Syllabus/About the Class

Dear students,

My name is Mr. Snow, and I will be your teacher for Social Studies EDGE 8. I’m thrilled to be teaching you this year. This is my 20th year at Redwood (21st in the district), so I hope you can trust that I’ll help you achieve your best! I'm especially excited for the 8th-grade EDGE program! I know most of you well, and you mostly know me well. So I don't think much will be a surprise for most of you. But just in case, here is just about everything you'll need to know in order to do well in class.

I. RULES & EXPECTATIONS:
The rules and expectations I hold to revolve around respect and humility. If you can abide by these simple expectations, you'll be golden!

1. Be present. Be here, both physically and mentally.
2. Be prepared. Have your work and materials, and be ready to contribute.
3. Be respectful. Respect your teacher, your classmates, yourself, and the process of learning.
4. Be humble. No one knows everything, and everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Remember that.
5. Assume best intent. Most people go through life not trying to hurt people. Please remember that your teacher and classmates are human beings who make mistakes. Assume that most people are trying their best.

 II. CONSEQUENCES:
Choosing to break the above rules will initially result in a conversation with you and with your parent(s) and/or counselor and administrators. But eventually we would need to move to referrals if the problems continue. Obviously I'm not expecting that to happen, though.

Too many tardies and/or absences will eventually lead to a referral and legal process, so please be here on time each day!

III. PROCEDURES & MATERIALS:
Procedures are simply the regular movements, actions, and ideas that keep our classroom running smoothly. I expect that after about a week or so, these procedures will become routine. Since we have Canvas as our online learning platform, some of these procedures will include participation online.

a. Please eat, use the restroom, or take care of any personal necessities before or after class unless it’s an absolute emergency.
b. Check the homework and daily agenda (posted on the screen at the front of the class AND also on this site) regularly for assignments, both short-term and long-term, and get used to writing them down in your assignment notebook.
c. While we understand that every student will not always be able to make every class (absences are expected), you are still expected to get what you missed in a timely fashion. Typically this means you have the same number of days to make up work as you were gone (2 absences = 2 makeup days, etc.). We have online textbooks, Google Classroom, email, and a community of peers you can contact; so there should be no excuse for not knowing what’s going on during any absence. In other words... unless you are really sick and cannot do anything, please try to come back from your absence with the work finished.
d. Any time you finish any project, assignment, or work, check to see if there is something more you could do. Please do not ask what is going to happen next. If nothing else, have a book with you that you can read if you're finished with everything else.
e. Materials! Please ALWAYS have the following with you:
      - A good, hefty spiral, labeled for THIS CLASS. We're going to use a lot of pages this year! Also, I'll be collecting it fairly regularly, so it has to be a separate one from other classes (sorry, parents...).
      - Several pens (blue or black) or pencils*.
      - *If a pencil, also have a pencil sharpener and erasers.
      - A glue stick or two, because you'll be gluing a lot of stuff into your spiral! These will definitely need to be replaced throughout the year.
      - Colored pencils or markers. We'll do some coloring and labeling from time to time.
      - Highlighter(s)--preferably a few different colors.
      - A CHARGED Chromebook!

IV. GOALS:
I am expecting you to…
a. Become sensitive learners, dedicated to self-improvement and lifelong learning.
b. Develop an appreciation for the history, cultures and peoples of our country.
c. Work hard, from the beginning to the end of an assignment.
d. Develop positive relationships with your fellow students (since you will be working with them throughout the year, especially in EDGE!).
e. Learn to understand and appreciate the strengths and contributions of everyone in this class.

V. HOMEWORK/ESSAYS/PROJECTS:
Homework is most often just finishing up classwork (not always, but usually). That means you may have work any day of the week, but you likely won't have homework every day. You will often be asked to begin or finish a day’s reading so that we can have more time for discussions, debates, projects and such. As this is our EDGE program, I want to allow as much time as possible for interaction and reflection and don't want to spend much of the time just reading out of the textbook (God forbid!). So that will mean that you'll need to come prepared and pre-loaded with some of the knowledge! I'll always make it clear what's expected.

Longer projects and writing (essays, etc.) will frequently go through the weekend. Use that time—it is valuable!

VI. QUIZZES/TESTS:
You will have periodic tests covering the major standards of the class, usually about every other chapter. These tests will cover the major figures, movements and ideas from the chapter. Most often your “test” will be a reflective writing, essay or dynamic project of some sort.

VII. ACADEMIC DISHONESTY POLICY:
The district’s academic dishonesty policy is spelled out in your assignment notebook, but please keep a few things in mind. All cheating typically results in a ZERO on the assignment, but I run things slightly differently (see GRADING POLICY below). So cheating will actually be a lot worse for you, because it will mean that I make you REDO the assignment, possibly at lunch or on your free time. Cheating means:
- Copying or giving an answer on a test
- Copying homework or plagiarizing any other assignment from another student, the internet, or any other source
- Getting from other students or giving to other students answers for assignments/tests that will be given later in the day
- Doing an assignment on the spot if it was supposed to be completed before class (unless I say otherwise)
- Contributing nothing to a group project but submitting the final product as if you had been a productive member of the group

 VIII. OUTLINE OF THE YEAR:
We are primarily focusing on the history and civics of the United States, beginning around its founding and extending beyond Reconstruction (the aftermath of the Civil War).  We will also spend some time reviewing the movements and changes in Europe and abroad that led to the founding of our nation.  Our main text will be History Alive!: The United States Through Industrialism.  Please note that you also have access to the online text through your TCI student account, which is linked on ClassLink. We will also supplement with the We the People book and lots of primary-source documents, videos, etc. Here, briefly, is our framework:

Central course questions:

1. What did freedom mean to the nation’s founders, and how did it change over time?

2. How and why did the United States expand?

3. Who is considered an American?

Framework:

1. The Development of American Constitutional Democracy

2. Aspirations of a New Nation

3. The Divergent Paths of the American People: 1800–1850

4. Abolitionism (anti-slavery)

5. The Causes, Course of, and Consequences of the Civil War & Reconstruction

6. Economic Development and the Industrial Revolution: 1877–1914 (Unfortunately, due to time constraints, it is highly unlikely we will get much, if at all, into this material.)

Bear in mind that social studies is heavily dependent on the English standards, too (emphasizing reading, writing, listening and speaking).  You will be reading and writing extensively in this class, and you will deliver oral presentations and do many projects.  Bear in mind, too, that I am also an English teacher (very likely your former English teacher!).  So although you are not primarily graded on spelling, grammar, and mechanics, they may certainly play into your grade.

Finally, also remember that the EDGE program in 8th grade pairs this class with Mrs. Casperson's English English 8 class. We have been working (and will continue to work) to link ideas, expectations, guiding questions, and units together as much as possible. Most likely you will see this link through the writing process and how we approach big questions. For example: "Who is a citizen/in-group/out-group?" "What are the proper construction and role(s) of government?" "What is the role of the citizen?" "How can we think like a historian?" "How can we have civil discourse even when we disagree?" Etc., etc., etc. We will both be exploring topics like these through our lessons, discussions, writings and projects.

IX. GRADING:
The grades for my class are broken down as follows:
A+ = 100-97     A = 96-93      A- = 92-90
B+ = 89-87        B = 86-83      B- = 82-80
C+ = 79-77        C = 76-73      C- = 72-70
D+ = 69-67        D = 66-63     D- = 62-60
F = >60   :(   Not that we’re going to worry about any of those!

BUT—and this is a big, big BUT (tee hee)—I am one of a number of teachers in the district who have been using a system called "Mastery Grading" or "Standards-Based Grading." That means that I attempt to grade based on the UNDERSTANDING you demonstrate—not based on completion, or pretty art, or turning things in on time, or even trying your darndest. So what does that mean for you?

First, the good news:

• Late work will be accepted, at full value (there will be no penalty for late work). Why? Because turning in work late does not change whether or not you UNDERSTAND the standards, which is what I'm grading.

• The lowest grade I will give on a non-assessment assignment is 50% (tests are another matter, since they demonstrate your UNDERSTANDING of the standards). Assignments are practice, so I give you more grace on them. Assessments (quizzes, tests, projects, writing pieces, etc.) are where you show me what you really know.

• I will only grade you on what you turn in. Yes, that means that missing work is not counted as a zero. It is just not included in the grade. Since I'm grading your UNDERSTANDING, I'm only grading you on what you show me.

• I will allow test and assignment resubmissions, corrections, etc., but you will need to first show me some evidence that you've prepped for it (that you've tried to increase your UNDERSTANDING).

Now, the bad news:

• Late and missing work will still count against your work-habits grade (which means you'll be much more likely to get an N or a U). I have had lots of students with A and B grades, but N and U work habits. Why? Because they get the material well (academic grade), but don't really put forth much effort (work habits grade). Similarly, I've had students with D and F grades but S work habits. Why? Because they copy notes like good little robots (work habits), but flunk assessments (academic grade) because they need more help understanding it.

• So...you can't skate by with a decent grade because you're "a good worker." Most of your grade will be based on ASSESSMENTS, not practice ASSIGNMENTS. (Notice I said "assessments," not necessarily "tests"—there are many ways besides just a TEST that I can assess your knowledge). In many classes, that 8-page note packet or spiral might be worth, say, 40 points (5 points per page x 8 pages = 40 points). Not for me. For me it's simply given a score of 1, 2, 3 or 4, based on how complete it is. And then the assessment will be worth a good amount of points. What does this mean for you? It means that you need to take good notes, not because that packet grade will "offset" a bad assessment grade, but because it's how you study and prepare for the assessment to make sure you do well. (And since that assessment is most of the chapter grade, assessments are most of your class grade.) Remember, I'm grading you based on what you UNDERSTAND in the standards. (Why should I give you a grade for copying notes off a board, when that's my work you're copying down? 😁).

• If you start missing work, I'm likely to hold you in after class (at lunch, at nutrition, after school, etc.) and make you do it right there with me. Students hate this part, because a lot of the reason why some students don't worry about getting F's is because "Hey, at least I don't have to do the work!" Not gonna fly with me. I'm only grading you on what you turn in, yes, but I'm going to make you turn it in.

• There is NO extra credit, and I don't round grades up. Why? Because extra credit is usually outside the standards, doesn't really reflect understanding, and is often inequitable (a fancy way of saying "not open to all fairly"). For instance, some teachers give extra credit if you go to a museum or bring in some artifact (or worse, bring in Kleenex), but that's unfair because all students don't have equal access to those things or the money to provide them. Also, if you study well, take advantage of corrections, redo assignments and assessments, etc., you should not need extra credit.

• As stated above, under "ACADEMIC DISHONESTY," plagiarized assignments must be redone. Why? Because you don't get to worm out of showing me your UNDERSTANDING.

Finally, you will also get a citizenship grade of E, S, N or U, as I'm sure you already know.

As you are now 8th-graders, your behavior, work habits, and work quality should reflect a year’s maturity. 

So…now that all the ugly stuff is out of the way, allow me to say the following: I hope you are very excited to be here, because I am! If you are unclear about anything, unsure about what we’re supposed to be doing, or just generally have a question that you don’t want to ask out loud, please come and visit me! I am generally in my classroom before and after school, and often at lunch. I have an “open-door” policy, meaning that you will not be turned away if I am busy.

This class is mine to teach, but the real power belongs to you. You are the only ones who can truly turn a regular social studies class into an effective learning community full of deep thinkers, effective learners and committed community members. I look forward to teaching you, helping you grow, working with you, and most importantly, learning with you.

Here’s to the possibilities!

- Mr. Snow