Electives

 

Religion Course

046 Peer Ministry (11, 12)     ½ credit

Selected students will engage in direct ministry to the Carroll community that will enable them to bring to life the themes of Christian vocation and community central to all religion courses at Carroll.

Approval: Students selected by the campus ministry team through an application and interview process.

English Courses

168 College Writing 1     ½ credit

The objective of this course is to prepare the college-bound student for the writing demands of colleges today. Organization, mechanics and methodology of expository composition will be covered in depth. Each student will be given the opportunity to strengthen his/her individual skills and to evaluate the work of others in the learning process.

174 College Writing 2     ½ credit

This course allows students who have completed College Writing to continue honing their essay writing skills in preparation for college

Prerequisite: College Writing 1

171 Creative Writing 1     ½ credit

This course seeks to tap into the creative energies of students by engaging them in the writing of poetry, short stories, personal reflective writing, and autobiography. Students will be expected to write, to share their writing with the class, and to critique constructively the writing of others. The class will also seek to connect students with the world of publishing. Students will submit various pieces of their own writing for publication.

175 Creative Writing 2    ½ credit

This course allows students who have completed Creative Writing to continue deepening the craft of poetry or short story writing. These students will create a portfolio of their work, with an eye to publication and reading their work in public in the community.

Prerequisite: Creative Writing 1

178 Shakespeare     ½ credit

Through the reading, both as texts and through performances, and the viewing of performances and film adaptations, we will tackle the question "Is Shakespeare relevant?" and learn to love him for both his beautifully written texts and his brilliant examples of the core topics of love, loyalty, power, ambition, and so much more! Many things have changed since Shakespeare's time, but the feelings people have, their schemes and dreams, their thirst for power or love or both, and their essential goodness or badness has transcended time. Shakespeare captured so many  emotions, showed us how those emotions developed, and then demonstrated the (often tragic) results, and that's why he has the somewhat unique ability to have the audience (and readers) so wrapped up in what is happening that they are left amazed.

Visual Arts and Performing Arts Courses

All students are required to take two one-semester of visual arts or performing arts courses for graduation. Students may take all visual arts or performing arts courses to fulfill the additional elective requirement. For a complete list of visual arts courses available as elective choices, click here. For a complete list of performing arts courses available as elective choices, click here.
 

Foreign Language Courses

Students are required to take two years of a single foreign language. We strongly encourage students to take more than two. For a complete list of IB and other advanced foreign language courses, click here.

 

Science Courses

552 Anatomy and Kinesiology        1 credit

In this course students will be introduced to the principles of anatomy, physiology, first aid, and kinesiology that are the basis of athletic training. Students will also be introduced to the specialties that operate under the umbrella of sports medicine.

561 Environmental Science 1        ½ credit

Students in this course will receive an up-to-date introduction to the study of the environment. Information is presented from interdisciplinary perspectives, including ecology, geology, climatology, and political science, an approach necessary for dealing with environmental problems. Students will gain a working knowledge of environmental functioning to analyze environmental issues from a number of perspectives.

562 Environmental Science 2        ½ credit

Students will learn the science involved in analyzing environmental problems through hands-on explorations and labs. Students will use the skills previously acquired in chemistry, biology and physics to collect, organize and analyze data taken directly from the environment as evidence for the issues discussed in Environmental Science 1.

Prerequisite: Environmental Science 1

565 Forensic Science            ½ credit

This multidisciplinary, applied science encompasses the sciences, technology, mathematics, social studies and language arts. Students will gain a basic understanding of how these disciplines are used in criminal cases. Assignments will incorporate published works, case examples and forensic science techniques. This course will broaden students’ horizons regarding forensic science careers and will address how to pursue more advanced levels of study in this field.

Social Studies Courses

In this course, students will explore a variety of issues in American politics. Students will study the actions and tactics utilized in the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s and their relevance today, the location and use of power in America. Students will explore what is happening in current political campaigns and elections and why candidates and officials act as they do and the challenges faced by nations and their leaders as they work to meet their own citizens' needs and thrive in a world where other nations may not share the same values.

645 Psychology (11, 12)     ½ credit

This course focuses on the study of human development from infancy to adulthood, with special references to learning, perception, memory, language, thinking, emotions, and individual differences in intelligence, aptitude, and personality. Emphasis will be on leading researchers in the field and how they have impacted our daily living. Projects include writing essays, participating in class discussion, and research.

672 DC History (11, 12)     ½ credit

This course offers the student an opportunity to explore and share the many and varied historical interpretations of the development of the District of Columbia from the Pre-colonial period to the present. Other objectives will be to introduce students to historical literature about the District of Columbia; students will have the chance to read and respond to that literature in a careful and critical manner. Students will also engage in research-based projects.

Debate (9, 10, 11, 12)     ½ credit

This course strives to prepare students to engage in Lincoln-Douglas value debate. Because of the nature of this course, students will leave this class with a substantial grasp of the nature of value debate and important Western philosophical ideas. This course requires students to travel to debate tournaments to compete in Lincoln-Douglas value debate against other debate teams. Communication is very important in the social sciences and is essential in debate, so there will be many reading, essay, and presentation assignments.

 

Business/ Information Technology Courses

All students are required to take or place out of 748 Introduction to Academic Information Technology/Applications.  Students are required to take two one-semester business or I.T. courses and may take all other business and I.T. courses as electives.  For a complete list of the department’s offerings, click here.

Specialized Studies Courses

835 SAT/ACT Preparation     ½ credit

This elective course enables students to tackle college entrance exams strategically. The course will examine strategies for answering different kinds of problems, approaches to time and stress management during testing, and skills review. There are no magic

answers to success on standardized testing, but students who are willing to practice both content and test-taking skills will find this course valuable.

872 IB Theory of Knowledge 11     ½ credit

This course will combine elements of philosophy to hone students’ critical thinking and cultural awareness. Students will study the “ways” we know truths in a variety of disciplines. In the eleventh grade semester of this course, students will explore the influence of community on how we know, and the ways sense perception, language, reason and emotion affect our understanding.

Approval/Prerequisites: This course is required of all I.B. Diploma Candidates and is open to other students with the approval of the instructor.

874 IB Theory of Knowledge 12     ½ credit

In building on the analysis students completed in the first half of the course, this course will explore how different disciplines approach knowledge in different ways. For example, students will explore questions such as what is a number? Is the emotional expression of a piece of art or music a kind of knowledge? What can scientific knowledge reveal, and what doesn’t it show?

Approval/Prerequisites: Successful completion of Theory of Knowledge 11.

880 Introduction to Engineering     1 credit (9th and 10th grade only)

Students dig deep into the engineering design process, applying math, science, and engineering standards to hands-on projects. They work individually and in teams to design solutions to a variety of problems using 3D modeling software, and use an engineering notebook to document their work.

882 Principles of Engineering     1 credit (10th and 11th grade only)

Through problems that engage and challenge, students explore a broad range of engineering topics, including mechanisms, the strength of structures and materials, and automation. Students develop skills in problem solving, research, and design while learning strategies for design process documentation, collaboration, and presentation.

Note: This course is not offered in the 2015-16 school year