Social Studies

A successful grounding in social studies is a necessary component in being a citizen in our nation. To that end, Souderton Area High School has required that all students take a minimum of one credit of social studies per school year. Of course, a student may take more than this requirement, and our block scheduling format allows for that possibility.

In order to graduate:

The wide variety of disciplines within the area of social studies is reflected in the offerings available. The department’s goal is to provide a course catalog that truly does offer a wide range of studies beyond a core of required courses. In addition, the available courses reflect a range of difficulty levels that should allow students to select courses most suited to their academic needs.

ACADEMIC
These students are pursuing an academic course load that will point them to the possibility of future post-high school education. The courses on this path will emphasize the skills and experiences necessary to pursue a post-high school education.

ADVANCED PLACEMENT/HONORS (more information below)
Courses on this track are for the highly motivated student truly interested in social studies. These courses are the most challenging in the social studies catalog.

ELECTIVES
The Social Studies Department has a created a variety of electives available to students in their junior and senior years. Please be reminded that while elective courses are available for eleventh graders, taking one in that year does not absolve the student from taking the required social studies course (Modern American Government and Economic Issues). Taking a social studies elective during your twelfth-grade year will meet the requirement of one social studies credit per year.

THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT/HONORS
Students who wish to maximize the number of Advanced Placement and Honors courses in social studies can take advantage of the following path/track. Students who have selected this path are given the opportunity to modify their required course load in social studies. This can be accomplished by the following sequence:

Grade Nine: Honors US History
Grade Ten: Honors Global Studies
OR
Advanced Placement Human Geography
OR
Advanced Placement European History
Grade Eleven:

Advanced Placement United States History
OR
Advanced Placement United States Government and Politics Students who elect to take a different AP Social Studies Course during 11th grade will need to take it concurrently with Modern American Government and Economics Issues to fulfill the 2 credits of American History Requirement

Grade Twelve:

Advanced Placement Economics
OR
Advanced Placement Psychology
OR
Any other Advanced Placement Social Studies course not previously taken

Use the following link for the Course Prerequisite Chart.

Use the links below to read about SAHS's Social Studies courses: