“History is a guide to navigation in perilous times.

History
is who we are and why we are the way we are.” – David
McCullough

Course Title: United States History

Instructor: Mrs. Carrie M. Flynn
Textbook(s): Creating America & History Alive! The
United States through Industrialization.

Contact Me: E-Mail: cmflynn@mail.clay.k12.fl.us (This is the best way to reach

me quickly)
Phone: (904) 213-5500

Class Website: Blackboard Site: www.clay.k12.fl.us/ols. Click on the “bee” by my name,

which is listed under the “faculty” tab.
Facebook Page: search for “Mrs. Flynn’s U.S. History Class.”
Twitter: @mrsflynnsclass

Class Description:

Students will learn & understand the various aspects of American History and American
Government from early beginnings through industrialization.

Class Expectations:

What are the expectations of the classroom?

The Four B’s….

Be prepared.
Be on time.
Be respectful.
Be responsible.

Behavior Consequences:

How do I discipline in my classroom?

1st Offense – Warning (spoken to you publicly/privately)

2nd Offense – Re-Focus* in back of the room or in another teachers room.
3rd Offense – Discipline Dice roll (lunch detention, before/after school detention, etc.)
4th Offense & Beyond – When all else fails, behavioral referral w/call home
Some behavioral offenses made by students will result in them receiving an automatic
behavioral referral. Some of those offenses are listed below:

 Use of profane language towards myself or another student.

 Direct defiance towards an instruction I have given you.
 Hitting or fighting.
 Possession, sale or use of drugs and/or alcohol on campus.
 Blatant disrespect towards me or another student.
 If other methods have been used over time, and nothing else has worked until now.
 Electronic devices/cell phone usage – texting, phone goes off in class, etc.

**Parents will be notified if you receive a detention or referral in my room! Most likely they will
be called/e-mailed during class.

**Class wide discipline problems = class wide punishment. Loss of free time, extra work, loss of
computer days, etc. are some examples of punishment. In my classroom, we are a team!

*What is Re-Focus??? The Re-Focus strategy is for students who have become a distraction or
disruption to the classroom environment. Students are given one opportunity to re-direct in
class, and then if the behavior is repeated, they will be asked to step next door to another
teacher’s room to complete the re-focus form. This gives the student time to assess what they
were doing wrong and how they can fix the problem. I will conference with the student at the end
of class after the form is completed.

Rewards for positive behavior:

**Students can roll the rewards dice – this opportunity is given to a student each day that has
worked hard and behaved well in class. Some of the rewards may include:

**Positive e-mail/call home to parents.

**No-homework pass
**Gift from the treasure chest
**Free-time pass

Grading:

Tests/Quizzes 40%
Projects 25%
Homework 20%
Classwork& Class Participation 15%

Grading Scale:

A = 90% - 100%
B = 80% - 89%
C = 70% - 79%
D = 60% - 69%
F = 59% and Below
Notebook:

**We do use an interactive notebook here - similar to the ones many of you used in Geography
classes last year.
**A 1 ½” to 2” three-ring binder & dividers are necessary. You may need other ones for other
classes. I require one for my class only! Do NOT combine them!
**The notebook is graded every quarter via a notebook quiz.
**A table of contents is provided in my room for you to check.

**You should have dividers that are set aside for the following areas in your
notebook:
**Bellwork Questions
**Written Notes
**Reading Notes
**Homework & Vocabulary

THE NOTEBOOK SHOULD BE BROUGHT TO CLASS EVERY DAY!!!

Copying/Plagiarism:

**Anyone seen copying my work OR another teacher’s work will be given a zero for
that assignment.
**Copying is cheating, and does NOT allow the student to really learn the material from the
assignment they were given.
**Copying and pasting information from a website is plagiarism, which means that you are not
writing your assignment in your own words.
**A student who is caught plagiarizing on homework, classwork, or a project WILL BE
GIVEN A ZERO FOR THAT ASSIGNMENT!!!

