Honors U.S. Foreign Policy

U.S. History

In Honors U.S Foreign Policy class, students engaged in Model Diplomacy simulation that tracked a case study of Russian violation of NATO in the Baltics (Latvia). This simulation placed students in the role of a National Security Council (NSC) member and challenged them to present and deliberate a response to a crisis or long-term policy issue. The students were tasked with implementing policy in a time of crisis as Russian tanks rolled over the border of Latvia. Students said they learned about the NSC system and the U.S. foreign policy–making process; gained a better understanding of a timely foreign policy concern facing the United States as represented in a case study.

History and Social Sciences

In 10th grade Contemporary World History, some of the teachers came together on a joint project. The Africa unit is introduced with a Ted Talk by Nigerian author, Chimamanda Adichie, who talks about the danger of only having a single story about any one place, culture or group of people. Students were assigned to find a “different story” of Africa, other than the stereotypes we often hear about.

Contemporary World History

World History

In U.S.History, the students have already dove deep into the conflict of World War I, experienced life in the roaring 1920s, and are sensing the attitudes and needs of the 1930s. They have been tasked with the opportunity to connect the past to the present. Given two options, the students will be arguing either that past history is relevant to contemporary events or the United States is a place of social justice or injustice, using evidence gained from an in-depth look at various sources they have examined thoroughly through annotations. The U.S. team of teachers have also been working hard together to roll out the project using new technology, Goobric and Doctopus, making sure students (and teachers) are learning 21st century technology skills in the process.

In World History 9th grade teachers teamed up with the Library staff, to create a hands-on lesson for how to Annotate a Bibliography. The lesson included tips on how to best use Paly's database and various search engines to find the best sources, Students prepped for the lesson by reading different viewpoints on the merits of Napoleon during the French Revolution. Students also demonstrated their understanding of the 5 motives of European Imperialism by writing an essay/outline with a thesis and supporting evidence collected by the examination and grouping of the different primary source documents that pertained to each of the five motives.