Honors English I/Humanities

Advanced Placement World History

2017-18

Instructor Information

Mr. Kotselas

Phone: 480-279-7462

E-mail:

Office Hours: Mon & Tuesday 2:15-2:45pm (scheduling an appointment is best)

Textbook:

Ways of the World: A Global History, Strayer, R., Monterey Bay, CA. Copyright 2011.

Mr. Kotselas

I am extremely excited to continue my career at Higley High School's Knighthood! This is my eighth year as a teacher, and this is my fourth year at Higley. I have obtained a BA in Education with an emphasis in history, and I have earned my MEd in Education Leadership, go DEVILS! I am also going to finish my second MA in Gifted Education by the end of this school year. Prior to my education career, I served in the U.S. Army for four years. I was stationed in Germany and had the unique opportunity not only to experience military culture but also see almost all of Europe and parts of the Middle East. I love foreign cultures and World History, and I cannot wait to grow with you in our experiences as Knights!

Philosophy

I embrace teaching as an opportunity to inspire and empower. As a teacher, it is my goal to enhance student learning as a transformative experience. Ideally, I want students to feel personally changed by their participation in a course I am teaching. Promoting an understanding that social and political forces shape the construction and utilization of knowledge is central to my philosophy of teaching because it helps students sharpen critical thinking skills in order to enable them to transgress epistemological limitations. One way I work to encourage students to challenge existing boundaries is by teaching them to make the familiar strange and question how they have come to know what they believe to be true about their world. This helps students see boundaries, whether personal or social, as constructed and affords them an opportunity to challenge and move beyond them. It is this movement “against and beyond boundaries” that both empowers and transforms learners.

Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings, so that you shall gain easily what others have labored hard for.

-Socrates

Course Description

This course is a one-year, interdisciplinary endeavor taught at the Advanced Placement level. We will meet for one period per day and will study the “history of humankind”– collectively, an overview of the historical accounts expressed through literature, philosophy, music, paintings, war, conflict, politics, economics, class systems, sculpture, architecture, film, theatre, photography, and modern mass media. Essentially, these are all subjects with products that represent the world from the human perspective. You will become historiansand philosophers as you study and write about what you learn and how well you learn. You will also be expected to think historically as you analyze the various great works in World History. Completion of this course fulfills therequired World History credit for graduation. We will also have the opportunity to earn college credit in May by taking the AP World History exam. Dual Enrollment is another option for students to enroll in for college credit through Chandler Gilbert Community College.

Mr. Kotselas’s Expectations

• Follow all school policies within the Student Handbook.
• Act in a respectful manner towards peers, staff members, guests, and any property.
• Being on time to class means in the classroom in your assigned seat. Sitting in another seat will get you to be marked incorrectly causing attendance issues.
• Come to class prepared:

• Pens and pencils
• Notebook specifically for this class (interactive notebook)notebooks binder.
• 3x5 notecards cut in half—when cut in half there should be 300 for the entire year. Have a way to hold them together (rubberbands).
• 4 different colored highlighters (any 4 kinds of colors will work)
• Keep all of your graded work and this syllabus

• Take responsibility for getting assignmentsby asking your peers first. If they cannot help you, then talk to the teacher. You must self-advocate and approach the teacher.

• Participate in all class related activities outside of class or in class. Lack of participation can affect your grade.
• Speak in turn by raising your hand, respect!

• Bathrooms-no bathroom breaks in the first or last ten minutes of class. All bathroom passes require teacher permission and signing out & in upon return, unless the student has a medical release or IEP/504 requirements (teacher requests a copy of documentation). You will each be given 2 bathroom passes per quarter, that’s it. Use them wisely.
• No Insubordination. If you don’t know what it means, look it up!
• No Food, Candy, or Drinks. You are only allowed to drink BOTTLED water. The teacher reserves the right to throw away any kind of food or drink that is not bottled water. Save your money by not buying or finishing your Starbucks!
• No bags or backpacks on your desk because you will be prone to texting.

• No Cell Phones, headphones, iPods, CD Players, Pagers, or Radios. The teacherwill ask you to place these distractions into the electronic wall holder if it continues to be a problem. If you are continuously distracted with your electronics, then you may be asked to place your electronics in a designated holder before each class period begins.
• No plugging in charge cords or any other electronic devices into the classroom walls. If the teacher sees any of it for even a split second, then you will be asked to place it in the electronic wall holder.
• Dismissal. The teacher dismisses the class, not the bell. DO NOT line up at the door or put any work away until you are given notice.

Disrespectful Behavioral Consequences:

1. Conference with student (possible parent communication), 2. Parent communication, 3. Assign ASD/Mr. K. Detention, 4. Office Referral (Saturday School is in effect this year).

Tardy Policy:

If you are tardy to class, your entrance is disruptive to the learning process, and you miss information necessary for your success. The 3rdtardy result in after school detention. The 4th tardy will result in an office referral and students will be assigned Saturday detention. Students who are more than 10 minutes tardy will be marked absent.

