Thursday, September 4, 2014

Welcome to Mr. Morris's 2014-2015 class website.  The purpose of this site is to provide links to notes, journal entries, assignments, and other important information to help you succeed this school year.  For information on lecture notes, go to the unit being studied tab.  For journal prompts, go to Journal Tab.


General class information



World History 9
Morris 2014-2015

World History is a required three-semester class combining Western Civilization I, II and III and History of the Twentieth Century.  Students will learn about and gain an appreciation of the roots of what has become commonly known as Western Civilization, from ancient Greece and Rome through the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Reformation and Enlightenment.  If time permits, they will also explore how the western world developed into the Twentieth Century, and how it interacted with the civilizations of Latin America and Africa.

Basic Course Outline

Trimester One
Unit I             History Themes
Unit II            Ancient Greece
Unit III           Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age
Unit IV           The Roman Republic
Unit V             The Roman Empire
Unit VI           Rise of Christianity and Fall of Rome

-------------------------------------------------End First Trimester
Unit VII          The Middle Ages
Unit VII          The Renaissance
Unit VIII        The Reformation
Unit IX           The Enlightenment, Scientific Revolution and Age of Exploration
Unit X             Absolutism and French Revolution (ending with death of Napoleon)
---------------------------------------------------End of Second Trimester

Unit XI           The Industrial Revolution
Unit XII          The Russian Revolution
Unit XIII        Colonialism
Unit XIV        Africa
Unit XV          Latin America


Required Materials for this Class
  1. One composition notebook (pages are sewn in).  This book will be used for all journals, notes, and other writing assignments and will be graded at least once a month.   This notebook will be worth 100 points per month—50 for notes and 50 for journal/other.
  2. Writing utensil/planner, looseleaf paper, colored pencils . 
Grading

Points are assessed as follows:

  •   Notes and Journal--- 100 points per month
  •    Quizzes—anywhere from ten to sixty points, depending on content 
  •    Tests— roughly 100 points   (about every two weeks)
  •  Other work as assigned (group work, projects, papers, maps, etc)—varies but usually under 50 points. 
  •  Trimester Final Exam—100+ points
  •   Trimester Final Project—50-250 points 
  •  Trimester Reading Project---50-150 points  (see other sheet)
  •  The grading scale is the standard 90-80-70-60



Expectations

My expectations are fair and few
  • Be on time. 
  • Be prepared. 
  • Golden Rule. 

Success
Our common goal is your success.  Note taking will help you learn the material and also give you a study tool.  Class discussion and other in-class activities will help make the material relevant.  Before tests, a review sheet containing all information on test will be given to students.  Review Jeopardy will be played the day before a test to firmly set the material in your brain.  Students are allowed to retake quizzes and tests.  The grades of the original and re-test will be averaged. 

Make-up Procedures
Make-up work is accepted for full credit at the rate of one day late per day of excused absence.   After that, the grade will decline steadily, but not go lower than 30% (equal to a zero)
Staple this syllabus into your notebook. It is worth ten points.  If it is loose in the notebook, it will be a zero. 


Trimester Project

Each student must do a trimester project.
The project is variable points, from 50-250, depending on how large and complex it is
A student not doing a project will be assessed a 0/50 points (the lowest rate)
A project can be on any topic discussed in Western Civilization from any of the three trimesters.
A project can be in almost any form, from a model to a piece of clothing to a painting or sculpture to a short story or board game.  
Students may work alone or in groups; however, if working in a group, the project should be larger and more extensive than an individual project.  
All projects must be presented to the class for full credit.  If not presented, a grade cut of 1/3 will be assessed.
Students may work with other students in the same class or in any of Mr. Morris's other classes
Proposals are due to Mr. Morris by October 1, 2014

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