Welcome to 11^th Grade US History

Period 2

Instructor Information

General Information

Description

In this class we as a group will explore the history of the United States, from the early colonies, up to the Cold War. We will explore the creation of a new form of government, the creation of a new country and the creation of a new world power. When it is all said and done my hope is that you will be able to see the transition of what it means to be an American, from the early days to today. Beyond learning about history my goal for this class is to be able to better interpret readings and materials so that way you can respond to essay questions and test questions in a better manner.

Expectations and Goals

• My expectations for you
  • Be respectful to me
    • Raise your hand when you wish to talk
    • Do not yell
    • Please keep your phones away while I am lecturing.
  • Be respectful to others
    • Do not laugh at questions other students ask
    • When working on group assignments make sure to support your teammates, don’t hold them back
  • Come to class prepared to participate
    • If I assign reading my hope is that you are able to take what you learn and relate it to what we talk about in class
  • Do not distract yourself or your classmates
    • No one likes the class clown. There is a time and place for humor, just not when I am trying to teach you
• Expectations for me
  • I will be respectful of all my students
    • Treat others as they would like to be treated
  • I will make myself available to assist my students as best as I can
    • I will be around at lunch times and after
  • I will work to the best of my ability to make sure that you are able to succeed in my class as well as your other classes this year
• Goals
  • My goal is to have my class be able to see the change in the definition of what a “good American” means.
  • See the emergence of the United States from a new county into a global superpower

Questions I want you to think about during this year

• What are the roots of American Democracy?
• How did Americans evolve from its infancy to an independent nation?
• What was the social, economic and political impacts of westward expansion on the US?
• What forces have shaped American foreign Policy?
• What does it mean to be a global leader?
• How did the Cold War shape modern American society?

Course Materials

Required Materials

• Notebook for taking notes OR chromebook, whichever you prefer
• A copy of our US History Textbook. I will not require it every class period but will let you know when to bring it in

Optional Materials

• Orginizer for your papers and handouts during the year
• Any articles and materials that you find outside of class that you might want to share
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Course Schedule

Grading Structure

Attendance         10%

Participation       10%

Section Tests       40%

Quizzes               20%

Essays                 20%

Exam Schedule

For Every section that we learn this year there will be a Section Test. Therefore we will have 8 SectionTests over the course of the year. Every Section will also contain up to 2 quizzes. So you will have around 16 quizzes over the course of the year. Unit tests will be longer than the quizzes, and will all follow a uniform schedule. The Quizzes will have varing formats based on what we are learning, and will not have as big of an impact on your grade as the Unit Test

Homework

Homework will be posted on my Google documets folder and on the board in my classroom.. If students do not have their homework complete by the time class starts, they can hand a completed copy to me before lunch for partial credit. Many of the homework assignments that I will be giving out will be used to start the next class, so please be sure to work on it!

Attendance Policy

If you know you are going to miss class, please let me know as soon as you can. You are responsible for collecting and completing missed work in a timely manner. For every day you are absent you have one day to make up the work. I will have lunch periods open for students to makeup work posted on the board that will be updated based on my schedule

If you need help

If you need help, please feel free to come to me at any point throughout the year. I always try to be available before and after school and during lunch periods.

There is never a bad time to ask a question!