SE U.S. History
2O24 U.S. History Class Syllabus Chris Takach
Period 3
____________________________________
Background:
Garden Grove High School graduate class of 1984
AA Orange Coast College
BA Cal State University Long Beach
BFA ( Illustration) Cal State University Long Beach
MFA ( Illustration) Cal State University Long Beach
MA (Special Education) National University
California Clear Credential ( Art) National University
California Clear Credential ( Special Education ) National University Supplementary Credential ( Autism ) Fullerton Extension
_____________________________________
Expectations For Students:
* Come to class prepared
* Garden Grove tardy policy is always enforced
* Come to class on time
* Be respectful of teacher, peers, class and school * Treat others the way you want to be treated
* work hard and strive for success
_____________________________________
Grading Policy:
My grading system is one based on points instead of specific grade percentages. It is a system where points are rounded up as a way of motivating students who might normally be disillusioned by more typical grading systems.
Weighting:
60% Summative
40% Formative
No student work is ever absolutely perfect so there is no need for a 100 in my point system.
Assignments which earn a point value of 71-90 are rounded up to a 90 in the grade book.
Assignments which earn a point value of 51-70 are rounded up to a 70 in the grade book.
There is a floor point grade of 50 for any assignment attempted. Assignments which earn a point value of 50 or below are rounded up to 50 in the grade book.
Benchmarks, Chapter Assessments, Unit Tests are given the actual percentage the student earns. Thus a student might earn a 100 for answering every question accurately on a test.
By rounding grades up, it allows for more differentiation, subjectivity for observed attempts, and respect of student ability level. Something we are tasked to do as Special Ed. teachers.
By essentially negating the 60 and 80 in the system it motivates students who might typically see grades as D or B to see a more positive number, thus motivating them to make more of an attempt. As a result of this point system I see fewer D’s and more A’s each quarter.
Everything that is done in my class is given a point value ( quick writes, workbook pages, simple reflection questions, and of course larger formative and summative assignments) This allows every student to make an attempt to perform and pull up their grades. On “ make up work” days students can pick either simple or more complex assignments to complete.
There is no deduction in grade for student late work and students are allowed to make any assignments up to the end of a semester mark.
__________________________________________
Class Overview:
U.S. History is designed to help students gain a broader view of events in the history of the United States. The curriculum is designed to help student’s understand the significance of events and how they helped form the united states into the strong nation it is today. Students will learn about the earliest settlers, founding fathers and the foundations and growth of our independent states and their relationship to one another. Historical events will be discussed and written about in a way to improve student skills in reading, writing, and oral communication.
____________________________________________
Required Materials:
Charged Chrome Book ( Every Day)
Class Book ( Which students are allowed to keep in the classroom)
Pen or pencil for infrequent written lessons _____________________________________________
Classwork and Homework
Work is done in class each day. There is no need of homework, unless the student falls behind on assignments or misses a day of school.
______________________________________________
Test and Quiz retakes and making up less than perfect assignments:
Students are allowed to make up missing assignments or redo any work or retake any quiz or test for a better grade at any time up until the end of each quarter ( specific cut-off dates to be provided to the students)
