SOTA Humanities Spring 2011 Course Syllabus World Civilizations: Ancient Greece and Rome

Goals and Objectives

This course is designed to provide an in-depth study of the foundations of world civilizations. We will use an integrated humanities approach to gain an understanding and appreciation of ancient cultures through literature and art as well as through primary and secondary sources of history. Well also work to make connections to contemporary situations and to see the legacy of these cultures in our own day. Our specific objectives for each student include:

To gain an understanding of the breadth and depth of world literature To gain an understanding of significant world events through historical analysis To develop writing skills in many modes and practice all stages of the writing process To polish language skills, including grammar, usage, sentence structure, and vocabulary To further develop communication and thinking skills To gain a broader and more profound cultural literacy

Scope of Study
Our World Civilizations Humanities curriculum is organized by region each semester. This semesters coursework will focus on the roots of Western civilization in ancient Greece and Rome. We will study literature, history, philosophy, and art chronologically in Archaic Greece, Classical Greece, Hellenistic Greece, early Rome, Republican Rome, and Imperial Rome.

Citizenship: Attendance, Participation, and On-time Work

Experience has shown that honest effort and consistent engagement bring the best results for student achievement. Participation in class discussions and small group activities, attendance and attention in class will have a direct impact on student learning in Humanities. Off-task behavior does not promote achievement and is counterproductive to the goal of a constructive learning environment for all. Citizenship grades will be part of the formative assessment in this class; students meet the highest standard for citizenship by attending every class on time with an organized notebook and all class materials contributing to class discussions in a positive, polite, and respectful manner making an honest effort at engaging in new activities and experiences practicing and demonstrating effective group interaction skills turning in all work on time, done thoroughly and thoughtfully Our school attendance policy states that a record of six absences from any course puts a student in danger of failing that course. Three tardies are considered the same as one absence. Absences must be excused by a written note from a parent or guardian to receive full credit for make-up work. Teachers websites post the in-class work and assignments for each day: a student missing class is responsible for finding that information, making an appointment to discuss make-up work with teachers, and completing missed work promptly. All make-up work from excused absences must be completed within a week of the end of any curriculum unit or it will not be credited. Points will be deducted for each day that any summative assignment is late.

Assessments and Grading

In this class student work will be categorized into formative and summative assessments. Formative work will be worth 30% of the Humanities grade, and summative work will be worth 70% of the grade. Rubrics will accompany the assignments for all summative work to help students self-evaluate and achieve the highest standard for their work. Rubric scores will be converted to points and percentages for ease of communication on transcripts and in online grade reports each Friday. The following grading scale will apply: A=100-94%, A-=93-90%, B+=8988%, B=87-84%, B-= 83-80%, C+=79-78%, C =77-74%, C-=73-70%, D =69-60%, E =59% and lower. Progress reports will be mailed home at the midterm, and final semester grades will be mailed home at the end of the school year. The humanities grade will appear twice on report cards and transcripts as the grade for both an English course and a history course.

Honors Humanities
Students who choose to pursue Honors World Civilizations credit will be required to complete specific additional assignments in literature and/or history over the course of the semester. These assignments will involve additional rigorous reading and writing responsibilities to be completed outside of class. Honors students will meet together with humanities teachers for large-group discussions about additional honors readings; at these sessions students will also present their writing to peers and teachers. Students who have decided to pursue honors credit for this course have chosen to challenge themselves to work harder and think more deeply about this literature and history, and they will be registered under different course codes to indicate that choice. If they do not complete all honors assignments and attend all honors sessions, their grades in both history and English will be negatively impacted. (Students will not be dropped from an honors course if they fail to do the work; they will receive zeros for the missing work.) Signed registration contracts for Honors World Civilizations will be accepted by classroom teachers through the end of the day on Monday, February 14.

Please read this document, print out a copy, sign it, have your parent or guardian sign it, and return it to your teacher on Monday, February 7, 2011. Student Signature: ______________________________________________ Date:______________ Student Phone:________________________ Student email:______________________________

Parent/Guardian Signature: _____________________________________ Date:_______________ Parent/Guardian Phone:______________ Parent/Guardian email:________________________

Humanities Teachers Contact Information

Hightower, Jordan Shepard, Michele 571-7945 571-7949 jhighto@tacoma.k12.wa.us mshepar@tacoma.k12.wa.us

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