8th Grade Social Studies: U.S. History
Welcome to U.S. History! I am very excited about this school year, and I hope that you are as well. Throughout this year, we will be working together to discover our nation’s history from the Revolutionary Era through the last half of the 19th century. Our goal in this class is not only to identify what happened to our country in the past, but to discuss and analyze it so that we can determine how it continues to affect us today. We will be taking a creative approach to studying our nation’s history, focusing on the connection of that history to the arts.
In our class, we will challenge each other to think out of the box while we engage with key people, events, and issues in America’s past. We will be reading and writing extensively, and we will work to evaluate past actions and their effect on our nation today.
The following are things you need to know to be successful this year in our class…
Materials: You will need to keep all class handouts and notes in an organized manner and to bring them with you every day to class. Staying organized will be vital in our class!
Homework/Assessment Sheets: Completing your homework assignments and assessments on time is very important in this class. Much of your work will be writing-based, and many of these assignments are assessment grades.
Homework/Assessment Policy:
*Accommodations are made for students with disabilities and special needs.
Grading: Grading will be done using a total points system, weighted per district policy with assessments accounting for 75% of your grade and homework accounting for 25% of your grade. I will let you know how much each homework assignment, project, quiz, test, or other take-home assessment is worth, and then your grade on that assignment will be computed by dividing the number of points you received by the number of possible points.
Absences: If you are absent from class, it is your responsibility to find out what you missed in class. On the side wall, there are folders labeled by day—Monday through Friday. When you return, you need to go to the folders, find the day you were absent, and take the appropriate papers out of the folder. Then make sure that you get any notes from class that day from a classmate. If you are still unsure of what you missed, please come and talk to me before or after class, and I will explain it to you. You are not excused from any material or test/quiz questions due to an absence! It is your responsibility to set up a time to make up any missed quizzes or tests immediately upon your return.
Class Behavior:
Copying and Plagiarism: In the instance of copying homework or a take-home assignment, BOTH people involved will receive a zero on the assignment. In the instance of copying during a quiz or test, or copying information off of the Internet or another source (plagiarism), the person who copies will receive a zero on the quiz or test.
I hope you are as excited as I am for the year to begin!
“History isn’t really about the past—settling old scores.
It’s about defining the present and who we are.”
~Ken Burns
Here’s to an engaging 2017-2018!
Ms. Gale 😊
Welcome to U.S. History! I am very excited about this school year, and I hope that you are as well. Throughout this year, we will be working together to discover our nation’s history from the Revolutionary Era through the last half of the 19th century. Our goal in this class is not only to identify what happened to our country in the past, but to discuss and analyze it so that we can determine how it continues to affect us today. We will be taking a creative approach to studying our nation’s history, focusing on the connection of that history to the arts.
In our class, we will challenge each other to think out of the box while we engage with key people, events, and issues in America’s past. We will be reading and writing extensively, and we will work to evaluate past actions and their effect on our nation today.
The following are things you need to know to be successful this year in our class…
Materials: You will need to keep all class handouts and notes in an organized manner and to bring them with you every day to class. Staying organized will be vital in our class!
- You need to have either a three-ring binder or a folder for this class, so that you can organize papers on a daily basis. I would highly recommend a large three-ring binder, so that you can keep your papers in chronological order more easily.
- You will need a notebook with you every day in class.
- Please ensure you have a pen or pencil with you every day in class.
Homework/Assessment Sheets: Completing your homework assignments and assessments on time is very important in this class. Much of your work will be writing-based, and many of these assignments are assessment grades.
- Every Monday in class, you will receive a Homework/Assessment Sheet, which will explain all of your assignments and assessments that are due for the week and also any long-term tests or projects. This Homework/Assessment Sheet will also note the due date for each assignment or assessment and the points that it is worth.
- Use this weekly Homework/Assessment Sheet to plan your time accordingly. If you know that you have an assignment/assessment due on Friday and you have a game, play, music lesson, or family obligation on Thursday night, complete it ahead of time!
- Homework assignments and assessments are due at the beginning of your class period and cannot be emailed to me during class time.
Homework/Assessment Policy:
- Late homework is accepted one day late, for half credit.
- Late assessments are accepted until the end of the marking period for 75% potential credit. For the first two days they are submitted late, they will be marked down 10% per day.
*Accommodations are made for students with disabilities and special needs.
Grading: Grading will be done using a total points system, weighted per district policy with assessments accounting for 75% of your grade and homework accounting for 25% of your grade. I will let you know how much each homework assignment, project, quiz, test, or other take-home assessment is worth, and then your grade on that assignment will be computed by dividing the number of points you received by the number of possible points.
- Assessments (quizzes, tests, projects, take-home assessments) will account for 75% of the overall grade.
- Homework assignments will account for 25% of the overall grade.
- Missing take-home assessments will be entered as a 0% in your grade. Late take-home assessments will be marked down 10% per day for the first two days they are late. After that, they will be accepted until the end of the marking period for 75% potential credit.
- Missing homework assignments will be entered as a 49% in your grade.
- The percentage grading scale is as follows:
- 98-100 A+
- 93-97 A
- 90-92 A-
- 87-89 B+
- 83-86 B
- 80-82 B-
- 77-79 C+
- 73-76 C
- 70-72 C-
- 67-69 D+
- 63-66 D
- 60-62 D-
- 50-59 E
- 0-49 F
Absences: If you are absent from class, it is your responsibility to find out what you missed in class. On the side wall, there are folders labeled by day—Monday through Friday. When you return, you need to go to the folders, find the day you were absent, and take the appropriate papers out of the folder. Then make sure that you get any notes from class that day from a classmate. If you are still unsure of what you missed, please come and talk to me before or after class, and I will explain it to you. You are not excused from any material or test/quiz questions due to an absence! It is your responsibility to set up a time to make up any missed quizzes or tests immediately upon your return.
Class Behavior:
- When you enter our classroom, I expect that the language you use will be appropriate AT ALL TIMES. Swearing, sexist, or prejudiced comments will not be tolerated.
- Remember to treat everyone respectfully, and we will have a lot of fun!
Copying and Plagiarism: In the instance of copying homework or a take-home assignment, BOTH people involved will receive a zero on the assignment. In the instance of copying during a quiz or test, or copying information off of the Internet or another source (plagiarism), the person who copies will receive a zero on the quiz or test.
I hope you are as excited as I am for the year to begin!
“History isn’t really about the past—settling old scores.
It’s about defining the present and who we are.”
~Ken Burns
Here’s to an engaging 2017-2018!
Ms. Gale 😊