Mr. Laughary
Mr. Puchalla
275-5021
236-3395
office: 204C
office: 204C
preps: 2,5
preps: 1,5
Creighton.Laughary@mercerislandschools.org
Ed.Puchalla@mercerislandschools.org
American Studies
Course Description and Expectations
Description: Welcome to American Studies! In this integrated course you will study the development of American culture from the
colonial era to the present. The class will emphasize how our nation has changed over time and question how true America has
remained to its founding principles. Instead of a chronological survey, our studies will focus on significant eras such as the American
Revolution and the Civil Rights Movement and on thematic units such as Immigration and U.S. Foreign Policy. In each of these,
literature and history will work together to address key themes, ideas, and events. Both classes will emphasize conceptual
understanding and the development of skills in writing, research, analysis, and discussion. You should leave this class a capable and
confident American citizen.
Materials: Please bring the following items to class every day:
 Paper and pen or pencil for tests, quizzes, essays, and notes.
 Two separate bound notebooks—one for English and one for Social Studies.
 A three-ring binder (or part of one) dedicated to Amstuds with sections for handouts and returned work from English and
Social Studies.
 Your charged iPad.
Expectations: As a student in American Studies you must
 Allow yourself to be curious about American society, culture, literature, and history;
 Ask questions;
 Engage—this means working in class by following and participating in discussions, taking organized notes, and participating
in activities and projects;
 Read all assigned materials from the texts, distributed packets, and other sources;
 Show up on time and prepared, with any due work on your desk;
 Complete all major assessments, including essays, tests, and projects;
 Create a cooperative and respectful learning environment. Respect one another, your teacher, and school property. Act
kindly towards and encourage your classmates;
 Choose to have fun!
Attendance Policy: BE ON TIME, BE PREPARED. Have your text, iPad or note paper out and dated with any homework visible,
and be at your seats before the period begins. Late arrivals or absences reduce your ability to participate in class discussions and
activities. Absences may also prevent teachers from evaluating progress and granting credit.
Late Work and Absences: You are responsible for knowing all assignment due dates. Schedules are posted on teacher webpages.
Manage your work time. We will grant you an extension for any reason in advance of due dates. Frequent extension requests will
result in a teacher conference. Homework prepares you for the next class or allows you to practice what you learned that day. It will
be checked only on the day due, so an extension is equivalent to an excused assignment. Quizzes are quick checks of how well you
and the class are developing your understanding of a particular topic or concept. If you miss a quiz, you may make it up before class
or ask a classmate to quiz you on your own time. All major assessments—such as tests, essays, and projects—must be completed in
order to receive credit for the course. You may make up missed assignments and tests during scheduled make-up periods each week
on Mondays and Fridays before school.
Honesty and Integrity: Nothing is worth compromising your integrity. Resist the pressure to cheat. Don’t buy in to the everyone-isdoing-it mentality. With regard to cheating, this class will adhere to the official policies of Mercer Island High School. Please note
that copying the words or ideas of another without citing that author as your source constitutes plagiarism. When in doubt, cite your
source. Plagiarism is cheating and a serious mistake.
BE PROACTIVE! Don’t wait until the stress builds up!
Talk to your teacher in advance if you have a question or concern.
Responsibility: Please take responsibility for your learning. Speak with us directly if you ever have any questions or concerns.
Schedule an appointment to ensure that you catch us in the office (204C). We look forward to getting to know you and to the year of
learning and growing that lies ahead. Welcome!
A.P. United States History: The history portion of this integrated course will prepare you to sit for the A.P. United States history
exam on Friday, May 6, 2016. In order to prepare, we must finish a full year college-level survey course six weeks before MIHS
finals. This means you must maintain a brisk reading pace, and as a class we might not be able to dwell on some periods and events as
long as we would wish. The College Board—maker of the AP exams—provides a complete online description of both the exams and
of course objectives. Their AP US History Course Page includes scoring rubrics for the exam essays and a complete sample exam.
