Mr. Roberts
HonorsU.S.History - Course Syllabus
Room 125
2015 – 2016
Class Objective:
During the semester we will study the European exploration and colonization of North America, and the resulting establishment and growth of theUnited Statesthrough the beginning of the 21stcentury. Our intent is not just to study what events happened, but also why they happened and how they affected the United States ofAmerica.
Honor Student Expectations:
Honors students will go beyond the minimum requirements of a regular history class. They will be expected to engage in a deeper learning of our history and todevelop better critical thinking skills. There may be outside reading assignments, and students should be prepared to work outside of the classroom for success.
Primary Source Analysis
Primary source analysis is a major element in the design of this course. The primary source materials we will use are filled with samples of every conceivable type: “personal voices,” famous speeches and documents, contemporary photographs, political cartoons, campaign posters, photographs of artifacts, etc. In addition to these resources, the class will work every day with additional visual resources (cartoons, photographs, portraits, artifact images) with the aid of a digital projector and finding primary sources searching on their laptops. Roughly 20-25% of the questions on each daily quiz relate to primary source materials, as well as the multiple choice questions on each unit test.
Writing Activities
Writing activities form an integral part of every learning unit.
Daily Quizzes
Daily quizzes typically require students to write out responses to 5-10 questions. Some responses may require only a few words, but others require paragraph length responses.
Reaction Papers
Students regularly write review type “reaction papers” to journal and magazine articles, online textbook chapters, documentary videos, and movies that are used in the course. Reactions to the reading assignments require students to assess the author’s thesis and marshal evidence from the articles to support the thesis; reactions to videos require students to summarize the programs and relate them to what they have learned previously about the topics from other sources.
Daily Activities:
1.After building your Weebly portfolio you will login andeach day begin with an Essential Question (EQ) review of the previous day’s material and a Daily Question (DQ) concerned with the standard to be discussed that day and found on Mr. Roberts’s page at “The Daily Gazette”. This will be written in the blog section of your web portfolio.
2.You will then login to Edmodo for the agenda for the day.The agenda will contain teacher instructions and involve a variety of learning strategies.
3.Shared and/or individual practice of today’s standard.
4.Reflection on learning
5.Class Wrap
Assessment:
Students will be assessed on their daily work, projects, and quizzes. Tests will be given covering all units studied. The Georgia Milestone in US History will also be given at the end of the semester.
Grading Procedures:
1. Daily Work (class work, homework, and quizzes) 40%
2. Tests and Projects 40%
3. Georgia Milestone in USH 20%
Work missed due to an excused absence can be made up, but it is the student’s responsibility to arrange with the teacher to do so upon return.
Any cheating or plagiarism by a student will result in a zero!
Behavioral Expectations:
1. Be on time and begin work on the EQ and DQ questions when the bell rings.
2. Bathroom policy: Make it a habit to go to the restroom between classes.
3. Respect the teacher, classmates and school property.
4. Come to class prepared to learn.
5. Follow theHenryCountyhandbook.
6. NO food or drinks (except water) at any time in the classroom.
7. Cell phones, Ipods or other listening devices, and games will be taken if they are visible when the red alert is displayed on the board…yellow means only laptop is allowed out. If the green alert is present you may have devices out and being used only when Mr. Roberts or another student is not giving instruction.
Consequences, 4 Step Process:
1st: warning and/or removal from class to a time out area
2ndcontact parent and/or removal from class
3rddetention
4threferral to administrator