WALLED LAKE NORTHERN HIGH SCHOOL
Big History
Casey Guntzviller – Instructor
Room #B205 Email: CaseyGuntzviller@wlcsd.org
Welcome to the Big History Project! This course is designed to help students recognize common themes and patterns in events ranging from occurring 13.8 billion years ago to the present day; and how these events impact worldwide society in 2020. A conscious attempt will be made to relate the curriculum to the daily lives of students.
Textbook: There is no assigned textbook for this course. All curriculum content is accessible from the website: https://www.oerproject.com/Account/Join-Class . Class Code 2023 is Y12EJQ
Students will be given an account to access content on this website within the first week of the course. Content from this website will be viewed and accessed in class on a daily basis, and will drive the daily lessons of this course.
The Instructor’s Oaths:
- 1) I will provide a safe, supportive, cooperative learning environment where all students will have the right to learn.
- 2) I will provide a variety of different learning activities to help relate the material covered to each of your own lives.
- 3) I will be accessible. I welcome your ideas and or concerns. Feel free to schedule a meeting before or after school, or email anytime. I also welcome parent contributions. Parents should feel encouraged to send a note or email anytime, and for any reason.
- 4) I will care very deeply about each and every one of you as people, and I look forward to learning many new things from each and every one of you.
Grading:
Grading for this course will be based on a points system. There are three categories that will make up each cardmarking grade: Quizzes/Tests (40%), Projects (40%) and Classwork (20%). Quizzes/Tests will include in-class Quizzes, Major Projects, some Essays/DBQs, and Written Responses/Journal Entries. Classwork will include all other assignments completed both within and outside scheduled classtime. A major component to the course is a 5-8 page extensive research paper entitled, “Little Big History,” where students will select a topic and research that particular topic, and related that topic to the eight major thresholds covered throughout the semester. It should be noted that there are only two “traditional” exams during the semester: A Midterm Exam and a Final Exam. Unit assessments are in the forms of Investigations, and Written/Journal Responses.
Grading (Cont.):
** The key to success in this class is to put forth your best effort on every assignment! Mr. Moore promises that everyone who tries his or her very hardest will have an opportunity to succeed in this course! **
** Note: For maximum success in the Big History Project course, each student should commit to not falling behind. It can be very hard to academically catch up! Students should expect out-of-class homework to be assigned on average of approximately three school nights per week.**
Grading Scale:
A = 92%-100% A- = 90%-91% B+= 88%-89%
B = 82%-87% B- = 80%-81% C+= 78%-79%
C = 72%-77% C- = 70%-71% D+= 68%-69%
D = 62%-67% D- = 60%-61% E = 0%-59%
NOTE: DURING OUR PATH- THE GRADING WILL BE BASED OFF FROM 65% FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT AND 35% SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENTS. FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS WILL BE 5-10 POINT ASSIGNMENTS PER DAY THAT WILL BE DESIGNED TO ASSESS THE SCOPE OF WORK FOR THE LESSON AND BE AN INDICATOR OF IS THE STUDENT COMPREHENDING THE INFORMATION. SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENTS WILL BE IN THE FORM OF PROJECTS, WRITING ANALYSIS, QUIZZES & TESTS, AND OTHER VARIOUS ACTIVITIES THAT ARE DESIGNED TO ASSESS THE COMPREHENSION OF SKILLS LEARNED DURING A UNIT AND/OR SYNTHESIS AND ANALYSIS OF INFORMATION LEARNED DURING A UNIT.
Each semester grade will be made up of the 1st Cardmarking Grade (40%) plus the 2nd Cardmarking Grade (40%) plus the grade on the Final Exam (20%). It is the semester grade only that will serve as the permanent grade, which will appear on the student’s high school transcript. NOTE: The “Little Big History” Project is approximately 20% of the Fourth Cardmarking Grade.
Policy on Academic Integrity: All work submitted will be original, and any student violating academic integrity will receive a “zero” on that assignment, essay, or exam; and a conference with parents and the school administration will be promptly scheduled. The Building Policy on Academic Misconduct will be strictly followed! Quite simply, cheating will not be tolerated.
Topics Covered:
Unit 1: What is Big History?
Unit 2: The Big Bang Theory
Unit 3: (Formation of) Stars and Elements
Unit 4: Our Solar System, and Planet Earth
Unit 5: Life on Earth
Unit 5: Life on Earth (Continued)
Unit 6: Early Humans
Unit 7: Agriculture and Early Civilizations
Unit 8: Trade, Expansion, and Interconnection
Unit 9: Acceleration (of Information)
Unit 10: The Future
General Policies and Procedures:
1) Class starts on time, everyday. Be in your seat and ready to learn at the start of class. Tardiness will be tracked and the school tardy policy will be enforced.
