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"I know nothing because I know too much, and don't understand not nearly enough." Marius de Romanus (Vampire Chronicles/ K Floyd)

“I have heard it said that there are two times in your life when you stand a chance, in the face of whatever social forces struggle to get you in their grip, of becoming something new, of creating your own personal universe through the sheer power of imagination and persistence: one is adolescence and the other is middle age.” (Margaret Sartor)

B) Guidelines for behavior in Mr. Wetzel’s Classroom

It is my expectation that students try consistently to reach these goals.

I. Participate in classroom activities in an appropriate manner, and strive to complete assignments.

II. Respect the property of the school and other students.

III. You have a right to be treated with respect, and so do all other students and school personnel.

My discipline options include whole class or individual verbal warnings, detentions, phone calls, and referrals.

Work with me?

C) Grade Weights (adjustments may occur during the year)
(for detailed assignment information, click the ‘Audio Assignment Descriptions’ link on the homepage)

30 Déjà vu Terms Activities

DV Test(s) (20) (see ‘F’)

Déjà vu Spiral (5) (see ‘Q’)

Déjà vu Transfer (5) (Photo Hunt, Transfer, etc.) (information provided each quarter)

30 Exploration Activities

In/out of class activities (16) (see ‘E’)

Mind’s Eye Entries (4) (see ‘J’)

Discussions (4) (see ‘G)

STTA (4) (Bumper Sticker, etc.) (information provided each quarter)

Quizzes (1) (Not scheduled—see ‘I’)

Participation (1) (see ‘D’)

25 Quarterly Assignments (all assignments not required each quarter—substitutions may occur—equal weighting)

Recital (see ‘P’)

Field Report (see ‘K’)

Reaction (see ‘S’)

Article Pairs (see ‘R’)

Learn and Teach Project (see ‘M’)

Postcard from the Past (see ‘L’)

Miss Papan Exchange (information provided each quarter)

15 Tests

Tests (15) (Scheduled—see ‘H’)

Transition scores are assigned for work that is not satisfactory (usually indicated by a score of less than half credit)—students should make corrections and resubmit for increased credit. Transition scores do not apply to quizzes.

Extra Credit is limited to a maximum of 2% towards a Quarter grade of A, 4% for a B, 6% for a C, and 8% for a D. See me if you have an idea you would like to pursue for extra credit—UNAVAILABLE LAST WEEK OF QUARTER!

D) Class Participation: Class participation grades are based on productivity in the classroom. Although they are only a small percent of the quarterly grade, they provide information about how well a learner is using their time.

Score	Productivity	Four week Measure
9	Always on task (disc, listening, watching, reading, etc.)	No more than 1 redirection
8	Almost always on task (disc, listening, watching, reading, etc.)	2 – 4 redirections
6	Usually on task (disc, listening, watching, reading, etc.)	5 – 10 redirections
3	Frequently off task (disc, listening, watching, reading, etc.)	11+ redirections or refusal to work

8B History Class Participation Rubric
CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Approach to Learning (Individual)	Work habits and attitude reflect this student's best efforts.	Work habits and attitude support learning.	Work habits and attitude negatively affect individual learning.	Work habits and attitude negatively affect peer learning.
Materials (Individual)	has materials present and ready to go	promptly and discreetly secures materials	secures materials late or loudly, but in less than 30 seconds	lack of materials stops the class or limits participation more than 30 seconds
Problem Solving (Individual)	seeks solutions to solve the problem	accepts and applies suggested solutions	unable/ unwilling to apply solutions when offered	does not seek assistance
Response to Redirection (Individual)	subtle apology, immediate change	quick change and no repeat	second request before change sticks	no change or continued disruptions
Exiting the room (Individual)	waits, chair, straighten area	waits, pushes in chair	waits at seat for dismissal	waits at door for dismissal
Team Work (Group)	guides group toward task completion	participated fully with group task	limited participation in group task	actions/ words negatively affect group task
Discussion (Discussion)	Excellent listening and speaking skills.	Participates actively in class discussions as a speaker and listener.	Participates in class discussions in a reluctant, but not disruptive manner.	Disrupts class environment with comments or actions that distract from or prevent learning.
Evidence (Discussion)	idea(s) supported by multiple sources of information	idea(s) supported by a single source of information	idea(s) clearly stated, but not supported by a source	idea(s) not clearly stated
Listening (Discussion)	chair on floor, hands quiet, eyes on speaker, attention clear	chair on floor, hands quiet eyes on speaker, attention implied	3 out of 4: hands, chair, eyes, focus	< 3 out of 4: hands, chair, eyes, focus
Time-management (Work Day)	Always on identified task from start to finish.	Briefly off task, but responds to redirection.	Off task more than once, but accomplishes some work with time available.	Does not consistently work on assigned tasks despite redirection.

