2016-2017 High Tech Early College Advanced Placement Classes

AP Computer Science students will learn to design and implement computer programs that solve problems relevant to today’s society, including art, media, and engineering. Additionally, students will learn to apply programming tools and solve complex problems through hands-on experiences and examples.

AP English Language and Composition introduces college-level rhetoric and writing curriculum, and requires students to develop evidence-based analytic and argumentative essays that proceed through several stages. Students take a critical eye to evaluate, synthesize, and cite research to support their arguments. Throughout the course, students develop a personal style by making appropriate grammatical and analytical choices. Additionally, students read and analyze the rhetorical elements and their effects in non-fiction texts, including graphic images as forms of text, from many disciplines and historical periods.

AP English Literature and Composition students engage in close reading and critical analysis of extended works of literature: novels, plays, short stories, and poems. Students will read many classic, foundational works of literature to analyze structure, style and themes, as well as the use of figurative language, imagery, symbolism and tone. Students engage in independent writing and group analysis to wring meaning from these texts together.

AP Environmental Science focuses on analyzing environmental problems, both natural and man-made, their risks, and potential solutions. Because environmental problems are so complicated they must be looked at from multiple angles, including science, economics, politics, and social.
AP Human Geography is the study of patterns and processes that have shaped human understanding, use, and alteration of Earth’s surface. They will examine human social organization and its environmental consequences while studying the ways in which geographers gather this information and the tools they use to do so.

The AP Spanish Language and Culture course is comparable to a high intermediate or advanced low level college or university Spanish language course. Emphasizing the use of Spanish for active communication in real life tasks, it focuses on developing your abilities in the three modes of communication (Interpretive, Interpersonal, and Presentational) and strengthening your cultural competencies through theme-based instruction based on a variety of authentic resources, such as: newspapers, magazines, podcasts, blogs, advertisements, television programs, films, music, video clips, and literature, Grammar and vocabulary are developed through contextualized study.

AP US history students will focus on learning history through themes, including American identity, economic and social life, political change and continuity, and the U.S. role in the world. All historical learning will be through the use and analysis of documents, images, cartoons, discussion, and other sources, and students will have the opportunity to explore their own identity, analyze individual rights, and how their identities relate to the country in which we live.