HOOSIER ACADEMY VIRTUAL SCHOOL 15-16

8th Grade Social Studies

American History B Syllabus
Class Time: M-F, 11:00-12:30 AM & 3:00 PM-4:30 PM
Office Hours: After class and by appointment
Teacher: Mr. Corey Berry
CONTACT
K-mail (best method of contact):

Access your K-mail through your OLS account. Please

dont hesitate to K-mail me if you have questions or
concerns.
cberry@hoosieracademy.org
317-493-0388; ext. 2012
Send an AIM message to cberry@hoosieracademy.org
www.historywithmrb.weebly.com
www.hoosieracademies8.weebly.com
www.remind.com/join/mrbe
www.mrberryhistory.coursesites.com

E-mail:
Office Phone:
Chat:
Teacher Class Page:
HA Grade Level Page:
Classroom Reminders:
Assignment Submission Page:

COURSE DESCRIPTION
This American History course combines social, cultural, and economic approaches to explore Reconstruction and
the New South; the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, World War I, the Depression, The New Deal, World War II, and
America since 1945 (the Cold War and its end, progressive social movements, the New Right, etc.).
The course is designed to help students understand how and why particular events and patterns of events
occurred in our society. The purpose of this course is to provide students with a historical background of the 19th,
20th, and 21st Centuries. This survey course will enable students to understand the geographic, political, and
economic developments that affect current events.
Instruction for this course will be delivered through Blackboard Collaborate (an online collaboration platform).
There will be several Blackboard Collaborate orientation sessions offered prior to the beginning of the course.
Attendance to at least one of these sessions is imperative. Additionally, before beginning the history course, it is
vital that you complete the Welcome to Online Learning course located on your OLS courses page as it teaches you
how to navigate the history course.
COURSE EXPECTATIONS
Students in this American History class are expected to develop writing skills, to keep up with reading
assignments, and to begin the process of historical analysis critical to understanding and interpreting the past.
What do I expect from you?
Although it is not compulsory that you attend daily class sessions, it is strongly encouraged. Please arrive on time
and prepared to learn and participate in class activities and discussions.
What can you expect from me?
In return, you can expect me to have meaningful lessons prepared, to treat you with respect, and to help you be
successful in this class.
TEXTBOOKS AND MATERIALS
A History of US, Volume C (1865-1932) Semester I
http://k12.kitaboo.com/eBookWs/ebook/history/hist04/Launch.html#
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A History of US, Volume D (1929-Present) Semester II
http://k12.kitaboo.com/eBookWs/ebook/history/hist08/#
GRADING
Grades will be determined based on how students perform on teacher graded and computer scored activities.
Graded activities will include:
Expected OLS Progress
Online or paper-based worksheets (these will help you prepare for the lesson and unit assessments)
Exams (e.g. Unit, Semester, Final)
Essays, research papers, and other writing assignments
Projects
GRADING POLICY
Assignments will be teacher-graded or computer-graded, depending on the assignment. During the semester
students can view their grades using the Engrade program. Teachers, administrators and parents/mentors also
have 24-7 access to grade information via course gradebooks. Remember that grades are earned by the student;
not given by the teacher.
GRADE WEIGHTING & EVALUATION
In this course, you will be evaluated in the following way:
0%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
100%

OLS Lesson Assessments (take these assessments prior to taking the unit assessment to ensure you are
fully prepared)
Semester Exams
Course Research Paper (3% for References page and 12% for paper)
Writing Assignments (projects)
Expected Progress (If you do not complete your OLS lesson assessments your grade for this category will
be negatively affected)
Unit Exams
Total

