Syllabus

7TH GRADE SOCIAL STUDIES SYLLABUS EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW....

Here is some information that will be helpful for you to know in advance regarding some of the policies and activities that you will be involved in this year in Social Studies.

GRADES Grades will be taken on a wide variety of classroom and homework assessments. Grades will be weighted as follows: Tests/Projects 30% Quizzes 25% Homework 25% Current Events 20% Total 100%


 * Please note: because of weighted grades, you will not be able to total the scores of all assignments/tests and get your overall grade!

Themes: Instead of moving chronologically through time, our study of U.S. History will progress thematically - through 4 themes that are addressed below. While this may seem a little awkward at first, it really does help students achieve a good understanding of the main ideas, and everyone gets used to it after short while. We mainly emphasize the time period from 1785 - 1898, but we do go a bit further in time in one or two of our themes. Each theme we study throughout the year will be represented by an essential question. Here is a list of our themes and the approximate time of the school year in which we will be working with each one: 1. What does it mean to be an American? First Quarter 2. How and Why did the United States Expand? Second Quarter 3. How do Americans strive for equality? Third Quarter 4. Why war? Fourth Quarter 5. How did events of the 20th and 21st Centuries develop American culture?

Reading: Students will be asked to read portions of the textbook in preparation for class discussions.

Quizzes: After a reading assignment, there may or may not be a quiz to check comprehension of the material read.

Notes: As students read, they will be required to take notes on their reading. This will be further explained during class.

Current Events: In addition making frequent references and having mini-discussions on current events during class, students will view a current events podcast regularly during the school year. Students will be required to summarize and reflect on one of the events shown in the podcast in a Current Events Journal. Journals will be collected and graded at the end of each quarter.

Tests: At the beginning of each unit students will receive a unit guide, which will be a list of information that our unit will include. The assessments will be based on this list, and will include information from class activities and discussions, videos, outside reading (including analyzing primary sources), webquests and other sources in addition to the sections of the text that were read for that unit. Students will usually learn the approximate date of the assessment at the beginning of every new unit.

Document-Based Questions: Much information can be learned from studying primary sources. A major focus of our study of U.S. History will be analyzing sources such as artifacts, photographs, different forms of text, maps, and political cartoons to learn about the history behind them. This classroom exploration and analysis will not only be more engaging to students than simply reading and taking notes or listening to lectures, but will also help them to become critical readers now and in the future.

Other Activities The activities mentioned above are ongoing throughout the entire year, regardless of which theme we are working on at the time. A variety of other activities also take place sporadically during different themes. These activities include, but are not limited to:
 * reading trade books
 * simulations
 * movies/videos
 * projects (group and individual)
 * webquests/internet activities
 * guest speakers/presentations

I hope that this information helps you this year - and that you find the class interesting and engaging. NOTE TO PARENTS: Having seen the themes we will be studying this year, if you have anything you would be willing to share/contribute for our class (artifacts, expertise, etc) I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to contact me via the phone/email listed below. Thank you so much, and have a great school year!

Mrs. Krajcik Phone: (262) 238-7619 Email: lkrajcik@mtsd.k12.wi.us Mrs. Lepold Phone: (262) 238-7615 Email: jlepold@mtsd.k12.wi.us