CONTEMPORARY ISSUES SYLLABUS

July 8, 2005 - May 2006

Teacher: Ms. Starlet Williams
Room: 010

COURSE DESCRIPTION: An interactive, critical, assessment of how the United States' way of life has been influenced and impacted by selected, historically, critical, global periods during the 20th and the 21st Centuries.

The Primary Textbook: THE COMPLETE IDIOTS GUIDE TO 20th CENTURY HISTORY, by Alan Axelrod, Ph.D. Alpha Books 1991

The GOAL of this course is to provide a more in depth view of the most critical periods in the History. of the United States. Traditionally, scope and sequence, and academic scheduling of American History Texts, critically, limit the amount of material that can be effectively studied and evaluated. Our Comtemporary Issues experiences will provide a global timeline of events and relationships that have influenced United States History.

Students will become more aware of most related subject matter and materials covered in other classes. This course will re-enforce and compliment experiences taught in other classes, for an example, many historical eras, personalities, events, and conflicts discussed will be studied in literature, history, technology, government, and other. classes. The key, the global relationships to each critical period in U.S. History. Students need to be more knowledgeable in order to broaden their appreciation of precisely how many human interactions, on a global scale helped to shape and write contemporary American History.

The EVALUATIONS AND ASSESSMENTS
Major Grades will be reflective of Major Tests, Daily Grades, Homework, Presentations, Classwork, Individual and Group Research Projects, Bulletin Board Displays, Knowledge of Current Events, Classroom Participation and Preparation, Notes, Daily Attendance, and an Active Assumption of a Personal Responsibility for Missed Assignments and Tests.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS: Reading and Outlining Assigned Chapters, Discussions of Assigned Personalities and Historical Periods, Written Critiques of Videos and Special Guest Speakers,
Daily Updates of Current U.S. and Global Events, All Assigned Projects, Notes, Vocabularies, Paper, Pen, and Bringing Your Textbook to class. (Unless an announcement states otherwise).

EXTRA CREDIT ASSIGNMENTS/REPORTS MAY NOT BE USED AS SUBSTITUTES TO REPLACE MAJOR GRADES.

MAJOR GRADE MODIFICATIONS WILL REQUIRE: A SCHEDULED CONFERENCE WITH PARENT(S), STUDENT, DR. EDWARDS, AND YOURS TRULY.

UNEXCUSED TARDIES AND ABSENCES WILL ELIMINATE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR ANY FORM OF GRADE ASSISTANCE AND WILL BE REFLECTED IN YOUR OVERALL PARTICIPATION GRADE.

GUEST SPEAKERS, SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS, ETC., INITIATED BY CLASS MEMBERS CONSTITUTES EXTRA CREDIT.

EFFORT, MOTIVATION, PARTICIPATION, ATTENTION TO OTHERS WHO ARE SPEAKING, ILLUSTRATIONS AND DEMONSTRATIONS THAT YOUR VIEWS AND KNOWLEDGE HAVE GROWN, WILL BE ASSESSED INTO YOUR FINAL GRADE.