American History I Syllabus
Ms. Hudson
“I do not look upon these United States as a finished product.
We are still in the making.” –Franklin D. Roosevelt
Contact Information: School phone number: 704-799-8555 ext. 516
E-mail: meghan_hudson@iss.k12.nc.us
*Please allow a 24-hour window for a reply via e-mail.
I am available during SMART lunch on Tuesdays (B) and Thursdays (A) for make-up tests, quizzes,
and tutoring help. Please utilize this time if you are struggling.
Required Materials:
 1-2 inch 3 ring binder
 1 pack of dividers
 Loose leaf paper- college ruled
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Black or Blue ink pen
Highlighters
Colored Pencils
Organization of the Course:
American History I follows the lives of people pre-contact through the end of the Civil War period.
Unit 1: Indigenous Societies/European
Exploration, Colonial America
Unit 2: American Revolution through the
Constitution
Unit 3: The New Nation
Unit 4: Age of Reform/Jacksonian America
Unit 5: Sectionalism and Crisis
Unit 6: Civil War and Reconstruction
On Monday each week, students will receive a schedule that has all of the week’s activities/lesson
plans on it. This schedule will also have any homework assignments listed for that week. I do this so
that athletes or students involved in extra-curricular activities can see when they have homework.
Students are encouraged to ask for homework assignments early to account for nights that they will
be busy. This schedule is also a way for parents to see what we are doing in class every week.
Students will receive a sheet with questions on the first day of the week. This sheet will be due with
the reading assignment every Friday. This is the only homework assignment for my class. If you are
absent, it is your responsibility to retrieve the weekly question sheet from the absent bin.
Regardless of when your absence was during the week, you are still required to turn in the question
sheet on Fridays.
Students are expected to be in their seats working on the bellringer activity at the beginning of
class. If students are not in their seats working when the bell rings, they will be given a tardy (3
tardies=1 absence).
Late Work Policy: Work is expected to be turned in on time. If a student submits late work, it will be
minus 1 point per day. For example, for a classwork assignment worth 10 points, the first day it is
submitted late the student will receive 9 points, which is equivalent to a 90. After a week (5 days)
the lowest grade a student will receive is a 50.
Make Up Work Policy: If you are working on an assignment that was given before your absence, and
was due during your absence, you are expected to turn in the same day you return to school.
If you were not in school when the assignment was given, you may turn it in later. For homework
you have two days upon your return to make it up, projects are due on date given (case by case
basis).
If you miss a quiz or test that was pre-scheduled, you are expected to be prepared make up the quiz
or test the next tutorial day (T/TH) you return during SMART lunch unless something else has been
worked out with Ms. Hudson. You can and are expected to use before school (if scheduled with me)
and SMART time to make-up work. I will not pull students out of instruction to make up prior
instruction. If the quiz or test is not made up by the next week, the student will receive a zero. If you
are in class when the assignment was given, and in class the day it is due, you are not given any
additional time for the assignment because of absences between those two dates.
Grading Policy: I grade using a points system. Depending on the difficulty or length of the
assignment, each assignment may be weighed differently. Here is the breakdown:
Projects/Tests: 50-100 points
Daily classwork/homework: 10-15 points
Quizzes: 25-30 points
Please be advised that LNHS has adopted the new 10-point grading scale this year.
Testing: Students will have “benchmark” exams throughout the semester instead of testing after
each unit. The purpose of this is to prepare students for the final exam at the end of the semester,
which is cumulative. These benchmark exams will have questions from old units in combination with
the current unit to ensure that students are remembering important information from in the
beginning of the course. If students show improvement/growth from each benchmark, there will be
extra credit applied to their grade.
For quizzes, students are allowed to use a standard sized notecard with information on it. LARGE
NOTECARDS are not allowed. Notecards are not permitted for usage on the benchmark.
I’m looking forward to an exciting year!
I fully understand what is expected of me in Ms. Hudson’s class this year. I understand the
guidelines and rules mentioned in the syllabus above.
Name: _____________________________________________
(Print)
Student signature: _________________________________________________________
Parent signature: _____________________________________________________
Parent Contact Information:
My student’s name is: _____________________________________________
My name:
______________________________________________
My student is in (circle one)
American History I American History II
American History I Honors
The best way to contact me is (fill out all and put a star beside best option)
E-mail ______________________________
Phone ______________________________