Semester 1

Review of Declaration, Constitution, and Bill of Rights Civil War and Reconstruction The Wild West and the Native Americans Immigration and Industrialization Political Movements American Imperialism and World War I

The Roaring 20’s The Great Depression World War II The Cold War Civil Rights Changes in America Current Events Your student might have a different teacher for second semester

The goal of this class is not only to acquire historical knowledge about the United States, but also to apply this knowledge to better understand the country in which we live. This class will also focus on historical skills such as: conducting oral histories understanding historical bias researching a historical topic analyzing primary sources understanding American geography

I try to vary assignments and learning activities throughout the year. This includes: Notes Debates Reading and Analyzing Primary Sources Analyzing Video Projects Creative and Persuasive Writing

Students do not have a textbook for this course. Students receive typed copies of all notes, and they fill in the blanks during our discussion in class. This means that your student needs a 3-ring binder for this class to keep all their notes in order. If your student is absent – the notes are on my blog!

Students work by themselves or with a partner to research a Native American tribe Research is guided and mostly in class End presentation requires a visual that tells about your tribe

Students interview a family member about how your family got to America and then Oregon Research questions are prepared in class, but research is done at home End presentation requires a visual that tells about how your family got to America as well as ethnic identity

You can assist your student by asking them what they are currently working on in our class. I recommend that students use a planner to keep their assignments organized. Some projects (especially the oral history project on immigration) require your input into your student’s work – please help them as much as possible! You can also help your student with Extra Credit!

Watch a Hamer approved movie and write 1 page about what you learned from the movie about our unit of study Read an approved book and write 1 page about what you learned from the movie about our unit of study Conduct extra research about a topic that we are studying (talk to Hamer first)

Watch the movie with your student! Suggest films or books that are topic related. Discuss what they are studying in history and bring up additional information that you know of or lived through – encourage curiosity!

Each time you submit a written paper for extra credit, you get 1% added to your final grade You can get up to 4% a semester Do not do more than 2 extra credit opportunities per unit Extra Credit is due at the end of the unit for which it was assigned

Glory (R) – Superb movie about the 54 th Regiment (all African American unit) in the Civil War. R for some war violence and a few swear words Amistad (R) – poignant movie that shows Africans being captured for slaves. Also shows America after the slave trade has been outlawed. Gettysburg (PG)– Long movie (4 hours) about this influential battle. Based on the book -> Killer Angels – Incredible book about the choices that were made behind the Battle of Gettysburg

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