Course Description:

Using a historical topic of the student’s choice, this class will help students develop the reading and writing skills that are needed for history classes. The course will be tailored to the student and their next history course in both content (World, European, U.S., etc.) and level (regular, AP, college). We will focus on in-class writing strategies, understanding history textbook readings, research papers, and more.

Before the first class, the student will choose a topic that they are interested in from a list of potential topics that span a time-frame from ancient civilizations to the 20th century. Over the course of the class, we will discuss the topic and develop reading strategies, writing strategies (including coming up with a topic, writing a thesis sentence, what it means to analyze a topic in writing), and research strategies. Homework assignments will include readings on the student’s chosen topic, short essays, research, and drafts of a full research essay.