Kamehameha High School

KAMEHAMEHA HIGH SCHOOL

SOCIAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT

SCHOOL YEAR 2010-2011

COURSE SUMMARY

UNITED STATES HISTORY

INSTRUCTOR: Mrs. SARAH RAZEE

Email:

OVERVIEW

United States history is a graduation requirement for all Kamehameha students. This course will enable the student to understand our nation's heritage, and it will prepare him/her to take part in the democratic process. While studying this material, the student will develop learning skills and particularly critical thinking skills which can be used through his/her adult life.

Integration of Technology
Kamehameha Schools provides access to many technological tools to enhance the teaching and learning process such as laptops, online resources, BlackBoard, probes, etc. We support the integration of technology as a critical component in preparing students to thrive in our global society. As appropriate to each course, teachers will provide further classroom expectations and guidelines as to the extent technology (e.g. laptops, websites, BlackBoard, etc) will be utilized for research, instruction, assessment, and communication purposes.

COURSE GOALS

This United States history course will emphasize events from the Civil War up to the present day. Students will interact with historical concepts and events through various tasks. Students will be expected to engage in a debate on a current issue; and to research for and put together an analysis of an issue. Additionally, the students will be periodically given different "fast" paced skill-oriented tasks in which they will problem solve or re-enact a historical event. Through these various means, the student will be able to utilize vital critical thinking skills.

COURSE MATERIALS

Textual materials:

Lapsansky-Werner, Emma J., et, al. United States History Reconstruction to the Present. Boston, Massachusetts: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008.

Various Primary and Secondary Sources by Historians.

Podcasts and other reading material from legitimate scholars of United States History.

Other materials:

3-ring binder
folder paper
pen, pencil, colored pencils
highlighter

STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES

Attendance:

Being in class every day is extremely important! Due to the interactive nature of the class, the cooperative learning activities and the numerous skill activities involving more than one person, it is very difficult to make-up what is missed in class. Many of the class activities are graded. Study help is always available – please check with me for a time and location for us to meet. Extended absences may necessitate attendance at more than one study help session. Please email me for work if you are absent. I will do my best to keep you up to date with available materials.

When the bell rings you are expected to be ready to work. Unexcused tardies will be dealt with according to school policy as stated in the handbook. This includes any quizzes or tests.

Class performance:

Every student is expected to participate and contribute in positive ways to class activities. Unruly conduct will not be accepted. The interactive nature of this class means students are actively involved.

Assessments:

Assessments will be assigned to evaluate your understanding of the material. These will include individual and group projects, homework, quizzes and tests. The unit tests for this course will mostly be based on the Document Based Question format. Students will read and analyze primary documents and write an essay answering a question and using the documents.

Research Project:

Participation in a research project based on the National History Day theme. This project will require you to choose among 5 various types of projects to present your research. These are the possible projects you may do: 8-page Research Essay, 10 minute historical documentary, a website, a performance, display board. I will walk you through the process of the research and final projects will be presented at a School History Fair.

Homework:

Homework assignments will be given on a regular basis. Homework may be checked for completion, graded on a numerical basis such as 10 to 30 points. Homework is due at the beginning of class. You will receive half credit for homework that is turned in late.

GRADING PROCEDURES

Components of grades:

Your average will consist of your grades on homework, classwork, tests, quizzes, your notebook, your binder, projects, position papers and extra credit which will count 80% of your semester grade. Your common final exam will count 10% of your semester grade. Each one of the previous assignments will be assigned points and entered into the computer. Grades will be posted by on KS Connect every two to three weeks. If you find an error in your grades, do not hesitate to email or approach me regarding the discrepancy.

The grading scale:

Letter Grade / Range in Percentages / Letter Grade / Range in Percentages
A / 93-100% / C / 73-76%
A- / 90-92% / C- / 70-72%
B+ / 87-89% / D+ / 67-69%
B / 83-86% / D / 63-66%
B- / 80-82% / D- / 60-62%
C+ / 77-79% / F / 0-59%

Policy on make-up work:

"Regular attendance in class is essential." It is your responsibility to make-up work missed when tardy or absent. If you are absent the day before a test or a quiz, you are expected to take the test or quiz on the scheduled day. There is never a good day for a test but it is your responsibility to be there when we take one. You will make an arrangement with me for a time-date for your make-up-test which should be on your 1st day back from your absence.

Study help information:

Study help is available during activity period and during periods when both the student and teacher are available. Students who have not made up missed work or need additional help may come in for study help at a time convenient to both student and teacher.

