Course Description for American History
Reconstruction through WWII
2019 – 2020
Dear Students, Parents, and Guardians,
Welcome to social studies and the study of United States' history and civics. I am looking forward to creating a learning community that includes teachers, students, and their families. I hope to make this a meaningful learning experience for not only the students but for all those involved in their education. If you want to print this course description at home for your records feel free to do so. By doing this contact form online, I am assuming that you also read the course description. Doing it this way I thought I would save trees, and maybe your time, by combining a couple of assignments together.. If you need to contact me, email is the most convenient. However, if you wish to call me, you can leave a message on my voice mail and I will call you after 2:30 p.m.
Focus of the Course
This class starts with the situation in the United States immediately after the Civil War and goes through WWII and its immediate aftermath. We will begin with units on geography, government and economic structures. During the year the students will explore American history through inductive reasoning, much the same as a historian would study the past. Throughout the year we will emphasize the use of thinking skills and processes more than the memorization of facts and dates. Reading and writing skills and the Habits of Mind are integral parts of our curriculum. These skills are taught in class and are practiced at home. With this being a presidential election year, topics pertinent to the election will be covered, for example the Electoral College and the primary system.
Reading Requirement
During each quarter, your student is required to read two books independently outside of class. These two books can be used for their Writing/Lit outside reading requirements. However, any book they are reading in Writing/Lit as a literature study cannot be used for this requirement. Students will be expected to complete and discuss a Text Exploration on their independent reading books and show how the books link to Social Studies topics. They should also have a reading book in class, especially if we are doing an assessment that day. Studies show that independent reading is a key factor in developing vocabulary, reading fluency, comprehension, writing and thinking skills.
Grading and Grades
Grades will be based upon progress towards learning goals, and in some cases, mastery of the learning. I use Measurement Topic rubrics extensively in evaluating your students; these allow me to track growth over time and are consistently used by all teachers at all grade levels. Catalina Foothills School District has developed comprehensive rubrics to measure students’ performance in knowledge, skills, and behavior. Graded assessments can go home for parental perusal, however, students will keep their work in a portfolio in my classroom to use on the Year End Exam. Please encourage your student to use StudentVUE to access their grades and monitor their progress. (You may use ParentVUE to access the same information.)
Current Events
Current events are due periodically during the semester. Students will be informed of the due date at least a week in advance. In order for students to be successful, students will need to have access to newspapers, news magazines and/or electronic news sources. It would also be helpful if you facilitate ongoing conversations at home about real world events. This will help your student refine their critical thinking skills.
Technology
Access to a computer and the Internet is critically important to the success of the students. (If students do not have access to a computer, or the Internet, computers are available for use at school before school, after school, and in my room during lunch.) The social studies’ textbook remains in the classroom. However, there are many web-based assignments throughout the year. I use Google Drive and Google Classroom frequently, and many assignments will be assigned, and turned in, there. Any writing assignments that are a paragraph, or longer, should be typed. My website, discussed later, is also accessed through the Internet. Also, the ability to search the Tucson/Pima County Library system on-line and have books sent to your closest library would be extremely convenient during our units.
Homework
Expect homework 2-3 nights per week from Social Studies. Students are expected to use their planners on a daily basis and to set aside time for homework. Parents are expected to review the planner with their students and help students structure their time. Homework and announcements are posted on my website (https://jgrobe.wixsite.com/website). Homework needs to be turned in on time. Late work is not accepted unless a student turns in a Late Coupon when the late assignment is due. There are consequences for missing work. The student’s Personal and Social Responsibility grade will decrease for late work and will result in a zero if missing. I will explain my policy more to your students and to parents at Back to School Night.