Syllabus

Printable version (PDF): US History 8 Syllabus

US History 8 Syllabus

Email: dbayne@lps.org Class Site: wp.lps.org/dbayne

“To me, history ought to be a source of pleasure. It isn’t just part of our civic responsibility. To me, it’s an enlargement of the experience of being alive…”

-David McCullough

“…experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms, those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny; and it is believed that the most effectual means of preventing this would be, to illuminate, as far as practicable, the minds of the people at large,…”

-Thomas Jefferson

What will we study:  8th Grade US History students learn about events which took place in North America from the Age of Exploration until the Immigration of the turn of the Century (1492-1900).

Teacher Duties:  My job is to help you learn every day you are in our classroom. My goal is to be available to you, to answer your questions, to give you the respect that I expect from you in return and to teach you how to think critically about our nation’s history.

Mr. Bayne’s Expectations:

  • It is okay to make mistakes, to not know and to ask questions.
  • You are here to learn. A day without learning is a wasted one.
  • Do your own thinking and work.  Zero tolerance policy for cheating.
    • I respect you the most when you give me 100% of your effort.
  • Be responsible for yourself.
    • Be on time, be seated to do your warm-up.
    • You are in charge of your own notebook
    • You are in charge of your late work. wp.lps.org/dbayne
    • You are in charge of your behavior
  • Respect, Safety & Responsibility
    • Use acceptable language, if it isn’t yours don’t use it, unless given permission!
    • I will respect your things. I expect you to respect mine.
  • BE KIND TO YOUR CLASSMATES

Irving’s Motto:

Be Safe      *       Be Respectful          *      Be Responsible

Academic grades will be based on a letter grade according to your grade point percentage on DCAs, free writes, quizzes, and final projects.

A = 90-100  (Commendable)

B+ =85-89     B = 80-84     C+ = 75-79      C = 70-74  (Satisfactory)

D+ = 65-69    D = 60-64     F = 59 and below   (Needs Improvement)

Work/Study Grades are based on your habits in listening, following directions, participation, quality of work completion and preparation.  (Com, S, N)

Social/Behavior Grades are based on your skill in conducting positive classroom communication and behavior; self-discipline and control of emotions, responsible acceptance of consequences for actions, positive problem solving.  (Com, S, N)

Late work/ absences:  Late work can be found in the back of the room, marked as late work. I will keep assignments there for the current unit.

If you are absent, you can find the work you missed there as well as a better description of all the work we did on the class blog at wp.lps.org/dbayne

Tardies: You receive one “free” tardy. The next is 5 minutes after school. The second is 10 after school. The third is 15. A 4th is a lunch detention. Being late can disrupt class and keeps you and your classmates from learning. It is also a bad habit for later in life.

Disciplinary actions:  Recovery Room – Time-out Room procedures for noncompliant behaviors.  Calls to parents will accompany any time-out room visits and academic concerns. We will go over these in greater detail the first day of school. A link to the Recovery/Time-Out procedures video is on my class site.