8th Grade U.S. History
Class Syllabus
2013-2014
Dear Parents,
I am excited to have your child in my class this year. I am looking forward
to a very successful school year! I have lots of engaging and educational
materials planned for this year’s curriculum.
I would like to start out by letting you know that I value every child that
comes into my classroom and I have high expectations for their achievement. I
will work to the fullest of my ability to ensure that your child has the opportunity
to reach their full potential in my classroom.
The following are a few expectations that I have for students in my
classroom:
1. First of all, I want to foster an atmosphere of respect among the
students, both for themselves and for others. I expect the students to respect the
classroom environment, and do their part to contribute to a quality learning
experience for themselves and their peers.
2. I expect the students to put forth their best effort while participating in
class and completing class work and assignments.
3. I expect the students to follow and inform themselves of the school wide
and classroom policies and procedures.
4. I also expect the students to understand that there are positive and
negative consequences for each choice that they make in the classroom.
Within this syllabus, I have included a copy of the classroom expectations
and procedures, supply list, and policies regarding grading and make-up work.
Also, you should expect to see your child bringing homework assignments and projects
home at least once a week. I will be posting information regarding assignments and due
dates on my class calendar on the Navasota Junior High website.
http://njhs.navasotaisd.org/
I thank you in advance for your involvement and support towards helping your
child have a successful year in my class.
Finally, I seek to keep the lines of communication open with you. I have
included my Contact Information below and Conference Period. If you have any
questions or concerns throughout the school year, please do not hesitate to
contact me.
Sincerely,
Ms. Yolanda Mahon
Email: mahony@navasotaisd.org
Phone: (936) 825-4225
I am available every day before and after school and during my conference period: _____________________
Course Description and Year at a Glance
Primary content for this course pertains to the study of United States History
from the Exploration and Colonization Era though the Reconstruction Era.
Students will be exposed to the historical, geographical, political, economical,
and sociological events which influenced the development of the United States
and the resulting impact of these events on United States History.
Students will analyze relationships between cause and effect in historical events,
and have the opportunity to explore fundamental ideas, events, perspectives, and
themes which occurred throughout the history of the United States.
First Semester
[1st Nine Weeks]
Unit 01: Exploration and Colonization
Unit 02: Celebrate Freedom Week
Unit 03: American Revolution
Unit 04: Writing the Constitution
[2nd Nine Weeks]
Unit 05: More Perfect Union
Unit 06: Early Republic
Unit 07: Age of Jackson
Second Semester
[3rd Nine Weeks]
Unit 08: Manifest Destiny
Unit 09: Industrialism: North and South Economies Develop
Unit 10: Reform and Culture
[4th Nine Weeks]
Unit 11: Sectionalism and Civil War
Unit 12: Reconstruction
Unit 13: Rights and Responsibilities
**SOCIAL STUDIES STAAR TESTING OCCURS END OF APRIL**
***NOTE: We will use this Syllabus packet throughout the first week of
school, be sure to bring it with you every day.
On Friday, you will turn in the signed signature page and you will also have a
Syllabus Test that you will be able to use this Syllabus for. DO NOT LOSE
THIS.
I. Classroom Expectations and Procedures
In the classroom the student is expected to…
1. Be Prepared and Punctual
2. Show Respect for Place and Person
3. Keep Your Promises
4. Model Success
5. Use Your Power Wisely
--------------------------------II. General Weekly Classroom Routine
Our Lessons are based on the 5 E Model: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate.
Tutoring: Every Monday & Thursday 3:45-4:00pm
*Students should expect homework in their Social Studies Class each week. Homework assignments and due dates will be
posted on Ms. Mahon’s Class Calendar: http://njhs.navasotaisd.org/
III. General Daily Classroom Routine/ Procedures
Scientific studies have shown that over 50% of your learning in the classroom occurs in the first and last 15minutes of
class…so this time is critical.
The bell does not begin class, you do!
1. We will line up at the lockers behind my classroom door before entering each day.
2. You are to enter the room quietly and respectfully. As soon as you come in the door…Take
care of personal business. This includes sharpening pencils or getting a writing utensil out,
picking up any handouts from the door, turning in any assignments, etc. Once I begin the day’s
lesson and begin talking and discussion, your time is up for being out of your seat and talking. It
is not my responsibility to provide you with a writing utensil, paper or any other supply that you
should already have prepared for our lesson when you come into class. Always prepare
yourself.
