George C Marshall High School - Columbian Yearbook (Falls Church, VA)

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Studies department

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English department emphasizes literature In order to insure that every student at George C. Marshall High School was exposed to learning of basic communication skills, com¬ pulsory units in grammar and com¬ position were given at all levels. The development of these writing and speaking skills was combined with theme-oriented literature units at the ninth and tenth grade levels. The first semester of the eleventh grade was devoted to a study of the best in American Literature with correlated writing assignments that focused on the argumentative essay and the development of the research paper. Eleventh and twelfth grade students who did not plan to continue a formal education studied business and practical communication skills that included writing letters, filling out job applications, and intensive spelling and vocabulary units. During this same semester, twelfth grade college-bound students combined a survey of English Literature with ad¬ vanced essay skills and the writing of a research paper. During the spring semester the English depart¬ ment offered a variety of electives to the combined junior and senior classes. The list of electives included such diverse subjects as Transcendentalism, Witchcraft and the Occult, Shakespeare, and Gen¬ eral Semantics.

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revitalizes old ideas Improving material within old fields was concentrated upon in the Social Studies department. Most active were government teachers, who used new-inquiry materials and expanded the elective program. A team-teaching approach in ge¬ ography was coordinated by Miss Diana Berda and Mrs. Donna Rorer. Using a regional approach, stu¬ dents changed teachers each quarter. An interest in archaeology grew out of a summer institute at Williamsburg, attended by Mrs. Martha Williams. Her commentary and slides helped members of U.S. History and World Civ. I classes gain insight into the field and many decided to participate in a prospec¬ tive dig” at Fort Belvoir. Extended Easter vacation al¬ lowed Mrs. Betty Little and Miss Sula Floros to take students to the Soviet Union in a warmer season to study comparative government on location. World Civ. I and II students were inspired by an assignment of quar- Below right: Mr. Ric Berard displays his Morp Costume. Left: Conceptual diagrams give World Civ. students a chance to demon¬ strate their creativity. Opposite page: World Civ. I students take time out to show their terly conceptual diagrams. The vi¬ sual projects ranged from games such as Coup d’ Etat” and Em¬ pire” to mobiles and a red house that one entered to totally experi¬ ence Europe in the Age of Reason. Advanced Placement European History was extended to a fuli year course. A seminar approach was used by students to prepare for college-level exams. This course proved so popular that an addi¬ tional course in A.P. American His¬ tory was planned for the next year’s juniors. The Morp, a dance sponsored by Mr. Ric Berard’s Sociology class, involved many in the Social Studies faculty as dance teachers and DJ’s. Stressed in the department was understanding and handling of con¬ cepts. This approach to learning history was considered by some to be more valuable than rote memory of names and dates. The teachers worked actively for new materials and ideas, to be implemented in coming years. skili in flying paper airplanes. Opposite page, below: Liz Sorgen and Judy Renfroe have an after-class talk with Mr. Robert 4 Wallace. Below left: Mrs. Martha Williams calls out grades to an apprehensive class.