; and history. As students develop cognitively, these lenses become more focused based on the grade-level content and disciplinary thinking skills.
EARTH SCIENCE/ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
Students are provided an in-depth study of the earth processes including plate tectonics, rock and mineral formation, and landforms. The course focuses on inquiry into the functions of the earth’s systems. Emphasis is placed on matter, energy, coastal dynamics, environmental awareness, materials availability, and the cycles that circulate energy and material through the earth systems. Laboratory work is a major component of the course.
ADOBE VISUAL DESIGN
This course is a project-based course that develops ICT, career, and communication skills in print and graphic design using Adobe tools. This course is aligned to Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator certification. English language arts are reinforced.
PYTHON PROGRAMMING I
This course is designed to introduce Python as a beginning course (not intended for experienced programmers). The course is designed for students to learn and practice coding in an online environment that requires only a modern web browser and an Internet connection. No special software is required to complete this course. The course includes video content, practice labs, and coding projects. Mathematics is reinforced.
AP COMPUTER SCIENCE PRINCIPLES
In this course, students will develop computational thinking vital for success across all disciplines, such as using computational tools to analyze and study data and working with large data sets to analyze, visualize, and draw conclusions from trends. The course is unique in its focus on fostering student creativity. Students are encouraged to apply creative processes when developing computational artifacts and to think creatively while using computer software and other technology to explore questions that interest them. They will also develop effective communication and collaboration skills, working individually and collaboratively to solve problems, and discussing and writing about the importance of these problems and the impacts to their community, society, and the world. It’s recommended that a student in the AP Computer Science Principles course should have successfully completed a first year high school algebra course with a strong foundation on basic linear functions and composition of functions, and problem solving strategies that require multiple approaches and collaborative efforts. In addition, students should be able to use a Cartesian (x, y) coordinate system to represent points in a plane. It is important that students and their advisers understand that any significant computer science course builds upon a foundation of mathematical and computational reasoning that will be applied throughout the study of the course.