3. On the first day of the week, copy the weekly assignments into your agenda from the
Assignment Board. If you have lost your agenda you are to use a sheet of paper. I will check to
see if your agenda is complete and this may be used as a daily grade. Be organized.
4. Every single day, there will be a bell ringer activity. You will begin working on this activity as
soon as you come into class. Do not wait for me to start this activity. Directions will always
either be on the smart board and/or on the handouts that you pick up from the table at the
door. Be a self-starter.
5. Participate and follow directions. I have a very exciting year filled with fun activities aimed at
helping you gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of history. But I need your help to
make this a great school year. I am asking you to be involved in making decisions, creating and
being a part of our lessons. You are an intelligent and brilliant individual. Come and bring your
best effort every day, because life is what you make it, not just what is handed to you. We
cannot have an optimal learning experience if you do not focus on our lessons and stay focused
in the moment in what we are doing in this class. Listen and follow direction, everything that
we do in class is to help you have the best learning experience possible. Do not sleep, distract
others with your actions, talk excessively, horse play or do anything that wastes valuable class
time. Stay Checked in.
6. Last five minutes of class. I understand that you need to get prepared to leave for your next
class, and I also need time to prepare for my next class that is entering. I usually allow a few
minutes at the end of class to clean up, put materials away and turn in assignments, if I deem
that extra time is needed to do these things. However, it is not okay to start packing up in the
middle of a class discussion, assignment, or activity unless I have said to you that we are done
for the day and you may start cleaning up. It is not okay for you to interrupt the class to inform
me of how much time we have remaining or tell me your teacher, when you think it is time for
us to end class for the day. The clock does not dismiss class, the bell does not dismiss class, I
your teacher will dismiss class. Failure to respect this principle may result in individuals or
entire class periods losing time after the bell. Do not put yourself or others in this predicament,
remember our class time is valuable.
7. Throughout the school year we will have a lot of class discussions, debates, and other
opportunities where I will ask you to be involved in discussion. I encourage you to the fullest to
share your ideas, opinions and questions; however we must have order to ensure that every
voice is heard. In my class you are expected to raise your hand before speaking. You are also to
wait until you are called upon. Just because you raise your hand, this does not give you license
to blurt out and talk over others. This is called respect, and we need it to have the best learning
environment possible. So rule of thumb, raise your hand before getting out of your seat, talking
out in class, or answering questions and wait to be called upon.
IV. Classroom gestures/signals/attention grabbers
Throughout the school year I will use a few gestures or signals to get the class’s attention when
we are about to begin the lesson, make transitions during the lesson, or need to be reminded
to get back on task.
1. “Give Me Five”= Hold up your hand and stop talking immediately. This is a signal that we all
need to get quiet and wait for what is next.
2. “Give Me Five if you completely understand…Three fingers if you sort of understand…or Two
fingers if you need more information…” this signal is a way for me to gauge class understanding.
3. Celebrations= Are signals that we do to pat each other the back for a job well done.
4. Songs= I plan on using music as directives to students throughout our lessons. For example:
If I play “Come Together” that means we need to wrap up group work and begin moving back
to our seats for a whole class discussion.
Or I may give students until the end of a song to finish a task.
V. Classroom Supplies
For Ms. Mahon’s 8th grade U.S. History class the student will need…
1. Compostion Notebook
2. A Folder or Binder to keep your history papers in. I will not tell you how to organize your
binder, but here is a suggested way to set up a Social Studies Section/ Binder for this class:
Divider 1: Daily Grades
Divider 2: Notes/Class Handouts
Divider 3: Quizzes/Tests
*Clean out your binder at the end of each nine weeks. Keep notes/test corrections/tests and
test grades.
3. A packet of Map pencils
4. A packet of Markers (Wide or Thin)
5. Pens/Pencils
6. Two packs of Index Cards
7. College ruled or wide ruled notebook paper.
VI. 15/15, Green zone and Gum
-During the first 15 minutes of class and during the last 15 minutes of class, students are not to
leave the classroom for any reason, unless they have a medical reason. The middle 15 minutes
of class, students will be able to leave the room to use the restroom with their student I.D. on
them and a signed agenda by their teacher. 15/15 is a school wide practice in every classroom
on campus.
-The Green zone denotes the ONLY areas that students are allowed to have cell phones or
other personal electronic devices out. Currently this is the Cafeteria, Courtyard and Gym.
Students are not to have their cell phones out in the hallways during the school day, nor can
headphones be visible.
