Buckhannon-Upshur High School United States Studies Mr. Isaac Casto

wicasto@k12.wv.us

Room 225 Course Syllabus (304) 472-3720 ext. 5225

Course Overview

This course examines the formative years of the United States and follows its growing influence through 1900. Major topics include pre-Columbian America, colonization, the American Revolution, the Constitution, the Civil War, Reconstruction, Manifest Destiny, and the Gilded Age. Instruction will also cover key themes in civics, economics, geography, history, and literacy.

Expectations and Rules

In addition to assignments and classroom procedures, students will be expected to abide by the following class rules:

I will show respect. I will be engaged. I will participate. I will be positive. My actions, my consequences.

Materials

Students will need the following materials for class every day:

3-Ring Binder (2 inches) Textbook Notebook Paper Writing Utensil Agenda

Student Work

Students will be expected to complete various in-class and out-of-class assignments: reading, notetaking, discussions, research projects, etc. It is vital that students complete and submit assignments in a timely manner.

Late Work

Students will be permitted to submit assignments up to ten school days after the original due date. However, a 10% penalty will be imposed every day after the deadline. Late work will not be accepted after the ten-day period.

Make-Up Work

Per the Upshur County Board Policy, all students will have the opportunity to make up work missed due to an absence. Students will have the same number of days missed to submit assignments. It is the responsibility of the student to request make-up work.

US History Binder

Students will be expected to compile all class notes and assignments in a US History Binder. The Binder will be collected and graded during each term (nine-weeks).

Tests/Quizzes

Summative assessments will be given at the end of each chapter/unit. Exams will assess students’ content knowledge and aspects of literacy skills (i.e. reading comprehension, writing skills, etc). Exams will be announced at least one week in advance. Students are strongly encouraged to utilize all available resources (notes, textbook, study guides, etc.) to prepare for exams.

Special Projects

Students will be required to complete at least one special project each semester. Projects may include research papers, class presentations, or multimedia projects and may be individual or collaborative. Students will be given project outlines as they are assigned.

Citation & Plagiarism

Students will be expected to provide proper citation for all gathered research. The class will use Modern Language Association (MLA) format for bibliographies and parenthetic citations. For more information on proper formatting, please see the Purdue OWL website (https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/).

Plagiarism is the copying/paraphrasing of established work without proper citation. Assignments that have been wholly or partially plagiarized will receive zero credit (0%).

Grades

All grades will be based on the standard grading scale:

A = 100 – 92.5%B = 92.4 – 84.5%C = 84.4 – 74.5%D = 74.4 – 64.5%F = 64.4 – 0%

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions; my contact information is listed above. I look forward to a great year!

Student and Parent Signature

I have read and understood the policies and procedures contained in this course syllabus.

Student Signature: _____________________________________________________________

Parent/Guardian Signature: _______________________________________________________