Course Syllabus: 7Th Grade Social Science

Cordova High School Teacher: Ms. Regalado 2239 Chase Drive E-mail: [email protected] Rancho Cordova, CA, 95670 (916) 294-2450

Course Syllabus: IB History of the Americas

COURSE DESCRIPTION IB History of the Americas is the first part of a two year course. During year one of the course students will focus on History of the America topics which support Paper Three. Moreover, IB Diploma candidates will be expected to take the three exams associated with the course: Papers 1, 2, and 3. These exams will typically occur in May. The primary goal of this course is to encourage the critical study of the human experience with attention given to the physical, economic, social and political aspects involved in the creation of societies and cultures. While promoting an understanding of major historical events in a global context, students in this course will gain an international historical knowledge by using archival evidence, data collection, experimentation, and observations. To evaluate the historical knowledge, students will assess the validity, reliability, credibility, and individual as well as collective perspectives. While they appreciate the diversity of the divergent viewpoints, students will understand the impact of historical developments at national, regional, and international levels.

IB HISTORY AIMS The aims of this course are to: 1. Promote an understanding of history as a discipline, including the nature and diversity of its sources, methods and interpretations. 2. Encourage an understanding of the present through critical reflection upon the past. 3. Encourage an understanding of the impact of historical developments at national, regional and international levels. 4. Develop an awareness of one’s own historical identity through the study of the historical experiences of different cultures.

IB Learner Profile- Inquirers: Students will develop their natural curiosity through research and questioning. Communicators: Students will confidently be able to express information while working collaboratively with their peers. Open-minded: Students will learn to understand and appreciate their culture as well as there, while evaluating a range of view.

TEXTBOOKS A number of primary and secondary sources will be used throughout this course. Below is a list of the major textbooks that will be used to access course material.

The American Pageant by David M. Kennedy, Lizabeth Cohen, and Thomas A. Bailey History of the Americas by Tom Leppard A People’s History of the United States 1492-Present by Howard Zinn Access to History for the IB Diploma: United States Civil War: causes, course, and effects 1840-77 by Alan Farmer Access to History for the IB Diploma: The Cold War and the Americas 1945-1981 by Vivienne Sanders Access to History for the IB Diploma: Civil Rights and Social Movements in the Americas by Vivienne Sanders

COURSE OUTLINE (Year 11) Each semester is considered a separate class and successful completion earns a student a semester grade. Highlighted units will be studied in depth. Semester 1 Semester 2 Unit 1: Independence Movements and Nation-Building Unit 5: The Mexican Revolution 1910-40 Unit 2: United States Civil War: Causes, Course, and Effects 1840-77 Unit 6: The Great Depression and WWII and the Americas 1929-45 Unit 3: The Development of Modern Nations 1865-1929 Unit 7: The Cold War and the Americas 1945-81 Unit 4: Emergence of the Americas in Global Affairs 1880-1929 Unit 8: Civil Rights and Social Movements in the Americas

RECOMMENDED SUPPLIES/Things You Will Need to Bring To Class Daily Pencils (#2) Pens (dark blue or black) Binder paper Straight edge ruler Highlighters (different colors) Colored pencils  Textbook  Sheet/page Protectors Daily Agenda/Calendar Index Cards 3x5 (5-6 packs) 3-Ring Binder must be brought to class everyday!

STUDENT ACADEMIC and BEHAVIOR EXPECTATIONS  All Cordova High School rules will be upheld (See Cordova High Student handbook)  Be in your seat with your daily agenda open with a pen or pencil out when the bell rings.  Equip yourself with the tools necessary to be successful -textbook, notebook/binder/folder, writing utensil and assigned materials.  Attend class regularly; grades are affected by poor attendance.  Respect the teacher's right to teach, and the student's right to learn.  If a student chooses not to meet classroom expectations, a series of consequences can occur depending on the severity of the student’s actions, such as a private conference, a time-out/buddy room, a detention, a parent phone call, an all-teacher conference, or a referral to Administration. (See Cordova High School Student handbook for code of conduct and possible consequences)  Detentions may be issued for not adhering to classroom, or school rules.

PLAGIARISM/CHEATING/ACADEMIC DISHONESTY Plagiarism, (or intellectual theft), is defined as “the reproduction, in whole or essential part, of a literary, artistic, or musical work by one who falsely claims to be its creator.” Encyclopedia Americana, 2003. Some examples might include but are not limited to:  Downloading a paper from a “paper-mill”

 Submitting another student’s work  Copying a portion of another’s work without citing it  Copying material, supplying proper documentation, but leaving out quotes or indents  Paraphrasing ideas without documentation Cheating and plagiarism are very serious offenses and will not be tolerated at Cordova High School. Students who are caught cheating, facilitating cheating, or turning in plagiarized work will receive a zero on that assignment and the teacher will make parent contact. If necessary, students will be referred to administration for administrative action. Academic dishonesty is also cause for removal from the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program.