Due to the limited amount of computers available to many classes, some teachers may ask
their students to use their electronic devices in class for educational purposes. ONLY with
teacher permission are students to use their cell phones in class and students are only to be
using their cell phones for educational purposes. Teachers are not responsible for any personal
property that is lost, damaged or stolen.
If I catch a student using their electronic device during class, without permission or for
purposes other than educational, it will be confiscated and turned into the Assistant
Principal.
-Gum is not allowed in my classroom. If a student is caught with gum in class they will be asked
to discard of it. If continual offenses occur, consequences will come into play. The sticking of
gum on desks, floors, furniture and any school property is considered vandalism
VII. Make-Up Work
There is a designated make-up work station in our classroom that consists of a purple and an orange
crate, one that contains work for Social Studies classes, and one for Pre-AP Social Studies classes. The
crates are organized on a weekly basis; handouts and assignments are dated for each day that week and
placed into the crate. If a student is absent from class at anytime throughout the week, they are to
check their make-up crate to get the work for the corresponding day that they were missing that week.
At the end of each week, all of the assignments will be taken out of the folders and placed into a folder
at the very back of the make-up crate labeled, “Previous Week”. So the make-up crate will contain up to
two weeks of work at any given time. This is also the go to place for students to go if they need extra
copies of papers they may have lost or need throughout the week.
It is the student’s responsibility to check the make-up crate upon their return to class and to complete
their assignments in a timely manner. A student will receive the same amount of make-up work days to
complete an assignment, as the amount of days they were absent.
For example: Shara is absent from class Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week. When she
returns to class on Thursday, she goes to the make-up crate and checks the folders labeled Monday,
Tuesday and Wednesday and grabs the assignments out of there. Because Shara was absent three
days, Shara now has three class days to complete all of her assignments and have them turned in.
Shara also realizes that she needs an extra copy of the notes from last week Friday, she looks in the
folder in the back of the crate labeled “Previous Week” and finds the notes dated and labeled for
Friday. Shara has a question about what she should do on our make-up work assignments, she waits
until the last five minutes of class or individual work time to ask her teacher to explain the assignment
for her.
Keep in mind, that if you know that you are going to be absent from class or will be leaving for an
extended period of time, it is best to inform me ahead of time so that I can get your work together for
you so that you will not get behind in class.
VIII. Grading/ Extra Credit
*It is critical that students are completing and turning in their assignments on time. Not completing
assignments in a timely manner or not completing them at all creates gaps in their learning and their
ability to apply and grasp key information that affects their performance and grades in my class.
Daily Grades Count _____%
Test/ Project Grades Count_____%

A “Z” in the grade book indicates that an assignment was not received from the student and
that the student currently has a zero for it.
 A blank space DOES NOT mean the student has received a zero for the assignment, blank spaces
indicate that the assignment may have been received but a numerical grade has not been
entered into the grade book yet.
 District policy is that students have an opportunity to make-up or redo Major test grades and
projects within each nine weeks period it was assigned. This does not apply to the required
History Fair Project for Pre-AP.
 After each Unit Test, students will have the opportunity to bring their grade up to a 70%, only if
they scored below a 70%. Test Corrections consist of the following:
1. Write the question out completely (do not draw charts/ graphs)
2. Write the correct answer out completely
3. Write an explanation in complete sentences, explaining why the answer is correct.

I will not accept missing assignments, last minute projects and test corrections the last two days
before report card grades are due. Take care of assignments throughout the nine weeks not at
the very end.
IX. Discipline
1. 1st Verbal Warning
2. 2nd Verbal Warning
3. Student/Teacher Conference & Parent Contact
4. Office Referral
X. Signatures
Please take time to fill out the following, and also have your Parent/Guardian fill out the information
below. Turn
in this paged signed by Friday.
Student Name (print):
___________________________________________________________________________________
I acknowledge that I am aware of and understand the classroom procedures and expectations out lined
in Ms. Mahon’s syllabus. I will work hard this year to put forth my best effort and take responsibility for
my actions in Ms. Mahon’s class.
Student Sginature:________________________________________________________
Date:______________________________
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------Parent/Guardian's Name (print): _____________________________________________________________
Parent/Guardian's Email Address: ___________________________________________________________
Parent/Guardian Home number:_____________________________________________________________
Parent/Guardian Work number:______________________________________________________________
*Which is the best way to contact you?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
I have read and understand the syllabus outlined for my child’s Social Studies class.
Parent/Guardian's Signature: _______________________________________________________________
Date: __________________________________________
Please feel free to ask me any questions that you may have below and I will be happy to contact you
using the information that you have provided. Thank you 
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