Instructor: Ms. Arel Co-Instructor Tuesdays and Thursdays: Ms. Porter Contact Information: sarel@innovationcharter.org Extra help: Tuesdays 3:00-4:00 or by appointment eporter@innovationcharter.org Extra help: Tuesdays 3:00-4:00 or by appointment Essential Questions Who has power? How is power gained? What allows power dynamics to endure over time? What roles do ethnicity, gender, economics and religion play in establishing an individual, or group, identity and power? Course Overview This course will introduce students to a variety of worldwide social, cultural and historical happenings from 1800 to the present. Through a variety of classroom activities and rich primary and secondary sources, students will acquire a foundation to understand the complexities of global conflicts and to analyze how events, ideas, and structures of the past continue to shape our world today. The topics of study often coincide with those explored in the 9th grade English course. Overview of Topics & Major Assignments *dates and time spent on each project are subject to change Semester # 1 9/1 – 9/3 Course Introduction
1/4 – 1-15 Asia
Semester # 2 1/19 – 2/5 Gender
Assessment Students’ work will help us to assess their learning in a variety of areas, or strands. 1. Enduring Understanding/Essential Knowledge: Students will identify key political, economic, religious, cultural, and technological events in world history from 1800-present through a thematic approach to history. They will demonstrate essential understanding of imperialism, revolution, genocide, war and gender in world history and in the present day. Weight: 30% 2. Research: Students will build upon knowledge learned in the classroom by looking further into key areas of study. They will find information from many sources, possibly including: books, articles, newspapers, the Internet, magazines, and documentaries. Students will give appropriate credit to their sources, and will articulate new and deeper understanding by using evidence to draw and guide their decisions. Weight: 30% 3. Effective Communication: Students will write with a clear focus and coherent organization paying close attention to historical accuracy. They will express their ideas and historical knowledge orally, in formal and informal discussions, debates, and presentations. They will pose questions and listen to the ideas of others. Additionally, they will present ideas through a variety of media including film, radio, podcast and multimedia productions. Weight: 20% 4. Work Habits: Students seek support from peers and teachers through research and writing conferences. Students will complete assignments, fulfilling all project components. They will take feedback both from their peers and from teachers to make significant changes from rough draft to a final draft. Students will turn assignments in on time and use class time effectively to complete their work. Weight: 20% Assignments will be weighted depending on the amount of class and homework time spent on them. Grades in each strand will be based on the following:
In addition to our global studies, students will be required to keep a current events journal. Each student should have a composition notebook where he/she will cut and paste articles from the news and relate them to the topics and themes being studied. Students are responsible for finding one article and providing a reflection on the article every two weeks. Journals will be collected every Monday and returned by Thursday. If a student does not turn in a journal on Monday, the student cannot make up the assignment. Late and Missing Work If a student does not turn in an assignment on time they have until the end of the unit to turn in any late work. This DOES NOT apply to the biweekly current event journals – if a student misses a biweekly submission he/she cannot make it up. Work turned in consistently late will result in a lower Work Habits grade. See me if you know you will be missing class for an extended period of time. If students are absent from class, they must check their folder in the classroom to see if they missed any handouts, passed back assignments, etc. Additionally, if a student is absent, he or she is responsible for turning in missed work upon return to school. It is also the responsibility of the student to check with other class members to get missing notes. Academic Integrity Academic honesty and integrity are essential to our school and classroom culture. All students are expected to complete and hand in their own work. Cheating and plagiarism (presenting another person’s ideas or words as your own) will not be tolerated. Consequences include receiving a zero for the assignment and/or a failing grade for the course. Please see the Student Handbook for more information. One major way to avoid plagiarism is to properly cite other people’s work. The Humanities Department at IACS uses the MLA (Modern Language Association) format for citation. If you’d like to have an easy resource on how to properly use MLA, consider purchasing The MLA Pocket Handbook: Rules for Format and Documentation (paperback) by Jill Rossiter. Classroom Basics:
Students who take American Studies II for honors will be required to do the following: consistently meet stated expectations for class assignments demonstrate integrity and a commitment to quality in all aspects of daily performance complete additional extension work for each unit that addresses the essential questions of the course attend honors meetings during 30 minute Academic Enrichment periods bi-weekly students may opt out of 1 project extension throughout the semester (will result in the student being excused from the assignment without penalty) Expectations for Bi-Weekly Honors Meetings:
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Global Studies Syllabus |