Ms. Deborah Puckett Crockett County High School, Room 503

U.S. History – Fall 2017 Syllabus

Ms. Deborah Puckett Crockett County High School, Room 503

Classroom Rules

1. Follow all rules established by our district and our school.

2. Treat everyone you see with respect at all times.

·  Keep your hands, feet, and objects to yourself.

·  Listen when others talk.

·  Talk to others using a polite volume, tone, and vocabulary. If you have something to ask or tell the class, raise your hand to do so.

·  Follow directions as quickly and completely as possible.

·  Arrive to class on time and have everything you need for class with you.

3. Build up your classmates, schoolmates, teachers, administrators, and yourself.

Classroom Procedures

1. When you enter the classroom, make your way to your assigned seat and start on the bell ringer assignment for the day. Work on this assignment until the teacher begins class.

2. Remain in your seat following directions unless you have permission to do otherwise.

3. If you need to leave the classroom for any reason, raise your hand and ask to use one of the passes. Have everything you need for class in the classroom with you when the bell rings. Use of passes will be tracked throughout the semester, and abuse of this privilege by individual students or the class may result in its reduction.

·  FALL 2017 UPDATE: Students may not leave the classroom to visit the restroom during the first twenty minutes of class or the last twenty minutes of class. The six-minute passing period is allotted to allow students time to visit the restroom.

4. Work individually unless instructed otherwise.

5. Leave the classroom only when dismissed.

6. Late work is any work not turned in at the appropriate time. It will be docked ten percent per day.

7. When absent, get an admittance slip from the office before coming to class, and give the slip to the teacher when prompted. Check with the teacher for work missed, and turn in any due assignments before the bell.

8. Missed assignments will be made up the day absentees return to school unless other arrangements have been made between teacher and student.

9. Any student not in class when the bell rings will be considered tardy, and any student who is not in the classroom during the period will be considered absent.

Grading Scale: A=100-93 B = 92-85 C = 84-75 D = 74-70 F = 69-0

Grading Percentages (FIRST/THIRD NINE WEEKS):

Assessment (Quizzes, Common Assessment) 50%

Daily Grades 25%

Final Exam 25%

Grading Percentages (SECOND/FOURTH NINE WEEKS):

Assessment (Quizzes, Common Assessment) 55%

Daily Grades 30%

Final Exam 25%

The TNReady U.S. History end-of-course assessment will be administered near the end of this class. We will spend time throughout the semester planning and preparing for this exam with practice tests and other assignments. The TNReady test will serve as one-third of students’ final exam grade, with an in-class project comprising the other two-thirds. This test will consist of two parts:

·  A writing portion (Wednesday November 29)

·  A multiple-choice portion (Friday December 1/Monday December 4)

To prepare our students for these tests and make sure they perform to the best of their ability, we will practice these types of assessments several times throughout the semester with Common Assessments. These will constitute a large portion of the students’ grade for the semester. Common Assessments will be formatted in the same style as the TNReady test and will cover information discussed in class and covered in class activities. A total of three Common Assessments will be given throughout the semester, with one of these serving as the mid-term exam. Study guides will be provided before each common assessment.

Current common assessment dates are as follows, but are subject to change:

·  Friday August 25

·  Thursday/Friday September 28/29 (Mid-Term Exam)

·  Monday/Tuesday November 27/28

Holistic participation grades may be assigned based on how well students follow classroom rules and procedures as well as on completion of assignments and questions answered in class.

Quizzes may be given periodically over different maps, vocabulary words, and other information assigned in class.

Projects may be completed throughout the semester. More information about these projects will be provided in a timely fashion.

We will complete a wide variety of other assessments and assignments to allow students other opportunities to show their knowledge and their learning. Also, students will be rewarded for improving from one Common Assessment to the next via progressive grading. While these practice tests and the new state assessments are important, they are far from the most important thing in our classroom.

·  FALL 2017 UPDATE: Beginning with the fall semester of 2017, Crockett County High School’s exam exemption policy has changed. Now, students who have perfect attendance in a given class, who have a minimum of a B average in said class, and who meet all behavioral and other requirements may exempt final exams in all classes in which they meet the requirements instead of just one. Since the TNReady test counts for a portion of our final exam and is required for all students, it may not be exempted. The rest of our final exam grade comes from a multi-faceted final project; any student meeting the requirements to exempt their final exam may choose to omit no more than two of the components of the final project.

I have read and understand this syllabus, and hereby agree to abide by it to the best of my ability.

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Student sign Date

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Parent sign Date

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