North-Grand High School 2013-2014 United States History Syllabus Mr. Hill Free Periods: 3 rd / 8 th Period, Room 207, 209 jahill2@cps.edu 773-410-6785 Course Description United States History is a challenging course that is meant to give students the necessary skills to become major contributors in our democratic society. It is a survey of American history from pre-columbian America to World War II. It will teach that geography, people, and events shaped United States History. This course will enable students to understand current events, crises, and conflicts, their causes, and the implications for the future. We will work to build strong student reading and writing skills. Students must dedicate themselves to working on these sills in class and completing homework to achieve success. Critical thinking, essay writing and interpretation of original source documents are essential to this course. The United States History course is aligned to the Illinois Learning Standards. Course Objectives: Students will be able to: Utilize literacy strategies to become lifelong independent leaders Communicate effectively in writing and orally Use current technology to access information and to communicate it to a variety of audiences and for a variety of purposes. Develop an understanding of historical chronology Use historical data to support an argument or position Interpret and apply data from original documents Effectively use analytical skills of evaluation, cause and effect, compare and contrast Demonstrate sufficient mastery of content to show growth Illinois Learning Standards Course Outline SEMESTER ONE: First Quarter Unit 1: Colonial History to Independence (5 Weeks) Sept. 4-Oct. 5 AGS U.S. History, Chap. 3-7 Three worlds meet: Societies before Columbus (North America, Europe, and Africa) Transatlantic Encounters and Trade American Colonies Emerge English Settlement at Jamestown Puritan New England Comparison and contrast of New England, Middle and Southern Colonies Cultural differences between Americans and Europeans French and Indian War Road to Independence British policy changes post-1763=rebellion Emerging colonial cooperation and decision for independence Declaration of Independence Victory and the terms of Treaty of Paris Unit Test- Colonization to Revolution Test DBQ Valley Forge: Would You Have Quit?
Unit 2: Shaping a New Nation into the Living Constitution (4 weeks) Oct. 8th- Nov 1st Chap. 8 and Supplemental materials Government under the Articles of Confederation Constitutional Convention Hamilton v. Jefferson British-French Conflict and its impact on American politics The Living Constitution Structure of Government Functions of Government Rights, Responsibilities, and Roles of Citizenship Supreme Court Case Internet Research Activity 1 st Quarter Final Exam Constitution Test Nov. 1st SECOND QUARTER Unit 4: Expansion and Reform (3 weeks) Nov. 5 th - Nov. 21st AGS U.S. History Chap. 10-11 Regional Economies Create Differences Jefferson s Revolution of 1800 Rise of Nationalism Slavery and Abolition Women and Reform Project: Abolitionist Facebook Page Unit Test: Nationalism and Reform Movements Unit 5: Expanding Markets Equals Moving West and Union in Danger (3 weeks) Nov.30- Dec. 14 th Chap. 12-13 Expansion Manifest Destiny Expansion in Texas The War with Mexico Immigration 1820-1850 Union in Danger Divisive Politics of Slavery Protest, Resistance, and Violence Slavery and Succession Mini Q Essay: Was the U.S. justified in going to War with Mexico? Unit 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (4 weeks) Dec.18 - Jan. 23rd AGS U.S. History, Chap. 14-17 Military strategies, strengths and weaknesses, events and outcomes Home front, North and South (social, economic and political impact of war) Presidential vs. congressional Reconstruction 1877 Compromise and Home rule Debate: Who Killed Reconstruction?