Bold is used to indicate the minimum acceptable level of participation.

E) In/out of class Activity Scoring:

In/out of class activities include discussions, worksheets, web quests, chats, etc.—they may include a reading, watching or home component, which will also be considered along with the final product in determining the grade. Typically these types of activities are designed to provide students with all the support and time they need for a perfect score. As a result, quality of participation in the learning process has a major impact on the grade.

Score	Description
9	Full participation in the activity processes (discussion, reading, sharing, etc.) Completion of all written elements of the assignment (notes, responses, paragraphs, etc)
8	Good work, but some participation or written elements were short of expectations
7	Poor performance in terms of participation and/ or writing, but Learning Report completed
6	Completed written components, but multiple redirection required
1	Removed from group for behavioral reasons, can earn more credit with a learning report
0	Did not turn in assignment

F) Déjà vu Terms Test: (may be given in one or multiple formats each quarter)

0	1 - 19	C+ (20/26)	A or B (20+/ 26)
No attempt	Incomplete/ transition—failed to reach 80 percent (RETAKE)	Completed with extra time—score does not reflect quality of original score	Score achieved on first take

G) Discussions: (grade based on listening and response to prompts) (rubric information in participation table)

1 - 4	5	7	8	9
Frequently disruptive	Frequently off task in terms of listening/ focus	Fails to comment when prompted	Usually listens and always comments when prompted	Always listens and comments

H) Tests: (scores vary by points possible on the test—students may retake once for a maximum score of 60%)

I) Quizzes: Quiz grades indicate the number of correct responses. Quizzes are can not be retaken or corrected.

J) Mind’s Eye Entries: Mind’s Eye entries are created by students based on prompts provided in class. The most common prompts involve questions to introduce, analyze and reflect on a topic. Usually an image and written response of at least two sentences is expected. The entries are collected twice per quarter for grading.

0	1	4	6	8	9
No input	Some work submitted	Missing several entries/content	Missing entry/ content	Content lacks development	Proper content

K) Field Reports: Students are expected to independently select and view a movie about history/ government each quarter. The movie may be a documentary or simply a film with social studies content. In order to receive credit, students must submit a Field Report that includes:
1) notes (at least ½ page)
2) an explanation of two things learned from the movie (descriptions of new understandings, not restatements of notes)
3) an explanation of how the movie connects to two Déjà vu Terms.

Each section of the Field Report is worth 3 points:

0	1	2	3
No input	Some work submitted	Information present, but not fully developed	Well done

L) Postcard from the Past: Students will use the textbook to create a postcard message from the past that includes:

reference to a specific date, place, event, vocabulary term, and person that convinces me you understand how they are all connected
an explanation of how the event connects to a Déjà vu term
a prediction of how the event will affect the future (based on the postcard date)
a student created image for the postcard with a caption

Postcards should be created on a folded sheet of paper with the image on the top half and the message on the bottom half.

0	1	2	3
No input	Some work submitted	Information present, but not fully developed	Well done

M) Learn and Teach Project

The Learn and Teach Project is intended as a three quarter exploration and presentation project. The first quarter requires the identification of a topic, the second involves research, and the third will be for creation. My goal is to set students loose working with a social studies topic in which they are personally interested. You may work alone or with one partner--students who want to work with more than one partner should see me to request permission to do so. I advise you to get a quick start and to work ahead as soon as you have instructions, so you have plenty of time for creating and revising your Learn and Teach Project.

First Quarter: Identification (15 points)

A) What is your topic? Be specific.(the topic must be narrow and related to social studies—FLEXIBLE)

B) Why is this topic important to you? Explain.

C) Why is it important that other understand your topic?

D) What are your research plans?

E) What sort of project do you plan to create?

You should keep submitting your responses until you have earned all 15 points.

Second Quarter: Research

Specific research guidelines will be provided later, but the general focus will be to encourage students to research information about their topic and to identify the main ideas they want to share with their peers. If you begin early, please keep track of your sources.

Third Quarter: Development

Specific project development guidelines will be provided later, but please feel encouraged to share your ideas with me in order to seek permission to start early on the creation of your project.

