U.S. History Syllabus

Textbook:  
McGraw-Hill 

Materials Needed:
1-inch binder
Notebook paper
Pens/Pencils -- no red ink, please.
Highlighter (any color)
3 x 5 notecards -- required for midterm & final study guides only.

Course Overview/Description
    U.S. History is a one year survey course and is required for graduation.  During the year, we will cover historical events from settlement of the American West, post-Civil War, to the present-day role of the United States in global politics.  PLEASE NOTE:  The final exam for U.S. History is the Louisiana LEAP 2025 exam for U.S. History.  This COMPREHENSIVE exam will be taken in late April/early May.

Breakdown of Material
August - mid September
Unit Two: Urban Migration & Settling the West
    Settling the West/The Indian Wars
    Rise of Populism
    Effects of Urbanization
    Industry leaders & Rise of Labor Unions
  
mid-September to October
Unit Three:  The Progressive Movement 
    Roots of the Progressive Movement
    Impact of The Jungle/Muckrakers
    Progressive Presidents:  Roosevelt, Taft, & Wilson

October to November
Unit Four:  World War I 
    U.S. Imperialism
    Spanish-American War
    Causes of WWI
    U.S. Neutrality
    America goes to war

November to Thanksgiving holidays   
Unit Five:  The Roaring Twenties 
    Post-war America
    The Harding Administration
    Impact of the Automobile
    Prohibition/Rise of Organized Crime

late-November to end of semester
Unit Six:  The Great Depression & the New Deal 
    The Stock Market Crash/Causes of the Depression
    Hoover's response
    Election of FDR
    The New Deal
    Impact of the New Deal

Mid-term Exams
CHRISTMAS BREAK

January - February
Unit Seven:  World War II  
    Rise of Nationalism/Dictators
    Germany's sweep through Europe
    U.S. Neutrality
    Pearl Harbor/America goes to war
    D-day invasion
    War in Europe/Pacific
    The Atomic debate
    The Holocaust
    Japanese Internment
    
February - March
Unit Eight:  The Cold War 
    Post-war Europe/Marshall Plan
    Rise of Eastern Bloc
    Post-war Asia
    Korean Conflict
    McCarthy Era
    Life in post-war America
    French-Indochinese War
    U.S. involvement in Vietnam
    Escalation of war
    TET offensive & its effects
    Vietnamization

***Mini-unit of Landmark U.S. Supreme Court Cases to be completed prior to EOC testing***

April-May
Unit Nine: A Time of Upheaval  
    U.S. Civil Rights Movement
    MLK to the Black Panthers
    Impact of the movement
    Election of JFK/New Frontier
    LBJ & the Great Society
    An era of Social Change
    Watergate & its impact
    Ford & Carter administrations
    Reaganomics & the collapse of the Soviet system
    The Persian Gulf War
    Foreign policy during the Clinton administration
    9-11 and its impact
    The Middle East today


*****Syllabus timeline is subject to change due to scheduled and unscheduled school events, unforeseen occurrences, and acts of nature, such as hurricanes (and extreme flooding). :(

*****I assign very little in the way of homework, with the exception of studying for tests and one or two projects.  Adequate time is allotted in class for assignment completion, therefore if a student is receiving zeros for assignments, it is usually a question of individual time management - NOT a result of failure to complete homework.  Please email me if you have any questions regarding your student's grades.

Grading
   Grades will be issued in accordance with the weighted grading scale located in the student handbook.  Grades will be collected from a variety of assignments including, but not limited to:

• daily questions (bellringers)
• student-generated booklets/projects
• posters
• student presentations
• worksheets
• workbook/reading guide assignments
• opinion essays
• quizzes
• map activities
• chapter/unit tests
• mid-term/final examination (total point value of each not to exceed 15% of total points given)

 

GRADES are updated WEEKLY; typically by Sunday evenings!!