American+History+Course+Info

= Course Info=

Introduction to American History 2007-2008 (for Honors and College Prep Students)
Welcome to American History! This course will cover the historic and cultural development of America from 1860 AD to the present day in coordination with the Delaware State Standards for Social Studies. All lessons in this course will be based from the standards set by the State of Delaware in Economics, Civics, History, and Geography in preparation for the state Social Studies exam to be given at the end of this school year. In addition, students will receive “training” in library and online research as well as other skills that correspond to the Delaware State Standards for English.

In order to fulfill these standards by the end of the school year, this course will use a variety of methods that will allow students the ability to interpret and analyze how the world they live in today was shaped by decisions made in the past. Some of the methods will include games, projects, essays, PowerPoint presentations, interpreting primary sources, video presentations, and films. Below is an outline, which details the ten units this class will cover over the course of this year.
 * Unit I - The Civil War and Reconstruction
 * Unit II - Western Expansion and the Industrial Age
 * Unit III - Imperialism and Immigration
 * Unit IV - The Progressive Era
 * Unit V - The Great Depression
 * Unit VI - World War II
 * Unit VII - 1950's Conformity (1945 - 1956)
 * Unit VIII - 1960's Revolution (1956 - 1967)
 * Unit IX - Crisis and Opportunity (1967 - 1992)
 * Unit X - Present (1992 - 2008)

What you need to be successful in this class:

 * A one inch three ring binder (to bring to class each day)
 * 100 sheets of college ruled (lined) paper (to place inside of the binder)
 * A writing instrument of some sort (pencil or black/blue ink only please)

The “Fresh Food Challenge”
This is a six-class competition that takes place between the classes taught by Mr. Freccia. Each team includes all of the members of the class and is run via a point system (which is detailed below). The class with the highest point total at the end of each marking period will receive a reward to be chosen later (food, homework passes or extra credit). This is an attempt to reward, not punish, my classes by creating a fun activity built around creating a quality-learning environment and comradeship within the class. Now here are the ways to gain points…
 * **Weekly Grade Report:** For each class at the end of the school week, a grade breakdown within the class will be posted. Students will be informed individually about their personal grade standing separately, so the weekly breakdown is just numbers not names. The class that has the most A’s will receive three points, the one with the most B’s will receive two points, the most C’s will receive one point.
 * **Performance:** The class that has the highest-class average on the unit exams will receive one additional point toward their point total.
 * **Pass/Fail:** The class that has the most people passing at the end of each week will be awarded one additional point toward their point total.

Personal Grading
All classwork and homework assignments (unless otherwise mentioned) are worth 10 points. Oral reports, notebook checks and quizzes are worth 20 points. Written reports and unit exams are all worth 50points. Projects are worth 50 points. In addition, each marking period will have a few extra credit assignments to help bring up lower scores. **Late work without a valid excuse will not be accepted for full credit after the deadline date.**

This class uses the district grading scale: 90+ (A), 80-89 (B), 70-79 (C), 60-69 (D), 59- (F) and scores will be rounded up to the nearest whole number. Classroom behavior is a “border” issue – if you are “on the border” (within one point) between two grades, good behavior during the semester can push your grade up.

The following are REQUIRED in order to successfully pass this class:

 * The completion of a researched project
 * Completion of four marking periods with an average above 59%
 * Passing both the fourth marking period and the final exam.
 * Not missing more than nine classes (with or without excuses)

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