Social Studies News & Events 
The Social Studies Department offers courses designed to prepare students to be informed and involved citizens. Students must be prepared to deal not merely with the static information in textbooks but also with the barrage of information received in a changing and complex world. These goals are approached through the mastery of key concepts from the social sciences and development of the skills necessary for applying those concepts to the world in which they live. Through a curriculum that spans from American colonization to more recent political developments, students apply the critical thinking skills learned in the Social Studies Department to better evaluate the world around them. Courses Offered
U.S. I Regular and Advanced Levels
Instructor Mrs. McCabe & Mr. Tarricone
U.S. II Regular, Advanced & Honors
Instructors Mr. Tomashek & Mr. P. Turkot
American Government/Financial Literacy Regular, Advanced & AP
Instructors Mr. Dale & Mr. Dusak
Modern World History Regular and Advanced Levels
Instructors Mr. Dusak, Mr. Tarricone & Mr. Cossaboon
AP U.S History
Instructor Mr. Tomashek
Sociology
Instructor Mr. Tomashek
What's Going On in the Social Studies Department
The Social Studies Department in conjunction with the World Affiars Club is currently sponsoring a voter registration drive.
Check out the website on the local impact of 1918 Spanish Influenza created by Mr. Tomashek's U.S. II Honors classes.
Mr. Dusak's AP American Government students performing skits of political conversations during Thanksgiving dinner. Students took on different political personas to discuss contemporary issues.
Mr. Dale's American Government class created their own "gerrymandered" state.
Mr. Dale's American Government students create their own board game based on the legislative process of the U.S. Congress.
Parallels took a field trip to the Philadelphia Public Library to see author and Harvard professor, Jill Lepore, on September 20. The class read New York Burning: Liberty, Slavery, and Conspiracy in Eighteenth-Century Manhattan for its summer reading assignment, which chronicles the alleged slave revolt in Manhattan in 1741 that resulted in over 30 slaves being hanged and burned at the stake. At the Philadelphia Library, Lepore talked about her newest book, These Truths. These Truths is a comprehensive history of the United States from 1492 to 2016, and perhaps the only one-volume history of the United States written by a woman. Students brought questions with them to ask the author, which they had the chance to ask during her book signing after her talk. (Several students also bought her new book and had it signed by Lepore.)
Mr. Dale's American Government class analyzes key concepts of the Declaration of Independence by creating an updated version of the document and debating their updates.
As part of our annual HTHS Holocaust Remembrance Day all seniors listen to the stories of Holocaust survivors told by the survivors or the children of survivors. This very emotional day ends with students being able to ask questions and interact with the survivors.
Check out the website on the local impact of 1918 Spanish Influenza created by Mr. Tomashek's U.S. II Honors classes.Mr. Dusak's AP American Government students performing skits of political conversations during Thanksgiving dinner. Students took on different political personas to discuss contemporary issues.
Mr. Dale's American Government class created their own "gerrymandered" state.
Mr. Dale's American Government students create their own board game based on the legislative process of the U.S. Congress.
Parallels took a field trip to the Philadelphia Public Library to see author and Harvard professor, Jill Lepore, on September 20. The class read New York Burning: Liberty, Slavery, and Conspiracy in Eighteenth-Century Manhattan for its summer reading assignment, which chronicles the alleged slave revolt in Manhattan in 1741 that resulted in over 30 slaves being hanged and burned at the stake. At the Philadelphia Library, Lepore talked about her newest book, These Truths. These Truths is a comprehensive history of the United States from 1492 to 2016, and perhaps the only one-volume history of the United States written by a woman. Students brought questions with them to ask the author, which they had the chance to ask during her book signing after her talk. (Several students also bought her new book and had it signed by Lepore.)
As part of our annual HTHS Holocaust Remembrance Day all seniors listen to the stories of Holocaust survivors told by the survivors or the children of survivors. This very emotional day ends with students being able to ask questions and interact with the survivors.
