Resources and Course Info

Academic Honestly and Policy Standards

Mutual Learning Agreement 

At the beginning of the school year, students were given a copy of the Mutual Learning Agreement Contract that outlines our classroom academic policy. By signing this contract, both the student, parents or guardian(s) and myself as the teacher recognize the integrity of this contract and agree to the terms. 
 

Our Mutual Learning Agreement
All parties agree that academic success is the product of a cooperative effort. To insure that
______________ will benefit from this union, each party has the following responsibilities:
  (Student)
As a student ____________, will:  
  1. I will adhere to our Class Constitution.
2. I will complete all work on my own without cheating or plagiarizing, or else I will receive a zero and face consequences deemed by the school.
3. I will be responsible and show up to class (unless I have an emergency or absence).
4. I will be responsible and bring necessary materials and be prepared for class.
5. I will have a positive attitude when I'm in class.
As a parent ____________, will:  
  1. Monitor my child's school work and projects.
2. Maintain a discipline policy with my child.
3. Contact Ms. Wysko should I have any concerns about my child's progress in her class or have any other concerns.
4. Be supportive and encouraging with my child in everything she/he does.
As a teacher ____________, will:  
  1. Provide a safe comfortable environment for my students.
2. Provide ample time for my students to receive extra help after school.
3. Enforce school rules consistently.
4. Provide students with clear and concise expectations.
5. Work to make learning an enjoyable experience.

Signed:
__________________
__________________
__________________
Student Signature
Parent Signature
Teacher Signature
_____________
Date
 
 
 

Grading System: 

Below is the grading system in which I based my assignments on. The most weighted assignment is the research project. This is because this assignment is the most anticipated project in terms of time constraint and how much the students will focus on this project. Students will begin to brainstorm on research ideas in early September and come up with a Research Focus Plan in early October. Students will present their final project in late April. 
 

Assignments Percentage 
Homework 10%
Quizzes and Weekly Reflection 20%
Discussions 20%
Midterm Exam 20%
Research Project 30%

 

Research Project Rubric: 

Below is the rubric in which students will be expected to follow as they progress through their research project. 

 

K-W-H-L Research Organizer 

The Know-Want to Know-How do I learn-Learned (K-w-H-L) Organizer is one of the most effective methods of guiding students in their research project path. With this organizer, it allows students to jot down their ideas and thoughts that occur in research and helps them refine a focus on their topic. 


Our Textbook: 
For our classroom, students will be using "The American Pageant" by Cengage Publications. 

NYS Learning Goals: 

History of the United States and New York: Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments and turning points in the history of the United States and New York.

World History: Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments and turning points in world history and examine the broad sweep of history from a variety of perspectives.

Geography: Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the geography of the independent world in which we live-local, national and global-including the distribution of people, places and environments over the Earth’s surface.

Economics: Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of how the United States and other societies develop economic systems and associated institutions to allocate scarce resources, how major decision-making units function in the United States and other national economies and how an economy solves the scarcity problem through market and nonmarket mechanisms.

Civics, Citizenship and Government: Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the necessity for establishing governments; the governmental system of the United States and other nations; the United States Constitution; the basic civic values of American constitutional democracy; and the roles, rights and responsibilities of citizenship, including avenues of participation.

For more information about the Social Studies Framework and guidelines, you can find information on the website of the NYS Education Department. 

 

Outside Resources and Additional Activities: 

 

In addition to the materials provided in our textbook, I highly recommend the following websites:

1)  Smithsonian's History Explorer

                    In our class, we will be working towards a research project by the end of the year, which will require students to use primary and secondary 
                    sources. This website is a wonderful place to begin generating ideas and topics students could research and consider for their own projects. In
                    addition, this website is home to real time Smithsonian artifacts!

2) National Archives 
                     The National Archives website is a free public website for anyone to access historical documents, photographs, etc. This website is another place
                     we frequent in the classroom for in-class lectures and for outside research. 

3) Crash Course  
                      We love Crash Course videos in our classroom! These videos are a fun way to get students engaged and to familiarize themselves with historical
                      events and we frequently watch them as part of our daily bellringers! 

4) PBS Learning Media

                      PBS Learning Media is a packed with interactive and engaging activities, timelines and documentaries to help students see and understand events 
                      from a historical standpoint. The resources featured on this website are incorporated into various group work activities (peer reading) and 
                      timelines offered from this website are used as "Notebook Guides" for students when we have classroom discussions.

5) Purdue Online Writing Lab

                      This website is a crucial website in the students' research process. This website offers several tips and tricks to helping students with their research
                       projects. This website contains citation styles, how to properly reference web and book sources, etc. I consider this to be a "pocket guide", if you 
                       will.