Grading Weights:

Interactive Notebook/Classwork/Notecards

DBQs/Long Essays/Short Answers

Quizzes/Mid-Terms

80%

Semester Finals

20%

Grade Rounding:

Grades that are .5+ will be rounded to the next percentage point (89.56 = 90%). There is no other rounding to grades. I will not round an 89% to a 90%. You must earn the 90%.

Student Vue/Parent Vue:

Updated grades will be posted once or twice per week in Synergy. Grades can be accessed anytime by parents or students. Parents should contact the district office if they do not have a user id and password.

Required Materials and Assignments

Interactive Notebook- Daily Journals (bell work with dates), notes, reflective questions that are in complete sentences, pictures, graphs/charts, or anything else that is expected to go in your notebook. We will be following the Cornell Notes strategy, so please make sure to follow the organization that we discuss as a class. I will check these for completion at random times.

Vocabulary Cards- 3x5 note cards that are cut in half will work. We will use these like flashcards to practice conceptual knowledge. This is a great way to prepare for any AP exam/quiz.The vocab word needs to be hand written on one side of the card with the definition on the backside. No typing, printing, or quizlet copies as you will receive a zero.

Quizzes – Expect to have bi-weekly quizzes. This is to show you where you are at in your understanding and reading of the content while practicing for the AP exam. Quizzes can include any combination of multiple-choice questions, short answer questions, or even a 5-paragraph essay. You will be warned what kind of quiz it is a week before it is given. You are not allowed to use any notes on any quizzes, exams or finals. There will be no curving on any quizzes, exams, or finals.

Quiz Repair-students can choose to repair the bi-weekly quizzes, only. You can only repair a quiz if your interactive notebook and note cards are completely updated. You must also turn in the quiz repair within the week we review the right answers.

Independent Learner – You are ultimately responsible for your own learning. You are expected to take Cornell notes, fully participate in classroom activities, and complete all assignment. Failure to do so will affect your grade.

MLA Headings on assignments-Practicing this will help prepare you for college. Get used to format, your way is not necessarily the professional way. Every professional has to conform to some degree. Example of MLA heading:

Donald Trump

Period 1

1 Aug, 2017

WH Ch. 1 Quiz

*You can lose up to 10% of your assignment grade if the heading is incorrect or you name is missing completely. Have pride in your work.

Late Work – -50% automatically if you do not have the assignment in the classroom when it is due. Doesn’t matter if it is on campus, it is late. If it is not turned in by the next day’s class period, then it is a zero with no chance of credit. If you have an excused absence, then you have as many days as you were gone to make the work up. You must know when assignments are due, do not rely on the teacher.

Midterm Exam – Midterms will be given at the end of the 1st and 3rd quarters. A complete and organized interactive notebook will be your study guide along with your notecards. Any study guides that are given will resemble official AP test study guides, percentages of concepts only. You need to actually read your textbook to be successful in this class.

Final Exams – Final exams will be given at the end of each semester. These exams will be cumulative, covering all content material from both semesters of the school year. Again, a complete and organized interactive notebook while having read the actual textbook will be the key to doing well in this course.

Tutoring – I will be tutoring on Mondays & Tuesday after school between 2:15-3:00pm. Be respectful and schedule tutoring with me in advance.

Homework –You are expected to read about 5 (give or take) pages of the textbook per school night. Actually reading the textbook will give you the greatest chance of success in this class and on the AP test. If you skim, then you might as well poke holes in your grade as well. If you do not read, then you will struggle in this class. You will also be expected to complete your vocabulary notecards outside of school.

Historical Thinking Skills Name Short Description

Content knowledge is a great deal of information— names, chronology, facts, events, etc.

1 Crafting Historical Arguments from Historical Evidence Historical Argumentation

Make an argument that is: based on evidence, acknowledges both pro- & con- evidence, has a clear thesis, evaluate other peoples’ arguments appropriate use of relevant historical evidence, use evidence to support arguments, understand the context & limitations of evidence

2 Chronological Reasoning Historical Causation

Relationship between causes & effects, short-term vs. long-term, difference among, causation vs. coincidence vs. correlation patterns of continuity & change over time, recognize, analyze & evaluate patterns of change/continuity, relate patterns to larger historical processes/themes. Construct models of historical periodization, realize that the choice of specific dates is subjective, periodization changes a historical narrative. Historians’ themselves are subjective & fallible.

3 Comparison and Contextualization Comparison

Compare multiple historical developments, within one society, between different societies, in different time periods or places, compare multiple perspectives on one topic. Contextualization, connect developments to specific time and place, connect developments to broader processes.

4. Historical Interpretation and Synthesis Interpretation

Evaluate others’ interpretations of history. Consider evidence, reasoning, contexts, points of view, & frames of reference. Synthesis apply all of the historical thinking skills, draw on ideas from different fields or disciplines creatively fusing disparate, and perhaps contradictory evidence, apply insights to other historical contexts or circumstances, including the present.

Historical Themes

Interaction Between Humans and Environment

Development and Interaction of Cultures

State-Building, Expansion, and Conflict

Creation, Expansion, and Interaction of Economic Systems

Development and Transformation of Social Structures

Curriculum Schedule

Higley High School

4068 E. Pecos Rd, Gilbert, AZ 85297

Phone: (480)279-7300

Fax: (480)279-7500

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