P) Recital: (25 points): Each quarter students will complete an oral recital of material related to social studies.

Along with each recital, students should present a related researched fact, a statement of importance to self and society, and a student created image with color that reflects student comments. (19 points for the recital, 2 points each for fact, importance, and image)

Quarter 1 recital: The Pledge of Allegiance

Q) Déjà vu Spiral: You will be provided with one 70 page spiral notebook to use as a Déjà vu Spiral.

Sheets 1-26 (do these in alphabetical order)

Write the Déjà vu Term in the upper right corner in large print.

Copy the definition, example(s), image, and quote onto the page beginning at the left margin/ top of page. (one item per line—write small) During the rest of the year, we will add information to the front of the sheets.

Backside of Sheets 1 -25 (Backside Notes)

BSN will be recorded on the left page when the spiral is opened to a Déjà vu Term. The Bill of Rights BSN will be on the inside cover of the spiral, the capitalism BSN will be on the backside of the Bill of Rights sheet, etc.

The goal of the BSN is to provide you with an opportunity to learn about the Déjà vu Terms on your own or with peers.

In order to earn credit, for each Déjà vu Term item you need to research and present evidence that convinces me that:

1) you understand each of the items (definition, example(s), quote, and image)

2) you have found a related term (person, place, event, vocabulary, etc.) with a definition for each item

3) you can describe how each item connects to the Déjà vu Term

For the overall Déjà vu Term, you need to provide a taste, smell and sound as well as create a picture with a caption that includes all the clues and a ‘rhyme’ with today—how does it affect our world?.

Although assessment will take place in an oral interview format, you will be able to use your Déjà vu Terms Spiral information as a reference and to provide evidence of your learning.

You may work on research and creation with peers, but your presentation will be solo.

0	1	2	3	4
No Input	Work has started	Progress is evident	Significant progress --close to mastery	Mastery of the term and items is evident

Because we will be creating more pages in the spiral during the year, you should not use or remove any sheets:

Sheets 27 – 43 Text Notes

Sheets 44 – 49 Constitution Coloring Book

Sheets 70 – 50 Discussion Maps

R) Article Pair: (must be completed with a partner/ not required to be an 8B student—turn in a single paper)

Read and discuss an article approved by the teacher.

A) Describe something the article taught you (an understanding, not a fact) and why it is important.

B) Explain your thoughts about why you think the article was approved by the teacher. (What was the teacher’s goal?)

C) Describe a connection between the article and two Déjà vu terms.

D) Create an image that presents your ideas and information about the article in a visual form.

S) What is a reaction?

A reaction must follow the outline format below:

(Write the outline numbers in the left margin of your paper)

                                                       I.      Appropriate heading and title

                                                    II.      List and describe a (P)lus, (M)inus, and (I)nteresting aspect of the material. (2 sentences for each—statement followed by support)

                                                 III.      List and define two unknown/ good words from the source.

                                                 IV.      Describe a link to two Déjà vu Terms.

                                                    V.      Write a reaction paragraph. (see description below)

                                                 VI.      List and describe a taste, smell and sound that go with your topic.

                                              VII.      Draw a related picture and caption. (stick pix are fine)

                                           VIII.      Is this topic worth exploring next year? (Y/N) with a brief why/ why not.

          A reaction paragraph (7+ sentences) explains what you consider to be key ideas or understandings that relate to an assigned text section, video, reading selection, or other learning experience. You are expected to use complete sentences, and include an explanation of your statements where necessary. A reaction must include your own observations about why the subject is important, how it relates to other matters, as well as additional information you may know about the topic. A reaction is an opportunity for you to think about the material and express your thoughts in writing. Each reaction should be unique, because students are expected to complete their work independently.

Can I just copy from the source material?

          Copying is plagiarism (a type of cheating) and it does not demonstrate that you have

          thought about the material.

What if I do not understand the material as a whole?

          If you complete all of the basic components and struggle with the paragraph, you will still get a good grade. If you are stumped, please pick one or two paragraphs, or even sentences, that you do understand, and work with only that part of it. Some articles may be too hard for some students. I know this, and try to grade accordingly.

Warning: Reactions that are good will receive a good grade. Maximum credit will only go to exceptional work:

A. follows all guidelines

B. unexpected bonus: (uniquely superior)

-      clarity of argument

-      logic of argument

-      internal/ external connections

-      relevancy/ application

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