HQ+World+History+Syllabus

This course is designed to help provide students with a comprehensive, intensive study of major events and themes in world history. Students begin with a study of the earliest civilizations worldwide and continue to examine major developments and themes in all regions of the world. It focuses on the formation and interaction of the high cultures and civilizations of ancient China, Greece, Rome, and Africa to modern world. The course culminates in a study of change and continuity and globalization at the beginning of the 21st century. Rather than “learning everything that happened,” our world history course approaches broad themes and cross cultural fractures and connections. We explore issues related to political development, social and intellectual systems, religion, science, interconnections, and worldviews. We will—through on-going regional studies explore the history of the world’s social, economic, political, and cultural development. In each regional unit, we will study the geographic and cultural connections between the history of the region and conditions in the region today. The development of the key social studies skills is a pivotal part of this course. The course is intended to develop students’ communication and reasoning skills through activities requiring reading, writing, research, oral presentations, group work, mapping skills, graph interpretation, and critical analysis of historical sources including both primary and secondary sources, and artifacts. The dynamics of change and continuity across the world history periods covered in this course and the causes and processes involved in major changes of these dynamics. a. Example: the role of agriculture in change. Patterns and effects of interaction among societies and regions: trade, war, diplomacy, and international organizations. a. Example: the role of the Silk Road in connecting civilizations. The effects of technology, economics, and demography on people and their environment (population growth and decline, disease, labor systems, manufacturing, migrations, agriculture, and weaponry). a. Example: the role of agricultural innovation in the high middle ages. Systems of social structure and gender structure (comparing major features within and among societies, and assessing change and continuity). a. Example: the social and economic impacts of the Chinese civil service system. Cultural, intellectual and religious developments including interactions among and within societies. a. Example: the evolution of Islamic intellectualism at the house of Wisdom. Changes in functions and structures of states and in attitudes toward states and political identities (political culture), including the emergence of the nation‐state (types of political organization). a. Example: the evolution of states in the wake of the fall of Rome.
 * Welcome to your World History class!! **
 * The general themes we will focus on are as follows:**
 * 1. Technological and cultural innovation.**
 * 2. Evolution of social class**
 * 3. Formation of global economic and political institutions**
 * 4. Diversity of global cultural values**
 * 5. Patterns of interaction and change**
 * 6. Geographic impact upon World History**


 * Course Description **

Students in grade ten study major turning points in history that shaped the modern world, from pre to post industrial development.

Students develop an understanding of current world issues and relate them to their historical, geographic, political, economic, and cultural contexts. Students consider multiple accounts of events in order to understand international relations from a variety of perspectives. Students also continue their development of investigation by expanding their repertoire of skills including **//APPARTS//**, a reading strategy for dissecting and analyzing a primary source,

author's point of view? you know that would help you further understand the primary source? For example, do you recognize any symbols and recall what they represent? source? R eason: Why was this source produced, and how might this affect the reliability of the source?
 * A ** uthor: Who created the source? What do you know about the author? What is the
 * P ** lace and time: Where and when was the source produced? How might this affect the meaning of the source?
 * P ** rior knowledge: Beyond information about the author and the context of its creation, what do
 * A ** udience: For whom was the source created and how might this affect the reliability of the
 * T ** he main idea: What point is the source is trying to convey?
 * S ** ignificance: Why is this source important? Ask yourself "So what?" in relation to the question

and // SOAPSTone // (Speaker, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, Subject, Tone), an effective strategy for narrative, persuasive, and analytical writing. It helps students organize their ideas, explain their thoughts and feelings, and achieve a personal voice.

Through this approach we will acquire the skills and knowledge needed to develop a sophisticated understanding of world history, to succeed in this course, to continue to meet and exceed our potential as individuals, and as an intellectual community throughout our high school, university and later careers. These critically important aims are called the **Cs of Historical Endeavor**: both the History we study and the History that we ourselves make. || Our aims as historians at large. || **Basic Historical Concepts** || **Advanced Historical Concepts** || **//Context//** **//Causality//** **//Complexity//** || **//Change and Continuity over time//** **//Coincidence//** **//Contingency//** **//Conjuncture//** || Our aims as world citizens. |||| **Developing a Cosmopolitan world-view** - To better understand the Human Web, the World-System and the development of globalization—and “glocality”—for better and for worse. - To become informed world citizens engaged in the global human experience. **Engaging the world with Compassion** - To better understand the past and present status of human rights, community engagement and global equity. - To determine what actions we can take to better our shared world and then actualize them. || Our aims as community intellectuals and academics. |||| **Creating a Culture of Achievement** - Achieving 100% competence-level grade achievement in World History - Competence is defined as maintaining an 80 or higher average. - Aspiring to excellence achievement (90+). - And celebrating the accomplishment of all class and individually set goals by all our peers and colleagues. - Setting and achieving a series of short and long-term goals—both within and beyond the classroom—agreed upon by the members of our class. - Sustaining a Community of Intellectuals - As a class, our aim is to support high level achievement in World History and all other coursework. - As a class, our aim is to support each other in excelling in scholarly, athletic, extra-curricular and international challenges. - As a class, our aim is to nurture this community of intellectuals—to establish a network of excellence—in person and via the Internet for the length of our professional careers. ||
 * TAPPING our potential**
 * The key to succeeding in this course is “TAPPING” our potential to the fullest: My potential as a teacher and your potential as a student. We will do this through three kinds of aims: Theory Aims, Aspect Aims and Professional Aims.
 * ** T —Theory Aims**
 * ^  || **//Comparison//**
 * ^  |||| //Our aim is to master applying the above concepts to essay writing, academic discussions, group and independent research, and the overall study of history.// ||
 * ** A —Aspect Aims**
 * ** P —Professional Aims**

