United States History 1890 to Present

Course Syllabus
Angela Godwin Colly
Fayetteville High School
angela.colly@fayar.net
On Twitter @angelacolly

Fall and Spring 2015 - 2016

Course Topics:
Students will have the opportunity to canvass events from an America emerging onto the
world stage through two world wars, a cold war and up to present events including the
tragedy of 911 and the most recent presidential elections. Students examine historical
questions, see how history impacts to world today, and their future. This course will study
American History in the context of world events. The overarching historical goal of this course
is for each student to have a working knowledge of Americas past through social, political,
economic, diplomatic and cultural lenses.
Course Skills:
As students of history, each person will enjoy becoming adept at using Historical Thinking
Skills. Students will practice contextualization, causation, argumentation, analyzing evidence
from primary sources, periodization, continuity and change over time, interpretation and
synthesis. English Language Arts will be practiced through analysis of documents, essay
writing, reading, and debate. In the final analysis the goal of the course is for students to be
college and career ready.
Arkansas Department of Education Social Studies Frameworks:
Era 7:Emergence of America 1890 - 1930
Era 8: The Great Depression and World War II 1929 - 1945
Era 9: Post-war United States 1945 - early 1970s
Era 10: Contemporary United States 1968 - present
Text for the course:
Mintz, S., & McNeil, S. (2015).
Digital History
.
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu

Homework and Assignments:

Students are expected to complete all homework assignments. Students will be required to
read assigned texts, and from time to time complete various research projects that may
include the need for internet access.

Assessments:
During the course students may be given various assignments to ascertain the a students
success at learning the content and grasping the use of the Historical Thinking Skills and
English Language Arts literacy skills.
At the end of each unit of study there will be a Unit Assessment which may be in the form of
an Exam or other project or assignment. Students are informed of the final grading product at
the onset of each unit.
Quizzes are sometimes used for on-the-spot assessment of the material at hand, be that
homework or class assignments. Students are notified of quizzes in advance.
Attendance:
Attendance is covered in the official FHS student handbook. It is important to note that with
the new bell schedule, if a student misses one class it is the equivalent of missing two classes
on the old schedule. Students are responsible for checking the file for missed work and for
turning in said work on time. Students are encouraged to visit with Mrs. Colly during morning
hours on B days, right after school until 4:15 or during A & E time, just ask for a pass.
Contact me:
Students and parents are encouraged to contact Mrs. Colly with any questions; email is the
preferred form of communication and all messages will be returned within 24 hours.
Calendars will be updated on a regular basis so that students and parents may stay up to date
on assignments and assignment due dates.
Marking Scale 90-100
80-89
70-79
60-69
59 - 0

A
B
C
D
F

Plagiarism:
The Oxford English dictionary defines plagiarism as:
taking and passing off anothers
thoughts, writings, etc. as ones own
. Plagiarism is illegal and will count, in ALL cases, as a
zero. The zero will not be replaced and will count toward your final grade.
A word of caution to all students, each paper or project will be checked for plagiarism, please
make sure you understand the ramifications of your actions should you decide to copy
anothers work.