2) Cellular phones, headphones, cameras, I-pods, hand-held video games, paging devices, other forms of electronics, food, and drink are not allowed at any time. This is a school-wide policy. Do not bring any of these items to class, or you risk losing them. Failure to follow this policy will quickly result in administrative action. Water (flavored or otherwise) in clear plastic bottles is welcomed and encouraged!
3) Remove all hats and hoods before entering class. Again, this is a school-wide policy.
4) Late work is not accepted. Excused absences result in one school day allotted for each excused date missed. If a student has their homework requested through the main office, it will be delivered to the attendance office accordingly. If a student has an excused absence on a quiz/test day, the student must make up the quiz/test immediately upon their return to class. All test dates will be announced well in advance.
5) Do not litter in your assigned area. Time will be devoted during each class to clean up after yourself and push your chairs in. Do not write on the desks (including the “white spaces”). Paper is always available.
6) Seating charts will be established during the first week of school and will be enforced. The instructor will review on a class-by-class basis as to whether there will be a time in which seating charts are no longer necessary. Please see me privately with any concerns whatsoever regarding seating assignments.
7) Be respectful of the learning environment and do not be disruptive at any time.
8) Respect and courtesy to administrators, teachers, substitute teachers, other staff members, guests from outside the building, and fellow students will be shown at all times. I will show you a great deal of respect from the very beginning, and I expect you to do the same to everyone else.
9) A person’s ideas will never be criticized. The craziest ideas often become the greatest ideas! No one in 1975 would have thought bottled water was a good idea.
10) Card playing is not allowed. There are no exceptions to this rule.
11) Profanity and put-downs are not tolerated. BE FRIENDLY!
12) Take time to review the note on academic integrity listed in the Grading section.
13) Classroom safety will be strictly enforced at all times.
Procedural Consequences: **Any challenge of any kind to the learning environment could result in action not excluding student/parent/teacher conference(s), loss of privileges, referral to an administrator, spending time before or after school with the instructor, or other consequences as established by Walled Lake Northern High School and the Walled Lake Consolidated School District. **
The Eight Thresholds (Key Events) of Big History
A) The Big Bang Theory
B) The Stars Light Up
C) New Chemical Elements
D) Earth and the Solar System
E) Life on Earth
F) Collective Learning (Sharing Ideas/Cultural Diffusion)
G) Agriculture
H) The “Modern” (Industrial/Communication) Revolution
Required Materials:
Students are required to have the following materials for this class:
1) A notebook which will become your journal prompts. Journal entries are collected approximately 2-3 times per month. These entries are graded as a Quizzes/Tests grade! Therefore, make sure that your Journal entries are thorough, neat, and readable!
2) Pen or pencil.
3) Big History Project binder (1 ½ inches in thickness suggested) with all papers neatly kept in the order which they were received.
4) Daily homework assignments ready to turn in (if homework is due).
5) Additional materials as necessary (these will be announced by the instructor far in advance).
6) Be familiar with the calendar (Available online)
7) Laptop computer (optional, but helpful).
Accessibility:
If at any time you feel you are unclear or having trouble in this course, please come in for a visit. Oftentimes problems become solutions when they are discussed, and students almost always benefit from a one-on-one (or small group) conference. Mr. Guntzviller is best reached by email at CaseyGuntzviller@wlcsd.org – feel free to email at any time! I am more than willing to make an appointment if necessary with any student.
A Special Note on Substitute Teachers:
** There will be times during the year where I will be forced to be away from the classroom. I will do my personal best to make sure these times are few and far-between, however, when this happens, the substitute teacher shall be treated as an honored guest. I was a guest teacher myself for five years, and I look forward to guest teachers being shown the respect and courtesy they deserve. Remember, you will be much more familiar with the policies and procedures of our class than they will be, because you will be in this classroom on a daily basis. Any unfavorable report from a guest teacher will result in a required additional assignment. BE SMART!
Integration with University of Michigan: Please note that both students and the instructor will be participating in periodic surveys throughout the course; and some student work will be sent to the University of Michigan (anonymously) for tracking and analysis of the course content. All work sent to the University of Michigan is submitted electronically through the personal sign in on the school.bighistoryproject.com . At no time with the University of Michigan be grading any of the work submitted by students. It is simply used as an evaluation and functionality tool to assess and improve the Big History curriculum.
Final Thought:
It is my hope that you will realize very quickly that I care very much about each and every one of you. I want to help you be successful in this course, and during your time at Walled Lake Northern High School. Please do not hesitate to contact me at any time during the school year. This document is a graded assignment that is worth 10 points! Fill out the necessary information, tear off this page and return it to Mr. Moore no later than the beginning of class on January 21, and receive 100% on one of the first assignments of the semester!
Student Name: ___________________________________________________
Parent Name: ____________________________________________________
Contact Email: ____________________________________________________
Contact Phone Number: ____________________________________________
I have read and understand the Big History Project syllabus, and will contact Mr. Guntzviller with any questions or concerns.
Student Signature: __________________________________________________
Parent Signature: ___________________________________________________
Date: ____________________________________________________________