Honors United States History
Instructors: Matthew Bradford
Email:
Course Description: The high school United States History course provides students with a comprehensive, intense study of major events and themes in United States History. Beginning with early European colonization, the course examines major events and themes throughout United States history. The course concludes with significant developments in the early 21st century. United States History is a required course for graduation.
Textbook: United States History—Prentice Hall
Class Website/ Blog:
This site is a great tool for the classroom. A class calendar with due dates and assignments will be posted. Extra credit and optional assignments are posted on the blog. Power Points and other materials may also be found there. Students and parents are encouraged to check blog regularly for updates to be aware of what is going on in class and what is available to the students for extended learning opportunities.
Course Outline: The course will include the study of 10 units. The units and chapters included in each are listed below and are found in your textbook. Each unit will have a pre-test (does not count for a grade), a Mid Unit Benchmark (formative assessment), an Almost There Assessment (does not count for a grade) and a Unit test (summative assessment). There will be additional formative and summative assessments throughout the course as well.
Test Dates are approximate and subject to change.**(All dates can be seen on class calendar found on the class blog)(Social Studies Test Days are Tuesday or Thursday)
Unit 1—Origins of a New Nation (Prehistory—1765) Test: 8/29**
Chapter 1—Many Cultures Meet (Prehistory—1550)
Chapter 2—Europeans Establish Colonies (1492—1752)
Chapter 3—The American Colonies Take Shape (1607—1765)
Unit 2—Creating the American Republic (1765—1816)Test: 10/2**
Chapter 4—The American Revolution (1765—1783)
Chapter 5—Creating the Constitution (1781—1789)
Chapter 6—The New Republic (1789—1816)
Unit 3—Expansion and Reform (1812—1860)Test: 10/31**
Chapter 7—Nationalism and Sectionalism (1812—1855)
Chapter 8—Religion and Reform (1812—1860)
Chapter 9—Manifest Destiny (1800—1850)
Unit 4—Civil War and Reconstruction (1846—1877) Test:11/21**
Chapter 10—The Union in Crisis (1846—1861)
Chapter 11—The Civil War (1861—1865)
Chapter 12—The Reconstruction Era (1865—1877)
Unit 5—Industrialization of the United States (1865—1914)Test: 12/12**
Chapter 13—The Triumph of Industry (1865—1914)
Chapter 14—Immigration and Urbanization (1865—1914)
Chapter 15—The South and West Transformed (1865—1900)
Chapter 16—Issues of the Gilded Age (1877—1900)
Comprehensive Final Examination will be given the week of 12/16—12/20
Unit 6—Emergence of the Modern United States (1890—1920)Test: 2/6**
Chapter 17—The Progressive Era (1890—1920)
Chapter 18—An Emerging World Power (1890—1917)
Chapter 19—World War I and Beyond (1914—1920)
Unit 7—Prosperity and Depression (1919—1941)Test: 3/6**
Chapter 20—The Twenties (1919—1929)
Chapter 21—The Great Depression (1928—1932)
Chapter 22—The New Deal (1932—1941)
Unit 8—World War II and Postwar America (1931—1960) Test: 3/27**
Chapter 23—The Coming of the War (1931—1942)
Chapter 24—World War II (1941—1945)
Chapter 25—The Cold War (1945—1960)
Chapter 26—Postwar Confidence and Anxiety (1945—1960)
Unit 9—Challenges and Change (1945—1980) Test: 4/24**
Chapter 27—The Civil Rights Movement (1945—1975)
Chapter 28—The Kennedy and Johnson Years (1960—1968)
Chapter 29—The Vietnam War Era (1954—1975)
Chapter 30—An Era of Protest and Change (1960—1980)
Chapter 31—A Crisis in Confidence (1968—1980)
Unit 10—Changing and Enduring Issues (1980—Today) Test: 5/2** Chapter 32—The Conservative Resurgence (1980—1993)
Chapter 33—Into a New Century (1992—Today)
Long Term Assignments
- Research Projects (more information will be distributed as projects are assigned—some may be deleted depending on time constraints) Some projects may be “OPTIONAL” assignments.
1. Creating a Republic (Constitution Project): will accompany unit on
the United States Constitution. (Individual)
2. Civil War Project: accompanies Unit 4 (Group or individual)
3. Gilded Age Scrapbook (with Technology interview and family tree)
accompanies Unit 5 (Individual)
4. Roaring Twenties Project (Individual)
5. Civil Rights Tic Tac Toe (Individual/accompanies Unit 9)
6. Inspirational American: serves as final assessment (Individual)
- Year Round Project
- Students will be creating a Presidential Portfolio
- Students will do brief biographies on each president and the portfolio will be turned in twice each semester.
