World History I

Ms. Ruback
Room 245 (cubicle/office)
jruback@sch.ci.lexington.ma.us
www.lexingtonworldhistory.blogspot.com

Welcome to your Freshman World History class! In the upcoming year we will examine and
question the past and current interaction of diverse people and cultures. In doing so, we will come
to better understand who we are, where we are from, and what experiences have shaped our world
and our place in it.

Units of Study

India, Hinduism, Buddhism

China, Chinese philosophy
East Asia, Japan, Korean civilizations
Rome, Judaism, Christianity
Byzantium
Islam, Muslim empires
African kingdoms and trade networks
Pre-Columbian American civilizations
Middle Ages in Europe

Readings:
Text: World History- Patterns of Interaction.This text can be left at home.
Summer reading: Siddartha by Hermann Hess
Does My Head Look Big in This?

Expectations of Students & Student Responsibilities:

• Students are expected to arrive to class ON TIME and ready to work with a pen or pencil,
assignment notebook, homework, and history binder (3-ring).
• Students are expected to be ACTIVE participants in class discussions and activities. We learn
the most when we ask questions, volunteer our ideas, and consider the ideas of others. “Active
participation” involves both contributing to discussion and listening to others.
• Students will be RESPECTFUL at all times- respectful of peers, teachers, ideas, comments, and
differences. Each of us has a part in the responsibility of creating a respectful environment at
Lexington High School!
• Students will be HONEST at all times, adhering to the LHS Honor Code. This Honor Code is
attached and will be reviewed during the first week of class.
• Students WILL NOT have a cell phone, ipod or any other device on or in my view during class
time. If a student violates this policy, the device will be taken away, delivered to the student’s
dean for collection at the end of the day. Multiple violations of this will earn the student
detentions and parent contact.

Homework
• Students can expect nightly homework assignments that will be relevant to the course
curriculum and will be meaningful and helpful to students. Assignments will be posted daily on
the board, listed on your weekly calendar, and will be available on the website.
• Homework is due at the beginning of the class on which it's due. Homework will be
checked in class, collected periodically, discussed, and will be part of your notebook. Your
homework will be a percentage of your term grade and is expected to be neat and display effort
and thought. Late homework will not be accepted for full credit and may only be
handed in the day after its original due date. The value of homework assignments will
vary and will depend upon the relative amount of effort each assignment requires.
• Unannounced “notes quizzes” will be given periodically to serve as a check that students are
keeping up with classroom and text notes.

The following may serve as a guideline for nightly homework assignments for Ms. R’s World
History class.

Students are expected to:

• Have carefully and completely read any assigned pages from textbook or other source, and
be ready to share the information that they have read.
• Have fully and punctually completed any additional assignment given to accompany a
reading.
• Assignments include but are not restricted to:
• Notes- Expected to be in outline form. Amount of information noted is dependent upon
length of/amount of information in a given paragraph. Please see me if you need help in
working with a specific style of outlining
• Worksheets- All parts of worksheets are expected to be completed fully, according to the
directions given both on the worksheet and by Ms. R.
• Paragraphs- Written nightly homework assignments of 1-3 paragraphs: Paragraphs are
generally 5-12 sentences in length, depending upon the specific assignment. Ms. R will
give specific expectations regarding length for each assignment.
• Maps- Students are expected to carefully complete mapping assignments, to locate all of
the required features of the assignment and to demonstrate effort by avoiding
sloppiness in completing maps.
• Students will not earn full credit for the following:
• one-word answers, late assignments, incomplete worksheets, assignments
(paragraphs, questions, maps) that do not meet the required expectations laid out in
the directions.
Homework rubric
V+ Homework is completed accurately, punctually and demonstrates significant effort. All
essential and useful information is included and presented in the required format.
Assignment is completed to the highest standard.

V Homework is completed accurately, punctually and demonstrates effort. Most essential and
useful information is included and presented in the required format. Assignment is
completed to a high standard.

V- Homework is somewhat accurate, is punctual and demonstrates little effort. Not all
essential or useful information is included and assignment format did not follow directions.
Assignment is completed to a sub-standard level.

