Download World History Course Syllabus Mr. Lapica

World History Course Syllabus
Mr. Lapica
[email protected]
Course Description:
One Credit
Grade Level: 9th
The World History course covers the history of the world from the early civilizations through
the twentieth century. The course deals with important periods, trends and/or events
including, the empires of the ancient world, the rise of Europe, the growth of the Muslim world,
the Renaissance and Reformation, the age of exploration, the Enlightenment and Revolutionary
era, the development of industrialism, the rise of nationalism and imperialism, the two World
Wars, the Cold War. The course will also introduce students to the history of Native American,
African, and Asian civilizations.
Textbook:
World History: Connection to Today, Prentice Hall (Red Book)
Modern World History: Patterns of Interaction, Holt McDougal (Purple Book)
Materials:
 Pens, blue or black, no red allowed.
 One 3-ring binder
 Index cards
 Loose leaf paper for the binder
 Dividers (you only need 2)
 A 3-way hole puncher is useful but not mandatory
Class Format:
The flipped classroom is a form of blended learning in which students watch lectures
online and work on problem sets with other students in class. This approach allows teachers to
spend more time interacting with students instead of lecturing. The world history course is
divided into 19 separate topics. Each topic will follow the same format.
1. Students will receive the “lecture” portion of the classroom at home. This will be done
in any of the following forms as chosen by the student to best suit their learning style:
a. Reading the Textbook
b. Reading the Power Point Presentation and attached teacher notes
c. Alternative form of lecture approved by the teacher
2. Students will demonstrate that they have done the at home lecture portion by taking
notes, usually Cornell Notes, on the style they chose. This is the Home Learning Portion
of the Grade. Students will receive either a 100 for completing their home learning or a
score of a 50 which means that they did not turn anything in.
3. The class will have a brief discussion about the topic, this is where the class and the
teacher as a whole group can discuss any particular questions or concepts that the
students have learned about in their at home lecture.
4. Usually after the discussion students will be quizzed (no more than 15 multiple choice
questions or 5 short answer questions) on the topic. Sometimes this quiz might occur
before the discussion or at the conclusion of the Mastery Practice portion. These
quizzes receive a weight of 1 in the Assessments Category of the Grade.
5. Students will complete a series of activities to demonstrate mastery of the topic.
Students will select which activities to do based on their own learning styles. Students
must complete enough activities to achieve a score of 100%. This is the Mastery
Category of the Grade. Not all activities are equal in difficulty and time commitment
therefore a tier system has been developed for the activities. The class website has a
master list of generic assignments.
a. Tier 1 activities are 25%. This means that a student will need to complete 4 Tier 1
activities in order to get a score of 100% in the mastery grade for that category.
b. Tier 2 activities are 30%. If a student completes 3 Tier 2 activities they will
receive the remaining 10% as extra credit. This is the incentive for them to do
the harder activities.
c. Tier 3 activities are 45%. If a student completes 2 Tier 3 activities they will
receive the remaining 10% as extra credit. This is the incentive for them to do
the harder activities.
NOTES: Students who do not complete the Home Learning portion of the Topics will still be
required to take the quiz but will not be allowed to start the Mastery Assignments. However
they will still receive a score of 50 on their home learning grade for the topic. It is imperative to
understand that failure to put any effort into the home learning or mastery portions of the class
will almost insure that students will have a difficult time passing the Unit Exams.
Unit Exams:
Every two to three topic there will be a unit exam. Unit exams are weighed as 3 grades
within the Assessments category of the class grade.
Projects:
Every quarter (9 weeks) there will be a project assigned to cover material that time
constraints do not allow the class to cover in detail. Projects are weighed as 2 grades within
the Assessments category of the class grade.
Purpose:
The purpose of using the flipped classroom model is that by removing the lecture
portion from the classroom and replacing it with what would have traditional been the home
work part of the classroom the teacher can give more personalized attention to each student.
That means that none of the mastery assignments will ever receive partial credit because the
students will have guidance throughout the entire process from the instructor.
Grading:
All assignments will be graded on the traditional 100 point scale:
90-100:
A
80-89:
B
70-79:
C
60-69:
D
0-59:
F
Categories and Weights:
 Assessments = 55%
 Mastery = 30%
 Home Learning = 15%
Attendance Policy:
Students are responsible for making up all work that is missed when they are absent, for
whatever the reason. School policy states that students have 48 hours after they return from an
excused absence to make up the work missed. Students will be responsible to present their
excused absence so that the grade they receive will count in the grade book. Students will not
be allowed to make up any work missed due to unexcused absences.
Class Rules:
1. Be on time, this means in your seat working on the assignment specified on the board.
2. Have all electronic devices turned off and put away.
3. Bring required materials to every class.
4. Respect others and their property.
5. Show integrity and be honest in all your work.
Honesty Policy:
Academic honesty and responsibility are expected of all students. Cheating at any level is
irresponsible and unacceptable. Copying someone else’s homework, turning in a paper done by
someone else, plagiarism, copying from other printed resources without giving credit to the
author, and/or giving or receiving answers, sharing answers, using “cheat sheets,” or other such
devices, are all considered cheating. All proper measures will be taken if a student is found to
have done any of these things.
Student Signature:
Date:
Parent Signature:
Date: