Course Syllabus

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WORLD HISTORY COURSE SYLLABUS

Mr. Ruhland        joseph.ruhland@ucps.k12.nc.us        Room F107

Course Overview:

Welcome to World History! World History is designed to be a historical study of societies, nations, economies, events, and cultures of the many regions of the world, providing historical background for each area and details inclusive of change over time, historical impact, religion, diplomacy, culture practices and beliefs, and economic, political, and social institutions. The course is intended to examine the historical development of the world and global issues and patterns since 1200. The course also explores underlying themes of: power and authority; change and continuity; human-environment interaction; globalization; cultural diffusion; and individual and group identity. As students develop cognitively, these lenses become more focused based on the grade-level content and disciplinary thinking skills.

 

Course Standards and Objectives:

World History Course Standards and Objectives can be accessed through the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Website with the following link:

https://www.dpi.nc.gov/documents/curriculum/socialstudies/scos/essential-standards-world-history

Class Expectations:

1. Be on time, prepared, on task, and ready to learn every day.
2. Be responsible for your own learning and actions.
3. Keep all personal electronics, especially phones + headphones, put away.
4. Respect your teachers, peers, school property, technology, and yourself.
5. Maintain a clean and healthy learning environment.
6. Keep trying until you succeed. Giving up is not an option. 

Grading*:

Major Assignments:

Quizzes/Binder Checks - 20%

Tests - 30%

Minor Assignments:

Warm-Ups/Exit Tickets - 10%

Classwork/Vocabulary - 15%

Projects - 25%

*To access your student’s grades, please use the PowerSchool Parent Portal. Report cards will be distributed at the end of each six-week grading period. 

Assignments:

• Quizzes & Tests:
• Students will be regularly quizzed and tested on course material. Such assignments are expected to be completed honestly, and independently without any notes unless otherwise stated.
• Binder Checks:
• Students are expected to maintain a clean and organized binder. This binder will contain their notes and hand-outs. Students will be graded on their binders and the completeness of such. 
• Warm-Ups/Exit Tickets:
• Students are expected to complete a daily warm-up as soon as they enter the classroom, and will be provided with an exit ticket to complete before the end of the period.
• Classwork/Vocabulary:
• In a history course, vocabulary is incredibly important. Students will be required to complete Unit Vocabulary assignments along with other classwork either handed out on paper or accessed through Canvas. 

Office Hours:

Office Hours are available in F107 on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:10-4:00 p.m. or by appointment.

Supplies:

In order to ensure maximum success in the course please bring the following supplies with you to class every day. 

• 3 Ring Binder (1 ½ inches or bigger)
• Notebook Paper (College Ruled)
• Pens (blue or black ink)
• Pencils 
• Colored Pencils (Crayola 12 Pack)
• School Issued Laptop & Charger
• Please charge your computers prior to coming to class. Extension cords are limited.

Late Work Policy:

Students should finish and submit all work on-time and in accordance with classroom policies. Late work must be completed and submitted within 3 days of the assignment’s original due date and will be ineligible of receiving a grade higher than a 60% regardless of how quickly within the 3 allotted days the assignment is completed. Situations of true emergency that may prohibit work from being completed on time will be handled between the instructor, the student, and the student’s parents if necessary, on a case by case basis.

Absent Work Policy:

Students who are absent, whether excused or unexcused, are responsible for making up any missing work within three (3) days of their absence (including weekends). This includes class notes, classwork, homework, tests, quizzes, and projects. Student’s are required to keep up with their binder, even if they are absent. In this case students should work with a classmate to collect any missing notes. All handouts will be neatly filed and easily accessible for all students.

Bathroom Policy:
Students are expected to use the restroom quickly and quietly to reduce distraction and missed instruction time. Students must silently sign-out (and back in) to use the restroom and excuse themselves from the classroom taking the appropriate hall pass with them. Only one student may be out of the class at a time, except in emergency cases.

Cell Phone Policy:
Non-teacher sanctioned electronic devices may NOT be used in class without teacher permission. Students may earn screen time throughout the week by following classroom expectations and policy or during “Brain Breaks”. Student screen time will be revoked if the electronics policy is not followed. The teacher may also revoke screen time as they deem appropriate. 

