MR. STROEBEL

Your first assignment is to send me an e-mail message to my home account so that I can get you into my address book.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

History 8 is designed to prepare gifted students to take the most challenging high school social studies courses, such as Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB). There will be a heavy emphasis on writing and historical interpretation skills as well as more current events coverage than in the seventh grade course.

Web Site: I highly recommend that you bookmark my web site: www.angelfire.com/home/sycamorehistory. You may also access it through the “Faculty” section of the Sycamore School site: www.sycamoreschool.org. My web site will contain homework assignments, readings, study guides, links, and other additional information. If you are absent, check the web site for assignments (it is not a bad idea to confirm assignments with a classmate in case there are last minute changes).

E-Mail: My home e-mail is jstroebel@indy.rr.com. My school e-mail is stroebel@sycamoreschool.org. Anything sent to school will also be forwarded to my home address. If you use the link on my web site, it will automatically send your message to me. AOL users, make sure that you do not block my address. Any assignment that is e-mailed to me as a Word attachment will always be acknowledged by a return e-mail.

Phone: My voicemail is 479-3357 ext. 166. My home number is 574-0012. Please do not call me at home after 9 p.m. and unless you cannot solve the problem in another way (I check my e-mail frequently).

Appointments: I am available for individual appointments before and after school and ninth period on most days. An appointment schedule is by the phone in my room. Appointments can be used to discuss writings, make-up work after prolonged absences, go over test essays, etc. If you want to see me, please sign up for an appointment (even if you are in my ninth period study hall). Band students may not schedule appointments during ninth period.

After School Review Sessions: I will be available for extra review sessions from 3:25-4:10 prior to most major tests. These optional sessions are designed to provide additional review for students who require more than is offered during regular class periods.

Notebooks: Every student is required to have a spiral notebook reserved exclusively for history. This must be brought with you to class every day along with your binder and a pen.

Reading Assignments: Assignments will be listed on the board and posted on my web site. It is generally expected that you will have your reading assignment completed regardless of whether you were in school the previous day. I strongly encourage you to employ a three-step process for the reading assignments:

1. Read the questions. This will tell you what to look for as you read the assignment.

2. Read the assignment carefully.

3. Go back and make sure that you can answer the questions. Take notes on any material that will be difficult to remember.

With longer assignments you can break them up by section, but it is very important that you read an entire section before you try to answer the questions. Many questions will not be able to be answered “word for word” from the reading.

It is wise to take a few notes from the reading. You will be allowed to use your notes on the quizzes as long as they are in your history notebook. It is as important to take notes on what you do not understand as it is to take them on material that you want to remember.

Reading Quizzes: Reading quizzes will follow most assignments on the date that the reading is due. Unless you are frequently absent, I will not require you to make up reading quizzes that you miss due to absence. I will drop your lowest reading quiz grade of the term.

Unit Tests: The review guide that you receive at the beginning of each unit and your notes will be your best source of study for tests. Missed unit tests will need to be made up outside of class time within two school days.

Essay Writing Guidelines:

Step One: Make sure that you understand what the question is asking. What is the scope of the question? How much background is required?

Step Two: Determine the main topics that will need to be covered in the answer. Make sure that each topic relates directly to the question.

Step Three: Determine the overall focus of your essay. What is the point that you are trying to get across? This becomes your thesis statement. Your thesis statement should always be in your introduction.

Step Four: Write your topic sentence for each paragraph. The topic sentence should clearly relate to the thesis and should allow you to develop additional evidence to elaborate on the topic sentence.

Step Five: Develop each paragraph. An historical essay should do this through additional evidence. Evidence may include examples, statistics, or quotations. Write from the general to the specific. Begin with your main point and then use the paragraph to develop the idea. Constantly ask yourself: “How does this relate to my thesis?”

Step Six: Prepare a conclusion. A good conclusion should further support the thesis. It should never introduce new topics or evidence. As the last word in your essay, it should reinforce the reader’s understanding of your arguments.

As you progress through each step, you often need to go back and revise previous steps. In developing evidence, you may find that your thesis needs to be rewritten to fit your evidence. If you alter your thesis, then your topic sentences may need to be revised.

In preparing for an essay, you should do an outline that:

1. States your thesis

2. Includes your topic sentences

3. Outlines your development of each main point.

Essay Rewrites: Any student who receives a grade of “C+” or below on a test essay may rewrite the essay and earn up to a grade of “B-,” provided that they meet the following conditions:

1. Rewrites must be completed within five days of when the test was returned to the student.

2. Students must schedule a conference to discuss their original essay before attempting a rewrite.

3. Students must schedule a time outside of class to do the rewrite.

Digital Learning Advantage: You can review for tests through two computer games that may be accessed on the school computer network. Tower of Knowledge is a Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? style game that asks increasingly more difficult questions. It even includes three different types of help lines. What Do You Know? is a one or two player game that asks timed questions. Games will be available for most every unit that we study.

Writings: All writings must be typed, follow class formatting instructions (12pt type, normal font, one inch margins, double-spaced), and be turned in on the due date even if you are not in school on that day (work may be e-mailed as a Word attachment—please bring in a printed copy when you return to school).

Writing Reminders:

1. Write in third person, past tense.

2. Do not start sentences with but, and, however, so, etc.

3. The first time that you refer to a person, use their first and last name. Subsequent references can be by last name only. Lengthy terms that will be used repeatedly can be abbreviated. Include the abbreviation in parenthesis after its first use.

Articles of the Week: Each week, students will be given a current events article to read and summarize. The article will also be posted on my web site. Summaries must meet the requirements for writings stated above and contain one well-integrated quote from the article (not to exceed three lines in length). Students must complete summaries for 50% of the articles. Students are required to turn in a summary at least every other week. If you fall behind the 50% requirement at any time in the grading period, you will receive a zero for non-submitted summaries. You may bank ahead, but you can never fall behind the 50% completion requirement. Summaries will usually be due one week after they are distributed. My strong preference is that you e-mail articles as Word attachments rather than submit them in person.

Grading System: Almost all grades will carry a total of 100 points; however, they will have different weights. A major writing might be weighted “5”, unit tests “7”, and reading quizzes “1”. Please feel free to ask about the weighting of any assignment. The grading scale will vary based on the difficulty of the assignment and will not necessarily be a percentage of the questions answered correctly. Some small homework assignments may be based on less than 100 points. A progress report will be issued at midterm to any student who does not have a grade of B- or better. You will receive a computer printout of all of your grades at midterm and at the end of the grading period. A printout will also accompany your report card. I will generally update you as to your grade average after unit tests and other major grades.

Final term grades will be based on the following scale: A+ = 98-100, A = 93-97, A- = 90-92, B+ = 88-89, B = 83-87, B- = 80-82, C+ = 78-79, C = 73-77, C- = 70-72, D+ = 68-69, D = 63-67, D- = 60-62. As per school policy, grades will not be rounded.