Difference between US History 8 and American Studies 8?

[Anonymous]

Just saw "Historical Inquiry into American Studies 8" on my 8th grader's schedule and was wondering if it was the right course. She used to be in Global Humanities 6 and 7. I cannot find track information on the MCPS website.

Can anyone confirm it's the next step?

[Anonymous]

Yes, that's the enriched 8th grade class that follows HIGH.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, that's the enriched 8th grade class that follows HIGH.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

There’s barely any difference in the course except Am Studies reads a couple books

[Anonymous]

Adding a couple books makes a world of difference. I can’t remember if it was this course or 7th grade but my kid read Animal Farm and they talked about the historical influences of the 20th century, totaliarianism, etc. it makes a big difference in how kids engage with the curriculum.

[Anonymous]

So, the subject, Historical Inquiry American Studies is better than US history or are they both even and do not matter. Or is one better than the other just like how Hon Geometry is better than regular 8th grade math?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, the subject, Historical Inquiry American Studies is better than US history or are they both even and do not matter. Or is one better than the other just like how Hon Geometry is better than regular 8th grade math?

Apparently American Studies goes a little more in-depth than US History, so in that sense it is similar to an Honors version. However, in high school, Honors and AP classes are weighted more heavily in the GPA than non-Honors, but I don't know how middle school Honors classes are weighted. American Studies would be considered non-Honors, even though it requires more work than US History. It is assigned to students who have done Global Humanities in 6 and 7th grades, which are also a little more in-depth than the regular history classes. I believe it's the 5th grade teacher who recommends students for either track, but perhaps families can request a change later, depending on grades.

[Anonymous]

Thank you so much! My son was extremely confused. He said most of his friends were in US history, and I was a little worried. Again, thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, the subject, Historical Inquiry American Studies is better than US history or are they both even and do not matter. Or is one better than the other just like how Hon Geometry is better than regular 8th grade math?

Apparently American Studies goes a little more in-depth than US History, so in that sense it is similar to an Honors version. However, in high school, Honors and AP classes are weighted more heavily in the GPA than non-Honors, but I don't know how middle school Honors classes are weighted. American Studies would be considered non-Honors, even though it requires more work than US History. It is assigned to students who have done Global Humanities in 6 and 7th grades, which are also a little more in-depth than the regular history classes. I believe it's the 5th grade teacher who recommends students for either track, but perhaps families can request a change later, depending on grades.

Middle school has no weighting and no GPA, except for high school level math (and language ?) classes that transfer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, the subject, Historical Inquiry American Studies is better than US history or are they both even and do not matter. Or is one better than the other just like how Hon Geometry is better than regular 8th grade math?

Apparently American Studies goes a little more in-depth than US History, so in that sense it is similar to an Honors version. However, in high school, Honors and AP classes are weighted more heavily in the GPA than non-Honors, but I don't know how middle school Honors classes are weighted. American Studies would be considered non-Honors, even though it requires more work than US History. It is assigned to students who have done Global Humanities in 6 and 7th grades, which are also a little more in-depth than the regular history classes. I believe it's the 5th grade teacher who recommends students for either track, but perhaps families can request a change later, depending on grades.

Middle school has no weighting and no GPA, except for high school level math (and language ?) classes that transfer.

Right, but as I wrote, is that tied to the Honor designation? In which case, it would apply to Honors Geo, Honors Algebra 2, and Honors Language 3 (or beyond, taken at the local high school). I believe the level 1 and 2 of languages are not Honors.

[Anonymous]

The high school level classes in middle school that say "honors" are honors classes. Those are generally limited to honors language level 3 (which many MS have dropped) and honors geometry.

For current MSers, only grades that will help their HS GPA are calculated in. If the grade won't help, it is dropped from the GPA calculation.