- More information will be posted to class blog when this assignment begins.
- End of Course Test
There is a state mandated End of Course Test that will be administered in May 2014. This test counts for 20% of the student’s grade.
Class Requirements/Expectations:
- You will need a 3 ring binder for organizing notes and handouts.
- Bring materials EVERYDAY: book, notebook, applicable assignments, writing utensils, etc….You should be prepared to learn.
- Students will need 3 x 5 notecards for completing unit vocabulary. (@250 for course)
- Be respectful of each other and your instructor.
- When the bell rings, you should be in your assigned seat and ready to work.
- Listen to what is being taught and what is expected daily. Assignments and learning questions are posted on the board on a daily basis. Do not interfere with the lesson or another student’s ability to learn.
- Only beverages with lids will be allowed in class, please no food!!!
- Class participation is required and an essential part of your obtaining a good grade. READ, READ, READ……..YOU ARE EXPECTED TO PARTICIPATE AND YOU CAN’T PARTICIPATE IF YOU ARE NOT PREPARED. In addition, attendance is an essential part of success in this class. You cannot participate if you are not here.
- BE ON TIME!!!! Quizzes will be given in the first 5 minutes---if you are late, you will receive a zero. The Tardy Policy will be strictly adhered to.
- ABSOLUTELY NO ELECTRONIC DEVICE USE …..(cell phones, PEDs, etc)… consequences will be distributed accordingly with school policy.
**This course is required for graduation and it is imperative that you are paying attention and are not distracted by the use of these devices.**
Make-up/Late work Policy:
For make-up policy, consult the student handbook. It is the responsibility of the student to obtain make-up work by asking teacher to find out what assignments were missed. Make up tests will be done by appointment before or after school only. NO MAKE-UP WORK WILL BE ACCEPTED FOR UNEXCUSED ABSENCES.
The following system will be used for Latework:
On the first day, beyond the due date, the student will lose 10% of the maximum score and the deduction will continue in 10% increments. After the 5th late day, the maximum score for a late assignment will be a 50.
Academic Fraud:
Cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated at any level. Failure to maintain honest academic standards will result in an immediate disciplinary procedure. CHARACTER is who you are when no one is watching. Allowing someone to copy your work is considered cheating. Refer to the student handbook for further information on Academic Fraud.
EXTRA CREDIT
Students are given the opportunity to complete extra credit assignments throughout the course that can help their grades and enrich their learning. These assignments will be discussed in class and posted on the blog. These optional assignments consist of historical Hollywood movie analyses and field trips to local historical sites as well as individual research assignments. If a student wishes to complete these optional assignments, they must be completed throughout the course and not at the end of the semester. Assignments will be posted to the blog.
- Movie analyses are due the day of the unit test and are worth up to 5 points. Only one movie per unit is allowed.
- Field trips can be turned in at any time during the semester and are worth up to 10 points each.
- Plagiarism will NOT be tolerated and will be written up as cheating. Students that are caught plagiarizing will no longer be eligible for extra credit.
- The maximum number of extra credit points that can be earned during each semester is 50.
OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENTS (Extended Learning Opportunities)
Throughout the year, a variety of optional assignments will be given to the students. These extended learning opportunities count as additional grades. They are not extra credit but they are averaged in with the other grades in the course. Typically, students tend to fair well on these assignments. They include, but are not limited to, optional readings (such as with the summer assignment), optional essays, optional projects, reflections on political speeches such as the State of the Union Address in January, etc. Students that take advantage of these opportunities tend to score better on the unit tests and therefore receive higher grades in the class. Usually, these students also perform better on the EOCT. There is no limit as the number of optional assignments that students may complete as they are regular grades and NOT extra credit.
Grading:
Differentiated Instruction and Product are constant components of this class because I value the learning styles of each student. Not all students or classes will be doing the same thing at the same time. Assignments may vary from student to student or class to class to ensure that students have the opportunity to explore, create and apply themselves as we learn the complexities of United States History.
1st Semester
Formative Assessments(quizzes, daily assignments, homework)20%
Summative Assessments (projects, unit tests, performance based)65%
1st Semester Final Exam15%
2nd Semester
Formative Assessments(quizzes, daily assignments, homework)20%
Summative Assessments (projects, unit tests, performance based)60%
State Mandated End of Course Test20%
Grade Scale A= 90-100
B= 80-89
C= 74-79
D= 70-73
F= < 70