German B - Copenhagen International School

Humanities
Humanities Department Philosophy statement
Humanities, as the study of the human condition through time, includes a diversity of academic
disciplines that have as their core endeavor the understanding of human thought and behavior. While
this may embrace such studies as Psychology, Anthropology, Economics, or Sociology, it is History
and Geography that are the areas of focus for content­area knowledge at CIS. Instruction aims to
teach students how to understand and appreciate the richness and multivalency of our human
experience within the contexts of these two disciplines. This is achieved through the study of
individuals, societies and environments in a wide context: historical, contemporary, geographical,
political, social, economic, religious, technological and cultural. Development of skills – learning how
to acquire knowledge, critically analyze it, generate meanings from it, and transform knowledge into
action, are equally valued and emphasized in the course. Students engage in question­formulation,
research projects, discursive exercises, close reading, and critical writing tasks, as well as speech
and debate activities designed to refine their abilities to communicate and share their knowledge with
others.
Humanities Course Overview
The Humanities program in MYP 1 aims to develop the student’s sense of curiosity, imagination and
critical thinking skills. Students will have an opportunity to consider a range of points of view and
detect bias among information given. They will develop an understanding of how environments have
changed over long periods of time and develop an appreciation of their own and other people’s pasts
and traditions.
Students in grade six will participate in several interdisciplinary units of study which focus on the
understanding of ancient civilizations, particularly Ancient Rome and Ancient China. Through the
study of ancient civilizations, students will develop a concept of ‘time’, ‘cause and consequence’,
‘continuity and change’, and ‘similarity and difference’. Students will deal with tasks involving the
increasing analysis of different types of evidence and the investigation and interpretation of past
events.
Grade six students also complete an in­depth study in World Geography. This unit will enable the
students to study the environment as well as recognize that while natural forces shape the Earth,
humans are important in the changing of their environment and significantly affect the world we live
in.
During the last quarter of school, the students will complete an in­depth country study project. This
project is intended to show a culmination of their skills and knowledge acquired in the Humanities
course. During this quarter the students will also learn how to research, take notes, write a formal
report, and properly document their sources as well as creating a visual display for use during the
formal presentation. This is taught as an integrated unit of study with the Language Arts course.
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