WorldHistory

20142015Syllabus

Ms.AmyCummings
Room:G114
Email:acummings@cpsk12.org
Phone:(573)2143300

CourseDescription

ThisWorldHistorycourseisdesignedasasurveyofthehistoryofmankindfromthebeginning
ofcivilizationtothediverse,globalized,andmodern21stcenturyworldweliveintoday.Inorder
tocover6,000yearsinthespanofjust1schoolyear,wewillcoverthefoundationsofourworld
bystudyingeachregionthroughseveralerasoftime.Duringthiscoursewewillconcentrateon
criticalideasaffectingcivilizationthroughthemodernday,includinggovernmentalsystemsand
laws,philosophicalandreligiousbeliefs,artsandliterature,scientificandagricultural
developments,andtheinterrelationsoftheseandotherissues.

CourseMaterials

Thereisnotextbookforthiscourse,deemingitessentialthatstudentscomepreparedtoclass
eachdaywiththeiriPadchargedandequippedwiththeproperApps.Studentsarestrongly
encouragedtocreateaWorldHistoryfolderontheiriPadhomepageinordertoaccessthese
Appswithease.
myHomeworkThisappwillbeusedtocommunicateassignmentswithstudentsand
shouldbecheckedonadailybasis.
ShowbieThisishowstudentswillturnintheirhomeworkandassignments.
NotabilityThisiswherestudentswillkeeptheirnotesforthecourse.
ClassWebsiteThoughthisisnotanapp,thisiswherethecoursecalendarwillbekept
aswellasanyotherimportantinformation.

CoursePolicies

Attendance Sinceweonlyhave2semesterstocover6,000yearsofthehistoryofthe
world,attendanceeachandeverydayisimportant.However,weareall
humanandsometimeslifehappens.Ifyouareabsent,checkthe
myHomeworkappaswellastheclasswebsitetofindoutwhatyou
missed,andgetanymissednotesfromtheclassPrefect.Itisyour
responsibilitytocommunicatewithmetodetermineanappropriate
makeupwindowforthemissedwork.Ifyouareabsentonanexamor
presentationday,seemethedayyougetbacktodetermineamakeup
time.
Tardies Excused:Ifyouhaveanotefromtheofficeoralatebuspass,simplyput
itinthejaronmydeskasyouwalkin.Noneedtointerruptclass.
Unexcused:Ifyoudonothaveanotetoexcuseyourtardy,youwillbe
markedtardyonyourattendanceforthatday.Youaretardyifyoustep
intoclassanytimeafterthebellrings,whetherthatis5secondsor5
minutes.
Homework Anyassignedhomeworkwillbedueatthebeginningofclassonthedayit
isdue.HomeworkisturnedinontheShowbieapp.

LateHomework:
Ifyouturninyourhomeworkaftertheassignedduedate/time(Showbie
submissionsaretimestamped),youMUSTsendmeanemail
(acummings@cpsk12.org)informingmethatyouhaveturnedinthe
assignment.IamonlygoingtocheckShowbieonce,soifyoudonottell
meyouhaveturnedinanassignment,itwillnevergetgraded!
Assignmentswillreceivea10%deductionifturnedinlateronthe
assignedduedate,anda10%deductioneachadditionaldayafterthat
(evenifitisaBday).

ClassRules

Iwilltreatyouwithrespect,soyouwillknowhowtotreatme
Feelfreetodoanythingthatdoesn'tcauseaproblemforanyoneelse
Ifyoucauseaproblem,Iwillaskyoutosolveit
Ifyoucan'tsolvetheproblem,orchoosenotto,Iwilldosomething
WhatIdo,willdependonthespecialperson,andthespecialsituation
Ifyoufeelsomethingisunfair,whispertome,"I'mnotsurethat'sfair,"andwewilltalk

DigitalCitizenship

Asyouallknow,atBattleHighSchool,eachstudentreceivesaniPadMinitouseforacademic
purposes.Ashighschoolers,weallknowwhatthismeans.IfastudentisusingtheiriPadina
waythatdistractsthemselves,theirpeers,ortheinstructor,fromparticipatinginaneducational
environment,theiPadwillbetakenawayfortheremainderoftheclassperiodandthestudent
willberesponsibleforcompletinganyassignmentsoractivitiesthatweredonewhiletheiriPad
wasintimeout.IfastudentsiPadistakenawaymorethan3times,theymayhaverestricted
accesstocertainapps.

AcademicDishonestyDontcompareyourbeginningtosomeoneelsesmiddle.

Notwostudentsarethesamewhenitcomestoschoolandthelearningprocess.Copyingor
cheatingisnotgoingtohelpyouunderstandsomethingbetter.Ifastudentisfoundcheating,or
engaginginbehaviorthatcouldbeperceivedascheating,anautomaticzerowillbegivenforthe
assignmentorassessment.

Plagiarism:Plagiarismisdefinedasanactorinstanceofusingorcloselyimitatingthelanguage
andthoughtsofanotherauthorwithoutauthorizationandtherepresentationofthatauthor'swork
asone'sown,asbynotcreditingtheoriginalauthor.WorldHistoryinvolvesagreatdealof
research,anditisimportanttoremembertocreditthosewhosethoughtsorideasyouareusing
byincorporatingthepropercitation.

ClassCup

IntrueHarryPotterHouseCupfashion,my3WorldHistoryclasseswillbepartakinginaClass
Cupcompetitionthroughoutthecourseoftheyear.Eachclasswillbecompetingagainsteach
othertoearnthemostClassPoints.Rewardswillbedeterminedanddistributedattheendof
eachsemester.

ClassPrefect:EachclasswillelectonestudenttobethePrefect.Thisstudentisresponsiblefor
takingoutstandingclassnotesandwillbecomethegotostudentforanyinformationabout
class,specificallyifastudentwasabsentandneedednotesorhadquestionsaboutclass.I,as
theHeadmistress,havetheabilitytorevokePrefectstatusatanytimeifastudentisnot
effectivelycarryingouthis/herduties.

Grading

Gradesarecalculatedforthiscourseonatotalpointsystem.Eachassignment,quiz,ortestwill
begivenapointvaluebaseduponitsdifficulty,length,andimportance.Duedatesarepostedon
theclasscalendarthestudentreceivesatthebeginningoftheunit.Althoughlateworkis
penalized,itisextremelyimportanttostillturnineachassignment,evenwhenyouhavemissed
theoriginaldeadline.Sincescoringiscumulative,notturninginassignmentscouldresultin
failingthecourse.Studentsshouldplantoworkononeresearchpaperand/orprojecteach
semester,withsignificantclasstimeusedtodeveloprelatedresearchandwritingskills.
Additionally,therewillbeafinalattheconclusionofbothfirstandsecondsemester.Overall,the
gradeforthisclasswillbebaseduponacombinationofmanyitems,including:homework,
inclassassignments,groupwork,projects,papers,shortwritings,notebookchecks,quizzes,
tests,andclassparticipation.

EssentialQuestions

ThereareseveralgoalswearestrivingforstudentstoaccomplishinourWorldHistory
classroom.Bytheendoftheschoolyear,studentsshouldbeabletoanswerthesethemesina
meaningfulway:

1. Howarecivilizationsareflectionoftheirenvironment?
2. Howdobeliefsystemsshapecivilizations?
3. HowandwhydidWesternCivilizationchangeasittransitionedintotheModernEra?
4. Howdidimperialismimpactregionsaroundtheworld?
5. Whydoglobalconflictsoccurandhowaretheyresolved?
6. Howshouldthechallengesofthe21
st
Centurybeaddressed?