Students will be issued one warning in class if the electronics policy is not followed. If they continue to use their personal devices during class, administration will be notified and intervene.

Honor Code:
Dishonesty will not be tolerated or accepted regarding work done for this class. Cheating and Plagiarism are very serious offenses and will be handled as such. Consequences include but are not limited to: a zero on whatever the assignment is (for all involved), an office referral, and a phone call home. To prevent this, the following behaviors should be avoided:

1. Using, receiving, or providing unauthorized information during quizzes or exams. 
2. Changing the answers on assignments after the work has been graded. 
3. Using unauthorized electronic devices, such as cell phones, smart watches, PDA’s, electronic dictionaries, etc.
4. Plagiarizing or presenting someone else’s work as your own. 

 

Non-Discrimination Policy:
There will not and shall not be discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, sexual orientation, or military status. Any discrimination is unacceptable and will be reported and handle through the appropriate channels as indicated in the School and District Handbooks.

Resources:

Student resources may be accessed through links compiled on the course Canvas page. The following link gives you access to the EmpowerEd Family Portal which can be used to access other student and parent resources.

https://www.ucps.k12.nc.us/domain/2917

Canvas:

The majority of assignments not completed on paper must be submitted on our learning platform,  Canvas.  Assignments can be submitted a variety of ways including, uploading files, typing into text boxes, and sharing Google documents/presentations.  Students will be shown how to submit assignments on Canvas as needed.  Individual assignments will indicate which method of submission on Canvas is expected.  If students need a refresher or have questions, they can access the Canvas Student Guide for specific instructions.  It is the student's responsibility to ensure assignments are submitted on time and to contact the instructor if there is a problem. Please note that student activity is logged while in Canvas so instructors will be able to see if the student opened the assignment, if there was any activity including a log of student activities during on-line tests and quizzes.  Students are not allowed to leave the testing window during assessments.  Doing so is considered cheating and will be handled as set forth in the Porter Ridge HS handbook.

NOTICE: Although many assignments are submitted and graded in our learning platform, Canvas, the "final" grades shown may not be properly weighted and do not contain assignments that were not graded in Canvas.  For the student's official grades, please continue to access the parent portal through Powerschool. Login information should be the same as last year. If you need assistance accessing the parent portal, please contact the school.”

WORLD HISTORY PACING GUIDE

UNIT	CONTENT	TIME
Unit 1: Historical Thinking Skills & World History prior to 1200 CE	Reading like a Historian, Asking Compelling Questions, Researching and Summarizing, Sourcing, Early Civilizations, Classical Period, Post-Classical Period. Major Assignment: Inquiry Project	11 Days
Unit 2: Cultural Changes in the Old World	Civilizations & Cultural, Spread of Christianity & Islam, The Crusades, Mongols, The Renaissance, Scientific Revolution, European Exploration, Protestant Reformation, Baghdad’s House of Wisdom, Mercantalism, Class Systems Major Assignment: Scientific Revolution Science Fair	19 Days
Unit 3: Global Evolution of Government, Expansion & Political Revolutions	Types of Government, Mesopotamia, Greece, Roman Republic, Feudalism, Absolutism, Enlightenment, Political Revolutions in France, Haiti, & Latin America Major Assignment: Revolutions & Enlightenment Essay	19 Days
Unit 4: Global Conflicts	Effects of the Scientific Revolution, Urbanization, Industrial Revolution, M.A.I.N., WWI, Treaty of Versailles, The Great Depression, WWII, Peace, The Cold War, McCarthyism, Communist Revolutions, Decades In Review, Globalization & International Diplomacy, Nuclear Weapons Major Assignment: Journal Project	22 Days
Unit 5: Human Rights, Social Movements, & Globalization	The United Nations, Human Rights, Decolonization, Genocides, South African Aparthied, Middle Eastern Conflict, Women’s Rights, Globalization & Its Impacts, The European Union, Refugee Crisis, Enviornment Problems & Solutions, The Green Revolution  Major Assignments: Genocides Project	10 Days
Review		3 Days