American History II 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 Black or Blue ink pen Highlighters Colored Pencils Organization of the Course: American History II follows the lives of people post Civil War to the present day. Unit 1: The West and Populist Movement Unit 2: Rise of Industry, Gilded Age, Progressive Movement Unit 3: Imperialism and World War I Unit 4: 1920s and 1930s Unit 5: World War II and the Cold War Unit 6: Civil Rights Movement and Vietnam Unit 7: 1970s-1990s 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 ______________________________