L Homework is late. Grade scale

V+ A Late D
I Homework is incomplete. V B Inc D
V- C
• In addition to homework, students will be assigned various projects, writing assignments, and
current events throughout the year that will require research and writing outside of class.
These assignments require long-range planning and effort, and will be broken down in such a
way as to allow sufficient planning, preparation and execution.
• Notebooks are expected to be neat, organized and in order.

Participation Grade: Your engagement in course material and preparation is crucial to your
success in class. Each day, I will use a participation scale to gauge performance. Throughout the
course, we will reflect on our own participation using the following scale:

Assessment & Grading Policy

• Tests will be given at the end of each unit, two or three times per quarter, depending on the
number of units in a given quarter. Quizzes will also be given and will be both announced and
unannounced.
• Quarter grades will be comprised of tests, quizzes, homework and other assignments, current
events, and class participation and preparedness. The breakdown of the grading policy (i.e.
HW=40%, Tests/quizzes=40%) is subject to change during the year, as it depends on the
amount of assignments during each quarter.
• The final exam is worth 12% of the year's grade. Your final exam grade will be a combination of
a final examination grade and the grade earned on the fourth quarter “Freshman Research
Project”. Each quarter is worth 22% of the year's grade.

Tardiness & Absences

• The following is the LHS absence policy:
• The grade of N is failure due to poor attendance. The grade of F means academic failure.
• Three (3) unexcused absences per term = N.
• Nine (9) tardies per term = N
• Seven (7) absences per term = N
• A student with two (2) Ns in a full year or semester course will receive no credit for the
course. A student with an N in a single term course will receive no credit for the course.
Make-up work
• Absence from school is NOT considered an excuse for lack of preparation for
class. When a student is absent, it is that student's responsibility to speak to his/her
classmates about what he/she missed and check the file for any handouts. Students are given
weekly calendars at the beginning of the week that include the entire week's assignments, and
are therefore aware of the exact homework assignments for each night.
• Students are expected to turn in outstanding homework due to an absence on the day they
return to school. They will be given a day of make-up time for each day of absence. If a
student is too ill to do the homework, I ask that parents/guardians inform me of this through a
note.
• If a student is absent on the day of a test, that test will be made up the next day the student
is in school, except in the case of a multiple-day absence. In that case, appropriate
arrangements will be made.
• Any work that a student misses due to an unexcused absence will automatically be recorded
as a zero. This includes quizzes and tests.
• Any appointments made to make up work that are missed will result in a zero for that
assignment.
Extra Help
• I encourage students to make appointments with me whenever extra help is needed. It is a
student’s responsibility to make appointments with me whenever they have questions,
problems or would like to chat. I am available most days after school. Make an appointment
with me in person or via email!

Contact Information
• Students: See you in class!
• Parents: I am always available and willing to talk with you regarding your sons and daughters,
their progress and what we can do to help them through their studies. The easiest and quickest
way to reach me is via email at jruback@sch.ci.lexington.ma.us If the matter is urgent, please
email me and ask me to call you. I will call as soon as I can find a private and accessible phone.
As I share classrooms, I do not always have access to my voicemail and would prefer that you
call the school at (781) 861-2320, ext. 1580. This is the extension of the secretary. Please leave
a message and I will get back to you as soon as I can.
 _____
Last Name Initial

First Name Last Name
Contact Information: Students and Parents- Please read the course expectations and then fill out this information.

YOUR INFO:

Student Name: ______________________________________________________

Student Address: _____________________________________________________

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city ZIP code

Student Email: ________________________ Student Phone Number____________

Middle School: ________________________ 8th grade History Teacher____________

Parent 1 Name: ______________________________________________________

Parent Address: _____________________________________________________

(if different than above)
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city ZIP code

Parent Email: ________________________ Parent Home Number ____________

Parent Cell Number ____________

Parent 2 Name: ______________________________________________________

Parent Address: _____________________________________________________

(if different than above)
__________________ ____________________
city ZIP code

Parent Email: ________________________ Parent Home Number ____________

 Parent Cell Number ____________

I understand and agree to the above requirements and will fulfill abide by all expectations
and complete all assignments .

Student Name: ____________________________________________________

Signature: ________________________________________________________
Parent/Guardian Name: ______________________________________________
Signature: ________________________________________________________

Date__________

Teacher Use Only:

Text Book Number: _____________________________________

Contact Log: