History Expectations Welcome to the History of the United States. This course will cover a time period of roughly the early colonization through the presidency of Andrew Jackson. The focus of the class discussion will be to explore the movement of the European people into North America in concert with the African Americans and Native Americans. As a class we will examine the development of the government and the people that created it. We will also examine the dichotomy of what was happening to all three ethnic groups and how their interactions influenced the development of the United States. In order to bring this all into perspective so the students learn how to do history, we will also be discussing the relevant current events and how the present is related to the past in terms of influencing the future. Daily Expectations It is expected that each student will attend class each day. There is so much material to cover that it is difficult to makeup class discussions and assignments. Students are expected to be to class on time seated when the bell rings, (with their textbook) paper for notes and something to write with. It is not acceptable to assume that other students will supply you with a pencil and paper. Students are also expected to be respectful of other opinions discussed in class. The day-to-day expectations of all students are: Be to class on time Come to class prepared to learn Come to class prepared with class materials Do not disrupt the learning process Participate Complete your class work Ask for help when needed Curriculum Overview for this year This year our focus of United States history will cover the period of time from (roughly) 1585 through 1861. This period of time in United States history has been referred to as the Beginnings of our Nation through Jacksonian Democracy. The various topics we will cover will be: The English Colonies Creating a New Nation The Early Republic A Changing Nation
Introductory Presentation for Each Chapter Students will be given an introductory presentation for each chapter. These presentations will highlight the chapter discussions, key terms and significant people. An outline of events will also be provided so students can keep a historical perspective. Links to these Prezi presentations will be made available to the students. Study Session Group The purpose of this group is to provide guided instruction through the textbook on a regular basis. Students who take advantage of these assignments will have questions that directly correspond to pages in the textbook. These online assignments are set up to for Sunday through Thursday evening and should not take longer than 20-30 minutes to read the text and respond to the questions. It is important that students take their time when responding and provide thorough and complete answers. Students who complete these assignments will take the chapter exam that includes true/false, matching and fill-in questions only Essential Question Group The purpose of this group is to provide a weekly guided reflection question that will help students to understand the main emphasis of the class readings. It is important that students take their time when responding and provide thorough and complete answers. Students who complete these assignment will take an exam that includes true/false, matching, fill-in and two essay questions. Research and Review Group The purpose of this group is to give the students the opportunity to lean how to approach challenging historical questions while developing and responding in a critical format. The template that the student will use to respond with will direct them through the process of developing an analytical paper. Students who complete these assignment will take an exam that consist of five short answer essays. Research Group The purpose of this group is to give the students an opportunity to explore and gain a wider understanding of the politics and issues of the time period we are reviewing. Students will be given three to four essay questions that reflect the conversations of the chapter we are discussing. Students are expected to research and respond to the questions. On the day that the chapter exam is given, students must turn in their completed research questions along with their sources. These students will be given a two-question essay that corresponds to the research questions they worked on. It is important that students take their time when responding and provide thorough and complete answers. Online assignments A majority of assignments for this class will be completed online. Students will be expected to access the class website which will direct them to the correct assignments. If students do not have access to a computer or Internet they do have the option of completing their work before or after school in the Heatherwood or public library. Students can also copy off the assignments and turn in a hard copy. Hard copy assignments that are turned in must be typed. Handwritten assignments will not be accepted.
