Wednesday, August 6 th

1. Wednesday, August 6th Bell-Ringer: Please locate your assigned seat using one of the sheets on the back tables. Silently read the directions of the handout provided to yourself. Take the first 10 minutes of class to complete the activity as I take attendance and distribute materials to you.

2. Daily Agenda: • Bell-Ringer: Icebreaker • Course Introduction: • Syllabus • Expectations • Student Contracts • Class Procedures • Discussion: What is an American? • Essential Questions: • What strategies can I utilize to be the most efficient student possible in this course? • What is an American? Homework: Read syllabus and return Student Contract and Student Info. Sheet with parent signature.

3. Getting to Know You… When it is your turn, stand up, tell us your name, and choose one answer from your bell work sheet to share with the class.

4. Welcome! About Your Teacher: • Born in MI, lived in FL longer than you’ve been alive • Graduated from UCF • Married with two kids (Penelope and Sven) • Taught for 13 years, 7 at CHS • Have taught every Social Studies course except for Psychology • Of all the options in question one, I would want to be a librarian at a prestigious university • I think decades from now, people will find our use of apps like Angry Birds and Candy Crush ridiculous • Would have loved to grow up in Renaissance Italy or the Pre-Columbian Inca Empire • Ideal Classes: Time Management 101: Juggling the Everyday Grind; Human Studies: The Art of Patience; Drama 305: Making the Mundane Exciting; Anatomy 403: Making Due Without Sleep

5. Course Introduction: • Honors 1st Semester; AP 2nd Semester (ONE COURSE – 2 credits) • EOC will be taken in December (Hence, starting in the middle) • AP Exam  Friday, May 8th • 1st Semester  Antebellum Era – Present • 2nd Semester  Pre-Columbian – Antebellum Era, Review

6. Course Themes: • While much of the course will be presented chronologically, an emphasis on the following themes will be essential for success: • Identity • Work, Exchange, and Technology • Peopling • Politics and Power • America in the World • Environment and Geography – Physical and Human • Ideas, Beliefs, and Culture

7. Course Overview:

8. Additional Emphasis: • DBQ • Writing • SFIs

9. You should know this going in… • There is a TON of reading in this course, and you can’t get by without doing it! • Every unit you will be asked to take notes, identify specific factual information, write an essay, and complete other class activities. • You will write essays each unit! (“Practice makes Perfect”) • The AP exam (required) is over 3 hours and 15 minutes, and the EOC counts 30% of your fall semester grade • Statewide, APUSH has the a “pass” rate of only 39%.

10. Students taking at least 1 Advanced Placement course in High School are 33% more likely to graduate college with at least a 4 year degree than students that do not.

12. Expectations and Responsibilities You are expected to: Attend class regularly and on time Bring all required materials Complete assignments to the best of your ability Keep an open mind Use your time in class for the right purposes Obey school and district policies to ensure the best learning environment for everyone You are entitled to: Relevant instruction Ask relevant questions Purposeful activities A College Board approved curriculum A safe and clean learning environment Your due respect and dignity

13. Course Materials: • Textbook – American History: Connecting with the Past • 3-Ring Binder (at least 1”– no folders) *AVID students may merely devote a section of their AVID binder to the class. • Pens and Pencils (Blue and Black only) • Highlighters (At least 4 different colors) • Notebook Paper (You’ll need a bunch) • Composition Book or Spiral Notebook (to stay in the classroom) • AP Review Book (Issued to You)

14. Why do we study U.S. History? According to the 2010 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), just 12 percent of seniors are proficient in U.S. history while only 24 percent measure up in civics.

15. For Discussion: • Why do American students struggle to retain an understanding of history/civics? • What should we study in U.S. History?Why?

16. Classroom Rules and Procedures Know what to do and how to behave and we will get along fine.

17. Classroom Rules: • Be respectful • No profanity or negativity • Hands to yourself • No phones, MP3 players, tablets, or computer misuse • Stay awake, engaged, and on-task • Nothing goes airborne

18. Classroom Expectations: Procedures: Time Management: Use your time during class for this course There is NO SUCH THING as free time Use the last 5 minutes of class (5 minutes of class lost each day amounts to 10 days of lost class time over the course of the year) • Enter quietly • Begin bell work BEFORE the bell • Raise your hand • Remain seated until dismissed • One person talking at a time • Silence during morning show, drills, and testing

19. Classroom Procedures: • Bathroom Permission, Sign-Out, Acquire Pass (5 minute limit), C-Wing only, Sign-In • Homework  Placed in the bins in the back of room at beginning of class (unless otherwise noted) the day after it is assigned • Leaving Seat  Tissues, pencil sharpening, and throwing things away may be done discreetly without first acquiring permission • Tardies  Quietly sign-in, leave pass on Mr. Naruta’s desk • Absences  Check blue box in back for work; check wiki for materials

20. Directions: • On your notecard, clearly and neatly write a 3-5 sentence definition of what you consider to be an American. • Note that there is no single correct answer here. Just write your own thoughts.

21. What is an American? “What constitutes an American? Not color nor race nor religion. Not the pedigree of his family nor the place of his birth. Not the coincidence of his citizenship. Not his social status nor his bank account. Not his trade nor his profession. An American is one who loves justice and believes in the dignity of man. An American is one who will fight for his freedom and that of his neighbor. An American is one who will sacrifice property, ease and security in order that he and his children may retain the rights of free men. An American is one in whose heart is engraved the immortal second sentence of the Declaration of Independence. Americans have always known how to fight for their rights and their way of life. Americans are not afraid to fight. They fight joyously in a just cause.” -- Harold Ickes, Secretary of the Interior (1941)

22. EXIT SLIP: Please place your bell work and notecard in the homework bin for your block before you leave today. Do NOT forget to read, complete, and return your AP contract tomorrow. Start studying your Bracketing Dates (quiz Friday)!