Mr. Suess

                                 *****Course Policies*****

• First and foremost: Welcome!!!!!!
• Students will have an organized notebook for class everyday.
• Assignments not received when due, due to absence, must be turned in the day the student returns to be accepted for credit. Otherwise, assignments are due the date they are assigned for students attending class on the due date.
• Attendance is a given. When absent from class, it is the responsibility of the student to find out what was missed from the teacher. There will always be a 1-2 week schedule posted in the classroom so that students can look ahead or look back to see what assignments there are.
• Students receive two school days for every school day missed to make up all missed assignments due to excused or unexcused absences. (Students are to check with me on a case by case situation for the appropriate time they are to receive).
• Excused or unexcused absences of a missed pop quiz results in the doubling of the student’s next pop quiz. There are no make-ups of missed pop quizzes. It is the responsibility of the student to indicate on their quiz it is to be doubled.
• Students receive ONE free unexcused tardy per marking period. Unused ones do not accumulate. You are considered tardy when I start taking attendance OR when I close the door, WHICH EVER COMES FIRST!!! After your first unexcused tardy, each successive unexcused tardy will result in whatever school policy action dictates.
• Cheating will not be tolerated!!! Any evidence of cheating will result in an automatic “0” on the assignment. Further administrative action may also be taken. BELIEVE IN YOURSELF AND DO YOUR OWN WORK!!!
• Extra help is always available, just ask!! Remember, there are never any stupid questions.

10-No one has the right to disrupt the learning environment.Moreover, no one has the right to make others feel any less about themselves.

11-Respect is mandated at all times, in and out of the classroom.  

12-All other school policies will be followed.

                          Grading scheme and course breakdown

    Your grade is based on how many points you earn. Every assignment will be given a point total that will vary based on the assignment. All points will be added up at the end of the marking period. A distribution will then be established on the total number of available points. All assignment points will be clearly identified with each assignment.

Borderline cases (5 POINTS OF THE BORDER ONLY) will be determined by areas such as attitude, attendance, effort etc. during the marking period. Extra credit will be available. (TBA)

                            Course Breakdown

    All classes are taught in a relaxed format and atmosphere. Students are treated like young adults and are expected to act like young adults. This format will be comprised of lectures, group discussions and projects, class activities, current events, projects, class work, homework, and possible daily pop quizzes.

                                   Odds and Ends

1-One person leaves the room at a time.

2-Keep my room clean! Eating will be discussed.

3-There are no seating charts as long as you act appropriately.

4-Cursing is not permitted. Common manners are expected at all times.

5-I dismiss you, not the bell.

6-Honesty, courtesy and respect are a must!!!

7-Students with attitudes and those who have trouble accepting responsibility for their actions do not sit well with me.

8-Do not bring your moods into my class.

9-I will be as fair and consistent as possible, but remember that different situations may dictate different solutions. Therefore, worry about you!

10-Those of you in after school activities come see me and we will work out any conflicts.

I want you to enjoy coming to my class and if there is anything I can do to help you, do not hesitate to ask.

              Critical Thinking Assignments-U.S. Govt.

Unit 1 Part 1: Discuss the 2 most important civil liberties to you. Compare and contrast how these liberties might be processed in another country. Explain your viewpoints with specific examples.

Unit 1 Part 2: Discuss why an individual accused of a crime should still have rights. Research cases and include in your essay instances where it was a good thing an accused individual had rights or they might have ended up in jail for longer than they should have been.

Unit 2: Analyze how you would feel if you were a delegate at the constitutional convention. What rights and laws would you have fought for or have been against. Knowing what you know now in the 21st century, how would you have altered our original constitution? Use specific examples to validate your claims.

Unit 3: Why is there so much distrust in our government today? Why is there such a lack of interest in our government and voting procedures? Site specific examples to explain your viewpoints.

Unit 4: Is it really necessary to have a representative government? What bill of law would you introduce into congress if you had a chance? Explain why this law would be important in our society today.

Unit 5: Who was your favorite and least favorite president? What values do you look for in a president?

Should presidents be total role models?

Unit 6: Is our court system truly about justice? Why or why not? What are the tragedies of justice that you are aware of? Site specific examples to back up your points.

Unit 7: How do you think this country handles foreign affairs? How have we handled the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq in your opinion?

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Papers may be hand written (neatly) or typed. Papers should be at least 1 full page (front and back) if hand written or 2 typed pages with a font of 14 or less. All papers are worth 30 points. Late papers are not accepted. Grading:

To receive an “A”(27-30 points): A student answers all areas of the question completely with specific examples and analysis.

To receive a “B”(24-26 points): A student covers most of the areas with a great deal of specific validation.

To receive a “C”(21-23 points): A student covers some of the areas and has only some validation to their viewpoints. 

To receive a “D”(18-20 points): A student has very little coverage of the areas to be answered and makes very little attempt to use any specific examples in their essay.

To receive an “F”(under 18 points): A student makes no logical attempt to answer the question and has no specific validation of their points.

Project Packet for Classes Taught by Mr. Suess

Basis project requirements, regardless of content area:

1-Each person(s) or group will do a project once during each marking period.

2-Projects will be worth 100 points per marking period.

