Students will study the history of the United States from early settlements in North America through the American Civil War/Reconstruction. Our goal is to foster the development of “historical understanding” in our students by offering them opportunities to engage with history. Using a variety of primary and secondary sources, students will learn to ask good questions about the past, make connections between a variety of sources of information, and recognize and consider alternate points of view and purpose, infer meaning as to how social context shapes events as well as ways in which our history is relevant today.