Academic Decathlon Syllabus Prescott High School Mrs. Cherry Welcome to Academic Decathlon class! This year s topic: WORLD WAR II

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1 Academic Decathlon Syllabus Prescott High School Mrs. Cherry Welcome to Academic Decathlon class! This year s topic: WORLD WAR II Contact Information: Room 413 Phone: x Cathleen.cherry@prescottschools.com Website: Office Hours: Mondays & Tuesdays 2:30 3:30 in Room 413 Google Classroom Code: m4mv294 Course Description: Grades: 9-12; Credit: 1.0 elective; may be repeated. Prerequisites: Instructor approval. This course is a year-long, multi-curriculum project offered to students from all academic levels. The course content centers on fine arts; science; social studies; mathematics; literature and language; essay; speech; personal interview; economics; and a super quiz subject. A nine person team will be selected from the different academic levels to compete at regional and state sponsored contests. COMPETITION DATES: Regionals: 3-4 February 2017 State: March 2017 What should I bring to class? You will need a large 3-ring binder with dividers for class. Please also bring a pen and/or pencil and paper daily as well, in addition to any relevant study materials. Much of this course is student-driven and student-led. You may be asked to create lessons, games, study material, etc., for the course. H ow will we learn in this class? We will use various methods and activities to learn the curriculum presented for this year s topic of World War II. The curriculum outlines can be found here as well as on my website: A nine person team will be selected to compete at the scrimmages, regionals, and hopefully at the state level. Students not chosen to compete will remain a part of the class and will participate and support the competing members. The nine person team will consist of three students at each level: Honors, Scholastic, and Varsity, which are based upon student GPA for the areas of focus as described by the United States Academic Decathlon organization.

2 In addition to the nine person team, the students in the course will elect four officers in accordance to the AcaDec constitution. Those officers will fulfill duties as outlined in the constitution, which include leading the class in various roles. What are the behavioral expectations? The Student Handbook is our guide. Respect is a two-way street. I generally give others the benefit of the doubt in terms of offering respect; I expect the same in return, not only for myself but for your classmates. By the time you reach high school you should be well aware of appropriate behavior for the classroom. There are more specific Road Rules that you and your parents will agree to and abide by for travel to and from competitions. How is my grade determined for this class? Semester grade = Quarter 1 (40%) + Quarter 2 (40%) + final exam (20%) Your grade will be based on the following: Participation Homework Tests and Quizzes / Final Exam Weekly Activity Sheets (daily warm-ups) In-class activities (including Essays, Interviews, Speeches and other curricular activities) Competitions Participation: To have a great participation grade, work on the items in the positive column. If you do any of the things in the negative column, your participation grade will be lowered. Have, organize, and use notebook effectively Pay attention and follow directions Listen when others talk Ask and answer questions Help other students learn Contribute ideas for mnemonic (memory) devices Encourage and/or praise others Demonstrate good sportsmanship Put forth extra effort Allow yourself to have fun and enjoy yourself in class Not pay attention / follow directions (including cell phone distraction) Read or work on assignments for another class (including cell phone distraction) Forget materials for class Do not try Show disrespect for others Make negative comments and put-downs

3 Interrupt when someone else is talking Be off-task Distract others Be too serious no fun Homework: Homework will not be a big component of the class, but it will be considered as part of your grade for the course. Sometimes you will have a choice of assignments; other times there will be specific tasks you must complete. Homework will involve preparing study materials, creating lesson plans and games for the class, reading, and other activities. Late work will earn 50% of the score you would have received if on time. If you will not be at school on the due date, turn the assignments in early. In many cases, your homework can be completed via Google Classroom. It is YOUR responsibility to be certain ed assignments are received. In many cases, homework will be creating a lesson or something to share with the class. Please be a responsible leader and come prepared - to do otherwise will let the entire team down. One certain assignments, you might be able to collaborate with other students via Google Drive and/or Google Classroom. Please do what is expected of you so that you are not a weak link. If not turning in the assignment electronically, please label each assignment as follows. Unlabeled and mislabeled assignments will receive a zero. o Name (first and last) o Period # o Date o Assignment Please keep all work appropriate for school (G-rated). If you are unsure whether your work fulfills the requirement, please ask me before the due date. Inappropriate work receives no credit. Please take pride in doing your own work and have the integrity to work independently on your assignments. Plagiarized work or work done by others receives no credit. Tests and Quizzes : We will have regular tests and quizzes in class covering the material for the curriculum. Sometimes these will be practice tests for the competitions. We will probably have two tests per quarter. Once a unit test has been administered, make-up work is no longer accepted for that unit. At the end of the semester, we will have a cumulative final exam. Essays, Speeches, & Interviews: At regular intervals we will practice the three other areas of competition by preparing for and writing essays, writing prepared speeches and practicing their delivery, practicing impromptu speeches, and preparing and practicing for interviews. Students will also be preparing a resumé to accompany their interview. Essays, interviews, and speeches will be critiqued by classmates as well as by me.

4 No extra credit project will be assigned in this class; however there will be opportunities to earn extra points throughout the year for outstanding work. Weekly Activity Sheets: Daily warm-ups / bellwork will be completed on your WAS. If you are tardy, you will miss the warm-up. No make-up is offered on the WAS, but an exemption is given for excused absences. Competitions: Students who are eligible to travel for competitions will receive a grade for their performance and behavior at those competitions. Students failing ANY course are ineligible for competition. Grade checks correspond to the same dates as eligibility for athletic teams and students are eligible or ineligible for the same period of time - the underlined, italicized dates below are the typical competition periods for AcaDec. See the Road Rules for specific information. Grade Checks Period of Eligibility Duration Friday, Sept. 2, 2016 September 2, 2016 October 7, weeks Friday, Oct. 7, 2016 October 7, 2016 November 18, weeks Friday, Nov. 18, 2016 November 18, 2016 December 23, weeks Friday, Dec. 23, 2016 December 23, 2016 February 10, weeks Friday, Feb. 10, 2017 February 10, 2017 March 10, weeks Friday, March 10, 2017 March 10, 2017 April 18, weeks Tuesday, April 18, 2017 April 18, 2017 May 26, weeks Thursday, May 26, 2017 First 4.5 weeks of the Calendar Graduation Cords and Academic Letters : Students are eligible to receive a letter based on all of the following criteria: 2 years of participation in AcaDec in good standing academically (eligible to compete) Be of good character, positive sportsmanship, and positive contributions to the team Participated in and medaled in at least two competitions over two years (scrimmage, regionals, and / or state) What if I m absent? Check Google Classroom and/or my website. Ask me and / or your partner for what you missed after or before an absence. You WILL be responsible for the material the next time class meets. If you will be absent for an extended period, please let me know in advance (if possible) so that your transition back will be smooth. My Philosophy: I believe that ALL students can learn and cultivate many skills in addition to preparing for AcaDec competitions in this class. By making a commitment: showing up for every class (mentally and physically) and participating in a positive way, you will make significant progress this year and earn a grade that reflects that progress. By participating on this team, whether or not you compete, it is my hope that you will learn good

5 sportsmanship, teamwork, an appreciation for and an openness to ideas and learning, public speaking, and leadership skills. I hope that you will challenge yourself to go beyond your comfort zone and to explore new ideas and concepts. In addition, whether you compete or not, you are representing AcaDec, and your behavior and attitude reflects upon the other members and me, so please hold yourself to a high level of character and integrity. To submit your agreement to the policies of this syllabus, please visit: