World History Course Syllabus
East Hamilton High School
Mrs. Roberson’s class:
Although the textbook for this course covers the history of the entire world from 250,000 B.C. until 2008 A.D., this course will focus on the time period from the Industrial Revolution forward. In an effort to focus on events from the 1700’s to the present, focus will be placed on events from the Enlightenment until today. The goal of the course willbe to review the events of ancient history (especially those which form the foundations of Western Civilization) as well as analyze the events of the 20th century and then discuss how these events are stillshaping the lives of the students who are living in the 21st century. Students should be prepared to be assessed as each topic as it is completed rather than waiting until all the chapters in a particular “unit” are completed. For examples when the information on ancient Greeks is completed, students should be prepared to answer questions which will be recorded in the “test” portion of their assessments.
1st quarter topics * (orange = review, overview) / 3rd quarter topics4 river valley civilizations, Ancient Greece , Rome and the Rise of Christianity (including a review of Christianity’s relationship to Judaism), overview of all major world religions /
- The world between the wars
- WWII
The Middle Ages and the Byzantine Empire (influence of Islamic world on Europe) / Cold War , and post war changes for Europe (including Russia) and Americas
Renaissance , Reformation and Exploration / cold war and post war changes for colonized nations:
- Of Africa (example: independence movement, end of apartheid, economic challenges, impact of AIDS epidemic)
- Of South Asia ( example: independence movement, Gandhi, economic challenges)
Revolution and Enlightenment ( including the French Revolution) / 4th quarter topics
cold war and post war changes for the Middle East
(example: the establishment of the country of Israel, Camp David Accords, Oslo Peace Accords, Iran hostage crisis, Persian Gulf War, 9/11, and the war on terror, current nuclear threat from Iran)
2nd quarter topics
Industrialization, Nationalism and Imperialism (colonization ) and World War I / The role of the East in the, Cold War and postwar changes/ changing global patterns ( example, Chinese Revolution, Great Leap forward, Cultural Revolution, Tiananmen Square uprisings, population policies, economic rise of China)
With so many topics to analyze students will need to read portions of the textbook before these topics are discussed in class. Students are expected to have finished reading the assigned portions of the textbook before class the next day.
Moreover, since the textbook will beonly one of several resources which the students will use to analyze the changing roles of minorities, religion, technology, government, recreation and business in the lives of people over the centuries, to get the full benefit of the class, students should make every effort to be here on time and ready to participate in class on a daily basis.
Required Materials: Students will need to bring, paper, pencil, pen and textbook to class each day. They should also bring a colored pencil to make corrections/additions to their papers. . All work should be kept in a 1 ½” hard cover 3 ring binder. The binder should have 4 dividers ( warm-ups, quizzes/assessments, tests/projects , daily-work) and will be collected at least once each semester for a test grade. East Hamilton is a “Bring your own device” school. Students will be given assignments that require them to look up things on the internet or access Google Classroom. A device which can access the internet will be very useful.
Grading : Grading will follow Hamilton County’s policy :
For the Semester
1STsemester / 50%2ND 9 WEEKS / 50%
Within eachsemester : 1st quarter ( 40%) + 2nd quarter (40%) + exam (20%)
Within each quarter : Tests (50%) + Daily (40%)+ quiz/assessments (10%)
Tests and projects / 50% /- There will betest questionsand/or a project given over each topic. Test questions will consistof essay questions, multiple choice, matching and/or true/false questions.
- The binders will also be collected for a test grade once each semester. To receive full credit, students must keep up with all of their work from the semester and organize it in their binder under 4 categories: warm-ups (class and notes) , quizzes, tests/projects , and daily work.
- Projects are assigned based on the availability of the computer labs. Each project will be graded according to a rubric which will be given out with the directions for the project. All project directions and rubrics will be posted the teacher information page located on the school website.
- The midterm will be cumulative for the semester.
daily work and class participation / 40% / Participation will include being able to contribute to class discussions about the assigned reading material. Full participation means sitting up, answering and asking questions and fully completing all written work. All writing assignments should be written using complete sentences, proper punctuation, grammar, and capitalization (etc.) in order to earn full credit.
Quizzes/ assessments / 10% / Quizzes will include questions over readings that need to be completed outside of class as well as content discussed in class.
Classroom Procedures:
ABSENCES AND MAKE-UP WORK: For each day that you are absent you have 5 days to turn in missing assignments. All assignments are listed on the classroom assignments page provided on the East Hamilton website. It is YOUR responsibility to check the assignments page when you are absent. If a student’s absence is unexcused, he/she may be allowed to make-up work for reduced credit (not to exceed 90%). Unexcused absences may not exceed 5. After 5 a student will be referred to the social worker.. Four tardies equals a warning. Five tardies equals an after school detention. Six tardies will result in a Saturday school.
LATE WORK: Any work not turned in when it is collected by the teacher (NOT 20 to 30 minutes later) will be considered late. Work may be turned in the next day for a “late grade”. If the student is unable to turn in the assignment on time, he/she will need to turn in a sheet stating the name of the missing assignment and when it will be submitted. (Once answers are given out in class, the highest grade is 50%). No assignments will be accepted more than 5 days after the due date.
CHEATING:“COPYING” another student’s work, submitting work that is NOT your own (including plagiarizing) or using the aid of a source (book, map, another student, etc.,) which was deemed “off-limits” for a particular assignment is considered cheating and will result in a zero for the assignment. [To avoid plagiarizing, please mark any direct quote (the direct use of 5 words or more from an outside source) with quotation marks and cite the source within the document.
CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR:Students are expected to follow all the school sanctioned rules (see the student handbook). This includes: no food or drinks in the room (other than water); no gum; no “toys”(or items which would distract students like a toy would) no cell phones (phones should be kept out of sight at all times unless specifically asked to look up something using the school Wi-Fi). Students will be limited to 3 passes per semester.All passes from the nurse must be on the prescribed form and havethe signatureof the teacher, sending the student to the nurse, as well as, the signature of the nurse with the departure time.If a student needs special accommodations in this area, please contact me: .
ON TASK-All students should be “alert” (not lying their head down on the desk) and “on task” at all times. This means you should only be talking about this course, writing about this course, and working on assignments for this course during this class period. Please be aware that disruptive and "off-task" behavior will result in negative consequences. These consequences include: separation from other students, parent conferences, after-school detentions and office referrals, depending on the frequency and severity of the behavior.
PowerSchool- grades are accessible through PowerSchool any time of day. Each student was assigned (by the office) a username and password by which to access this information. Please take advantage of this program. If you need a username and password please check with the school secretary.
I ______(print student name) have read the classroom procedures for Mrs. Roberson’s class and have been fully informed of the behavior expected from me while in this class.
Classroom procedures: for Roberson______( student signature/date)
______( parent signature) ______e-mail
______( parent phone #)