Topics/2003
| USAD Curriculum Topics | |
|---|---|
| |
| 1998 • 1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010 • 2011 • 2012 |
2003 USAD Curriculum: Understanding the Natural World
USAD is pleased to release some preliminary information on the curriculum for the 2002–2003 Academic Decathlon season. The full subject area outlines are published in USAD's Study Guide.
The curricular theme for 2002–2003 will be Understanding the Natural World. Following is some general information on the topics in each of the subject areas.
Essential Information for Coaches
- The multiple-choice exams in Art, Economics, Language and Literature, Music, and Social Science each have 50 questions. The Math exam has 25 questions. The written Super Quiz exam has 40 questions, and the Super Quiz oral relay has either 5 or 10 questions per student. (Coaches can contact their State Director to find out whether the 5- or 10-question format will be used for the Super Quiz oral relay.)
- Students will be given 30 minutes to complete each of the written multiple-choice exams. Students will have 50 minutes to complete the Essay exam.
- The USAD competition tests will be written in accordance with the topics and percentages noted in the subject area outlines that are published in the USAD Study Guide.
- Test writers have been instructed to construct tests such that at least 10–20% of the questions on each test require the use of higher-order thinking skills.
- In each of the subject areas except for Super Quiz, a percentage of the test items will require students to do some independent research beyond the USAD Resource Guides. The percentage breakdown of guide-based versus research-based test items for each subject area is indicated below.
| Subject Area | Percentage of Resource Guide-Based Items per Test | Percentage of Research-Based Items per Test |
| Art | 75% | 25% |
| Economics | 30% | 70% |
| Lang. Lit. | NA | NA |
| Mathematics | ---- | 100% |
| Music | 75% | 25% |
| Social Science | 75% | 25% |
| Super Quiz (Science) | 100% | ---- |
- The subject area outlines contained in USAD's Study Guide will indicate specifically which topics in each subject area will require independent research beyond the USAD Resource Guides.
- USAD offers Resource Guides in Art, Economics, Language and Literature, Music, Social Science, and Super Quiz (Science). Whereas the Super Quiz Resource Guide is a compendium of previously published articles, the other Resource Guides are written by individual writers under contract with USAD. The Resource Guides will assist students in their study of the topics listed in the subject area outlines.
- USAD offers Basic Guides in Art, Economics, Language and Literature, Math, and Music. Whereas the Resource Guides focus on the specific topics listed in this year's subject area outlines, the Basic Guides offer a reference that can be used by teams year after year. The Basic Guides provide an enduring resource for fundamental subject matter information and concepts that generally do not change from year to year.
- The content of the Art Basic Guide, the Economics Basic Guide, and the MathBasic Guide is the same as it was for the 2001–02 season. Therefore, if you or you students retained your copies of these guides, you do NOT need to purchase these guides again for the 2002–03 season.
Super Quiz
The Super Quiz topic will focus on oceanography. The Super Quiz Resource Guide, The Blue Planet—Beneath the Surface, will cover such topics as ocean habitats and life forms, the exploration of the ocean, the potential promise of the ocean, and human guardianship of the ocean.
All of the Super Quiz test items—both oral and written—will be derived from the Super Quiz Resource Guide. The student's oral Super Quiz score accounts for 40 percent of his/her overall Super Quiz score. The student's written Super Quiz score accounts for 60 percent of his/her overall Super Quiz score.
Language and Literature
The language and literature curriculum will include critical reading, one selected novel, and six selected poems. The featured novel will be Thomas Hardy's Far from the Madding Crowd.
The Language and Literature test items will largely be derived from the selected works of literature, though some test items may also be based on information provided in the Language and Literature Resource Guide and other sources relevant to the topics noted in Language and Literature Subject Area Outline.
Poems
- To Daffodils by Robert Herrick
- Excerpt from The Prelude by William Wordsworth
- Ode to a Skylark by Percy Bysshe Shelley
- Excerpt from Forest Hymn by William Cullen Bryant
- The Tropics of New York by Countee Cullen
- The Métier of Blossoming by Denise Levertov
Art
The art curriculum will feature eighteen selected works from the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The art curriculum will focus on Romanticism, Realism, impressionism, and Asian art.
While the Art Resource Guide includes information relevant to the 18 selected artworks, this guide contains text only and does NOT include images of the artworks.
The Art Reproductions Booklet contains reproductions of the 18 artworks that are included in this year's art outline. However, please be aware that no text beyond the title, artist, date, etc. accompanies these reprints.
Pieces
- Two Men Contemplating the Moon by Caspar David Friedrich
- Salisbury Cathedral by John Constable
- The Gleaners by Jean-François Millet
- Horse Fair by Rosa Bonheur
- Four Poplars on the Banks of the Epte River near Giverny by Claude Monet
- Fan Mount: The Cabbage Gatherers by Camille Pissarro
- Arques-la-Bataille by John Henry Twachtman
- The Oxbow by Thomas Cole
- Heart of the Andes by Frederic Edwin Church
- The Rocky Mountains: Lander's Peak by Albert Bierstadt
- Venice, from the Porch of Madonna della Salute by J. M. W. Turner
Music
The music curriculum will focus on the music of the Romantic age and will introduce students to the development of Romantic music and its characteristics. The curriculum will include a companion CD, featuring fourteen listening selections.
Songs
- Symphony No. 5 (3rd & 4th movements) and Symphony No. 6 (4th movement) by Ludwig van Beethoven
- March to the Scaffold (4th movement of Symphonie fantastique) by Hector Berlioz
- William Tell Overture by Gioachino Rossini
- Étude Op. 10, No. 12 ('Revolutionary Study') by Frédéric Chopin
- Symphony No. 1 (1st movement) by Johannes Brahms
- Anvil Chorus from Il trovatore (Act 2, Scene 1) by Giuseppe Verdi
- Night on Bald Mountain by Modest Mussorgsky
- Ride of the Valkyries by Richard Wagner
- March of the Toreadors from Carmen by Georges Bizet
- Symphony No. 1 (1st movement) by Felix Mendelssohn
- 1812 Overture by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
- Symphony No. 1 (4th movement: Stürmisch bewegt- Energisch) by Gustav Mahler
- Also Sprach Zarathustra: Sunrise (Op. 30) by Richard Strauss
Social Science
The social science curriculum—The Natural World as it Shapes Human History—will cover early cultures in the Americas, technology and the natural world, the impact of natural disasters in U.S. history, and the preservation of nature.
Economics
The economics curriculum will focus on fundamentals of economics, including general topics in macro- and microeconomics and will also include a thematic section focused on the economics of energy.
Math
The math curriculum will cover topics in the fields of algebra, geometry, and trigonometry and will include applications that are particularly relevant to the natural world.
USAD permits students to use calculators for the Math exam only. Effective May 1, 2002, USAD has a new calculator policy for competition year 2002—2003. Coaches may contact USAD for a copy.
The Math Basic Guide can be downloaded at no cost.