My Promise to you as your teacher:

My promise to you is that I will illuminate your understanding of history by providing interesting materials, allowing you to think outside of the box, helping you become a better analytical thinker and writer and providing opportunities for you to practice skills that you can use for the rest of your life. My other goal for the course is to make the past relevant to today’s world and your lives.

KAMEHAMEHA HIGH SCHOOL

SOCIAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT

SCHOOL YEAR 2010-2011

COURSE SUMMARY

UNITED STATES HISTORY

INSTRUCTOR: MS. LITTLE

OVERVIEW

United States History is a graduation requirement for all Kamehameha students. This course will enable the student to understand and respect our nation's heritage, and prepare him/her to take part in the democratic process. While studying this material, the student will develop learning skills, and particularly critical thinking skills, which can be used through his/her adult life.

COURSE GOALS

This United States History course will emphasize events beginning after the Civil War to the present. The student will be able to understand the background of major historical periods from both a conceptual, and an interactive approach, in order to accommodate students' multiple learning styles. The student will develop skills in vocabulary, map/chart reading and preparation, oral reporting, notetaking, research and writing a term paper, objective and essay test taking, current event reporting, and more.

The student will also be involved in interactive learning to re-create events in history through History Alive! activities. Problem-solving group interaction, creative writing assignments, and "skill-oriented tasks" using historical resources, will provide an opportunity to develop critical thinking skills. U.S. History will come alive as students experience historical moments on a personal level.

Key units of study, with an emphasis on 20th Century United States history, will include: American Geography (physical and political features); Constitutional Development (the roots of democratic government, content and application of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights); Triumph of American Industry (technology and industrial growth, the rise of big business and organized labor); Immigration and Urbanization (the new immigrants and impact on society); The Gilded Age (machine politics, populism and reform); The Progressive Era (muckrakers, reform, women’s suffrage); Emerging World Power (U.S. territorial expansion); World War I (U.S. involvement, mobilization on the home front, effects); The Roaring Twenties (business prosperity, nativism, popular culture); The Great Depression (causes and effects); The New Deal (relief, recovery, and reform); Rise of Fascism in Europe and Japan (U.S. neutrality , Pearl Harbor attack); World War II (War in Europe and the Pacific, U.S. mobilization); The Cold War(containment, Korean War, McCarthyism); Postwar Prosperity (suburbs, information industries, consumerism); The Civil Rights Movement (desegregation, marches, sit-ins,black power); The New Frontier & Great Society Programs (deficit spending, war on poverty, the Warren Court); The Vietnam War (origins, U.S. involvement, anti-war protests); Era of Protest & Change (the counterculture, women’s movement, United Farm Workers, the environmental movement); Crisis in Confidence (Watergate, human rights, Iranian Hostage Crisis); The Conservative Resurgence (“the new right”, Moral Majority, supply-side economics); Into a New Century (bio-technology, globalization,the Internet, NAFTA, terrorism, War in Iraq and Afghanistan).

COURSE MATERIALS

Lapsansky-Werner, Emma J., et. al. United States History, Reconstruction to the Present. Boston, Massachusetts: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008.

STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES

It will be helpful for students to have a three-ring binder with dividers in order to file their graded assignments. Well organized files will enable the student to effectively study for tests.

All written work will be done in dark colored ink (not red). Pencils will be needed to mark answers on scantron tests, and for map work. Highlighter pens will be needed for emphasizing important concepts in reading handouts.

The textbook, assigned to each student, must have a sturdy cover, to protect it from excessive wear and exposure to rain. There will be a classroom copy of the textbook at each student desk to be used in class.

Learning occurs through class discussions, review sessions, lectures, films, group activities, etc., which cannot be easily repeated later for students who were absent. Therefore, students are strongly encouraged to be in class each day. Regular attendance in schoolforms the good habit of regular job attendance in the future. Student absences, which are not approved by KS, such as vacation trips, college tours, driving lessons, job interviews, etc. must not exceed ten (10) days in a semester.

Students who are absent one or two days PRIOR to a scheduled exam are required to take the test with the class. Students who are absent the day of an exam WILL TAKE THE EXAM IN CLASS THE DAY THAT THEY RETURN. Students are required to take each test during the regularly-scheduled class period. The student may not decide to go to the counselor’s office, or some other location, and miss the scheduled test. Only if there is a note requesting that the student report to the counselor’s office, or Unit Administrator’s Office, for example, may the student miss the test.

