World History – 517
10 Credits – Full Year
Mr. Paul Colombo
Clinton High School – Room 105
200 West Boylston Street
Clinton, MA 01510
978.365.4208 x.3105
Email: (best method of contact)
Course Description:
Students in this course will examine the cultural, political and technological changes in world history. Topics in this survey course, which is geared to help students in their other humanities, will examine the earliest civilizations, the Middle Ages, Exploration, the Renaissance, Enlightenment, Age of Revolutions, the Industrial Revolution and the two World Wars. Geographic skills within history are emphasized through out the year.
Course Topics:
Preliminary Unit: Basic Skills (Skills Handbook)
Unit 1:The Roman Empire (Chapter 6)
The Muslim World (Chapter 11)
Unit 2: Europe and the Middle Ages (Chapter 8)
The Renaissance and Reformation (Chapter 14)
Unit 3: The Americas (Chapter 7)
Age of Exploration (Chapters15 & 16)
Unit 4: Age of Enlightenment and Revolution (Chapter 1)
The French Revolution and Napoleon (Chapter 2)
The Industrial Revolution (Chapters 3 & 5)
Unit 5: World War I and its Aftermath (Chapters 6 & 10)
Russian Revolution (Chapter 11)
Crisis of Democracy in the West (Chapter 13)
World War II and its Aftermath (Chapter 14)
Unit 6: The Cold War and its Effects on the US and USSR (Chapters 15 & 16)
Textbook:
World History - Connections To Today. Ellis, E. and Esler, A Holt, Prentice Hall 2001.
Student Grades:
Student grades are earned each quarter by a breakdown of:
50% Test assessments
25% World History Binder (this also includes homework assignments – see Class Notes section below)
15% Quiz assessments
10% Participation (classroom and computer laboratory)
Class Notes:
A notebook (binder) for this class is mandatory! There will be many notes and handouts from classroom discussion/lessons so the binder will be necessary for organizational purposes. This notebook should be a 3-ring binder and organized into sections as follows:
First section to include; name of student as well as returned graded papers for
assessments (both tests and quizzes).Class Notes (organized by date given) as well as
activity sheets, and other handouts.
Homework:
Students will receive approximately 30 minutes of homework for each day that class meets and this will be due at the next scheduled meeting of class. Students are expected to doall homework assignments. Assignments will be collected or reviewed by the teacher, then returned to students as soon as possible and or practical. Failure to do homework will result in a loss of a letter grade per day late on the assignment plus a detention. All homework assignments are to be kept in the homework section of the World History Binder in chronological order!
Assessments:
Assessments will be scheduled and announced. No talking in class will be allowed until everyone has completed the assessment. If you miss an assessment (test or quiz) you must meet with me in order to discuss making up the assessment based on the guidelines in the Clinton High School Student Handbook, pages 20-21.
Plagiarism:
Simply put, plagiarism is using someone else’s words, ideas or work without giving them credit for it. This applies to research work, assessments, and homework. Plagiarism is unacceptable! Any plagiarized work or word for word copying will result in a zero for all parties involved. Students are expected to do their own work for this class. Students should take pride and satisfaction in their work and accomplishments.
Absence:
It is the student’s responsibility to make up work, assessments and reports missed due to absence via the guidelines of the Clinton High School Student Handbook.
Start of Class:
Everyone is expected to be in his or her assigned seat and ready to work when the bell rings. Students should be prepared for class – pencil, textbook, calculator, binder or other organizational tools that are needed. Assigned homework will be collected at the beginning of class.
End of Class:
Students will be dismissed by the instructor and not the bell to make sure that everyone has the homework and long term assignments as well as concluding the lesson for the day.
Extra Help:
Extra help sessions will be held after school (by appointment) Monday through Thursday. Please meet with me in advance so I can prepare for and expect you.
Class Rules:
Respect yourself, your fellow classmates and any adults in the class.
Pay attention to detail.
Time for learning; be on time, prepared for class and ready to learn.
No food or drink (except clear water) in class.
No foul or inappropriate language.
Take pride in doing your best work!
Use of your cell phone is not allowed during class time. Please turn it off!
Class Website:
Our class website is accessible at this URL:
The “News” menu of our website is offered through WordPress.Com and is linked to my Twitter account. You have the capability to receive any of my posts made there right on the blog page. Most announcements will appear here before they are made in class! You should visit the class website often!
World History - 517 Syllabus | 2011-12 | Mr. P. Colombo | Rm. 105