Class survey Once you have completed reading through the class expectations there will be a short survey to take. These questions should help to reinforce what is expected of you as responsible student. Click on this link to take you to the Introductory Survey History CBA In early spring, all 8 th grade students will participate in a Class Room Based Assessment for US History. This assignment in our class will be a topical paper and presentation. Students will show their understanding of Constitutional Issues that reflects their research of a contemporary legal issue. The essential question of the assignment will be: How do we balance the good of the community with the rights of the individual? Reading Schedule Each trimester a reading schedule will be provided online. You are expected to stay current with the readings. Please note that class discussions and class presentations may vary with respect to the class readings. However, you are expected to stay up with the trimester class readings. Website Resources As with most resources in today society, there is an abundant amount of information available to each student. The class website should be a starting point. Student creativity and the ability to think critically in terms of how to ask the right question of the various resources will be essential to a successful search. Weekly Website Updates The class website will be updated every Sunday evening. This weekly schedule will provide the class objective for the week, a day to day schedule of tentative class activities, hot links to key terms and people, a list of assignments and links to resources which provide additional information to the important weekly themes. Take advantage of this website! Current Events For the most part, a Current Event assignment will be due on Friday. You can download the current event form and complete the assignment during the week. On the Fridays where there is an exam or assignment due, current events will not be required. Chapter Projects Throughout the course of the year a variety of projects will be assigned. These projects for the most part will reflect the chapter discussions. These projects will include group work, individual work, creative multimedia presentation or simple reports. Students will be expected to participate on an equal basis to a group project. Your grade for these projects will be a combination of the presentation and the amount of effort you contributed. Up Front Magazine Heatherwood Middle School has subscribed to an excellent current event magazine. These magazines are published bimonthly. We will utilize these magazines for in class reading and discussions with respect to current events and how it relates to American History. (upfront.scholastic.com)
Grading Criteria The grading criteria for the year in US History is as follows: 30% Class participation 40% Class achievement: class notes, Current Events, Research questions, Essential Questions, Study Sessions, Chapter projects 30% Chapter Exams Differentiation It is my goal to differentiate the exams and daily work to the abilities of the students. After a few weeks in class three groups will be established. One group will be assigned three to four research questions for the chapter to research and respond to. These responses should be thorough and complete with resources sited. These students will be provided an end of the chapter with two essay questions to respond to. These exam essay questions will be relevant to the chapter readings, class discussions and the research questions. The second group will be expected to respond to the weekly essential question. These questions will be posted on my website for each chapter. The responses for these essential questions need to be thorough and complete. The exam for these students will be a combination of true/false questions, matching questions, fill in questions and two short answer essay questions. The third group of students will be required to complete online study session questions five nights a week, Sunday through Thursday. These assignments will cover a couple pages of the textbook and will have 10-15 short answer essay responses required. The exam for these students will be a combination of true/false, matching and fill in questions. It is also expected that all students, regardless of their group will keep up with their required readings of the text. Also, please note that these groups are based on writing skills. Students can select which group to participate with. Home and late assignments Assignments are expected to be turned in on time. In the event an assignment is late, one point will be deducted for each day the assignment is late. If the assignment is turned after the point when any points can be earned, it will still be marked in the grade book as a zero but turned in. Rubric for Essay responses The following criteria will be used when grading essay responses: 5 This response will be thorough and complete. The response will reflect a high level of critical thinking, analysis and will answer all aspects of the question. The response will also demonstrate a variety of word choice correct spelling, punctuation and grammar. The response demonstrates a well thought out thorough answer. 4 This response will be complete and an attempt will be made to demonstrate critical thinking. The response will also demonstrate a variety of word choice correct spelling, punctuation and grammar. This response will be thorough yet will be a simple correct answer.
3 This response will be simple and straightforward. It will reflect the correct response yet will not attempt to express a deeper thought process. The response will attempt to use correct spelling, punctuation and grammar. This response is correct yet a very basic simplistic answer. 2 A partial hurried response is demonstrated. There is not much thought or critical thinking demonstrated. This response is a simple answer in which the student attempts to answer the question without studying or reflective thought. Textbook The textbook that we will use this year is called, Beginnings through Reconstructions. Each student will be checked out a textbook at the beginning of the year. It is expected you will bring your textbook to class each day. It is also possible for students to access their textbooks electronically. Here is the process you will need to follow to access your book online: Go to www.classzone.com - click on the Middle School Social Studies button, then select Washington State and click Go under Find Your Book. Then click on the : Beginnings Through Reconstruction book icon. Scroll down the new page and click on Online Book. When you get to the sign-in page, click Create A Student Account under New Visitors. Type in the activation code and then click Continue. Enter your birth date This page asks you for your name, and then asks you for a User Name. I would suggest using your email address as your user name so that you don t forget it. Then you need to come up with a password that you can remember. Choose a security question and answer, check the little box that says you agree to the Publisher s terms, and then click Create Account. You will then be taken to a page that says Registration Complete. It shows you your new user name and the security question you chose in case you forgot your password. Click Continue. This takes you to a page that declares Success! Click Go To ClassZone. This takes you back to the original first page. Click Go. Click on the : Beginnings Through Reconstruction book icon again. Scroll Down to the bottom left-hand corner and click Online Book. You are now re-registered for the online book. Please write down the user name and the password somewhere so that you don t have to go through this process again! All you will need to do in the future is go to ClassZone.com, choose your subject, state, and book, and then put in your user name and password. It should always take you to the online book. The Heatherwood library web page also has a link directly to this text.
