UNITED STATES HISTORY II SYLLABUS
Mr. Rippey
e-mail - brandenrippey@verizon.net
website - www.rippey-sphs.info (for syllabi, recent assignments, due dates, as well as books and
other resources for all my classes)
U.S. History II is an in-depth coverage of historical issues from 1877 to the present. It is a
thorough history course, and is also good preparation for college style classes including
occasional lecture format and independent work. It requires critical analysis, the ability to
understand and interpret sources, and the ability to argue a position using historical evidence.
Texts: - “The Americans” by Danzer, et al.
Rules of the Classroom: 1) No food or beverages allowed, or destruction of room/furniture
2) No speaking while others are speaking (no cursing)
3) No radios, ipods, cell phones, hats, or other items not allowed in
school (I WILL TAKE THEM)
4) No lateness
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Detentions will be assigned after 2nd lateness (specified detention day) and
for other consistent rule infractions.
If I take an electronic device once, I will hold it for the day.
If I take an electronic device a second time, I hold it until the
end of the week (or over the weekend) and call your parents.
General/Academic Information:
 Course requirements include class participation, quizzes, tests, a variety of position
papers on specific issues, a portfolio, written analyses of at least 1 historical novel, and
the successful completion of an oral history project. The course asks students to
understand and analyze historical events, evaluate their importance, and create and argue
opinions on various historical issues using available evidence.
 All students are graded by a point system. For example, one homework assignment is
worth 5 points, a quiz is worth a total of 50 points, a test 100 points, take home or in-class
essays 100 points, portfolio 200 points, etc. IGPRO does the rest.
Class Participation/Attendance – 5%
Class Work and Small Projects/Homework Assignments - 25%
Papers/Novel Analyses/Oral History Project - 40%
Tests - 30%
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Any work or tests missed can be handed in or made up late within 1 week of the test
date or due date for the assignment. Written excuses for missed assignments is necessary
to make up any work. A mandatory loss of 10 points (1 letter grade) will occur without a
written excuse.
On a test, scores from 90 - 100 are an A; 89-80 a B; 79-70 a C, etc. (I give +’s and –‘s)
ANALYSIS OF AN HISTORICAL NOVEL
An analysis of an historical novel is not a book report. It is a paper identifying,
describing, and analyzing the historical situations and events surrounding the character or
characters in that novel. You may mention any literary techniques the author uses to get their
points across, but these techniques should not be the focus of your paper.
1) It should include a brief, general description of the plot and setting of the book,
2) but should focus more specifically on what the novel tells you about attitudes, race,
work, industry, cities, rural areas, society, politics, the economy, and life in general
during that period. Which of these topics you discuss will depend in part on which
novels you choose to read. You may choose to show the effects of immigration,
industry, politics, and the economy on the lives of the characters. You may choose to
focus on the attitudes or opinions of the characters themselves, and how they are
affected by their circumstances. Or, you may choose simply to focus on their
everyday lives - what they did to get through each day. What was their life like
according to the author?
3) You should also identify and explain the author's voice in the work. What is his or
her attitude or viewpoint? Are they protesting something in society, or are they justifying the
status-quo? What are their views on race, racism, industrialism, the economy, poverty, etc.? Do
they do an effective job of describing life during that era?
4) You should use evidence and quotes from the book to explain your points and to
support your thesis. All quotes, as well as ideas or themes that you are explaining, must be cited
with the page number in parentheses at the end of the sentence or paragraph using them. You
may not use any outside sources besides your text book for historical background. Any outside
sources (your textbook) should also be cited.
Your analysis should be 3-5 pages long. It should not be longer - part of writing with set
limits means learning to choose to focus on specific themes or issues. Generally, you will need
at least 3 pages to cover the historical themes.
