HIS 201 American History: Discovery to 1877

HIS 201 American History: Discovery to 1877

Mr. Adam Powley Fall 2011

TR Schedule

Course Description and Purpose

This course requires students to examine American History from the Discovery of the “New Worlds” through the development of the United States and concludes with the End of Reconstruction. While this is a Dual Enrollment class, students are still responsible for knowing the South Carolina US History and Constitution State Standards, which can be located at http://ed.sc.gov/agency/Standards-and-Learning/Academic-Standards/old/cso/social_studies/social.html or in your interactive notebook. Dual Enrollmen students will take the SC US History and Constitution End of Course exam after the completion of HIS 202 in the spring of 2011. Similarly, HGTC has a list of desired student outcomes, which can be found on Mr. Powley’s course homepage at http://ec.horrycountyschools.net/faculty_pages/mr_powley/.

Course Textbook

The American Pageant, 14th Edition. 2010.

Class Norms and Guidelines

1.)  Respect each other

Meaning -

2.)  Be Present

Meaning -

3.)  Actively Participate

Meaning -

4.)  Speak with Good Purpose

Meaning –

Others?

Assignments

The major assignment categories for this course are as follows.

A / 100-90
B / 89-80
C / 79-70
D / 69-60
F / 59 and below
Interactive Notebooks / 30%
Midterm / 10%
Final Exam / 20%
Projects / 30%
In Class/Minor Activities / 10%

*There will be assigned homework. These assignments may fall under the minor activities category however most often homework will be for the main project and especially the Interactive Notebooks.

**HIS 201 is a dual credit college course and will be subject to the grade conversion chart that is found in the ECH handbook. Final College Grades will appear as a letter grade on your college transcript. This college letter grade will convert to a high school grade on your high school transcript as follows:

A-96 B-88 C-80 D- 73 F- 61

Interactive Notebooks (Cornell Notes)

Students will be responsible for maintaining an Interactive Notebook (I.N.). The notebook will contain all lecture and reading notes given during class. In addition to notes, the students will be responsible for creating visuals, such as cartoons and maps, and literature assignments like poems and wordals, based on the note’s content. If you are absent, it is your responsibility to obtain notebook assignments from either a classmate or the teacher. Specific directions for the I.N. will be provided in class.

The Interactive Notebook will be collected at least twice during the semester. The combined average for the I.N. will count 30% of the student’s overall average. If a student has forgotten to bring their notebook for the particular class when a notebook check is announced, they may bring it by the very next calendar day, but 30% will be deducted from their notebook score for that check. If the notebook is brought the next time US History meets (two calendar days later), 50% will be deducted from the overall score for that check. After two calendar days, no points can be earned for that notebook check.

Notebooks will be checked for appropriate set up, accuracy and completion of notes, and completion of the original products. Further information on types of products will be given in class and can will be kept in the AVID Binder. Again, more specific information on grading of the I.N. will be provided in class.

Tests

Students will take two (2) exams as noted on the course schedule; a midterm exam and a final exam. The tests are scheduled below. Tests will account for 25% of the overall average. The HIS 201 Final Exam will take place during the Fall 2011 HGTC exam week and will be a cumulative exam of the first semester material.

Projects (National History Day)

All ECHS dual enrollment students will participate in the National History Day competition. Students will examine US History related topics to develop a thesis, research the thesis, and create a product that provides evidence for and analysis of their thesis. The final product will take 1 of 5 different forms, a paper, a museum exhibition, a documentary, a website or a dramatic performance. Much of the work will take place in class, and the research will involve much more than a Google search including investigating local libraries, archives and, in some cases, performing interviews. Students will have the option of working in groups, but it should be noted that all grades including the final grade will be equally shared. As such, students must critically exam, if they would like to be part of a group, and, if so, they need to assess their potential group members. Furthermore, there will be several assignments due along with the final product including a process paper and annotated bibliography among others. Since this is an official national competition and we will be formally competing, it will be necessary for students to understand the overall NHD rulebook as well as the requirements for their product.

