8.333% of your final grade per exam. These will be online, open book, and
done at home. Each exam will consist of 50 questions and be timed to take 2
hours. I design your quizzes to serve as study guides for the exams. You will
not see the same questions on each, but each will stress the same main
topics. So, if you do not understand something on a quiz make sure that you
review it before you take your exam. In the feedback for each quiz and exam
question I will include a page number in your book that you can refer back to
for more information. This feedback, along with the correct answers for the
quizzes, will be made available 24 hours after each quizs due date (if a quiz
is due at midnight on Sunday, this information will appear at midnight on
Monday) and will remain available until the end of the semester.
Quizzes: There will be a total of ten quizzes in this course. Only nine of
these quizzes will count towards your final grade. This means your
lowest quiz grade will be dropped at the end of the semester. If you fail to
take a quiz it will automatically become your lowest quiz grade. So, it will be
towards your benefit to take all the quizzes.
The quizzes will be located on Blackboard, under Assignments and then
Assessments. They will be open note/open book. Except for the syllabus
quiz, each quiz will consist of 30 questions and be timed to take 45 minutes.
Once the due date and time passes, the student will not be allowed to go
back and complete the assignment. Since, I cannot control power outages,
viruses, or other issues, please do the quizzes early.
Discussion Questions: Students will also participate in nine (9) class
discussions via Blackboard, Discussion Board. These are posted 1 per
week. That means that there are a total of ten (10) options to pick from. A
new discussion will be posted when the previous discussion closes. Your
responses are due prior to class in order to push students to do that weeks
reading and ensure that everyone is coming to class prepared.
These do not need to be thorough, multi-paragraph answers like the short
essays. I will be grading your response based on whether or not it shows
that you have done the assigned reading and examined the primary source.
For example, if you are posting on discussion question one and do not
mention something specific to the Frethorne letter, such as a reference to a
particular fear he expressed, that lets me know that you have put some
thought into what Mr. Frethorne experienced in early Virginia, you will get no
higher than 50% because half of the assignment each week is analyzing the
primary source. As a general rule, you should aim for your posts to between
125-150 words. While you will not be penalized for longer responses you
should strive for brevity to practice writing for you short essay. These will
count for 20% of your grade.
there are three short essay options. It is up to you to pick the one that fits
best into your schedule. Be advised that the third option is due the last
week of class, so it may be desirable to be done with this part of the course
by then. I also advise you to pick one of the earlier options because if your
grade is less than ideal I will let you turn in another essay for a chance at a
higher grade. They will be due, via email, by midnight the designated day.
They need to be submitted as a document attachment, double-spaced, with
your name at the top of the text.
As with your discussion question responses, for your essays I ask
that you only use your textbook and any other materials I post on
Blackboard over the course of the semester. Please review the
attached essay-grading rubric (last three pages of the syllabus) and note
how your grade will be determined. In particular, it will be to your benefit to
note that your use of primary sources will have a significant impact on your
essay grade.
Due Dates: In order for you to succeed in this course it is imperative that
you pay attention to due dates. In the event that you have an extenuating
circumstance that prevents you from completing a short essay or discussion
board post you need to contact me as soon as possible. Being absent
the day a discussion question is due does not grant you more time to do the
assignment. If you do not have an acceptable reason for your tardiness 10%
will be deducted from your grade per day. For example, if a short essay is
due on Friday and you do not turn it in until Monday, an 85 will become a 55.
This penalty will apply if an assignment is due at midnight and it is not
turned in until 12:01 am. Please note that regardless of your reason for not
completing a quiz or exam on time I will be unable to do anything about it if I
do not see your email until after the answers are posted. I cannot let you
take it once that information is out. Yet, if you contact me soon enough I
might delay posting the answers so that you may take the assignment.
Participation/Attendance: Participation includes attending class (arriving
on time), being attentive while in class, and contributing to classroom
discussion. To do the former you simply need to show up, promptly. I will
take attendance each day and more than one (1) absence will start to
negatively affect your participation grade and every two (2) times
that you are tardy will count as one absence (I define tardy as being
more than five minutes late to class). You cannot participate if you are not
present. To do the latter, you need to do the assigned reading throughout
the semester and come to class prepared. Part of what it means to take a
college history class is learning what I call how to do history. This means
looking at a historical document, figuring out how it fits into the bigger
picture and, in some cases, deciding how to use it to support an argument.
This is a skill we will practice throughout the semester and it will be useful
for your discussion questions, essays, and future history classes. If you are
not in class you will miss practicing this skill in addition to the material
covered in lecture. Only students who attend class and frequently
participate will earn full credit for this 10% of the grade.