3-In a group project, everyone will receive the same final project grade unless there is evidence that an individual’s grade should be lowered.

4-Projects must be turned in by the due date or receive a 10 point late penalty per each school day the project is turned in late.(up to 3 days)After a project is more than 3 school days late it will not be accepted and will not receive credit.

5-All projects that contain written work must be typed, must use double spacing and must use a font size of 12.

6-Group projects will contain between 2-4 people per group.

7-All group projects will be turned in a one project from all of the group members.

8-Appropriate attire will be necessary if an individual or group is presenting a project to the class. (Please refer to the presentation guidelines page for more specific requirements)

9-All written projects must include a bibliography with at least 4 different types of sources.  

10-All projects that contain summaries must be at least one typed page per summary.

11-All project selections that include newspaper articles must include those articles with your final paper.

12-Graphs, illustrations, appendices, etc. may be included in the paper but does not count toward the required body amount of pages for that project.

13-A cover page is required. Foot note and table of content pages are not required.

14-A professional looking binder to house your project paper is requested.

15-Plagerism will result in an automatic “0” for the project.

Project possibilities:

1-“Adopt a Country” year long project:

• You are to choose any country in the world other than the United States or Russia.
• Your job by the end of the year is to become an expert in almost every phase of that country.
• Researched information must not date back farther than the year 2000.
• All country selections must be approved by me;
• No student may have the same country selection in the same class.
• Grades on sectional aspects of the project will be worth 100 points per marking period.

First marking period assignment:

Students will do a 4-5 minute presentation to the class on their country.  This presentation will contain general information that can contain but is not limited to the country’s: people, religion, culture, monetary system, government, etc. This is not meant to be a detailed analysis. Students must choose what they feel is the most interesting general information to present.

Some Tips for Success:

• Visuals of any kind are highly suggested. Appropriate dress in country theme is suggested.
• Note card preparation is also suggested. Refer to the presentation specifications sheet for the exact category and values to be awarded.
• It is important that you present and not read your presentation.
•  You will be timed and if you go over the five minute limit by more than ten seconds you will be penalized five points.
•  Your creative outlet will weigh heavily in your individual category grades.
• Date(s) of presentations will be announced. Volunteers will be asked to go first. If you do not show up on the day of your presentation a “0” will be given.
•  Enjoy yourself, relax and have fun with this part of the project.

Part 2:

Your second assignment for your country project will be to write a 4-6 page paper discussing the finer details of your country. This paper should include most all of the specific and relevant details about your country. Up to 50 points of your grade will be based on an analysis of your information. The other 50 points of your grade will be based on the creative outlet in which you use to relay the information. (Examples of this will be discussed in class).

Failure to turn in the paper on time will result in a reduction this packet. Due dates will be announced well in advance.

Part 3:

This part of the project will be a comprehensive map drawn and created by you. Using creative outlets (examples to be discussed in class), you will create a representation of your country. Areas of interest you may choose to include could be: elevation points, main shipping ports, main agricultural resources, key cities, population numbers, environmental issues, swamplands and water regions, etc.

Your grade will be based on two categories:

• Up to 50 points for information
• Up to 50 points for creative display

Projects not turned in on the due date are subject to the late point reduction mentioned in page one of this packet.     

     Due dates will be announced well in advance.

Extra Credit and Current Events instructions:

Extra Credit:

The primary way to earn extra credit is to turn in a 3-4 page typed paper on any of the topics listed below. The assignment value will be 25 points. Extra credit assignments can only be turned in once per marking period. Papers are due on the specified date or earlier per marking period. Late papers will not be accepted. Students are to briefly summarize the topic given. After the summary, students are to discuss the importance of the person, place, event, etc. in history. Students are then to discuss what they learned about the topic and analyze its significance in the current event world. If you wish to do a topic that is not on the given list then simply clear the topic with me beforehand. Students will be reminded one time of the due date. It is the responsibility of the student to remember the assigned due date.

Possible topics:

People: George Bush, Hilary Clinton, Nelson Mandela, Maya Angelou, Jessie Jackson, Alan Greenspan, Charlie Crist, Supreme Court Justices, Hugo Chavez, Jacques Chirac, Past Presidents, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,

Barack Obama ,etc.

Events/Issues: Iraq war, 9/11, New Laws, Aides, Poverty, Nuclear buildups, Abortion, Teen issues, Presidential elections, Teen crime, Global warming, Taxes, Welfare reform, Crime in schools, World hunger, etc.

Current Events:

Classes (TBA) that are required to do current events will turn in 2 current events per week from the subject area of the class. Current events are worth 20 points total. Two current events per week are required to be turned in to be eligible to receive the full 20 points. Current events will be due on the Friday of each week. If you are absent on the Friday, then you must turn in 3 current events the following Monday to receive full credit. You may turn in your current events early if necessary. If you are in school on the Friday due date and you do not turn in your current events, your grade will be a “0” for the assignment for that week. Please staple your article to your summary. Summaries can be hand written or typed and should be about 1 page long per current event. For your article selections you may use newspapers, periodicals, on-line articles etc.

Your summary for each article should include the following:

1-A brief summary of the article

2-A brief explanation of why the article relates to your subject area

3-A brief explanation of why the article is important to current day situations

4-A brief opinion of what you think is going on