U.

S History II
Ms. Orleck
Room: 113
Email: jorleck@duxbury.k12.ma.us
Class blog: http://duxburyamericanhistory2.blogspot.com/

Welcome to your Junior History class! ! In the upcoming year we will examine and question the past
and current interaction of major political, social, economic, and diplomatic events in United States
History. 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
First Semester Second Semester
• Western Migration • World War I
• The Great Depression
• Industrialization
• World War II
• Gilded Age
• The Cold War
• Social Reform • The Civil Rights Movement

• Populism • Contemporary America

• Progressivism

• Imperialism

• Primary text: The American Nation. This text can be left at home, unless otherwise instructed.
• Additional information will be presented in a variety of ways, including but not limited to
handouts and films.

Materials:
3-ring Binder with loose-leaf notebook paper. Binder should be divided into the following sections:
1.) weekly calendars 2.) class notes/handouts 3.) homework/chapter notes 4.) study guides/tests

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). You must bring the same history
binder, every day! You will not be allowed to go to your locker to retrieve these items once class
has started.
• 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
Duxbury High School.
• Students will be HONEST at all times, adhering to the rules laid out in the DHS Student
Handbook.

Homework & Grades

• 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 and
listed on your weekly calendar that will be given to you as well as published on the course blog
 and 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. Your grade for each term will be determined
as a percentage of the number of points which you earned on each graded assignment versus the
number of total points could have earned during each graded assignment. This will be modified
during the termthat your final draft of your term paper is due. The term paper will reflect 25% of
the grade for that quarter.
• Unannounced “notes quizzes” will be given periodically to serve as a check that students are
keeping up with classroom and text reading and notes.

The following may serve as a guideline for nightly homework assignments for Ms. O’s 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. O.
• 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.
• 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.

I Homework is incomplete.

• In addition to homework, students will be assigned various projects and papers 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.
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=20%, Tests/quizzes=30%) is subject to change during the year, as it depends on the amount
of assignments during each quarter.
• 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. Calendars and assignments are updated and
posted on the course blog.
• 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. Please talk with me so we can arrange
a mutually exclusive time.

I am looking forward to teaching you this year,

Ms. Orleck