Hamilton has the largest offering of honors and Advanced Placement (AP) classes on the south side of Milwaukee. Honors classes give students opportunities to take challenging courses in preparation for college.
Through Advanced Placement’s college-level courses and exams, high school students can earn college credit and advanced placement, stand out in the college admissions process, and learn from some of the most skilled, dedicated, and inspiring teachers in the world.
From the moment you enter an AP classroom, you’ll notice the difference—in the teacher’s approach to the subject, in the attitude of your classmates, in the way you start to think. In AP classrooms, the focus is not on memorizing facts and figures. Instead you’ll engage in intense discussions, solve problems collaboratively, and learn to write clearly and persuasively.
The AP Program currently offers more than 30 courses across multiple subject areas. Each course is developed by a committee composed of college faculty and AP teachers, and covers the breadth of information, skills, and assignments found in the corresponding college course. In AP classes, you’ll study fascinating topics and ideas that just might become the foundation of your future college major or career.
AP courses can help you acquire the skills and habits you’ll need to be successful in college. You’ll improve your writing skills, sharpen your problem-solving abilities, and develop time management skills, discipline, and study habits.
Most four-year colleges in the United States and colleges in more than 60 other countries give students credit, advanced placement or both on the basis of AP Exam scores. By entering college with AP credits, you’ll have the time to move into upper level courses, pursue a double-major or study abroad.
Visit CollegeBoard.com for more information on the Advanced Placement Program.
Advanced Placement Seminar
According to the College Board, AP Seminar is a foundational course that engages students in cross-curricular conversations that explore the complexities of academic and real-world topics and issues by analyzing divergent perspectives. Using an inquiry framework, students practice reading and analyzing articles, research studies, and foundational, literary, and philosophical texts; listening to and viewing speeches, podcasts, and personal accounts; and experiencing artistic works and performances. Students learn to synthesize information from multiple sources, develop their own perspectives in written essays, and design and deliver oral and visual presentations, both individually and as part of a team. Ultimately, the course aims to equip students with the power to analyze and evaluate information with accuracy and precision in order to craft and communicate evidence-based arguments (The College Board).
AP Seminar is the first part of the AP Capstone diploma program from the College Board that equips students with the independent research, collaborative teamwork, and communication skills that are increasingly valued by colleges. The big ideas and learning objectives in the AP Capstone program reflect the core academic skills needed for college, career, and life readiness identified by leading educational organizations (The College Board).
Advanced Placement Research
AP Research is a student-driven course in which students pursue their own area of interest and inquiry. Throughout the year, students develop an original research question and design and conduct a study to answer this question. AP Research is the second course in the AP Capstone program after AP Seminar and is required for students looking to earn an AP Capstone Diploma. The AP test for this course is an academic research paper and
presentation in which students introduce their question and situate it in previous research as well as explain and justify their study’s method and results. This course is for students who have big questions about their world and are interested in finding their own answers.
Advanced Placement English Literature
English Literature and Composition
Open to Grade: 12
Prerequisite: Previous honors courses recommended
Length: 2 semesters
THE COURSE WILL offer students an in-depth coverage of English literature from its beginnings to modern writers, playwrights, and poets. It will build skills in critical analysis of works from all major genres within a historical period and across time. Students will write college level literary criticisms, explications, reviews, and research papers.
THE STUDENT WILL become adept at analyzing, organizing, evaluating, and developing generalizations regarding literature. In addition, each student will practice specific test taking skills in anticipation of the yearly administration of the AP English Literature test.
Advanced Placement English Language and Composition
Open to Grades: 11, 12
Length: 2 semesters
THE COURSE WILL focus on critical reading and writing. This course functions at the same level as a freshman college course; meaning, the students will not only be challenged by the content, but they will be challenged by the schedule as well.
STUDENTS WILL learn to read critically and annotate a text with marginal comments. They will also learn how to create a scratch outline which includes a summary of the text. Students will learn to write critically and use rhetoric.
In addition, each student will practice specific test taking skills in anticipation of the yearly administration of the AP English Literature test.
Advanced Placement Environmental Science
Open to Grades: 10, 11, 12
Length: 2 Semesters
The goal of the AP Environmental Science course is to provide students with the scientific principles, concepts, and methodologies required to understand the interrelationships of the natural world, to identify and analyze environmental problems both natural and human-made, to evaluate the relative risks associated with these problems, and to examine alternative solutions for resolving or preventing them.
