History Department Grade 7 & 8

The 8th grade United States History course is focused on the Common Core State Curriculum.  Our students develop the ability to think, read and write critically.  Thus, students using close reading techniques critically analyze both primary and secondary sources. Using that analysis students use that information to produce in-depth writing assignments and various projects.  Furthermore, students use the information that they have learned about the past and connect the events to current events in the United States and analyze how the past has affected the present. 
 
The curriculum begins with some background from the Age of Exploration, the colonial period, and the American Revolution.   Key American documents such as the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Consitution will be intensely studied.  Students will continue their study of 8th-grade history with the changing American society, the causes of the Civil War and the Civil War itself.  Students use and are exposed to technology, art, music, writing, and drama to discover events and people within and outside the United States who have enriched the political, cultural, and societal life of the United States.
 An opportunity for history to come alive for the students is when all students in the8th grade are presented with the incredible opportunity to make a trip to Washington D.C. and New York City where they can witness and tour firsthand the White House, the U.S. Capital, Arlington Cemetery, Ford’s Theater, the World War II Memorial, Mount Vernon and many other sites in and around Washington, D.C. The trip ends in New York City where students visit Ground Zero/911 Memorial Museum, The Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and other historical sites.
Students leave their studies of U.S. History with the knowledge that United States History is not only a series of events, struggles, and achievements that occurred in this country but is a history and culture connected with and derived from many nations. Our students leave Le Conte with the 21st-century skills necessary not only for high school but for career and college opportunities. 
 
Contact Information-[email protected] I will usually respond to email within 24 hours or less.
 
Grades will be awarded based on the following percentages:
Exceeding most Standards=A
Exceeding some Standards=B
Meets most Standards=C
Some Standards met=D
Standards not met=F
Grades will be based on assignments(15%), projects/ writing(35%) and tests/ quizzes(50%).
 
CLASS RULES
     1. Follow directions.
     2. Stay in your seat and  keep hands, feet and objects to yourself.
     3.  Raise your hand if you wish to speak.  Use appropriate school language.
     4.  No chewing gum or eating/ drinking in the classroom. (Except water)  Keep water/ water bottles off the table. 
BEHAVIOR EXPECTATIONS
     1.  Be polite.
     2.  Respect yourself and others in the classroom.
     3. Do your best.
CLASS PROCEDURES
     
     1.  Walk quietly into the classroom and go to your seat and get ready for class.(Start warm-up, get materials for class).
     2.  Bring all needed classroom materials. (colored pencils, paper, pen, etc) 
     3.  Use appropriate classroom voices at all times.
     4.   Keep all non-school-related items (combs, brushes, make-up, magazines, photos, etc.)
           away or they will be taken away and not returned.
     5.  Put your name, date, and period on all your work.  All papers turned in without a name will
         be thrown away.
      6  All cellular phones are placed in cell phone cady when students walk into the classroom.  They will remain there until the end of the period when the student collects their device.
 
CONSEQUENCES FOR VIOLATION OF CLASS RULES/PROCEDURES OR BEHAVIOR EXPECTATIONS
     1.  A verbal reminder / Name on the board = A warning.
     2.  One check = Detention with the teacher (Nutrition, lunch, or after school)
     3.  Two checks ✔✔= Detention and phone call/ note home.
     4.  Three checks ✔✔✔ = Student is sent to Intervention office and parent conference.
         *Severe Act=Sent to Intervention office & appropriate consequences
TARDY POLICY
     In order for our classroom to run successfully, it is important for everyone to be on time.  If students are late, they not only disrupt their learning but disrupt the other students as well. If you are not in your assigned seat when the bell rings you are tardy!
     Three tardies = Automatic “U” in cooperation on the final report card. (This cannot be changed.)
     Five tardies = two “U’s” on the final report card.  (This cannot be changed.)