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History and Social Sciences

History and Social Sciences at Maine Coast Semester

We believe the study of history helps students grapple with the context and developments crucial to understanding the present. The experiences of those in the past are taken as case studies to guide contemporary decision-making while acknowledging diverse viewpoints and perspectives. Above all, history offers students the chance to hone their own values and see themselves in the stories of their nation and community. Maine Coast Semester offers two history courses, Honors U.S. History and Advanced Placement® U.S. History (APUSH). While the honors course offers a closer examination of the role of coastal Maine in American history in accordance with our “place-based” pedagogy, APUSH is taught in a more traditional approach to better align with the College Board’s national frameworks and sending schools’ syllabi. 

United States History (H)

Elective, Prerequisite: None

This U.S. History course examines the social, economic, political, and cultural forces that have influenced the development of the United States. Particular attention is paid to the different ways that history can be constructed and the role of perspective. Students have the chance to work with a variety of sources—both primary and secondary—while developing the critical thinking skills necessary to “connect the dots” between past and current events. Additionally, history students will steadily develop their written and oral expression, and the ability to form a persuasive argument supported by their analysis of diverse evidence. 

U.S. History students can expect nightly homework. Assignments include readings, essays, Socratic seminars, and a personal journal to record responses and reactions to prompts relevant to course material. Students will also have the opportunity to connect the themes of the classroom to communities and histories of Maine and Northern New England through field trips and local case studies. While there is no textbook, previous semesters have drawn from resources like the Gilder Lehrman Foundation, the Stanford History Education Group, and Brown University’s “Choices” curriculum.

AP® United States History

Elective, Prerequisite: Students must be enrolled, or plan to enroll upon their return, in their sending schools’ AP® U.S. History (APUSH) course. All students taking this course must also be registered to sit for the College Board exam in May.

The AP® U.S. History course adheres to the criteria established by the College Board, focusing on the development of students’ understanding of American history from approximately 1491 to the present. The course has students investigate the content of U.S. history for significant events, individuals, developments, and processes in nine historical periods, and develop and use the same thinking skills and methods (analyzing primary and secondary sources, making historical comparisons, chronological reasoning, and argumentation) employed by historians when they study the past. The course also provides seven themes (American and national identity; migration and settlement; politics and power; work, exchange, and technology; America in the world; geography and the environment; and culture and society) that students explore throughout the course in order to make connections among historical developments in different times and places. (Source: College Board, AP® U.S. History Description, 2019) 

AP® U.S. History is taught at a fast pace, and students must be capable of self-direction in following a reading and review calendar. While some prescriptive instruction is given in reading and writing, students enrolling in this course are expected to be able to read a college-level textbook and write expository essays that are structurally and grammatically correct. Students will have daily “reading checks,” participate in text-based seminars and debates, and complete unit tests that are based on published exam materials. 

Texts used include: 

  • America: A Narrative History, 10th Edition, David E. Shi and George B. Tindall (2016) 
  • The American Spirit, edited by David M. Kennedy and Thomas A. Bailey
  • For the Record, edited by David E. Shi and George B. Tindall
  • Published exam materials from the College Board