Please note the value of this project is 25% of the overall class average. It should be inferred that the National History Day project will stretch the limits of your current abilities and should impact all of the ECHS SWO’s- critical thinking, personal and social responsibilities and your communication skills. This project will be fairly time consuming and will likely crossover into the 2nd semester as well.

In Class and Minor Assignments

In class activities and projects will be an important part of this year’s curriculum. Attendance is crucial and missed assignments are expected to be completed. The assignments will typically be assigned in class, and it is the student’s responsibility to obtain missed assignments, preferably from a classmate. Homework that is not directly tied to the I.N. or the NHD Project will fall into this category.

Bathroom Breaks

Students will keep track of their bathroom breaks in the I.N. Each student will have one page per semester provided by Mr. Powley to be pasted in the I.N. with three squares worth a total of ten bonus points for the Interactive Notebook average. Prior to asking to use the restroom, students will complete one square of the form which Mr. Powley will then initial. The student then loses the bonus points for that square. Bathroom use after the three squares are used will result in a call home. Students are to use the bathroom before and after class and will be unable to sign out for 30 minutes after class starts.

Attendance Policy

Please see the Early College Student Handbook and the HGTC Handbook for details.

Student Ethics and Responsibility

Any student caught cheating or plagiarizing can be given a grade of zero (0) and is subject to further disciplinary actions according to the ECH and HGTC handbooks.

Cell Phones

Please follow the ECH cell phone guidelines stipulating that phones are to be off and put away during the class period except at the teacher’s discretion for academic purposes. See ECHS handbook for further details.

End of Course Note

Students attending the Early College High School will be expected to take the SC End of Course Exam for US History. The exam consists of 50 Multiple Choice questions and will cover all 10 SC State High School standards. New this year the US History End of Course Exam will count 20% towards the HIS 202 (2nd semester) final average.

Classroom Management Plan – Restorative Practices

Students are expected to follow the course norms and guidelines. When a student makes a negative choice, they are bringing harm to a person or group. If a student chooses not to follow the guidelines, that student should expect to receive appropriate consequences. Since each situation is unique, this technique requires consequences unique to the student, the situation and the harm caused. This may be uncomfortable for some students and/or parents since there is no hard and fast list of actions and consequences. Restorative Practices seeks to allow the offending student to make amends for and to repair the negative actions and then allow the student back into the group. To do so, the input of the offender, the injured party (individual, teacher, class) are all weighed and accounted. For example, some students will sincerely apologize, and the class will accept and it will restore the class. However, other students may think they are “getting away with” an apology, and the injured party will not feel it is an appropriate consequence. In such a case this would not be an appropriate consequence for the offending student and an alternative would be arranged. The goal is to maintain a positive classroom while teaching and building empathy among the students. In the case of severe, chronic or other extreme cases appropriate administrative disciplinary actions will be taken. When necessary, parents/guardians will be informed of student disciplinary issues. The only exceptions are those actions located in the student handbook (i.e. cell phone policy).

Please Sign below to acknowledge receipt and acceptance of the syllabus.

______

Student Parent

8/23/11 / Introduce Notebooks and 1st assignment
8/25/11 / Unit 1: Slow Burn of Revolution
8/26/11 / sts 1.1, 2.1, 2.2
8/30/11
9/1/11
9/2/11
9/6/11 / Unit 2: The Evolution of the Young US
9/8/11 / sts 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.6, 2.7
9/9/11
9/13/11
9/15/11
9/16/11
9/20/11
9/22/11
9/23/11 / Unit 3: Manifest Destiny and the West
9/27/11 / sts. 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 4.1, 4.2
9/29/11
9/30/11
10/4/11
10/6/11
10/7/11
10/11/11
10/13/11 / MIDTERM
10/14/11
10/18/11 / Unit 4: Antebellum Disunion and Civil War
10/20/11 / sts. 4.1, 4.2, 4.3
10/21/11
10/25/11
10/27/11
10/28/11
11/1/11
11/3/11
11/4/11
11/8/11
11/10/11 / Unit 5 Post Civil War America
11/11/11 / sts. 4.4, 4.5, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7
11/15/11
11/17/11
11/18/11
11/22/11
THANKSGIVING
11/29/11
12/1/11
12/2/11
12/6/11 / Final Exam