AmericanGovernment Mrs.WilcoxRm8 Fall2013 Welcometoclass,Seniors!Thissemesterwillbeanadventureinlookingintoourpastand learningaboutourgovernment,howitwasformed,whyitwasformed,andhowitworks.Thissyllabus willoutlinethecourse,butbeawarethisclassisaworkinprogress,sobepreparedforanychanges thatmayoccur. Inordertohelpyouunderstandandbeabletoapplytheinformationfromthiscourse,Iwillbe usingvariousformsofteachingmethodologiesandactivities. ClassroomExpectations: YouareseniorsandIexpectyoutoactlikeseniors.WhatdoIexpectfromseniors? 1.Beontimeandbepreparedforeachandeveryclassperiod.(Thatmeansyouneed toattendclass.) a.1stTardy:studentwillspenda10minutedetentionatatimeagreeduponby bothstudentandteacher.

b.2ndTardy:studentwillspend30minutedetentionatatimeagreeduponby bothstudentandteacher. c.3rdTardy:studentwillbegivenawrittenreferraltotheoffice. d.Ifyoumissyourdetention,youwillrescheduleandspenddoublethetime.Ifyoumiss therescheduledtime,youwillreceiveadisciplinenotice. 2.Doyourownwork,doitwell,anddoitontime.

Plagiarismwillisunacceptable.(Plagiarismisdefinedinthestudenthandbookpp67.) a.1stoffense:azeroontheassignmentandaparentcall. b.2ndoffense:azeroontheassignment,aparentconference,andawritten disciplinenotice. c.3rdoffense:azeroontheassignmentandfailGovernmentclass. Copyingfromsomeoneelsesworkisalsounacceptable. a.1stoffense:bothyouandthepersonfromwhomyouarecopyingwillreceivea zeroontheassignmentandaparentcall. b.2ndoffense:bothyouandthepersonfromwhomyouarecopyingwillreceive azeroontheassignmentandaparentconference,andawrittendisciplinenotice. c.3rdoffense:bothyouandthepersonfromwhomyouarecopyingwillbe determinedatthattime.

3.Think. 4.Payattentionandparticipateindiscussions.

5.Dowhatittakesforyoutolearnthematerial.Youknowhowyoulearn.Takenotes,study, outlinematerial,gooverthematerial,dowhateverittakesforyoutolearn. 6.Berespectfulofeveryoneintheclassroomincludingmeandanyadultsthatmaybeinclass (substitutes,paraprofessionals,administration,otherteachers,parents,communitymembers).Ihave3 levelsofrespect: a.Youareahumanbeingandyoudeserverespect. b.Youarerespectfultomeandyoudoyourworktherefore,Iwillrespectyoueven more. c.Youarerespectfultoothers,eventhosewithwhomyoudisagree.Iwillreally respectyou. d.Namecalling,badlanguage(mycall),anddisrespectfulnessisnotacceptable behavior.Itwillbemydecisionastohowtohandleeachsituation.Ifitbecomesaproblem,youwill serve30minutedetentionswithme,orifsevereenough,youwillbegivenadisciplinenotice.Also,you willloseparticipationpointsforthatday(ifitpertains). 7.Wewillbefollowingtheschoolpoliciesasstatedinyouragenda. 8.Ifyouhaveaproblemwithmeormyclass,pleasedonotletmehearitfromsomeoneelse (orfinditonsocialmedia).Cometome,first.Ifyourproblemiswithmeormyclass,talktome. CellphonePolicy:Asasenior,youhavetheprivilegeofusingyourcellphoneduringclassat appropriatetimes.Duringtestsandquizzesandotherdesignatedtimes,cellphoneswillneedtobe eitheroffofyourdesk,offyourperson,orplacedontheuppercornerofyourdesk. Ifyouuseyourcellphoneatinappropriatetimesoruseyourphoneinappropriatelyduringclass (playinggames,textingthatdoesntpertaintoclass,beingonsitessuchasTwitterorInstagramand otherlikecircumstances)mayresultin: a.lossofphoneforthedayandyoumaypickitupafterschoolorwhenyou leavethebuildingfortheday. b.lossofphoneforthedayandazerofortheassignmentandaparentcall. c.lossofphoneforthedayandadisciplinenotice. Supplies:Someofthecourseworkwillbefromyourtextbook,whileotherinformationanditemswill behandoutsandwebsites.Apocketfolderoran11/23ringbindershouldbeadequateforclass. Youwillalsoneedseveralwritingutensils:pencils,blueorblackpens,12highlighters,andpaper( spiralnotebookwouldbeadequate).Asasenior,pleasedonotliveoffofyourfellowstudents.We dontneedparasites!! CurrentEvents:Seniorsneedtobeawareandunderstandwhatisoccurringintheworld.Toaidin thatunderstanding,studentswillberequiredtowriteasummaryconcerningacurrenteventinthenews.

ThesewillbedueonFridayswithnopossibilityofmakeuppointsifnotturnedin.(Youknowthis now.Planaccordingly!!) Projects:Projectswillbescheduledthroughoutthesemester. Assignments:Seniorsshouldhandinallassignmentsontime.Ifyouareabsent,thehandbookstates thatyouhave2classdaystomakeitup.Ifyouknowthatyouaregoingtobegone,handin assignmentsbeforeyouleave. Participationpoints:Toencouragepositiveparticipationinclass,pointswillbegivenfromtimeto timewithvariousactivities.Ifyouhappentobegoneonthatday,youwillreceive0pointsforthe activity.Someactivitiesmaybeallowedtobemadeup,whileotherswillbeimpossibletomakeup. Lateassignments:IFyouarehavingproblemswithanassignment,talktomebeforeitisdueandwe mayworksomethingout.Otherwise,youareaseniorandyoushouldnotbehandinginlatework.Its notacceptable!! TextbooksandMaterials:AnytextbooksoranyothermaterialsIhandouttoyouareyour responsibility.Ifitisdamaged,youareresponsible,andyouwillneedtomakesomeformof compensationwhichwewilldiscussatthattime. Grading:Doneonatotalpointspossiblescale.Thetotalpointswillbedeterminedattheendofthe courseasassignmentswillbeconstantlyaddedtotheagenda.Thegradingscalewillbeasstatedinthe schoolpolicy:A=10090,B=8980,C=7970.D=6960,F=590. Contactme:Youmayemailme(patty.wilcox@usd495.net).Alsowemaybedoingsomeworkon Edmodoandyoumaycontactmethroughit.Myplanningperiodthissemesteris2ndBlockTuesdays andThursdaysand2ndhalfof2ndBlockonFridays.