Final Exam Jan. 24th SEMESTER TWO: THIRD QUARTER Unit 6: Rise of Business and Labor (4 weeks) Jan. 28- Mar. 1 AGS U.S. History Chap. 18-20 Industrialization Business tycoons Organized Labor, unions, successes and failures Immigrants and Urbanization Politics in the Gilded Age Immigration and Urbanization in late 19 th century The American West and Agrarian reform Unit 6: Progressivism and Expansionism (3 weeks) March 5 th -24 th AGS U.S. History Chap. 21 Life at the Turn of the 20 th Century Education and Culture Segregation and Discrimination The Dawn of Mass Culture The Progressive Era Urban reformers lead a call for change Progressive Era movements Roosevelt s conservation and environmentalism DBQ What would you do with a million dollars? Unit Test: Immigration and Life at the Turn of the 20 th Century (Mar.25-26) FOURTH QUARTER Unit 7: Emergence of America as a World Power and World War I (2 weeks) Apr.8-Apr.19- AGS U.S. History, Chap. 22-23 1920s-1930s (3 weeks) (3 weeks) Apr.23-May 15 AGS U.S. History Chap 24-25 Imperialism Spanish- American war and consequences Imperialism and U.S. Acquiring New Lands U.S. as World Power World War I Interpretations of U.S. motives for World War I World War I on the home front Wilson s New Freedom Unit Test: Progressivism, Imperialism and WWI Postwar recession and agricultural problems Prohibition and Organized Crime Jazz Age culture, Youth Rebellion, Literature of Disillusionment Boom and Bust in the Stock Market Hoover v. Roosevelt s approaches to depression New Deal Legislation
Dust Bowl and demographic shifts Impact of the Great Depression on various population groups 1920s Radio program Project Mini Q Essay: What caused the Dust Bowl? Unit 8: World War II 2 weeks (May 18-June 10) AGS U.S. History Chap. 26 Pearl Harbor and U.S. Response World War II: Military Strategy Life on the Home front Essay: Women and African-Americans during WWII World War II Propaganda Poster Analysis Women and Minorities in WWII: PowerPoint Presentation 2 nd Semester Final Exam June 12th US History Grading Policy Classwork (assignments/notes/participate) 35% Homework (work taken home to complete) 15% Professionalism (come on time, show respect) 10% Mastery (Tests, Projects, Papers) 40% Grading Scale A 90% - 100% B 80% - 89% C 70% - 79% D 60% - 69% F 59% and below Homework Policy Students will be assigned homework. Unless otherwise specified, homework is due at the beginning of the class. I will not ask you for your homework assignments. It is your responsibility to remember to turn in your homework assignments by putting them in the correct basket. Late Work Late work will be accepted from students in accordance with the following guidelines: Assignments in all categories, other than the professionalism category, will be accepted late. Late work will be one grade lower than the original grade. Late work shall not be accepted after the quarter has ended. Work submitted after the window has closed may be accepted at teacher discretion. Students with special circumstances should work with teachers to determine alternate individualized due dates when appropriate. Extensions to original due dates are subject to teacher discretion.
When you are absent, it is your responsibility to talk to me before school or after school to get the assignments. Excused Absence Policy An excused absence extends the due date and deadline by the number of days missed. For example, if you are not in school for two days due to an excused absence, you will have two days to make up the missed work. When you turn in work due to an absence, you MUST write ABSENT on the top of the assignment. If you do not write ABSENT on the top of the assignment, I will deduct points for it being late. Tardy Policy Come to class on time. If you are late, you must bring a pass. When you come to class late without a pass, I deduct points from your bellringer grade. For example, if you do the bellringer correctly and come to class on time you will get 100% (A+). If you do the bellringer correctly, but come to class late you will get a 70% (C-). Sometimes I give you points for JUST arriving on time. If you are late on those days you will earn 0- zero points. Coming to class tardy will negatively impact your grade. If tardiness is an ongoing problem, I will request a conference with your parent and/or you will receive a detention or other disciplinary action. Extra Credit Policy If a student is unhappy with their grade, I will give them the opportunity to do an extra credit assignment; however, students are able to do extra credit assignments only if they do not have any regular assignments missing. That means I will only give extra credit assignments to students who do all of the regularly assigned work. If you have missing assignments you can only get extra credit by attending a Boost the Grade event. Text and Materials AGS United States History, King, E. Wayne and Napp, L. John American and World Atlas Online Resources Supplemental Readings Primary Sources Materials Supplied by Student Binder or notebook (dedicated to history only) Pen and Pencils Be ready to learn and work hard Student Responsibilities Students are to arrive to class on time (before the bell rings). Students are to attend class regularly and exhibit good behavior. Students are to respect themselves, their fellow students, the teacher, and any visitors. Students are expected to keep and organize all handouts and take readable notes. Students are to complete all assignments that were missed due to an absence from class. Students are to ask for help, directions, or clarification if needed. Teacher Responsibilities The teacher will notify students of their academic process on a regular basis. The teacher will be available for conferences with students and parents. The teacher will provide sufficient time and resources for students to complete assignments missed due to excused absences. The teacher will notify students and their parents on how to remediate academic deficiencies. The teacher will arrange for additional educational support for students requesting it. The teacher will provide rubrics for projects prior to the start of the project Parent Responsibilities As a parent, I will. 1. Utilize parent portal to monitor my son/daughter s grades and attendance, if possible (Parent Portal can be accessed through the Parents section on the North-Grand website. If you are not familiar with Parent Portal, please contact me or one of the counselors.) 2. Contact the teacher via email (jahill2@gmail.com) or phone (773-410-6785) with any questions or concerns regarding my son/daughter s performance in this class.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I acknowledge the responsibilities required for this course, by signing below. The student, parent, and teacher agree to do everything within their power to make the student successful. Student: Date Print Name Sign Name Parent: Date Print Name Sign Name Teacher: Mr. Hill Date