The curriculum framework in the online course description includes three important components: historical thinking skills, thematic
learning objectives, and a concept outline organized by historical period. Please take the time to read and familiarize yourself with this
document. Note that although our class will proceed in roughly chronological fashion, our units will not correspond exactly to the nine
historical periods in the AP framework.
Grading Philosophy
What is the purpose of grades? Every course including this one has learning goals—understandings and skills you should aim to
develop. At the end of the semester, my job as teacher requires me to evaluate how close you come to those goals and to
communicate my evaluation with a letter “grade.” This is the primary and original purpose of grades. Over the years, grades also
have been used for a variety of other purposes: colleges use them to determine admissions, high schools use them to select
valedictorians, and some teachers use them to encourage good behavior in class. I only use grades to communicate my evaluation of
your progress toward learning goals.
What are grades based on? Again, grades communicate how well you have learned targeted understandings and skills. You will
show me this on major tests, essays, and projects. I will base my semester-end evaluation primarily on data from these assessments
and on my professional judgment. Homework is a chance to practice—and to make plenty of mistakes without penalty—and quizzes
are a way to check and correct your understanding and skills as you build them (and so these are sometimes called “formative”
assessments). I don’t expect you to get everything right the first time. Homework and quizzes will weigh lightly in my final
evaluation, just enough to encourage you to complete them well. Although I hope you will come to class on time and be nice to your
classmates, neither of those are course goals and so will not factor into my grading. Likewise, I hope you are curious and motivated
enough to participate regularly in class. Daily participation is not a goal, however, and will not factor into your grade.
But what if I just don’t do well on tests? I will base your evaluation and grade on a variety of assessments such as essays,
discussions, websites, videos, and other long-term projects. If it is difficult to show your learning on written tests, please come speak
with me. We can explore test taking strategies and consider alternative assessments. You must show me you have developed the
targeted understanding and skills. Let’s work together to figure out a way.
How do I get more points? You don’t. There are no points. Learning is not a game in which you accumulate points through
assignments and then win a prize at the end. There is no such thing as extra credit.
What if I am absent for a big test or miss a major project? You must complete all major tests and projects in order to pass and
earn credit for the course. There is no penalty for late submissions. Please note that the late policy for homework and quizzes is
different. Homework prepares you for the next class or allows you to practice what you learned that day and so will be checked only
on the day due. Quizzes are quick checks of your learning and so must be made up promptly.
If you evaluate me and give me a grade at the end of the semester, how do I know how I am doing before then? Over the course
of the semester I will attempt to give you feedback on your progress. The Skyward online gradebook allows you and your parents to
track a variety of assignments organized under five categories: historical understanding; reasoning through writing; research;
discussion and deliberation; and study skills. Homework checks will tell whether or not you are doing the daily preparation and
practice needed by most students to learn new skills and concepts. Quiz scores will give a picture of your developing understanding of
the topics and ideas we are studying. Grades on major assignments such as tests and essays will provide even more accurate
information on whether you have mastered required skills and content by the end of each unit. Skyward is not a perfect fit for my
grading philosophy since it converts all student learning to points and percentages, but you should be able to see clearly how well you
are doing. If not, please speak with me. (I’ll happily answer any parent calls or emails too.)
What is your grading scale? I have tried to get away from points and percentages. The district, however, has mandated a system
of letters from A-F. Since I must summarize your performance on a variety of tests and assignments and communicate it with one
letter, I will use the following system:
A, Astudent has met all learning goals
B+, B, Bstudent has met some but not all goals; ample evidence of progress
C+,C,Cstudent shows evidence of progress toward goals but considerable improvement is needed
F
little or no evidence of progress toward learning goals; No Credit.
The grading period runs the entire semester, and quarters are not averaged. The quarter “grade” on Skyward serves only as a progress
report. Please feel free to schedule a meeting to discuss your progress in the course at any time.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------I have read and reviewed the American Studies Course Description with my child________________________________ .
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parent / guardian
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parent / guardian