January 2022

Click here for Humanities 2022 Curriculum Night Presentation

English Requirements and Course Offerings

Students are REQUIRED to take four credits of English, via the following courses:

• 9th Grade: English 9/IBET
• 10th Grade: English 10 (as part of Hum 1)
• 11th Grade: English 11 (as part of Hum 2)
• 12th Grade: Either AP Literature and Composition or AP Language and Composition

English Electives (Full-year)

These do not count as a CORE course.

• Journalism 1-4 (Newspaper)
• Photojournalism 1-3 (Yearbook)
• Broadcast Journalism

Social Studies Course Offerings and Requirements

Students are REQUIRED to take four credits of Social Studies, via the following courses:

• 10th Grade: World History and Geography II (as part of Hum 1)
• 11th Grade: AP US History or US/VA History (as part of Hum 2)
• 12th Grade: AP US Government
• The fourth social studies credit can be met via elective courses (one yearlong course or two semester courses)

Semester Courses

• Anthropology
• Law and Society
• Inquiry into Ideas
• Religious Studies
• 20th Century World History
• America & the World since 1989
• Psychology: Brain and Behavior

Full-year Courses

• African American History
• History of Science
• Ancient & Classical Civilizations*

• *This is a social studies elective that is specifically designed for freshmen. The course emphasizes not only content, but also research skills that students will need for upper level history courses.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Why consider taking US/VA history instead of AP US History?

A: Students should consider honors US/VA if they:

• have an intense junior year AP schedule
• want a less reading-intensive history course
• want to study Humanities without the pressure of an AP exam
• want to cover the material more flexibly

Q: Is World History and Geography 1 a pre-requisite for World History and Geography 2?

A:  NO!

TJ students do not take a mandatory history course in ninth grade (because of the required technology course).

WH & G 1 can meet the fourth social studies elective credit if it is taken in summer school, but it is NOT required.  If taken over the summer, it is also not an honors course.

TJ-specific electives are a rich alternative to this survey course.

Q: Why doesn’t AP Psychology count as the 4th elective social studies credit?

A: We want students to take electives based on genuine interest, not overload on AP classes for an extra grade boost.

Economics and Personal Finance Requirement

Starting with the class of 2015, all Virginia students are required by the state to complete an Econ/Personal Finance credit in addition to their four social studies credits.

Students have a variety of options to meet this requirement, including an online self-paced course, the county online EPF course, or AP Macro/Microeconomics.

Additional Resources: TJ Writing Center and Academic Language

TJ Writing Center: To foster a community of students helping one another with writing, the TJ Writing Center was established in 2011. The TJ Writing Center meets twice a week in order to provide one-on-one consultations as well as special student-led workshops on topics such as college essays and creative writing.

Academic Language: On Mondays, during lunches, and 8th periods, students are able to receive one-on- one academic language support from our specialist, Ms. Glotfelty.

Thank you for attending Curriculum Night.

~Susie Lebryk-Chao, Humanities Division Leader, [email protected]

~Jenifer Hitchcock, Humanities Assistant Division Leader, @email

~Cynthia Hawkins, Assistant Principal, [email protected]