TUTORING SCHEDULE Students can arrange tutorial time with individual teachers as needed.

HOMEWORK EXPECTATIONS & POLICY Homework is assigned for several reasons:  for practice and reinforcement of lessons covered in class.  for preparation so that students begin a lesson with important background information.  for extension, providing the student with an opportunity to apply the lessons of the day to more complex tasks or projects. Homework may be assigned daily including over weekends or longer breaks for any or all of these reasons. Due dates and expectations for large assignments will be given well in advance and students are expected to manage their time to accomplish all the assigned tasks. PLEASE NOTE THAT LATE HOMEWORK MUST BE APPROVED BY TEACHER.

MAKE-UP WORK When students are absent from school, they are responsible to get the missing assignments from their teacher. Students may see the teacher at the end of the class, at lunch, or after school to get the missing assignments. A student will have two days for every day missed to make up any missing work. In addition, we encourage students and parents to use School Wire daily. The use of School Wire makes absences much easier to manage. (Of course, nothing can replace the in- class instruction and interaction that takes place in a classroom. We encourage regular attendance.) If a student misses school on the day of a test or quiz, they will be expected to take the test as soon as they return to school or the teacher may make other arrangements.

ASSESSMENT Students will be asked to demonstrate their mastery of standards through formative and summative assessments. Students will be able to revise work if mastery is not demonstrated initially on select formative assessments. These formative assessments will take the form of a project or essay. Each unit of study concludes with a comprehensive standards based summative assessment. The summative assessments are not subject to revision. Again, if a student misses school on a day of a test or quiz, they will be expected to take the test as soon as they return to school or the teacher may make other arrangements. Essays: Essays will be graded in adherence to the IB Mark Bands. Please see “IB Paper 3 Mark Band Conversion Chart” attached to syllabus.

GRADING POLICY

Weighted Grading Structure Grading Percentage Distribution

Percentage of Percentage Grade Required Task Grade 100% - 90% A Processing of Standard and Objectives 20% 89% - 80% B (Classwork & Homework) Standards Based Assessments 70% 79% - 70% C (Tests, Projects, Writing) 69% - 60% D Positive Classroom Participation 10% Below 60% F

CITIZENSHIP GRADE The following grades are issued for citizenship: O, S, N, and U. O = Outstanding A student enthusiastically comes to class each day prepared and motivated to independently learn, leads class discussion and initiates a leadership role in group work. The student consistently models class rules and is an optimistic and constructive role model for other students to follow. The student seeks to surpass class expectations. S = Satisfactory A student comes to class each day prepared, takes responsibility for his or her own learning, participates in classroom discussions and group work, follows class and school rules, and is a positive and constructive role model for other students. N = Needs Improvement A student who is minimally prepared for class and inadequately participates in classroom discussions and rarely participates in group work. He or she may have an irregular attendance record. U = Unsatisfactory A student who is minimally prepared for class and inadequately participates in classroom discussions and rarely participates in group work. He or she may have an irregular attendance record. This student’s behavior may be disruptive and may warrant behavior consequences. This student fails to follow class and school rules and fails to follow the directives of the teacher.

GRADE CHECKS In addition to district's grade reporting, the students' grades will be posted in the classroom by student identification number. Students may also receive a grade print out periodically which will require a parent's signature and be returned to the teacher.

TEACHER-PARENT CONTACT Parent involvement is instrumental for student success. Please feel free to contact your student’s teacher whenever you have a question, comment, or concern. We are looking forward to a positive and productive year with your student. Thank you.