Advanced Placement Biology
Open to Grades: 10, 11, 12
Prerequisite(s): Biology, Chemistry, Instructor’s Consent, DC Approval, and/or Counselor Approval
Length: 2 semesters
AP Biology aims to provide students with the conceptual framework, factual knowledge, and analytical skills necessary to deal critically with the rapidly changing science of biology. The two main goals of AP Biology are to help students develop a conceptual framework for modern biology and an appreciation of science as a process. Topics covered: *Molecules and Cells; *Heredity and Evolution; and *Organisms and Populations.
Advanced Placement Art History
Open to Grades: 11, 12
Prerequisite: Instructor’s Consent, DC Approval, and/or Counselor Approval.
Length: 2 blocks.
THE COURSE WILL provide a history of world art and architecture from prehistoric to modern times. This course will examine the relationship of art and artists to the world around them. Course goals are to develop an understanding of traditional arts and movements in world history, and to develop an ability to analyze art works and articulate historical understanding in writing. This course will prepare students for high school and college credit.
THE STUDENT WILL learn to describe, analyze, compare, and contrast major art pieces. He/she will learn to evaluate art works based on knowledge and aesthetics. The student will discuss and write about major art styles, movements, architecture, and artists.
Advanced Placement Psychology
Open to Grades: 11, 12
The AP Psychology course is designed to introduce students to the systematic and scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of human beings and other animals. Students are exposed to the psychological facts, principles, and phenomena associated with each of the major subfields within psychology. Students also learn about the ethics and methods psychologists use in their science and practice. Major content areas covered include: History and “Schools” of Psychology; Research methods; Biological bases of behavior; Sensation and perception; States of consciousness; Learning; Cognition; Motivation and emotion; Developmental psychology; Personality; Testing and individual differences; Abnormal psychology; Treatment of psychological disorders; and Social psychology.
Advanced Placement U.S. History
Open to Grades: 11 and 12
Prerequisite: Instructor’s Consent, DC Approval, and/or Counselor Approval
Length: 2 semesters
THE COURSE WILL provide students with the analytic skills and factual knowledge necessary to deal critically with the problems and materials in United States history. AP U.S. History prepares students for college courses by making demands upon them equivalent to those made by year-long, introductory college courses.
THE STUDENT WILL learn to assess historical materials—their relevance to a given interpretive problem, their reliability, and their importance—and to weigh the evidence and interpretations presented in historical scholarship. Students will develop the skills necessary to arrive at conclusions on the basis of an informed judgment and to present reasons and evidence clearly and persuasively in essay format.
Advanced Placement Human Geography
Open to Grades 9,10,11,12
Length: 2 semesters
The purpose of the AP course in Human Geography is to introduce students to the systematic study of patterns and processes that have shaped human understanding,use,and alteration of Earth’s surface. Students employ spatial concepts and landscape analysis to examine human social organization and its environmental consequences. They also learn about the methods and tools geographers use in their science and practice. By the end of the course, students should be able to: Use and think about maps and spatial data; Understand and interpret the implications of associations among phenomena in places; Recognize and interpret at different scales the relationships among patterns and processes; Define regions and evaluate the regionalization process; and Characterize and analyze changing interconnections among places.
Advanced Placement United States Government
Open to Grades: 11, 12
A well-designed AP course in U.S. Government & Politics will give students an analytical perspective on government and politics in the United States. This course includes both the study of general concepts used to interpret U.S. politics and the analysis of specific examples. It also requires familiarity with the various institutions, groups, beliefs, and ideas that constitute U.S. politics. Topics include: Constitutional underpinnings of U.S. government; Political beliefs and behaviors; Political parties, interest groups, and mass media; Institutions of national government; Public policy; and Civil rights and civil liberties. Taught only as part 1 of a 2 semester sequence.
Advanced Placement Calculus AB
Open to Grade: 12
The course will provide students with differential and integral calculus. The scope and sequence will follow the current syllabus provided by The College Board for Advanced Placement Calculus AB. Prepare students to take the AP Calculus AB exam, which is required at Hamilton High School.
Advanced Placement Statistics
The AP Statistics course is equivalent to a one-semester, introductory, non-calculus-based college course in statistics. The course introduces students to the major concepts and tools for collecting, analyzing, and drawing conclusions from data. There are four themes in the AP Statistics course: exploring data, sampling and experimentation, anticipating patterns, and statistical inference. Students use technology, investigations, problem solving, and writing as they build conceptual understanding.