You will read and analyze 1 novel this year (Honors classes analyze 2, 1 for each half of
the year), and, in order to be fair to those whose novels take place in the latter part of the course,
will be due immediately or shortly after spring recess (although you may read the book and write
your analysis much earlier if that would be better for you). The novels you may choose from are
these:
Out of this Furnace, by Thomas Bell
My Antonia, by Willa Cather
The Octopus, by Frank Norris
The Breadgivers, by Anzia Yezierska
Uncle Tom’s Children by Richard Wright
America is in the Heart, by Carlos Bulozan
The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck
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Third Ward Newark – Curtis Lucas
Native Son, by Richard Wright
Down These Mean Streets, by Piri Thomas
No-No Boy by John Okada
The Quiet American, by Graham Green
Goodbye Columbus, by Philip Roth
The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver.
U.S. History II Portfolio Requirements
Portfolio Objective: Students will demonstrate and evaluate their own growth and understanding
of U.S. History by preparing a portfolio of work completed.
Your portfolio is worth 200 points one time per year. It is due at or immediately following you
midterm exams, and must have work from both the first and second cycles.
With that specification, your portfolio must include the following:
1) Table of Contents
2) A letter from you to me (the reader), describing why each item was included in the
portfolio. Describe changes in your understanding, attitudes, and achievements, citing specific
examples presented in your portfolio, memories of class activities, group activities, lectures, etc.
The letter could include:
a) comments about group work and sharing activities,
b) your assessment of your ability to discuss and express your thoughts clearly,
c) comments, general questions, and questions about historical concepts you have
not fully understood that we have dealt with in class,
d) reflections about your growth as a history student after being enrolled in the
course,
e) your thoughts on history in general.
3) Class notes for 2 days, explaining their importance and what you learned.
4) One rewritten (edited and improved) essay (include the original).
5) Summary of 2 in-class activities (group or individual).
6) One homework, with an explanation of why that particular assignment was chosen.
7) One test, with your comments on why you may have done well or badly, and how you
could improve your performance.
8) The blank rubric attached to this syllabus.
PORTFOLIO RUBRIC
COMPLETENESS OF PORTFOLIO = 60 possible points
8 points
Table of Contents
8 points
Letter
8 points
Class Notes +Explanations
8 points
Rewritten Essay
8 points
Summaries of Classwork
8 points
Homework
8 points
Test
Total Points (+ 4 for rubric)
QUALITY OF PORTFOLIO = 40 possible points
Quality
Point Value
Poor
4 pts.
Fair
Good
6 pts.
Self Assessment +
Growth as Student
Commitment + Time
Spent Assembling
Variety - Work Reflects
More than One Unit
Discussion of
Completed Work,
Notes, Tests, Historical
Themes or Questions
Total Points -
PORTFOLIO FINAL GRADE (total points x 2) -
8 pts.
Excellent
10 pts.
US History II – Newark Oral History Project
Mr. Rippey
Main Objectives:
1) To gain a greater understanding of how historians and sociologists record and analyze history;
2) To gain a greater understanding of and appreciation for history as real people live and see it;
3) To gain a greater understanding of the people and communities that form our city;
4) To understand the history of the United States better by recording a piece of local, perhaps personal
history, and by placing that piece of Newark history into the larger context of United States history.
Tasks You Will Complete:
1) You will choose a person and/or bigger topic to research. A person may be a leader (political,
intellectual, religious, artistic, etc), a family member, or a member of a group which you choose to study.
A bigger topic might be an neighborhood, social group, community organization, business, or ethnic
group here in Newark.
2) You will research background information about that person and/or topic. You will learn about Newark
(or at least the area or neighborhood of Newark where the person or organization lived or is located)
during the time period you will be interviewing that person about. On some aspects of Newark history
there is very little, and the person you interview may be your best source of information. On other topics
(for example, the Newark riots of 1967) you will find a large amount of scholarly information. How you
find information and how much you find depends greatly on what topic you choose. This information
will be used to enhance your written paper.
3) You will collect documentary evidence of the person/place/organization you are studying. You will
collect pamphlets, flyers, photos, news clippings, advertisements, etc. which show your topic. You
should also take a current photo of the person or place (place of employment, agency, home, etc). This
will be handed in with your paper and transcription.
