Social Studies – 7 - Syllabus – 2015-16
Course Title – Social Studies - 7
Textbook – Exploring Our World – People Places and Cultures
Instructor – Marc Risavi
Objective: Students will learn the concepts of Physical and Human Geography. This course will focus on
the Five Themes of Geography (Location, Place, Human Environment Interaction, Movement and
Region). These themes will be applied to the study the origin and contributions of global cultures. Each
region will be broken down into two parts – Physical Geography and Human Geography. This course of
study will include all world regions. However, focus with be most concentrated on regions of the United
States and Canada as well as Latin America and Europe.
Class Rules:
1. Raise your hand and wait to be called on if you wish to speak.
2. Always come to class on time, prepared and with all materials (writing utensil, book and
notebook/folder)
3. Always be courteous and treat each other with dignity and respect.
4. Complete all assignments on time and to the best of your ability.
5. Be responsible
Grading Policies and Components:
This course will follow the grading scale that is outlined in the 2014-15 RHS Student Handbook. Types of
assessment include the following:
1. Exams/Quizzes/Performance Projects - students will be given exams and quizzes regularly to assess
comprehension of class material. Exams are usually scored out of 100 possible points. Pop Quizzes
(if given) will be scored out of 30 points. Traditional quizzes are usually scored out of 25 points.
Any performance project is usually scored out of 50 or 100 points.
2. Reading and Vocabulary – Students will be required to read each section of each chapter and
define all content vocabulary terms. Each term is worth one point apiece.
3. Writing – Students will answer content review questions and respond to at least one open-ended
writing question per reading section in paragraph format. Students will practice reading
comprehension and written expression through the incorporation of current event article reviews.
4. Study Guides/Note Outlines – Students will use a variety of note-taking strategies to organize
information.
5. Citizenship – Students will begin each grading period with 50 Citizenship points, For each
classroom rule violation, students will lose 3 of their Citizenship points. At the end of the grading
period, this grade will be calculated out of 50 possible points. This component to the grading policy
incorporates the idea of good citizenship within a society.
6. Bonus – Students may earn 3 bonus points each week of the grading period (for a total of 27 points)
for writing each day’s assignment in their student handbook/assignment book.