It is the student’s responsibility to check with the teacher, AND refer to the weekly agenda posted on the board, for make-up work when absent. HOMEWORK WILL BE DUE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PERIOD, ON THE DAY THAT THE STUDENT RETURNS FROM AN ABSENCE. Long-term absentees will be given extra make-up time, and will need to come in during study help to make up missed work.. Absentee’s work not made up within the agreed-upon time will result in a possible “O” (value of an “F”).

Unexcused absences are class cuts, and are considered a serious violation of school rules. A student's quarter grade will be dropped by one letter grade for the first cut, and by an additional letter grade for the second cut. A student will fail the semester as a result of three cuts from class.

Tardies are to be avoided whenever possible since late arrivals disrupt class, as well as cause the student to miss important directions and announcements. If the student is traveling from lower campus, he/she should inform the teacher, and an additional two/three minutes will be allowed. A student who is tardy more than three (3) times per semester will receive detention. For each additional tardy, another detention will be assigned.

Students must avoid cheating or plagiarizing at all times. It is considered cheating if students “work together” on homework, and share answers or copy each other’s work. Eyes must not be on another's paper, nor should there be any talking, or outside aids used, while taking a test. Both students who have been cheating, or plagiarizing, will receive the penalty of a "0" for the value of the assignment, BOTH the student sharing as well as the student copying. BOTH students may also be referred to the Unit Administrator, with counselor and parents also notified.

Students should show respect for their classmates and teacher by avoiding disruptive talking, threatening behavior, rudeness, negative attitude, bullying, etc. Should a student violate classroom or school rules, the teacher will meet with the student, discuss the problem, and plan a future course of action to correct the problem. If the problem continues, the student will be referred to the Unit Administrator, and counselor, for appropriate action.

Students should be alert and attentive during class, and not completing homework for another class, sleeping, or using a hand-held device, etc., that distracts from learning. Continual inattentiveness, and/or use of a device will result in confiscation of the device, and referral to the Unit Administrator.

Students are expected to follow the dress code. Students who are properly attired will be in the proper mindset for productive work, rather than play. After the first warning, a dress code violator will be referred to the Unit Administrator for appropriate action.

Students should bring necessary materials and homework assignments to class daily. Students are not permitted to run to their locker to retrieve forgotten materials that are due in class that period. Checking the weekly agenda on the board will help in planning ahead.

Students should plan their time carefully, and use their student planner to record due dates for assignments, projects, nightly reading, and tests. This will help to avoid last minute cramming for tests, or being unprepared for class.

Whenever possible, students should use the bathroom facilities prior to the beginning of class. They should check in first, leave their backpack at their desk, and then go to the bathroom. They should return to the classroom prior to the bell ringing to start class..

Once class has begun, students will be required to put away all food and drink. Students will not be permitted to eat or drink during classtime (except for water), to reduce distractions.

Students should take care of school property, such as desks, chairs, bulletin boards, walls, textbooks, etc. TEXTBOOKS MUST BE COVERED TO PROTECT FROM EXCESSIVE WEAR AND WEATHER DAMAGE. THE TEXTBOOK MUST NOT HAVE PENCIL OR INK MARKS, OR OTHER DAMAGE SUCH AS WATER MARKS, EITHER INSIDE OR OUTSIDE. THE STUDENT WILL BE ASSESSED FOR ANY DAMAGE INCURRED.

GRADING COMPONENTS/PROCEDURES

Chapter Tests:

Generally, each week, there will be a chapter test worth three grades. The test will consist of objective and essay questions. The test will measure depth of understanding of concepts, retention of facts, and the ability to organize and synthesize information. The test will also measure the student’s ability to write an essay in a thorough, factual, and concise manner within a prescribed time frame, based on a thesis statement. There will be map tests, throughout the year, relevant to particular time periods under study.

Assignments:

Generally, all homework assignments, film questions, quizzes, current events reports, etc. will have a letter grade based on a percentage score. Occasionally, a few of assignments will be judged on a more general basis with a " √ ". This will indicate that the assignment was completed, and appears to be factual.

A "O" indicates that the assignment was not handed in, thus resulting in the value of an "F" grade.

Special Projects:

A standard, thesis-based, term paper will be required of all students in U.S. History. There will be a rubric provided that will guide the student through the process of topic selection, research, outlining, writing the body of paper with appropriate citations, visual preparation,, and the final works cited page. Students will need to meet deadlines for each stage of the project, and meet with the teacher regularly in order to meet the requirements.