ushistory

Course Objectives - Course Objectives -

1. To master content based on the themes of American History
2. To be able to recognize and analyze patterns in American History
3. To understand how events and patterns apply to the College Board themes of the course
4. To develop anaysis skills necessary to answer prompts based on three types of stimulus inquiry:
    a. Text
    b. Pictures
    c. Primary documents
    d. Secondary documents
    e. Excerpts from books
5. To develop and master writing skills including:
    a. The formation of a thesis and thesis statement
    b. Analysis using different types of examples
    c. The formation of a concluding statement
    d. To apply these skills to Long Response, Document Based Questionis, and Short Response prompts
6. To develop a knowledge base of the contributions of significant historical figures
7. To develop an understanding of the contributions of groups and individuals to American History
8. To understand the basis of the concepts of the Constitution
9. To develop an understanding of the evolution of conflict and conflict resolution in American History
10. To develop an understanding of the expansion of rights protected by law in American History
11. To develop an understanding of the role of state and federal courts in defining American Law

Students need to do the following to excel -

1. Take careful notes by completing the notes posted in class
2. Read the assigned pages each night
3. Follow up on any areas of interest or difficulty using the supplemental web resources
4. Make an effort to improve writing

Grading

1. Grades will be assigned as follows:
    a. Tests at the end of each unit. Approximately 2 per quarter
    b. Periodic quizzes
    c. Essay writing assignments
    d. Daily participation points, unauthorized use of phone or excessive time out of class will result in an automatic "0" for the day.

Grading Rubric

These are the performance standards that lead to the specific grade that you wish to earn for the course. Achievement of you desired grade can be reasonably be expected if you complete assignments, perform tasks and achieve assessment results that are consistent with these standards.

GRADE	Mastery of Vocabulary	Reading to Learn	Homework and Use of Web Resources	Group Work	Project Assignments	Tests, Quizzes, Assessment
A	Can use vocabulary in everyday speech, and can put vocabulary together with assignments and tests	Reads each section before doing homework, seeks links, similarities and differences between words and concepts in the section	Completes all homework assignments, does homework after reading the assigned section, uses the web to reinforce understanding	Completes all parts of the assignment, performs work and positively contributes to the group activity	Completes project assignments over enough time to make sure the final product exceeds all objectives	Masters detail knowledge (multiple choice/ short answer), analysis (comparisons and description), and synthesis (essay)
B	Can relate vocabulary to current instruction and previous assignments and tests	Reads most sections before doing homework, sometimes finds links, similarities and differences between words and concepts in the section	Completes most homework assignments, does most homework after reading the assigned section, frequently uses web resources and searches the web to reinforce understanding	Completes all parts of the assignment, performs work and positively contributes to the group activity	Completes project assignments with a strong knowledge of the content of the project	Understands detail knowledge (multiple choice/ short answer), analysis (comparisons and description), and synthesis (essay)
C	Can relate vocabulary to current instruction	Skims sections to find homework vocabulary, usually does not read the section	Looks at vocabulary first, tries to find vocabulary in the section, does not seek similarities or differences between words and concepts in the section, uses the web for specific assignments	Completes enough work to help the group complete requirements of the group assignment	Completes the project with all objectives barely accomplished	Understands one of the following: detail knowledge (multiple choice/ short answer), analysis (comparisons and description), or synthesis (essay)
D	Can define most vocabulary words	Tries to find homework vocabulary in index and/ or dictionary without reading the section	Defines vocabulary and answers questions without seeking similarities or differences between words and concepts in the section, rarely uses the web	Does not contribute equally to help the group complete the assignment, depends on other group members to complete project	Completes the project with some objectives minimally accomplished	Asks the question "what material is going to be on the test" (NOTE: It's DEFINITELY OK to ask what SECTIONS or CHAPTERS are on the quiz/ test!)
F	Cannot define vocabulary	Makes no attempt to read assigned sections	Does not do homework, does not use web resources	Does not participate in the group assignment	Does not complete (partial grade) or turn in the project (grade of 0)	Does not meet the minimal requirements of the assessment

Learning Guide

Text: US History, Savvas

Purpose: To develop an understanding of American History and how historical events affect what is happening today

Skills: Students should learn to assess historical materials such as first hand descriptions, documents, and opinion pieces as well as following the text.

Students should also learn how to write clearly and quickly, and how to make persuasive arguments based on evidence.

Students will develop and carry out a research plan that meets the standards of the most advanced high school students, and will learn how to deal with a variety of methods of assessment.

Objectives: Are at the beginning of each syllabus

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