Course Syllabus 8th Grade U.S. History
Mr. Fryer
8th Grade U.S. History
Emerson Middle School
Telephone: (734) 744-2665
Email:
Twitter: Matt Fryer @Fryguyhistory
Web Page:
Dear Parents & Students,
Hello and welcome to an exciting year at Emerson Middle School! My name is Mr. Fryer and I will be teaching your child U.S. History during this academic year. This letter is to introduce my class and the expectations for all of my students. Along with an introduction and brief description, there will also be a brief summary of the main focus of this course.
This first paragraph will outline the theme that my class follows throughout the entire academic school year. This theme deals with the expectations for your child when he or she is in the classroom. The theme has three important issues that will be consistently addressed. The theme is “Respect, Responsibility, & Learning.” This theme is the main principle of what Emerson Middle School stands for. If your child follows this theme the experience that will occur in eighth grade will be extremely fun, exciting, and successful.
The second paragraph will outline the grade scale for U.S. History. This scale is the standard scale used throughout the Livonia Public School District. All grades will be given based upon the percent that is earned. Please keep a copy of this scale as a resource for your son or daughter during the school year. Here is the scale:
Letter Grade / PercentA / 100-93
A- / 92-90
B+ / 89-87
B / 86-83
B- / 82-80
C+ / 79-77
C / 76-73
C- / 72-70
D+ / 69-67
D / 66-63
D- / 62-60
E / 59-0
This next paragraph will outline how the grade for your child is determined, the use of the Student Planner, Mr. Fryer’s classroom policy on late assignments, and extra credit. There are four categories that will determine the grade given to your child each marking period. These categories are tests or projects, in-class work or homework, quizzes, and organization. Grades for class will be updated on a regular basis through the district’s My Star grade program. Assignments will be posted weekly on the Emerson Middle School’s website.
Percent of Category / Category40 % / Test or Project
30% / In-Class Work or Homework
20% / Quiz
10% / Organizational Grade
The Student Planner is a useful tool to implement in your student’s daily routine. It will contain updates, due dates on activities, and it will help to avoid late or incomplete work. The use of the Student Planner is required and is not optional. We will work very hard each week, using the Student Planner and Mr. Fryer’s Website to plan accordingly. We want to be “Proactive” and “Begin With The End In Mind”at Emerson Middle School. In order to understand these ideas and our philosophy at Emerson,I highly recommend that you and your son or daughter read a book entitled The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey.This book, along with the daily practices that Emerson Middle School emphasizes, will help immensely with the organizational skills of your child. If missing assignments occur they will not be tolerated.Parents please be aware,Mr. Fryer will assign Lunch Detentions for missing work or incomplete assignments. Parents will be notified if students are assigned Lunch Detention prior to attending.
The fourth paragraph will be a brief summary of the content that your children will be engaged in during class time. Along with this brief summary, you will find on the other side of this sheet an abbreviated academic calendar for the school year for our curriculum. The name of textbook is called, “The American Journey”. It applies a Social Studies strategy entitled the Five Themes of Geography: (1) Region; (2) Location; (3) Place; (4) Movement of people, goods services and ideas; (5)Human-environmental interaction. Other supplemental texts will also be used to assist in the instruction of these areas in class. The 8th grade curriculum provides an opportunity for the students to learn about the United States of America. Political, economic, religious/beliefs, social/cultural, intellectual, geographic, and historical perspectives of the country are examined. This course is designed to expand students’ awareness of their American heritage and to study how the different perspectives have influenced our lives. Citizenship is addressed through the prior knowledge attained in 7th grade from the basic beliefs that our country was founded upon and is expanded upon through constitutional principles such as the rule of law, checks and balances, and the separation of powers. Students will continue to build their base of knowledge on economic principles, terminology, and the global economy. In addition, all students will participate in career units. Current events are addressed weekly through the use of local and national periodicals. Library Science skills such as library, Internet, and data base research, along with Language Arts skills such as expository texts reading and writing skills, and Mathematics skills such as graph interpretation are emphasized throughout the course. District and state level curriculum benchmarks will continue to guide students as they explore the individual and historical events that have shaped the United States of America. Extra credit projects are not available.
This fifth paragraph will address potentially the most important aspect of your child’s educational experience at Emerson Middle School. This area involves the aspect of communication. In order for your child to have the most productive and positive experience within my classroom, there has to be open lines of communication between the parents and the teacher. If any parent has a question about in-class work, curriculum, or potential disciplinary issues please give me the opportunity to discuss these matters with you. I check my voice mail daily at 7 AM and will attempt to return your call within 24 hours. I additionally check my email twice a day. My email address is listed at the top of this syllabus. The email avenue is the best form of communication on a daily or even weekly basis.If you would like to arrange a meeting with me, please attempt to give me a three-day notice. This will allow for the most productive time and for me to arrange any other time commitments. My website is also a very effective form of communication to stay updated with homework, study guides, activities, the classroom syllabus, and classroom calendar.Every week I will post assignments, due dates for projects, upcoming events, and reminders for students and parents.
I am very excited to be apart of your child’s educational experience at Emerson Middle School. I look forward to working with you and your child. It is important that we work together as a team to provide the support that your child will need during this school year. I want your child to succeed! Thank you for your time and welcome to U.S. History!
Respectfully,
Mr. Fryer
Social Studies Department Chair
Washington DC Trip Coordinator
8th Grade U.S. History
Emerson Middle School
Course Timeline
Mr. Fryer
8th Grade U.S. History
Emerson Middle School
*Please Note: This schedule can be changed due to time or events.
First Semester:First Quarter
Unit I- Different Worlds Meet Introduction & Review
Beginnings-1625
Organizational Activities, Book Assignment,
Introduction To Class & Expectations / 1 week
Chapter 1-Core Democratic Values & Citizenship/Review / 2 weeks
Chapter 2- Meeting of Three Worlds / 2 weeks
Unit II-Colonial Settlement
1587-1770
Chapter 3-Colonial America / 2-3 weeks
Chapter 4-The Colonies Grow / 2-3 weeks
End of The First Quarter
Second Quarter
Unit III- Creating A Nation
1763-1791
Chapter 5- Road To Independence / 5 weeks
Chapter 6-The American Revolution / 5 weeks
Mid Term Exam / 1 Week / Comprehensive
End of The Second Quarter
Second Semester:
Third Quarter
Unit III-Creating A Nation
Chapter 7- A More Perfect Union / 4 weeks
Unit IV- The New Republic
1789-1825
Chapter 8-A New Nation / 1-2 Weeks
Chapter 9-The Jefferson Era / 2 Weeks
Chapter 10- Growth & Expansion / 3 Weeks
End of The Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter
Unit V- The Growing Nation
1820-1860
Chapter 11- The Jackson Era / 1-2 weeks
Chapter 12- Manifest Destiny / 1-2 weeks
Chapter 13- North & South / 1-2 weeks
Chapter 14- The Age of Reform / 1-2 weeks
Unit VI-Civil War & Reconstruction
1846-1896
Chapter 15- Road To The Civil War / 2 weeks
Chapter 16The Civil War / 2 weeks
Chapter 17-Reconstruction & Its Aftermath / 2 weeks
Final Exam! / 1 week
End of The Fourth Quarter / Comprehensive