IB History of the Americas Syllabus
Miss McMinn
Introduction
HOA1 is both an American history course in keeping with the NYS Regents requirement for US History and Government AND the first year of the IB History of the Americas curriculum. As such, this course will be divided into two distinct sections:
1st Semester: The first semester will be a survey of US history from colonial times to the present in preparation, primarily, for the Regents exam, and, in some cases, the Advanced Placement exam.
2nd Semester: While, during the first semester we will introduce certain IB HOA skills including OPVL document analysis and the study of historiography, we will focus more on developing these skills in the second semester. The second semester will also include a more in-depth study of three twentieth century topics relating to the study of the history of the Americas as a whole, rather than the history of the United States alone.
Rigor
HOA1 has been designed as a college-level course and it will be rigorous. Time management, reading comprehension, note-taking, and a variety of writing skills will be critical for those who aspire to achieve at the highest levels. Students will be required to read intensively on their own time, and prepare for both written and multiple-choice quizzes and tests for which they will be asked to recall information that may or may not have been discussed at length in class.
Units of Study
1st Semester: Regents US History and Government
1. Founding A Nation (1607-1824)
Chapters 3-9
2. The Triumph of Nationalism over Sectionalism (1815-1877)
Chapters 10-17
3. The Emergence of the United States as an Economic Power (1870-1939)
Chapters 18-25
4. Rise of a Global Superpower (1927-Present)
Chapters 26-32
2nd Semester: IB History of the Americas
5. Emergence of the Americas in Global Affairs (1880-1929)
HOA Topic 10
6. The Second World War and the Americas (1933-1945)
HOA Topic 13
7. The Cold War and the Americas (1945-1981)
HOA Topic 16
Textbooks
1st Semester Texts:
Davidson, James West, Brian DeLay, Christine Leigh Heyrman, Mark H. Lytle, and Michael B. Stoff. U.S., A Narrative History. Seventh ed. Vol. 1. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education, 2015. Print.
Davidson, James West, Brian DeLay, Christine Leigh Heyman, Mark H. Lytle, and Michael B. Stroff. U.S., A Narrative History. Seventh ed. Vol. 2. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2015. Print.
2nd Semester Texts:
Clements, Peter. Emergence of the Americas in Global Affairs, 1880-1929. London: Hodder Education, 2013. Print. Access to History for the IB Diploma.
Wright, John. The Second World War and the Americas 1933-1945. Second ed. London: Hodder Education, 2016. Print. Access to History for the IB Diploma.
Sanders, Vivienne. The Cold War and the Americas 1945-1981. Second ed. London: Hodder Education, 2015. Print. Access to History for the IB Diploma.
Common HOA Grading Policies
Grade Breakdown:
- Activities = 25% of grade
- Activities will be assigned at the teacher’s discretion.
- These will likely include a variety of assignments to be completed in class or for homework.
- Quizzes/Projects = 25% of grade
- 1st Semester – Quizzes
- For every chapter, students should prepare to take a brief matching quiz the day any reading assignment is due.
- Please note that while students should always prepare for the likelihood of a reading quiz, due to time constraints, there may not be a quiz for every chapter.
- 2nd Semester – Projects
- During the 2nd semester, time permitting, students will be assigned individual and/or cooperative research projects and/or presentations.
- Grading rubrics will be provided for every project.
- Tests = 30% of grade
- 1st Semester – Unit tests will include 2 sections:
- Multiple Choice
- 30-35 AP and Regents-style multiple choice questions
- Short-Answer
- 5-10 Regents DBQ Part A questions
- 2nd Semester – Unit tests will consist of a IB Paper 3 Essay
- Writing Assignments = 20% of grade
- For each unit, students will be required to complete a writing assignment for homework.
- 1st Semester
- Writing assignments in the 1st semester will be modeled on Regents Thematic Essays and DBQs and AP Long Essays and DBQs.
- 2nd Semester
- Writing assignments in the 2nd semester will be modeled on IB Paper 3 Essays.
- Grading rubrics will be provided for all writing assignments.
Exams:
The US History and Government Regents Exam
All students will be required to take the NYS Regents Exam in US History and Government in January 2018. Successful completion of this exam is a graduation requirement – all students must score a 65% or higher or they will have to retake the exam until they do so.
This exam will make up 20% of each student’s final course average.
The Advanced Placement Exam in US History
All students are eligible, though not required, to take the AP Exam in US History in May 2018. Please note, that while AP content will be studied during this course and AP assessments may be assigned, this is NOT an AP course. As a result, success on the AP exam will require students to study on their own in preparation. It is highly recommended that students use an AP Review Book such as Barron’s or Princeton Review in their preparation for the exam.
