Download IB History of the Americas

IB History of the Americas II
20thCentury World Topics
Hillsboro High School
Seth Swihart
Senior Year
In the second year of study, HOA students will build on the foundation of the first year with
more in depth study focused on the 20th century. As in the junior year, seniors will continue
to focus on the discipline of History.
Historical Skills
In addition to the course aims, IB HoA students will also acquire certain historical skills (p.6
of the Diploma Program Handbook), including:
- Gathering and sorting of historical evidence
- The evaluation of historical evidence
- Recognizing and understanding historical processes and their relationships to
human experience, activity and motivation
- Organizing and expressing historical ideas and information
Paper 1 topic: Peacemaking. Peacekeeping – international relations 1918-1936
In May of the senior year, Paper 1, which is a document/data based question, will be based
on this prescribed subject. In Paper 1, students will analyze the purpose, origin, value, and
limitations (POVL) of up to six sources related to this topic. Areas of focus are:
 Aims of the participants and peacemakers: Wilson and the fourteen points
 Terms of the Paris Peace Treaties 1919-20: Versailles, St Germain, Trianon, Neuilly,
Severes/Lausanne1923
 The geopolitical and economic impact of the treaties on Europe; the establishment
and impact of the mandate system
 Enforcement of the provisions of the treaties: US isolationism-the retreat from
Anglo-American Guarantee; disarmament-Washington, London, Geneva Conferences
 The League of Nations: effects of the absence of major powers; the principal of
collective security and early attempts of peacekeeping (1920-5)
 The Ruhr Crisis (1923); Locarno and the “Locarno Spring” (1925)
 Depression and threats to international peace and collective security: Manchuria
(1931-3) and Abyssinia (1935-6)
Paper 2 topics: 20th century World History topics
 In May of the senior year, IB Paper 2 will require two essays which focus on the 20th
century World History topics. Students will be expected to present historical
explanations from an international perspective from two regions of the world.
 Students will have choices of 2 questions from six questions drawn from each topic.
There are 5 topics to choose from and we will focus on topics 1 and 5. IB expects
students to study 2 of the 5 available topics.
Twentieth century topics will be studied through a series of case studies and other methods
drawn from different regions as follows (taken from pgs. 28-32 of IB History Guide):
Topic 1: Causes and Practices and Effects of War
THEMES: Different types and nature of 20th century warfare, origins and causes of war,
nature of 20th century wars, effects and results of wars
Material for Detailed Study:
- First World War (1914-18)
- Second World War (1939-45)
- Chinese Civil War (1927-37, 46-49)
- Korean War (1950-53)
- Vietnam War (1964-75)
Topic 5: The Cold War
THEMES: Origins of the Cold War, Nature of the Cold War, Development and Impact of the
Cold War
Material for Detailed Study:
- Wartime Conferences
- U.S. and Soviet Policies
- Korea War
- Cuban Missile Crisis
- Vietnam War
- Castro, Stalin, Kennedy, Truman
IB Assessments
IB External Assessment consists of three written examination papers (Paper 1 focused on
the Prescribed Subject, Paper 2 focused on 20th century World Topics and Paper 3 focused
on the regional study of the first year) which have multiple essays for each paper. 80% of
final IB HOA score
IB Historical Investigation for HOA is the historical investigation which is a problem solving
activity that demands that candidates search for, select, evaluate and use evidence to reach
a decision or solve a problem. Specific instructions will be provided at the appropriate time.
Historical Investigations will be conducted in the fall of the senior year. 20% of final IB HOA
score
Historical Investigation Deadlines
Group A
Group B
Group C
First Draft due
September 12
October 28
December 16
Final Draft due
October 7
November 19
January 17
These deadlines are NOT negotiable. Any student missing the final deadline will receive
a 0 for the Historical Investigation, which will make it very hard to pass the semester.
Students who miss the final deadline will still have three weeks to turn in the H.I. for IB
credit. If you do not complete the H.I. you will not be eligible for the IB Diploma.
IB History Grades
In IB History I will use a grading system that I hope will be accessible to students and
parents alike. I also hope that it will be an encouraging way for students to be involved in
the assessment process and clearly understand their strengths and weaknesses.
In the old grading system a student’s grade was based on the average of all assignments
over the grading period. I believe this is not the best way to assess students. It does not
give students credit for their growth and it discourages them from taking risks. I will now
focus on student growth in that the highest grade per assessment objective will be the final
grade for the report card.
Old way
13/20
18/20
20/20
Final grade
in GS
avg = 17
New Way
13/20
18/20
20/20
Highest = 20
st
1 assessment
nd
2 assessment
rd
3 assessment
% conversion
85%
100%
Tests and projects will be separate grades on gradespeed and will count for more than daily
assignments, quizzes, or homework.
In addition, students are graded against a set of standards which relate to each assessment
objective. What this means is that in gradespeed you will not see the names of specific
assignments. Rather, you will see the name of assessment objectives (AO). This will take
some getting used to, but I think that it will become clear pretty quickly.
Assignments
We will complete a wide variety of assignments in IB. Due dates for these assignments will
vary so it is important that you keep these dates on a calendar of some sort. All assignments
need to be your work (see Academic Honesty below). For many typed assignments you will
be required to submit your work through turnitin.com.
Late assignments will be accepted up to the date of the test over that topic. Keep in mind,
though, that every time you do not do an assignment when it is assigned it is a missed
opportunity to move toward mastery. Since every assignment I will give you will be
connected to the unit assessment it is in your best interest to complete each assignment on
time. My goal is to make every assignment meaningful and relevant.
Behavior expectations:
As IB students and seniors there is no excuse for poor behavior. I do not expect behavior to
be disruptive or detrimental to your or other’s education. If it is, I will deal with it quickly
and in an appropriate manner. In general, it is expected that you:
-
Respect others and their opinions
Be on time
Come prepared for class everyday
If cellphones distract you or others from learning then they will be taken up and placed in
the Academy office. In that situation a parent will need to come to school to retrieve the
phone.
You may use the restroom any time that we are engaging in small group work. The
restroom is very close to my room so I expect that you will not be gone long. Any material
you miss while out of the room is your responsibility. You must take the yellow pass with
you any time you leave the room.
Academic Honesty
Plagiarism is taking another’s thoughts, words etc. and presenting them as your own.
Plagiarism includes any unacknowledged use of sources of any kind (books, websites, CDs,
videos, images etc.). Work completed by friends, parents, tutors etc. is also considered
plagiarism and must be avoided. If your work is found to be the result of plagiarism, we will
have a conversation about the situation and a penalty will be assessed. Penalties for
plagiarism will depend on the situation, but will most likely result in a 0 on that assignment.
Multiple infractions for plagiarism will result punishment through the assistant principal’s
office in addition to academic penalties.
Course Pacing Guide 2013-14 school year. These dates are approximate.
August 5 – September 6: First World War, causes and course of the war
September 10 – September 21: First World War home front, comparative study of Germany
and the United States
September 25 – November 19: Interwar Crisis 1918-1936
November 21 – December 12: Spanish Civil War
January 7 – February 14: Second World War, causes and course of the war
February 16 – March 8: Origins of the Cold War: U.S. and Soviet policies in the early Cold
War
March 8 – April 16 (includes spring break): Cold War: roles of Korea, Cuba, and Vietnam
April 16 – May 3: Chinese Civil War
May 5 – end of Year: IB Testing