Individual Learning Program This year there will be an attempt to design an individual learning progress report for each student. These progress reports will be handed out after each chapter exam. A summary of assignments, exam scores and goals for the following chapter will be included. Reading Skills Reading is an academic skill that needs to be practiced and worked on continually to get better. Not only is reading important for the enjoyment reading books. Reading should also be understood as a tool to gain deeper understanding of other people s experience and knowledge. It will be essential in this class that each of the students work hard to read to understand all of the arguments presented from the variety of different biases and viewpoints so as to be able to formulate their own ideas and opinions. Writing Skills It is expected that students will use their best writing skills on all assignments. Students should take advantage of each assignment to work on improve their writing. Students will always be expected to use correct punctuation, capitalization and spelling. In response to essay assignments, students must understand that thorough and complete responses are expected, not short quick one/two sentence responses. Class discussions and participation Throughout the course of the year, our class will have discussed many topics. These topics will deal with the historical events as well as current events. It will be important for the students to make the connection between the past events, which have formed our country, and the current events, which will influence the direction of our country. This class is not about studying old people and old ideas and memorizing facts. This class will be about doing history! Students must grasp hold of how the past events have influenced their lives. Creativity and Critical thinking skills Students are encouraged to think in this class. They are encouraged to examine all possible viewpoints and arguments regarding any particular situation or event. Students will also be encouraged to be creative in there thinking as well as how they present their ideas and work. Online Grades All assignments, exams, projects and class participation grades can be found online. It is my intent to keep these grades s up to date as possible. In the event a grade is not posted or is posted incorrectly, please bring to my attention as soon as possible. Online grades can be accessed at the LMS System at: https://lms.everettsd.org/secure/ HomePage.aspx
In order to have a successful experience in class this school year I agree to the following expectations: I agree to be to class on time each day. I realize that the portable is located out by the tennis courts and that I need to make this a priority to be to class on time. I agree to come to class each day prepared to learn. This means that I need to bring paper, something to write with and my class text book. I agree to participate in class discussions throughout the year. I realize that I have the right to express my viewpoints. I also realize that I need to be respectful of other students/adults and their viewpoints. I will come to class with an open mind and be willing to listen to other people. I understand that in order to be successful in class and allow others to be successful I must follow all classroom rules and not disrupt other student s learning. I agree to keep up with my assigned readings each night. I know how to access the class website to locate the assigned readings. I realize the class discussions might not cover these readings, however I am still responsible to keep up with these readings. I agree to complete my homework on time. I realize that my homework could consist of (but not limited to) daily study sessions, weekly essential questions, unit research questions, weekly current events assignments, chapter projects and chapter examinations. The due date for these assignments are clearly stated if my assignments are turned in late I will loose points. I understand my text book is online and I know how to access my textbook. In the event of not bringing my actual textbook home, I can still access my textbook online. I understand all of the class information is posted online. I realize that an important aspect of this class will be our class website where I can find weekly class objectives, assignments, resources and day to day activities. I agree to use this website. I understand my grades will be posted online. In the event that a grade has not been recorded or recorded incorrectly I will communicate this with the teacher. I understand that if I have any concerns in class I will talk with the teacher immediately. Student Signature Date Parent Signature Date