Welcome to History class Please be in your seat when the bell rings ☺

It’s not what you know. It’s what you do with what you know. In this history class, it’s not as much about what you can memorize, as it is about what you can do with information. Can you research and find support for the arguments you want to make about what you believe or how your see history?

Start thinking about how history affects your life. What you learn here will make you a better citizen and voter It will help you understand the world you live in You will improve your learning skills in all areas

Start thinking about possible answers to these questions: How much should the Government be allowed to invade our privacy? What or who really caused the death of Trayvon Martin? How did the city of Detroit go bankrupt? Are we next?

Start thinking about possible answers to these questions: Should the Federal Government stop some states from restricting abortion? Should the US Government stay such close friends with the government of Israel?

Answering these questions will mean using your Social Studies Skills! Gathering information and evaluating it for validity Interpreting charts, maps and political cartoons Expressing your opinion or interpretation according to your observations

About this class Mr. Rees has taught in Westerville for 19 years He grew up in Huber Ridge

About this class Food and Drink No Glass If you’re too messy, it won’t be allowed Be on time In the room before the bell 3 rd time means detention Restroom use Go during class change, but don’t be late Don’t ask me during class change, you won’t get permission to be late Don’t ask at the start of class Ask during changes in activity, when it won’t disrupt

About this class Be prepared Don’t bug class- mates for materials Ask me Phones If you want to be treated like an adult with your phone, use it maturely and politely Silence it when you enter a situation where you need to be quiet (like the start of class). Don’t be on it – Don’t even look at it – when someone is talking to you.

Phones If the class hears it go off, silence it quickly and quietly without saying anything (to draw less attention). Don’t Sneak – if it’s an emergency and you need to reply, ask the teacher if you may. Check it during changes in activity in a way that won’t disrupt – (we all know that 99% of the time it’s not important and can wait). Practice these and you might not get your phone taken away (by Mr. Rees, anyway) ☺

Grades Grades will be from scores only No attendance, behavior, or extra credit included From Quizzes, Tests, and Projects About 8 quizzes each quarter 1 or 2 tests each quarter 1 project each quarter

Grades The Scores of These Assessments will be weighted at grade card time to reflect each student’s strength for example: if the project grade was high, but the test grade was low, the project grade can be made 30% and the test grade 10% of the 9 weeks grade, instead of totaling scores according to points possible.

Homework Not for points, but for learning! They will contain the quiz and test questions So doing the assignments will mean points for you later Homework will be short writing or reading assignments of many types, meant to take no more than 20 minutes, occurring no more than four times a week.

Projects 2 page papers or projects meant to be the student’s opportunity to learn about a topic of their own interest at greater depth Students will be guided through the writing process in small steps Completing the assignment should feel like a few homework assignments that create a larger project

Questions? Contact Matt Rees Voic To receive reminders of assignments and grade postings like HistoryWithRees on Facebook Follow HistoryWithRees on Twitter For Help Online, visit HistoryWithRees.webs.com All interaction is for study purposes only, and will only be for announcing homework, due dates, and assessment reminders, which will always be done in class - not connecting will not put students at a disadvantage; students may not use lack of communication from these media as an excuse for being uninformed.