US History II

Ms. Rutherford
Email: ruth7492@vandals.uidaho.edu
Class website: http://aletarutherford.weebly.com
COURSE DESCRIPTION
A survey of the social, political, economic, cultural, and intellectual history of
the United
States from the Civil War/Reconstruction era to the present. United States
History II
examines industrialization, immigration, world wars, the Great Depression,
Cold War and
post-Cold War eras. Themes that may be addressed in United States History
II include:
American culture, religion, civil and human rights, technological change,
economic
change, immigration and migration, urbanization and suburbanization, the
expansion of
the federal government, and the study of U.S. foreign policy.
B. METHOD OF INSTRUCTION
Grading will occur on a variety of assignments including reading,
creative writing or various short essay assignments, active class
participation, group work, hands-on projects, tests, quizzes,
presentations, study guides for tests, and video/DVD viewing.
C. COURSE OBJECTIVES As a result of this course, students should:
1. Develop effective communication skills using a variety of written and
oral assignments.
2. Develop skills for both presentations and discussions. Students will
practice the defense and explanations of their viewpoints as well as
the analysis of other viewpoints.
3. Develop critical thinking skills by teaching students to analyze and
critique primary historical sources.
4. Gain proficiency in researching, and in wise use of technology.
5. Understand the events of the past responsible for shaping the world
today.
6. To better understand how the world works.
7. Discover and analyze the cause-and-effect of world cultures, WITHOUT
judging the people by our own beliefs and standards of conduct. Please
remember to keep an open mind and take the class seriously! If you
come to class with a willingness to explore new ideas and question
unexamined beliefs, you will find the study of U.S. history very

rewarding. The more open-minded you are, the more youll enjoy
coming to class.
8. Gain an appreciation for the cultural, religious, racial, gender and
socioeconomic diversity found in our modern world.

D. COURSE TOPICS
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.
X.

Life in the Gilded Age

Society and Culture in the Progressive Era
The Forging of Modern Government
The Rise of America as a War Power
The Roaring Twenties
America and World War I
The Great Depression
World War II
The Cold War
The War on Terror

E. GRADING PLAN
1. Each part of the class will be important to your grade:
a. Bell Ringers, 15% of grade
b. Homework, 35% of grade
c. Group Projects, 10% of grade
d. Exams, 25% of grade
e. Essays, 10% of grade
f.
2. Your participation points will come from filling out your Bell
Ringer notebooks each day. You will be granted 3 absences
before missing entries count against your grade.
F. COURSE COMPONENT SPECIFICS
PLAGARISM
Students are expected to cite each web page, book, or other sources
each time they include any information in an essay or project of their
own. Plagiarism includes but is not limited to the following guidelines:

o Including the words of another writer without including

proper citation. Copying and pasting from Internet or other
electronic sourceseven one sentenceis considered
plagiarism unless there are quotation marks preceding and
following the quoted material. Student writers must also
include a citation of the source (Works Cited page or
Bibliography) at the end of their paper. This applies to other
forms of expression as wellartwork, photography,
computer coding, mathematical calculations, etc.
o Citing the sources used but copying and pasting entire
sentences (or photos/graphics/code) without using
quotation marks or proper citation methods.
o Presenting the ideas of another writer (scientist, computer
programmer or artist) as ones own original thoughts (or a.
Unless a student attributes the ideas to the correct source
even if the wording is changedit can be considered
plagiarism. If the paper includes another author's ideas, the
student must indicate with footnotes or in a Works Cited
page where this source can be found. Writing is an
extension of ones thinking, and most assignments
challenge a student to articulate her own ideasto
differentiate between the opinions she arrived at through
her own analysis and those she concluded by consulting
other sources. Even if she shares the same opinion as
another writer, and all the words/images in her essay are
her own, she must give credit to the sources used. This
applies to music, artwork, coding, etc.
o Submitting another students work as ones own, for
example, an essay written by a sibling or another student.
o Submitting a paper or art work, etc. purchased from an
Internet essay site.

Cheating

The following are additional examples of cheating:

o Copying another students work or assignment (including
homework) to submit as ones own.

o Allowing another student to copy your assignment (including

homework) with the intention of submitting to a teacher for
credit.
o Using an unauthorized set of notes, cheat sheet, or other storage
device during a test or quiz.
o Helping another student without permission on a test or quiz.
o Stealing or borrowing or removing an exam from the classroom
or taking it from a teacher without explicit permission.
o Modifying or in any way altering a teachers grades or official
records.
o Using teachers notes, manuals, or guides without explicit
permission.

Classroom Rules
1. Respect your fellow students' opinions at all times.
2. Homework is due on its assigned due date. The only exceptions are
those with a school excused absences or doctor's note.
3. Always be prepared for class discussions.
4. I will be in the classroom from 7:30 each morning to 4:00pm each
afternoon. Please come talk to me during these hours if you need
help. If anything comes up that changes these hours, I will notify
you in class.
5. All students are expected to be on time. Learning will begin when
class begins and anybody who is late is missing out on important
class material.
6. If you are having problems in class, please come speak to me
directly. I will do my best to help you with whatever issues you may
be having in the most discrete way possible.
7. Students will be given 5 passes at the beginning of the semester.
These can be used for late homework assignments, tardiness to
class, missing assignments, or extra credit.
8. Cheating and plagiarism will NOT be tolerated under any
circumstances.