Complete High School Alaska Studies Curriculum (Semester)

Inquiry-Based | Grades 9–12

This is a full, inquiry-driven Alaska Studies curriculum for high school students, designed around real-world issues, deep thinking, and performance-based assessment—not worksheets or memorization.

The Complete High School Alaska Studies Curriculum invites students to investigate Alaska’s past, present, and future through essential questions, primary and secondary sources, problem-solving scenarios, and authentic performance tasks. Students are asked to think like Alaskans: weighing tradeoffs, examining power and policy, and connecting history to the choices being made today.

This curriculum is built for learning, not coverage.

What’s Included

• All four Alaska Studies units (Units 1–4) for grades 9–12

• Inquiry-driven lessons and guiding questions

• Problem-solving scenarios grounded in Alaska’s real contexts

• Performance tasks as the only graded assessments

• Portfolio structures that document student thinking and growth

Each unit can stand alone, but together they form a coherent, rigorous, and flexible Alaska Studies course.

Instructional Design

• Inquiry and discussion at the center

• Scaffolded analysis to support diverse learners

• Emphasis on evidence, reasoning, and synthesis

• Designed for adaptation to local context, pacing, and student interests

This curriculum aligns with Alaska Social Studies standards while intentionally prioritizing depth, relevance, and civic reasoning over test-prep language or scripted instruction.

Designed For

• High school Alaska Studies courses (grades 9–12)

• Teachers who value thinking, discussion, and authentic assessment

• Rural, remote, and mixed-ability classrooms

• Educators seeking place-based, project-based learning

Important Notes

• This is a digital curriculum (PDF format)

• No worksheets, fill-in-the-blanks, or pre-scripted lessons

• Performance tasks and portfolios are the primary assessments

• Flexible by design—teachers are encouraged to adapt