The IB Exam in History of the Americas
All students who go on to History of the Americas Year 2 during the 2016-2017 school year, will be required to take the IB HOA exam in May 2019.
Please note that students are not required to take IB HOA Year 2; they may opt to take Participation in Government AND Economics OR SUPA Public Affairs AND SUPA Economics instead. Students who follow this path will NOT take the IB HOA exam.
Other Common HOA1 Policies
Late Work:
All work is due on the due date for all students who are present in school that day.
Students who go home sick, have an early release for an appointment, have a music lesson, etc. and miss their HOA class as a result, are still required to submit work by the due date.
Arrangements to make up Quizzes/Tests should be made in advance.
Late work will be accepted with the following penalties:
-Turned in by the Friday of that week= -20
-Anything turned in anytime thereafter will receive no credit.
Test Corrections: To improve their grade, all students will be eligible to make corrections to their Semester 1 Multiple Choice Unit Tests.
- All test corrections must be written in complete sentences and clearly explain the correct answer.
- Students will receive 1 point per correction.
Maximum = 15
Academic Honesty: Any type of academic dishonesty (copying, plagiarism, cheating, etc.) will not be tolerated at any time. This applies to homework, writing assignments, projects, AND quizzes and tests. Any questions – See the CPP academic honestly policy.
Documentation of Sources
· Turnitin.com – As a plagiarism prevention measure, students will be required to submit essays to www.turnitin.com. Those not submitted to Turnitin.com will receive no credit.
· Works Cited – For all research-based essays and projects, students will be required to submit an MLA works cited page using www.noodletools.com. Those who do not submit a works cited page will receive no credit.
CASES OF ACADEMIC DISHONESTY WILL RESULT IN AN AUTOMATIC ZERO ON THE ASSIGNMENT, A DISCIPLINARY REFERRAL, AND PARENT/GUARDIAN NOTIFICATION
Miss McMinn's Additional Policies
Classroom Expectations:
- Be present and on time
- Put your phones away
- Be prepared
- Participate
- Stay on task
- Try your best
- Have a positive attitude
- Treat everyone with respect
- Clean up after yourself
- Have fun
Materials – Students are expected to bring the following materials to class daily:
- Writing utensil – pen or pencil
- Folder OR Binder – to keep any handouts organized
- Charged Laptop – we will be using laptops daily
- If your laptop is broken, it is your responsibility to contact Tech Services and get a loaner while it is being repaired.
Notebooks are NOT required, but are recommended
Daily Procedures at the Start of Class:
- Pick up any handouts from the counter
- Login to your laptop
- Login to Google Classroom
- Read the daily agenda and learning objective
- Work on any bell ringer tasks
- Turn in any assignments
- Await further instructions
ClassDojo
- Miss McMinn will be using ClassDojo to monitor student participation and behaviors. Dojo points will be recorded for a participation quiz grade.
- Students can earn Dojo points for positive behaviors such as participating in class discussions, answering questions, helping classmates, passing out papers, completing review assignments, winning review games, etc.
- Students can lose Dojo points for tardiness, off task behaviors, missing homework, refusal to participate, cellphone use, etc.
- Dojo points will also factor into students’ effort grades on progress reports and report cards
Communication Tools:
- Google Classroom – https://classroom.google.com
It is the student’s responsibility to review Miss McMinn’s posts at the beginning of each class. Students will be held accountable for all tasks and assignments posted on Google Classroom.
- Miss McMinn’s Website – http://McMinnHOA.weebly.com
Students can also access the weekly agenda and a monthly assignment calendar on Miss McMinn’s website. In addition, notes, assignments, and review materials are organized by unit on the website.
- Remind.com Text Message Reminders
Students may sign up to receive optional text message reminders before tests and major assignments like essays and projects. Text @mcminn to 81010 to subscribe.
Students are encouraged to email Miss McMinn at hmcminn@cppmail.com with questions regarding assignments, etc. at any time if they are in immediate need of assistance and cannot seek her out in person during the school day.
Missed Work – It is the student’s responsibility to seek out all work missed when absent from class and to make it up within a reasonable amount of time (generally one day per day absent).
- Where to find missed work:
- While they are out, students may keep up with what is going on in class through our class page on Google Classroom – https://classroom.google.com
- The daily agenda, class materials, and assignments will be posted on Google Classroom
- Upon return to school, students should:
- Check the classroom file box for handouts
- Miss McMinn will keep any rare paper assignments or handouts in this file box organized by the date they were provided to students
- Check in with Miss McMinn if you missed a quiz or a test
- Students who are absent for an extended time, should request that work be sent home.