Class Information

American History Syllabus

2018-2019

Ms. Verschaeve

Welcome to American History! This year we will be covering the time period from the Civil War to modern day. Our textbook is American History. Each student will be issued a book in the first week of school. You will be responsible for having it in class every day. If you choose to leave your book in the classroom you are still responsible for it! These are brand new books, you don’t want to have to pay for them!

There is a state EOC for American History which counts as 30% of your final grade. We must cover a large amount of material in a short period of time, there is no time to waste. It is of critical importance that you come to this class ready to learn. You should expect to focus on American History from bell to bell. You should also develop a habit of reviewing material on a regular basis.

Each class will begin with a bell ringer. I expect you to be in your seat and working on this when the bell rings to start class. Bell ringers are an important part of your notebook grade.

Grades

30% Work

20% Quizzes

20% Tests

20% Notebook

10% Participation

Work is the largest part of your grade so it is very important that you get it turned in on time! Most work should be completed in class but will be considered on time if it is turned in by the following day. Late work will lose 10 points per day for five days. After that you can still submit the work but the highest grade it will receive is a 50. It is still a good idea to do the work and turn it in. Zeroes hurt your grade very badly! Do not get zeroes!

Vocabulary is an important part of your classwork grade. We will have twenty words every two weeks. These words have been carefully selected to reflect information you can expect to see on the EOC. The words will be on the board on Monday/Tuesday and will be due by the following Friday/Monday. In order to receive credit for the vocabulary words you must define the word, give an extra detail and draw a picture to represent the word. You cannot skip the pictures!

Quizzes will be given every other Thursday/ Friday over the material we have covered during the previous two weeks. You should get into the habit of studying before your quiz. Your lowest quiz grade will be dropped at the end of the grading period.

We will have at least one test per grading period.

Your notebook is an important part of your grade. It should also be an easy way to get a good grade. Your notebook should be a 1 inch, 3 ring binder which should be in class with you every day. You will need to have two dividers so that you have three sections. The first section will be for your bell ringers. The second section will be for your notes and the final section for vocabulary. The notebook will be collected once per grading period.

Participation is the smallest part of your grade but it can make a difference. Participation grades will not be assigned until the end of each nine weeks.

Things you will need for class:

1. 1 inch three ring binder

2. 2 dividers

3. Pens/pencils, everyday…why would you come to class without this?

4. A willingness to learn (it’s really very helpful)