What We Will Learn: This is a rough plan, and we will do our best to get it all in!

Unit Dates Unit Topic

August-September 2010 Native Americans & Exploration
September – October 2010 The Early Colonies & 9/11
October – November 2010 The American Revolution
November – December 2010 Government & Civics Unit
The Growing Nation & Manifest
January 2011 Destiny
February 2011 Andrew Jackson & Foreign Affairs
March - April 2011 The Civil War Unit
April – May 2011 Immigration & Progressive Era
May – June 2011 Civil Rights & The Holocaust

Missing/Make-up Work:

**Make up work is due within a week of your absence. For example, if you miss Monday and
Tuesday, the work is due by the next Tuesday.

**IT IS UP TO YOU TO GET INFORMATION ON THE WORK YOU MISSED! IF YOU DO NOT
TURN IT IN, YOU WILL RECEIVE A ZERO!!!!

**Sports team members – you are responsible to get the work you miss from class. You will
have to turn it in the next day. You are not exempt from due dates!
CLASSWORK:
**Classwork is a HUGE part of your grade! It will include written & reading notes, class activities,
discussion/debates, drama & visual exercises, etc.
**IF YOU ARE ABSENT, IT IS UP TO YOU TO GET THE NOTES FROM A CLASSMATE!!!! **

**NO LATE CLASSWORK ACCEPTED!!!**

Homework:

**ANY WORK WITHOUT YOUR NAME = AUTOMATIC 50 POINTS OFF YOUR GRADE FOR
THAT ASSIGNMENT!!!**

How much homework will we receive?

**Homework is given weekly! It is usually given on a Monday and is usually due by Friday.
**Homework is to be turned into your class period’s homework basket at the beginning of the
class, not to the teacher at the end of the day!

***NO LATE WORK IS ACCEPTED ****

Testing/Projects:

TESTS:
**TESTS MAY BE RE-TAKEN IF A STUDENT EARNS BELOW A 70. For each re-take, the
student can earn up to a 75/C to replace their original test score.
**Tests MUST BE RETAKEN WITHIN A WEEK OF THE ORIGINAL TEST DATE! After that, the
original test score stays. ** No exceptions!!

PROJECTS:
**Projects are used often and vary between individual and group projects.
**We normally do between one and two projects a quarter, usually paired with the unit topics.
**Projects are graded using a rubric.
**Directions for projects are given in class and provided on my class website.

Turning In Your Work & Getting Graded Work:

**Students should turn in their work to their class slot in the black basket. DO NOT HAND ME THE
WORK UNLESS I TELL YOU TO!
**Students are responsible to get ALL graded work from their class periods slot in the PURPLE
basket.
**Students should do this daily at the end of the class period, not during class, so that they will
not interrupt their classmates!

Class Preparation:
Any student who is NOT prepared for class (no notebook paper, pencils, pens, etc), MAY be
penalized for missing supplies. Students may purchase paper for $.10 a sheet, and pens/pencils
may be bought for $.25 a piece. Students ARE NOT allowed to leave the classroom to get
supplies, notebooks, books, etc. MAKE SURE YOU COME PREPARED or you may miss an important
assignment!

Bathroom Use:
Students may have a TOTAL of 5 bathroom passes per quarter. After that, the student MUST use
the restroom between classes only, unless there is an emergency.

Syllabus Parent Acknowledgement Form

By reading the syllabus above, I (parent name) _______________________, parent/guardian of
(student name)________________________, acknowledge that I understand and agree with all
classroom, academic and behavioral policies for the 2010 – 2011 school year.

I also understand and agree to communicate effectively with Mrs. Flynn if there is a problem
with my student via email or by phone if necessary.

I understand that if it is necessary for me to meet face to face with Mrs. Flynn that I must call
Ms. Gilbert in the guidance department to set up an appointment. (Generally parent meetings
involve ALL academic team teachers for each student.)

______________________________ _________________________
Parent Signature Date

______________________________ _________________________
Student Signature Date