US I Course Syllabus
Course Information
US I CP
Full Year Course
Credit Value: 5.0
Email: kdeblasio@wwrsd.org
Course Summary: This full year course for 10th graders will study United States history from
the first English settlements to the end of Reconstruction. It will include topics such as the
Colonial Period, French and Indian War, American Revolution, the Constitution, Antebellum
America, the slavery issue, the Civil War and Reconstruction. Various instructional methods
will be used, including lectures, discussion, debates, oral reports, in-class Internet research
and the use of audio-visual materials, including Power Point, multimedia presentations and
film. Primary sources will be used to provide different viewpoints on selected topics. Students
are expected to work independently to interpret facts in order to answer questions and define
themes and eras. The analysis of historical documents will be used to answer essential
questions concerning the economic, social and political facets of each historical period.
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
Transplantation
Creating New Worlds
Imperial Breakdown
War for Independence
The First Republic
A New Republic and Political Parties
Mid-Term Exam
VII.
VIII.
IX.
X.
XI.
XII.
Launching a New Nation
Balancing Nationalism and Sectionalism
Expanding Markets and Moving West
The Union in Peril
The Civil War
Reconstruction and Its Effects
Final Exam
Course Goals and Objectives
Students will be challenged on a daily basis to connect issues that our founding fathers dealt with and
apply them to today. The first and fourth quarter will focus primarily on writing and research papers
will be required in the MLA format. The second and third quarters will focus on communication skills
and delivering oral presentations. The writing and oral presentation assessments will develop
fundamental skills, simultaneously building a historical frame of knowledge.
Texts, Readings, Materials:
The Americans, Holt McDougal, 2012
Numerous additional readings will be handed out in class and posted on my website.