I believe strongly in offering students opportunities to go beyond the basic requirements of the course to challenge themselves, receive additional training for college and earn extra points for the course. Not every community historian will become a professional historian: we all have different and valuable interests, abilities and skills. Therefore, I strive to offer each individual the opportunity to contribute to our intellectual community in the ways she is best able. All bonuses and specific situations will be based on transparent and equitable negotiations between the student (or group) and myself. Below are several of the general options I like to make available to students in my classes. ||
 * **Extra-Credit, Elevation and Ongoing Recuperation Opportunities**

Webquests, Internet research lessons - even relevant gaming activities are all suitable (subject to approval). ||
 * **//Peer Tutoring //** || In the next few weeks I will finalize a schedule and a location for peer-tutoring. Students accomplished and interested in the social sciences and humanities will be invited to apply for positions as peer tutors. Strong writers—regardless of knowledge of historical content—are encouraged to apply. ||
 * **//Administrative and Organizational Assistance //** || Students wishing to assist with paperwork, classroom organization, filing and other administrative tasks can also receive extra-credit. ||
 * **//Internet Resource Development and Administration //** || Students willing to help moderate our course websites or develop communication and academic enrichment resources on the my sites or Facebook, or student-generated pages can earn credit for their efforts.
 * **//Instructional Development and Implementation //** || Students willing to design lessons, cooperative/interactive activities, Powerpoint lectures, presentations, video-viewings, oral history projects or school visitations will be able to earn credit for their initiative. Students should look well in advance at upcoming units and then submit a proposal to be negotiated. ||
 * **//Creative projects //** || Students who are willing to develop artistic, musical, theatrical, literary or other creative interpretations of historical subjects and themes and present them to other grades and school History classes are able to earn extra-credit for their productions. ||
 * **//Further Opportunities //** || The sky is really the limit. Any project or activity that provides substantive historical and academic enrichment opportunities will be considered. If you have an idea, run it past me and we will explore its potential. ||


 * ====**Class Rules and Procedures: Designation and Definitions **====

However, several procedures and guidelines that are specific to this class are explained below.
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 * ====**1. Beginning and Ending Class **====

Finally, find your seat, remove any headgear and take out your laptop and/or binder and writing utensils.
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 * ====**2.“On Time”: ** The definition of this phrase in our class is that **#1 above ** is fully accomplished. Being present in the room—or having one toe touched====

down in the room—does not meet the requirement.
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 * ====**3. “End of Class”: ** The definition of this phrase in our class is that I will signal when the class has ended. The bell does not dismiss class, I do.====

- You will keep you binders open and you writing utensils out until you are directed to pack up. No one packs up anything until told to do so.
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 * ====**4. Classroom Conduct and Care **====

- No food or drink other than water is allowed in the classroom.
====- No electronic devices. If any electronic device makes a sound, is visible or is utilized in any way you will lose 2 Disposition points for disrespecting your professional environment and colleagues by not turning off your device.====

- Keep the classroom neat and clean. Put trash in the trash can. Use the proper recycling receptacles. Etc. When leaving, please reposition your seat/desk to its correct place.
====- If you need to use the bathroom, quietly get up, take the pass and go. **Do not ask to go, just go **. If frequency becomes an issue, we will have a discussion.==== ||
 * ====**5. Discussion and Participation **====

- This class will involve daily discussion. A cooperative, respectful and supportive environment is essential for this. Show others respect and they will show the same to you.
====- There will be absolutely no speaking, no whispering—no parallel communicating of any kind—while I or another student has the floor. If I or another student is speaking, you should only be listening, taking notes, and/or raising your hand if you would like to add something or respond. There is a====

great deal of groupwork in this class and you will have many opportunities to speak with your classmates. Wait for these opportunities.
====- Do not gesticulate wildly or shout out if you would like to contribute to the discussion or if you have a question. Raise your hand respectfully and I, or the student moderator, will call on you. If we do not call on you immediately, there could be a number of reasons why. Calmly wait for another chance or speak to us after class.====

- If you have what you believe is a legitimate and interesting sidetrack but realize that it will not fit into the current discussion, quietly write it down, get up and hand it to me.
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**//Rules Rationale//** World citizens come from many different cultures and traditions. The characteristics and flavor of each person’s background should be respected. However, professional communication is essential for global cooperation. Therefore, we must learn to cherish the idiosyncrasies of our own cultures while simultaneously learning and practicing the international standard for interaction. In such cases the default should always be to practice greater respect, greater patience and greater tolerance for others. This does not mean surrendering our own ways of engaging the world in order to adopt a generic internationalism; it means to become truly multi-lingual, truly multi-cultural, truly multi-dialectical. By observing these rules we strive, in essence, to become fluent in humanity.