IB Assessment Overview Overview All of these students produce an Internal Assessment (IA) on a topic of their choice during the course, and sit for two examination papers: Paper 1 consists of four source work questions, whilst Paper 2 requires students to write two essays. Higher Level students additionally have to study some extra topics for Paper 3, which involves the production of a further three essays. This means that the overall grade for Standard Level and Higher Level students is calculated differently: Assessment Grid for IB History Higher Level Internal Assessment 20% Paper 1 (60 mins) 20% Paper 2 (90 mins) 25% Paper 3 (150 mins) 35% The IB uses several methods to assess work produced by students. Assessment criteria* Assessment criteria are used when the assessment task is open-ended. Each criterion concentrates on a particular skill that students are expected to demonstrate. An assessment objective describes what students should be able to do and assessment criteria describe how well they should be able to do it. Using assessment criteria allows discrimination between different answers and encourages a variety of responses. Each criterion comprises a set of hierarchically ordered level descriptors. Each level descriptor is worth one or more marks. Each criterion is applied independently using a best-fit model. The maximum marks for each criterion may differ according to the criterion’s importance. The marks awarded for each criterion are added together to give the total mark for the piece of work. Mark bands Mark bands are a comprehensive statement of expected performance against which responses are judged. They represent a single holistic criterion divided into level descriptors. Each level descriptor corresponds to a range of marks to differentiate student performance. A best-fit approach is used to ascertain which particular mark to use from the possible range for each level descriptor. Mark schemes This generic term is used to describe analytic mark schemes that are prepared for specific examination papers. Analytic mark schemes are prepared for those examination questions that expect a particular kind of response and/or a given final answer from the students. They give detailed instructions to examiners on how to break down the total mark for each question for different parts of the response. A mark scheme may include the content expected in the responses to questions or may be a series of marking notes giving guidance on how to apply criteria. All IB Diploma courses include summative assessments that measure what students know and can do. One of these is internal, meaning that it is set, delivered, and marked by the instructor. The other is external, meaning that the student's work is forwarded to an IB examiner for marking. In the History of the Americas class, there will be one internal assessment - a Historical Investigation, that will be part of the class work starting term III or IV. IBO Grade Part 1 - External Assessment, 80% consisting of 3 written papers (tests) Paper 1 - 20%: A document-based paper set on the prescribed subject, four questions to answer. Essay Mark Band 1 to 9 points, often between 5-6 points = a passing 4 Paper 2 - 25%: An essay paper based on the 20th Century World History topics, two questions to be answered, each chosen from a different topic. Mark Band 1 to 15 points, often between 5-6 points =a passing 4 Paper 3 - 35%: Each essay examination paper will comprise 36 questions; three to be answered. Mark Band 1 to 15 points, often between 5-6 points = a passing 4

Part 2 - Internal Assessment 20%: Historical Investigation to be internally assessed by the teacher and externally moderated. Mark Band 1 to 25 points, often between 11-13 points = a passing 4

For additional information, please visit: http://www.ibo.org/

IB Paper 3 Mark Band Conversion Chart Marks Percentage Level Descriptor

0 0  Response does not reach a standard described by the descriptors below.

1 61  There is little understanding of the demands of the question. The response is poorly structured or, where there is a recognizable essay 2 64 structure, there is minimal focus on the task.  Little knowledge is present. Where specific examples are referred to, 3 67 they are factually incorrect, irrelevant or vague.  The response contains little or no critical analysis. It may consist mostly of generalizations and poorly substantiated assertions.

4 71  The response indicates some understanding of the demands of the question. While there may be an attempt to follow a structured 5 74 approach, the response lacks clarity and coherence.  Knowledge is demonstrated but lacks accuracy and relevance. There 6 77 is a superficial understanding of historical context. The answer makes use of specific examples, although these may be vague or lack relevance.  There is some limited analysis, but the response is primarily narrative/ descriptive in nature, rather than analytical.

7 81  The response indicates an understanding of the demands of the question, but these demands are only partially addressed. There is an 8 84 attempt to follow a structured approach.  Knowledge is mostly accurate and relevant. Events are generally 9 87 placed in their historical context. Examples used are appropriate and relevant.  The response moves beyond description to include some analysis or critical commentary, but this is not sustained.

10 91  The demands of the question are understood and addressed. Answers are generally well structured and organized, although there 11 94 may be some repetition or lack of clarity in places.  Knowledge is accurate and relevant. Events are placed in their 12 97 historical context, and there is a clear understanding of historical concepts. Examples used are appropriate and relevant, and are used to support the analysis/ evaluation.  Arguments are mainly clear and coherent. There is some awareness and evaluation of different perspectives.  The response contains critical analysis. Most of the main points are substantiated, and the response argues to a consistent conclusion.

13 98  Responses are clearly focused, showing a high degree of awareness of the demands and implications of the question. Answers are well 14 99 structured, balanced and effectively organized.  Knowledge is detailed, accurate and relevant. Events are placed in 15 100 their historical context, and there is a clear understanding of historical concepts. Examples used are appropriate and relevant, and are used effectively to support the analysis/evaluation.  Arguments are clear and coherent. There is evaluation of different perspectives, and this evaluation is integrated effectively into the answer.  The answer contains well-developed critical analysis. All, or nearly all, of the main points are substantiated, and the response argues to a reasoned conclusion.

IB - History of the Americas Please feel free to contact me for further questions. Parent and student signatures are required below. Please fill out the information below and turn in this page. Thank you!

I have read and understand the course syllabus for Ms. Regalado’s IB History class.

Student Name (print)______Student Number______

Student Signature______Date ______

Parent/Guardian Name______

Parent/Guardian Signature______Date______

Best way to contact parent/guardian: (Please check all that apply)

______Home ______Work Phone _____ Cell Phone _____ E-Mail

Parent Home Phone :______Parent Work Phone:______

Parent Cell Phone: ______Parent E-Mail:______

Any - Any additional information you would like me to know: