World History
Mr. Rhoades
Craigr@psdschools.org
Classroom: P115
Course Description:
World History is a yearlong course that is a chronological survey of events and people that characterize each of the major eras in World History. The Eras studied include Emergence of Civilization, The Classical Civilizations, The Expansion and Interaction of Civilizations, The Early Modern World, The World in the 19th Century and the World in the Contemporary Era up to and including World War II.
Course Objectives:
• Students will gain an understanding of how civilizations develop and evolve over time as well as their impact on other societies.
• By applying critical thinking skills to a variety of academic and historical sources students will be able to describe, analyze and discuss each of the eras identified above, focusing on such concepts as cause and effect, continuity and change, and the impact of the environment, technological advances, and the development of new ideas on different societies.
• Students will expand their proficiency in the skills they will need to succeed not only in this class but also throughout their lives - reading, writing, critical thinking, and verbal dialogue.
Course Content and Instruction:
This course text is World History: Human Legacy by Holt Publishing. Note: Per Poudre School District Curriculum not all chapters of the text are covered. We will also learn from primary and secondary sources, lectures, historical videos, independent and research projects and visuals.
Essential Learning and Standards:
1. Students will develop an understanding of how people view, construct, and interpret history
2. Students will analyze key historical periods and patterns of change over time within and across nations and cultures
3. Students will utilize historical method of inquiry to ask questions, evaluate primary and secondary sources, critically analyze and interpret data, and develop interpretations defended by evidence from a variety of primary and secondary sources
4. Students will analyze the key concepts of continuity and change, cause and effect, complexity, unity and diversity over time
5. Students will determine the significance of ideas as powerful forces throughout history
Course Content - First Semester:
Week 1 - Class Introductions and Climate and Culture
Weeks 2 - 4 - Early Civilizations, Ancient Egypt, and Mesopotamia
Weeks 5 - 6 - Ancient Greece: Foundings - Alexander the Great
Weeks 7 - 8 - Ancient Rome: Republic - Empire
Weeks 9 - 10 - Indian History: Ancient - Gupta Empire
Weeks 11 - 12 - Chinese History: Ancient - Yuan Dynasty
Weeks 13 - 14 - Rise of the Islamic Middle East & African Kingdoms
Weeks 15 - 17 - European Middle Ages
Week 18 - Final Exam
Course Content - Second Semester:
Weeks 19 - 22 - Renaissance and Reformation, Exploration, and Asian Empires
Weeks 23 - 24 - Absolute Monarchies, Scientific Revolution, Enlightenment
Weeks 25 - 26 - French Revolution and Napoleon
Weeks 27 - 28 - Industrial Revolution
Weeks 29 - 31 World War I: Causes, The War, Effects
Weeks 32 - 33: World War II
Weeks 34 - 36: The World Since 1945
Weeks 37 - 38: Review and Final Exam
Evaluation and Grades:
100% - 90% = A
89% - 80% = B
79% - 70% = C
69% - 60% = D
Below 60% = F
If you get below 60% in the class you will have to take World History again in order to graduate.
GRADE WEIGHTS:
Work Habit - 20%
Assignments - 40%
Assessments - 40%
Grades will be earned through a variety of assignments that could include responses to reading questions, projects, quizzes and tests, and work habits.
Work Habit: Every student begins with 100 Professionalism Points. With these professionalism points students are expected to arrive at class on-time, prepared, participate, actively engage with the material, respecting their classmates and teacher, and by upholding the FCHS Pillars of Excellence. Students will lose professionalism points for interrupting or talking over the teacher or classmates, by disrupting the learning environment, by using a cell phone at an inappropriate time, by arriving late to class, by being unprepared, or by generally failing to uphold the FCHS Pillars of Excellence.
Cell Phone Policy:
If you are on your phone when classmates or myself are taking it for the remainder of the class period after 1 warning. If it is during an individual work time, you may have it out if it is not being a distraction to yourself. Example: Selecting a playlist to listen to is fine; playing Among Us is not. However, you can put your cell phone in the caddy on the wall for the period for extra credit. 4pts of extra credit on block days, 2 pts of extra credit on straight 8 days. (Approx. 10pts a week) - IT ADDS UP!
Late Work:
Late work will be accepted up until the Friday before Finals week for 50% credit.
Academic Dishonesty:
Each student is required to do his/her own work. Plagiarism and/or cheating (copying is cheating) will not be tolerated, and if detected, will result in disciplinary referral and action and a 0 for the assignment for all students involved. The Fort Collins Student Handbook outlines the consequences for cheating and plagiarism, and the instructor will, with the assistance of an administrator, implement the policy.