US History
II Course Description:
This course will continue to integrate
the following skills: inquiry, discussion, debate, reading, and writing.
Emphasis will be on reading and analyzing a variety of primary and secondary
historical sources. Students will be expected to draw conclusions from our
inquiry and answer questions through writing and speaking throughout the year.
Topics will range from Reconstruction, the Progressive Era, the Roaring
Twenties, the Great Depression, World War II, the Cold War, and America as the
world’s primary superpower.
Classroom Expectations:
- Our classroom is a place of
learning. Therefore, you should come to
class with the proper items for learning, such as a writing utensil, two
notebooks, and a three-ring binder with necessary documents. You should also be attentive during
instructional time and give your best effort on all assignments. Lastly, we are all responsible to make sure
that our actions do not distract others in the class from being able to learn.
- Our classroom is a safe
environment. Each student deserves to
feel safe expressing his or her thoughts and feelings in the context of our
material and the learning process.
Therefore, there will be no taunting, put downs, or unkind teasing
tolerated.
- Our classroom is a place of
respect. As a teacher I will treat each
of you with respect. I expect that you
will treat me, as well as each of your classmates, with the same respect. Therefore, we will not interrupt when others
are speaking, we will not take or use things that belong to other people, and we
will be considerate of one another’s feelings.
- Our classroom is a part of the larger Hoboken
Charter School Community. Therefore, we
will not do anything in our classroom that would be a distraction to the
ability of other students to learn and other teachers to teach. We will also treat the building, the
classroom materials, and the other individuals in the building with
respect.
o Please observe the expectations of HCS
as delineated in your student handbook.
(available on line)
o No food or drinks allowed in the
classroom, except for water from water coolers.
Classroom Procedures:
Late Assignments:
Late
work will be graded and the % of credit earned on the assignment will be based
on the circumstances: number of days late, rationale, reason, etc. Late
assignments without a substantial reason will not receive full credit.
If
you are in the building at ANY time on the day that an assignment is due but
you are not in class, your assignment is still due on the assigned due
date. If the assignment is turned in the
next day, it will be considered late.
Extra instruction:
In
an effort to advance student learning and provide more individualized
assistance, I will be setting aside Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday afternoons
from 3:00 – 3:30 pm for extra help in my classroom. Any student is free to come in during that
time for extra help on homework, reading selections, and writing
assignments.
Absences:
In
the event that you are absent, you will be responsible for finding an
appropriate time, preferably before or after class, to get those assignments
from me. Also, I will be happy to
explain the assignments and any other information that you missed at an
appropriate time, i.e. before or after school, during lunch, or when the class
is working quietly on an assignment and I am free to speak with you.
Tardiness:
You
are tardy if you are not in the classroom when the bell rings. Please do not try to split hairs over
tardiness. Instead, be proactive in
planning your daily routines so that you can get in the habit of being punctual
to class.
In
the event that you are tardy, you will be asked to sign in on the tardy
sheet. We will follow the Upper School
tardy policy.
Cell phones:
Cell phones
are not permitted at any time during class. If your cell phone is out during
class time, you will be asked to turn it over until the end of the day.
Assessments:
You
will be assessed based on the following assignments, including class
participation:
-Essential
Question responses -Exit slips -Tests -Mind Taps
-Guiding
questions -Charts/summaries
-Group work
-Debates/discussions
Dismissal:
The
bell does not dismiss you at the end of class.
I will dismiss you. You must be
in your assigned seats until I dismiss you.
Syllabus
Our goal is for you to achieve mastery in the
subject of United States history. This class focuses on a series of Essential
Questions, which are available on my website – gregoryhistory.hobokencs.net. We
will examine, discuss, debate, and answer these questions throughout the school
year. By taking quality notes, being part of the discussion, actively
participating in all class activities, and asking for help when needed, we can
achieve our goal. Our studies will include the history of Asia, Europe, Africa,
and the Americas.
Units:
Unit 1 –
Reconstruction and the Gilded Age (1865-1898)
Unit 2 –
American Imperialism and the Progressive Era (1898-1916)
Unit 3 –
World War I and the Roaring Twenties (1917-1932)
Unit 4 – The Great Depression and
World War II (1933-1945)
Unit 5 – The Cold War, American
Culture, and Civil rights (1945-1979)
Grading Policy
The
grading scale for this class is the same as the HCS-Upper School Grading
Policy.
|
Grade
|
Numeric GPA
|
Grade Numeric GPA
|
|
A+
|
99-100
|
4.3
|
|
A
|
93-98
|
4.0
|
|
A-
|
91-92
|
3.8
|
|
B+
|
89-90
|
3.3
|
|
B
|
83-88
|
3.0
|
|
B-
|
81-82
|
2.8
|
|
C+
|
79-80
|
2.3
|
|
C
|
74-78
|
2.0
|
|
C-
|
72-73
|
1.8
|
|
D
|
70-71
|
1.0
|
|
F
|
0-69
|
0
|
Our school employs a Quarterly grading
system with report cards issued to students four (4) times during the course of
the school year. A term will be
approximately nine (9) weeks, or 45 school days in length. Final grades will be given at the end of each
quarter.
Report cards will be supplemented by OnCourse
Reports which are available to all students and their parents via the
Internet. Each class shall have the
identical weighting when calculating the final TERM GRADE: 80% course work, 20% final exam.
Concluding Thoughts:
I
anticipate that we will have a full and rewarding year of learning
together. I look forward to working with
each of you. Each of you will contribute
your unique qualities to our classroom community and we will all grow as a
result of one another.
Mr. Gregory