4) You will interview your subject, or interview someone with firsthand knowledge of your subject. This
will be recorded on digital cassette, audio tape, or video tape. I have a digital recorders you may borrow
for this.
5) You will transcribe the interview. You will literally type out the interview for others to read, including
your questions. This takes a long time to do properly, and may require a helper. This not only makes it
easy for someone else to read the interview, it also gives you a chance to thoroughly go over the
interview and better analyze what the interviewee has said. This will be handed in with all your other
completed products.
6) You will write an (typed) history and analysis of your subject. This is a combination of your background
research, the information gained during your interview, and your analysis of the information you have
gained.
 It should describe and give background information on the person you are interviewing;
 It should explain and give details about that person’s experiences during their lives or arrival in
Newark, or both;
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It should connect that person’s life and history to the history of Newark that our class discussed
during the second half of the school year;
It should analyze (sometimes question or find a deeper meaning in) the person’s attitudes and
comments about people and places in Newark (i.e.: read between the lines);
It should, by using the person’s words and descriptions, draw some bigger conclusions about Newark
(what was the city like, how was it different from today’s Newark, how has Newark changed, what
is/was life like for people here, etc);
It must be documented where necessary using footnotes or endnotes citing portions of the interview
(done easily in Microsoft Word), and must include a bibliography.
Length requirements: US II – 4-6 pages (or longer if necessary)
US II Honors – 6-8 pages (or longer if necessary)
7) You will turn in all of the above, with the rubric attached to this syllabus. All portions of your
project will be handed in together in mid May (date to be announced). This should include your
collection of documentary/visual documentation, the transcribed interview, your typed paper, and the
rubric. It should all be bound together and all information (photos, news clippings, etc.) should be
displayed in a neat and organized way, although exactly how you do this is up to you.
Release Form:
Science High School Newark Oral History Project
In view of the historical value of this oral history interview, we, the undersigned, give and grant to the
Science High School student named below, the contents of this taped interview, as a donation, for the
purpose of educating this student and his or her entire class about the history, people, and communities of
Newark, New Jersey.
En reconocimiento del valor historico de esta entrevista oral, nosotros, los que aqui firmamos, damos y
concedemos al abajo alumno del Escuela Secundaria del Ciencias, toda la informacion contenida en esta
grabacion , en forma de donacion, para el proposito educacional y aprendizaje de la historia, gente, y
communidades de Newark, New Jersey.
No reconhecimento do valor desta entrevista oral, nos, o abaixo assinado, damos e concedemos o direito ao
aluno abaixo mencionado da Escola Secundaria de Ciencias, toda a informacao incluida nesta gravacao, na
forma de doacao, para o educacar e informar da historia, gente, e communidades de Newark, New Jersey.
Name and Signature of interviewee (nombre y firma de entrevistado, nome e marca do entrevistado)
Place of interview (lugar de la entrevista, lugar da entrevista)
Date of interview (fecha de la entrevista, data da entrevista)
Name and Signature of interviewer (nombre y firma de entrevistador, nome e marca do entrevistador)
NEWARK ORAL HISTORY PROJECT RUBRIC
HISTORICAL
SOURCES:
(20 possible points)
DOCUMENTARY
EVIDENCE and
PHOTO:
(20 possible points)
TRANSCRIPT:
(50 possible points)
QUALITY of
HISTORICAL PAPER
AND ANALYSIS:
(100 possible points)
RUBRIC
(10 possible points)
TOTAL POINTS:
Parent Signature
I,
, have read and understand the required work that my son or
daughter must complete in order to succeed and excel in Mr. Rippey’s United States History II class (Honors
and/or regular), and understand the code of conduct that he or she will be expected to follow.
Parent Signature
Student Signature
Date __________________________
* Please feel free to contact me by email, at brandenrippey@verizon.net if you have any questions.
* Please note that all major assignments and regular reading assignments will be available with their
approximate ue dates at my website: www.rippey-sphs.info (on the US History page)