American History

2012-2013
Grade 7 Recommended
Wednesday

Course Tutor:
Katie Schmidt
kschmidt.teenworks@gmail.com

Course Description:
“Now, a government is like everything else: to preserve it we must love it… Everything, therefore, depends on establishing this love in a republic; and to inspire it ought to be the principal business of education.”   -Thomas Jefferson

The blessed state of freedom that we enjoy in the United States of America is maintained by a self- governed people who cherish their nation and the principles upon which it is built.  This year, in Jr. Teenworks American History, we will study one of the most incredible stories of the world: the birth and life of the American Republic.  This will be a survey course covering the Age of Discovery to the present, and students should master a foundational, working knowledge of the major events that have secured and established the prosperity of this land of liberty.

Through discussion, hands on activities, historical fiction, and traditional learning, we will study:
•    Early America: Native Inhabitants and the Age of Discovery
•    Life in Colonial America
•    The War for Independence
•    The Founding and Establishment of the Republic
•    Westward Expansion, Reform, and Turmoil in the 19th Century
•    The Civil War and Reconstruction
•    The Second Industrial Revolution
•    The Progressive Era
•    World War I
•    The Roaring 20’s
•    The Great Depression & The Era of the New Deal
•    World War II
•    Postwar America and the Global Community
•    The Vietnam Era
•    The End of the 20th Century
•    History in the Making

Weekly work will include review of class notes, reading of the text book and selected historical literature, work on special historical-period projects, and basic written reflections on the impact of various historical events.  Grading will be based on a combination of weekly work, class participation, and test and quiz grades.

Course Notes:
This course will recommend use of Moodle.  Moodle is an online platform for classes where students can find handouts and resources posted by the tutor and where grades for this course will be kept.  For more information on this program, please visit www.moodle.org.

Course Prerequisites: None, as this course is a foundational course in U.S. history.

Copy Fee: $15 copy fee payable to the tutor on the first day of class.

Required Texts (all but A Beka textbook available at Teenworks Resource Center):

  • America: Land that I Love (Student Text. Families must order this book directly from A Beka Book 1-877-223-5226, http://www.abeka.com)
  • The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare
  • Behind Rebel Lines: The Incredible Story of Emma Edmonds, Civil War Spy by Seymour Reit
  • Sing Down the Moon by Scott O’Dell
  • The Green Coat by Rosemary McDunn

Required Supplies:

  • A 3-inch 3-ring binder with 5 divider tabs and notebook paper
  • A flat 3-hole punched pencil holder, containing:

3 to 4 sharpened pencils
A 12 pack of sharpened, colored pencil
A highlighter
A small pair of scissors
A glue stick