GRADING SCALE
93 100 A
78 79.9 C+
60 62.9 D90 92.9 A73 77.9 C
0 59.9 F
88 89.9 B+
70 72.9 C83 87.9 B
68 69.9 D+
80 82.9 B63 67.9 D
*Course grade is cumulative. This means students will receive a final letter grade for the course at the end of the
school year.
COURSE POLICIES
Student Work: Students will be expected to complete assignments outside of class time on a regular basis. All
students are expected to read class material, think critically, and write effectively. Students are expected to use
complete sentences, proper grammar and correct spelling in every written performance.
Attendance: Again, it isnt mandatory that you attend live history sessions, but it is strongly encouraged since those
students who attend regularly tend to be more successful academically than those students who do not.
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Extra Credit: Opportunities for extra credit will be offered from time to time. Extra credit is extra work above and
beyond the usual homework, not work used to cover up missing work. Extra credit can be achieved by writing an
article summary, TV documentary summary, website reviews on topics relating to American History, book reports,
research papers, posters, etc. If you have an idea about something you would like to do for extra credit, you must
ask me for approval. The points received are dependent on quality, evidence of time, and evidence of learning.
Submission of Assignments: Students will submit writing assignments, projects, and the course research paper
through Course Sites by Blackboard (www.mrberryhistory.coursesites.com). These types of assignments do have
an established due date, and for each day they are late, you will be penalized one-half of a letter grade. To enroll in
the course, select the American History B course and self-enroll. You will have to enter the access code history and
then create a COURSEsites account. After you have entered the requested information (the institution name is
), you will you be successfully enrolled in the course.
CLASS CONNECT RULES AND PROCEDURES
In an online classroom, our primary means of communication is written. The written language has many
advantages: more opportunity for reasoned thought, more ability to go in-depth, and more time to think through
an issue before posting a comment. However, written communication also has certain disadvantages, such a lack of
the face-to-face signaling that occurs through body language, intonation, pausing, facial expressions, and gestures.
As a result, please be aware of the possibility of miscommunication and compose your comments in a positive,
supportive, and constructive manner.
Questions
All questions will be asked through the chat box or with the microphone if given permission.
All questions will be limited to the subject material.
I will not ask when is class over?
I will not ask can I go to the bathroom or can I leave?
Chatting Etiquette to the Teacher
I will not use the teachers first name.
I will not use words like hey, you or are you listening?
I will not ask random questions or make random comments.
Learning and Participation
I will have my history materials with me each class day.
I will follow instructions given by the teacher.
I will listen to all information.
When asked for a response, I will respond.
I understand that I am part of a group and am able to learn from others.
Attendance
I will arrive to class on time.
I will not enter the classroom and then move away from the computer to do something else.
I will prepare myself and my surroundings so that I can stay in class the whole time.
DAILY PROCEDURES
In order to maintain structure in class we will follow a basic pattern almost every day in the class. If there is a
change in the routine it will be highlighted on the whiteboard so that you are aware of the change.
Bell Ringer: Some days when you enter the session you will be asked to watch the On This Day in History video
(http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history) and identify and discuss the four major events that occurred on that
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particular day. There may also be questions on the whiteboard that will be used as review of the previous day or
as an introduction for the upcoming lesson.
Daily Lesson: My lesson style and topic for history will vary from day to day, but you can always find a daily
schedule posted on the whiteboard along with the lesson objectives for the days topic.
Assignment: The daily assignment will be discussed and clarified at the end of each days lesson. Feel free to stay
after class if you have questions about the assignment expectations or need to finish taking notes.
Pacing Guides: The monthly pacing guides created for the history course, first of all, reflect what I will teach on a
given day during a Class Connect session, but more importantly, they ensure that you remain on track to complete
the course on time. Regardless of what you may see on the OLS Daily Plan on any given day, it does not guarantee
that you will complete the history course by the end of the school year. Therefore, I strongly recommend that you
ignore the daily plan and instead use the pacing guides provided as you work to complete the course.
CLASS MATERIALS
All students will need the following everyday:
Three ring binder or folder
Notebook (college ruled) or word processor (its always a good idea to have a back-up copy of class notes)
Pen or pencil
Pacing Guide
Textbook
Student Guide
STATEMENT FOR ACADEMIC HONESTY
Academic honesty is expected in this class. Cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated. Consequences may
include: reduction in grade on assignment, repeat assignment, no grade on assignment, etc. Academic dishonesty
will be reported to a school FSL and a parent will be notified.
SYLLABUS CHANGE POLICY
This syllabus is a guide for the course and is subject to change with or without advanced notice.

Believe you can and youre halfway there.

~Theodore Roosevelt