World Civilizations

Instructor: Mr. Ryan Waite

Email:

Objectives:

  1. Students will be able to explain and understand early civilizations such as the Sumerians, Egyptians, Greeks, and the Romans.
  2. Students will be able to explain the origins of the Classics and will be able to explain the connections to United States government from Greece and Rome.
  3. Students will be able to explain and understand the Middle Ages, Renaissance and Reformation, and the French Revolution.
  4. Students will investigate the diffusion and interaction of cultures during the Age of Exploration.

Class Goals:

  1. Students will learn to take notes from a lecture, rewrite those notes, and study from them in preparation for quizzes and exams.
  2. Students will become proficient writers through quick-writes, and research papers.

Student Work Guidelines:

Students are expected to come to class prepared with their own pencil or pen and paper for taking notes, and with the assignment that may be due that day. I recommend a three ring binder to keep your papers organized.

Students are expected to do their own work. Anyone found cheating on quizzesor tests will get an automatic zero and will get no chance to make it up. Students who are absent the day of a test or when an assignment is due will have three school days to turn in the work or take the test. If the assignment is turned in on the fourth day it is only worth 50%, on the fifth day 25%, and after that it will be a zero. All assignments should be completed legibly. Any unreadable assignment will be given a zero. Tests can be made up easily before school or after school or during R & R Time. Make-up work is available for those who need it. However, make-up work will not be able to bring a grade from failing to an A.

Attendance:

Good attendance is essential for you to do well in this class. If you are chronically absent you will miss much of the material you will need to be successful on the tests and quizzes, since the questions for them come from the information in your notes. Remember that you are responsible for finding out what we did the day you were absent and making anything up you missed. Also, get the notes that you may have missed from a classmate or friend that pays attention and takes good notes because I don’t loan out my notes.

Class Assignments and Grades:

  1. Terms: 15 to 20 per unit.
  2. Bellringer: Each day you will have a question or writing prompt on the board that you will be expected to answer at the beginning of each period. Keep your answers on one sheet of paper. These will be collected each time the class falls on a Friday. The points for this assignment are the easiest to get and the hardest to make up since I erase the board at the end of the day. These points are your participation points for the class. 5 points per day times 5 days is 25 points per belringer! They add up quickly so don’t slack on this assignment.
  3. Quizzes: There will be one quiz per week. These may not be announced ahead of time so studying your notes regularly is essential to be able to do well. As stated earlier, the questions will come from your notes.
  4. Tests:One comprehensive test per unit. These will be announced ahead of time so that you can study all of your notes. The questions for the tests will come, in part from earlier quizzes so some questions should sound familiar. We will have a review game before every test.
  5. Research paper and Visual Aide: During the year, you will write short research papers and produce visual aides to accompany your reports.
  1. Grades: Grades are based on the point system. Every assignment, test, quiz, etc. has a point value. Your points will be added up and divided by the total points possible. The percentage will then be applied to the scale below:

A= 100%-93%C+=79%-77%D-= 63%-60%

A-= 92%-90%C = 76%-74%F= 59%- Below

B+=89%-87%C-= 73%-70%

B= 86%-84%D+= 69%-67%

B-=83%-80% D = 66%-64%

Textbook:

World History: The Human Journey,Holt, 2005.

Citizenship and Class Guidelines

  1. Be on time!
  2. Be respectful to each other, the room, and me. No food or drinks in class!
  3. Class signal
  4. Have your pencils sharpened before class begins.
  5. Stay in your seats.
  6. Come to class prepared. Bring paper, pen, and brain daily!
  7. Be responsible for your learning and your behavior.
  8. No Hall Passes! Take care of “the necessities” before class.
  9. Have Fun! History is exciting!

Electronic Device Policy:

Students are in this class to learn, not to be on your phone texting, updating your status, tweeting , snap chatting, etc! Students are expected to have their phones put away while they are in class unless Mr. Waite says otherwise. They should be in your backpacks during class. Any student on their phones during class will be invited to put them away. If you are found on your phone again they will be taken by Mr. Waite and you may pick them up at the end of the day.

Other Information:

  1. This class is run on the principles of mutual respect. We all come from different backgrounds and have had different experiences throughout our lives. Let’s be courteous and respectful of everyone’s views.
  2. Sexual harassment of any kind will not be tolerated! Remember the lessons you learned in kindergarten: Keep your hands to yourself, be nice to your neighbor…etc.

Royal R & R – School-Wide Program, Policy and Procedures:

Royal students—your academic success is very important to the teaching staff of Roy High! The ultimate goal is GRADUATION and college and career readiness!! We’ve created a program aimed at encouraging regular attendance, achievement, and responsible citizenship in each class, and expectations are high. Royal students, stay in the struggle, graduation is worth it!

Review & Reward: Throughout the week, students may earn the opportunity to leave class early during review & reward time. Students with a grade of C+ or higher will be given the option of leaving class, while students with a C grade or below will be required to use the time to review, make-up, or re-learn material. Students with a C+ or higher may choose to remain in class for review as well. All students who are tardy to class that day or have lost attendance credit in the class will not be released during the review time. Students are required to use the review time effectively, so students who are current on all assignments for the class will be required to bring other course work, a book, or provide help/tutoring to other students reviewing material. Time spent as a “peer tutor” is viewed favorably on college scholarship and job applications!

Grades determining the release of students during Royal R & R time will be based on the current gradeposted on Friday of the previous week. A great “rule of thumb” is to attend each class regularly and stay current on class work and tests. Furthermore, students should take advantage of the extra time made available with each teacher, especially if they are struggling in the class. Occasionally, students will turn in large assignments such as portfolios and projects. These assignments require a longer period of time for grading and may not be included on the upcoming Friday grades determining a student’s release for review time. Late assignments will be used to update students’ grades, however, teachers will determine the timeline for assessing and including late work on the grades. Students should not expect late assignments to be given priority over current classwork.

Due to the rigor involved in our college-level courses (Advanced Placement & Concurrent Enrollment), students enrolled in these courses are strongly encouraged to utilize R&R in unique ways to ensure their academic success. Students should choose to remain in R&R in these classes to work on homework loads, obtain essential knowledge/skills, participate in review sessions, and/or take practice exams.

Enrichment: This year, the Social Studiesdepartment will be offering several enrichment options for students on Fridays. Students are expected to take advantage of these college & career readiness opportunities, as well as those offered on a school-wide basis. Students who are off-line to graduate due to academic credit deficits and/or accrued attendance credit are required to use enrichment time to make-up credits needed to become online to graduate (via supervised APEX, credit recovery and school/community service projects). Students may also use enrichment time to make up larger assignments or get extra help from one of the Social Studies teachers. Since most students will be allowed to choose the enrichment activity they attend, students should make sure to choose based on academic needs and interest level. Attendance is required for the Friday Enrichment activities. Attendance will be recorded by the student’s homeroom (1st or 5th period) teacher and absences/tardies will count against attendance credit for homeroom classes. Additionally, enrichment time may be used for assemblies, clubs & organizations activities, and a myriad of college & career readiness opportunities throughout the year.

I hope that each of you will have an enjoyable year. I will try my best to not put you to sleep if you promise to try to stay awake! If you have any questions or concerns, please come and see me sooner rather than later and I will help you all I can.

Please sign, detach, and return this portion to Mr. Waite! This is your first assignment.

I have read and understand the course disclosure for World Civilizations.

______

Student SignatureParent/Guardian Signature

______

Student Name Printed

Course Timeline

August-September: Egypt and Mesopotamia

September-October: Greece

October-December: Rome

January-February: Christianity, Feudalism, Manorialism

February-April: England

April: Renaissance and Reformation

April-May: Age of Exploration, Age of Revolutions, American Empires