Course Outline
Week of
May 18
May 25
Assignments
Syllabus Quiz due by class
Read Chapter 1, New World Beginnings; Chapter 2, The
Planting of English America; Chapter 3, Settling the
Northern Colonies (you may wait to read Andros Promotes
the First American Revolution and The Middle Way in the
Middle Colonies); Chapter 4, American Life in the
Seventeenth Century (you may wait to read Frustrated
Freemen and Bacons Rebellion, Southern Society, The
New England Family and The Half-Way Covenant and the
Salem Witch Trials); and Chapter 6, only France Finds a
Foothold in Canada and New France Fans Out
Discussion Question One due by class May 18
Describe the conditions faced by Richard Frethorne in
colonial Virginia paying special attention to the impact of
nature on his circumstances, the relationship between the
Europeans and natives, and any references to religion. Don't
forget to make sure that you include information from your
textbook and the letter itself. This might be helpful with
both the first and third paper options.
We do NOT have a class meeting this week due to
Memorial Day
Discussion Question Two due by midnight May 25
Summarize what the Slave Codes tell us about the
evolution of slavery in the seventeenth century. When
looking at these codes try to grasp what their implications
were. For example, in the first code, there seems to have
been some doubts about the status of children born to slave
women. What does that mean? Does it mean that it wasn't
always certain that slavery would be a hereditary status?
Don't forget to include information from your textbook and
the codes themselves. Note that this might be helpful with
the third paper option.
Quiz 1 due by midnight May 29Chapters 1-4 and the
relevant material in chapter 6 ( Andros Promotes the
First American Revolution, The Middle Way in the Middle
Colonies, Frustrated Freemen and Bacons Rebellion,
Southern Society, The New England Family and The
June 1
June 8
June 15
June 22
June 29
July 6
July 13
July 20
July 27
Please note that the previous course outline is subject to change as we work
our way through the semester. Any changes to due dates will be announced
well in advance.
Academic Honesty (Honor Code): The functioning of an academic
community depends on the integrity of all of its members. Blue Ridge
Community College values truthfulness, respect for the property of others,
and honesty in academic work. BRCC Honor Code:
http://www.brcc.edu/Student/Catalog/academic/code.htm
As a member of this community, you are responsible for understanding and
adhering to the Honor Code. Violations include (but are not limited to)
cheating on tests and quizzes, unauthorized collaboration on assignments,
and plagiarism. Your instructor is the ultimate source of policy on individual
assignments; please consult him if you have any questions or concerns about
what is permitted.
Violations of the Honor Code may result in a grade penalty and/or
disciplinary action. for further information on your rights and responsibilities
as a student, and the disciplinary guidelines and procedures, please consult
the Student Handbook.
Email Correspondence: To protect your privacy, your business with Blue
Ridge Community College is conducted only through your college-provided
email account. Please use this account to contact your instructors, or when
conducting other business with BRCC. Your instructors will use this address
to contact you as well.
Disability Services: If you have a disability for which you wish to be
considered for an accommodation, please made an appointment with the
Office of Disability Services located in the Houff Student Center. The purpose
of providing accommodations is to ensure that students with disabilities are
granted the opportunity to access programs and services offered by the
college. Requested accommodations are considered on a case by case basis
by the Coordinator of Disability Services, who works with faculty to ensure
both access and academic standards are maintained. Students requesting
services must meet with the Disability Services Coordinator and provide
sufficient documentation of the disability prior to receiving accommodations.
Accommodations are not retroactive and do not result in modification of the
essential academic elements of the course.
United States History I
Short Essay Options
For your History 121 short essay you are to write 500 words on one of the
topics below. When picking a topic please keep in mind the due dates and
how they fit into your schedule. You should not have difficulty reaching the
word count and please note that this will be factored into your grade. Your
short essay will be worth 15% of your final grade.
Option 1Due by midnight June 7
Discuss the impact of religion on the development of the British colonies in
North America.
Option 2Due by midnight June 28
The early republic saw two strong personalities take the executive mansion,
Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson. Discuss the similarities and
differences between these two leaders.
Option 3Due by midnight July 24
Throughout American history there have been various oppressed groups.
Pick either: women, African Americans, or Indians, and describe the
challenges faced by them from the earliest days of European colonization in
what would become the United States to the dawn of the Civil War.
Helpful Paper Writing Tips
/5 or
oppression of Indians you cannot only talk about the colonial period,
the prompt asks you to discuss through roughly 1860 (thats how you
cover the required time periods). At the same time, considering the
word count, I ask you pick three impacts and focus on them. You will
note that there is no space for me to give you credit for attempting to
tackle more than three. If you pick more than three I will not be
impressed. Rather, doing so will inevitably prevent you from being
able to discuss the topics you pick to a degree that shows a college
level of comprehension.
Does the essay briefly outline the era being addressed?
I.e. provide a short history of English settlement, the early
republic, or the first half of American history, in such a way
that it is evident that he/she has a general understanding of
the time period under consideration
____________/5
Does the essay comprehensively cover one impact,
similarity/difference, or example of oppression?
___________/10
Does the essay comprehensively cover one impact,
similarity/difference, or example of oppression?
___________/10
Does the essay comprehensively cover one impact,
similarity/difference, or example of oppression?
___________/10
Total:
_________/100