• How to use sources and deciding whether a source is a primary source or a secondary source

• How to make predictions and back up those predictions with evidence

• How to compare different sources to look for similarities and differences

• How exploration influenced North America

• The settling of the 13 colonies

• The reasons we had a Revolutionary War

• What the Declaration of Independence says

• The U.S. Constitution and the structure of our government

• The Industrial Revolution and new inventions

• Why people moved west

• The Civil War

• Always try to do your best work - it is rewarding to learn new skills and to show what you have learned.

• Turn in all of your work. Show that you understand the essentials so you can get a great grade! - it is important to me that you understand what we are learning, and that you have a chance to fix any mistakes you have made as your understanding increases.

• Help other students be successful, but don’t just copy from other students - it is good to learn with a friend or from a friend, but if you are just copying, you really aren't learning very much! Work together so that you both have a good understanding so you can both show you have mastered the material!

• Be kind to other people. Treat them  like you would like them to treat you! - we all like to be treated kindly!

• Be actively involved in class - by being actively involved, you will learn more and enjoy class more. Also, you have important things to share and we need the chance to learn from you!

• When someone is speaking in class, please don't talk with other students - if you are talking, you can't hear what others are sharing with us.

• Be prepared with your assignments, a pen or pencil, paper, and your charged Chromebook every day - having these with you will help you stay caught up on what we are learning and doing in class that day.

• Hall passes are meant for emergencies only - please limit your hall pass use. If you need to use the hall pass, please limit your time out of class to about five minutes You will need to sign out on the computer nd leave your cell phone here in class while you are gone.

• Chromebooks need to be kept closed when we are not using them in class. When we are using them, please stay focused on the things we are working on - this will help you stay focused on the things we are trying to learn together and you will be more successful in class.

• Keep your cell phone, smart watches, and any kind of headphones  put away while you are in the classroom - I follow the Vista Heights Personal Electronic Devices Policy. This will help you stay focused on the things we are trying to learn together and you will be more successful in class.

  • If you need to speak or text with your parents, please let me know and you can use a school phone.

The most important part of your grade is showing that you understand the essentials!

You will show that mastery by doing well on assessments - they will count for 60% of your grade.

You will also be graded on your practice - practice counts as 35% or your grade. Practice consists of:

• Your answers to the starter questions

• Our in-class assignments and notes

• Assessment reviews

The last 5% comes from your understanding of Civic Dispositions and Virtues.

Here are the percentages we will use for grades:

100 - 80 % A

79 - 60 % B

59 - 40% C

39 - 20% D

19 - 0% F

• After you take some time to study, you can retake any tests you would like. I will give you the higher grade.

• You can also redo any assignments where you might have a low score.

• I do not take away points for late work, but Skyward will show a grade of “0” for that assignment until you turn it in.

• Because I let you redo all assignments and assessments for full points, I don’t offer extra credit.

You are responsible to find out what you missed on the days you are gone. Please go to Canvas. The top module in my Canvas page will always show what we did in class for the most recent day. Look at that module to see what we did while you were gone. 

Remember, I don’t dock points for late work, but please stay caught up!

This website has copies of every assignment we will do this year. You will also find material to help you better understand the concepts we are learning.