World History Course Syllabus

Romeo High School | Instructor: Mr. Bussineau

Phone: 752-0300
Email(preferred): timothy.bussineau@romeo.k12.org | Website: www.romeobulldogworld.weebly.com

Course Description
This course takes a global and comparative approach to studying the
world and its past to develop greater understanding of the development of
worldwide events, processes, and interactions among the worlds people,
cultures, societies, and environment. The content will cover various global,
interregional, and regional patterns and events that took place from 300
C.E./A.D. to the present.

The Text
Prentice Hall World History, 2009 by Ellis & Esler
Online Access

PH Textbook Companion Site

Student Responsibilities and Expectations

Romeo High School is a community dedicated to the empowerment of all through:
Perseverance, Responsibility, Integrity, Dignity, and Educational Excellence (P.R.I.D.E.).

Our classroom will be a learning environment that demonstrates this P.R.I.D.E..

Perseverance:Students shall for their personal best every day.
Responsibility: Students must bring their charged Chromebook every day, as well as any other
necessary materials. Students will follow the Romeo High School rules outlined in the student
handbook. Students are expected to participate fully, both in class and out, and to work diligently to get
the most out of the course.
Integrity: Student will present original work and authentically take assessments. Students will be
honest at all times.
Dignity: Student will treat themselves and their peers with respect; bullying and intimidation will not be
tolerated.
Educational Excellence: Students will be engaged in class and demonstrate excellence.

Additionally,
Attendance & Tardies: It's very important to attend class everyday. There's a high positive correlation
between attendance and success in school. However, if you are absent, you are responsible for the
 completion of any class work missed. Being late under normal circumstances is disrespectful to your
classmates, your teachers, and yourself, and it makes it more difficult for you to successful in our class,
so please don't be late. The school tardy policy will be applied.
All district and RHS policies apply, including the rules regarding make-up work (see grading
policy). More specifically:
All students are responsible with keeping up with the course on days of absence and
must work diligently to not fall behind. Any paper handouts you may have missed will be
available. If you missed a test or a quiz, you must schedule an appointment to make it
up. A student has one day to make up the work for each day missed.
Students will come prepared:
Assigned readings, including textbook chapter readings, will be completed on time and students
will be prepared for substantive discussions, both in class and online.
All coursework will be submitted by the posted due date.
Students will have no electronic devices except the Chromebook provided to you by Romeo
Community Schools in the classroom.
As always, work hard and be nice to people.

Academics

Grades
From the RCS Curriculum Office -- This course follows the G rading Standards Grades 6-12 for
formative and summative assessment and grading. Please review these standards for your own
knowledge.
70% Summative Assessment (includes Midterm/Final exam)
30% Formative Assessment
Retakes of formative assessments will be given at a time arranged between the teacher and student
and only after corrective measures have been taken by the student to improve performance. A student
shall be allowed to retake formative assessment in order to improve their mastery of the course
content. Any such retakes will be completed at a time agreed upon by the teacher and student prior to
the units summative assessment. Retakes shall be given only after an agreement has been made
about what steps the student will take to improve his or her learning.

Semester grades are calculated and given a letter assignment based on the RHS grading scale (A:
93-100%, A-: 90-92%, B+: 87-89%, B: 83-86%, B-: 80-82%, C+: 77-79%; C: 73-76%, C-: 70-72%, D+:
67-69%, D: 63-66%, D-: 60-62%, F: 59 and below).

Your overall semester grade will be computed consisting of all formative and summative work, as well
as a final exam. Your final semester grade is the one that is used to calculate your GPA.
 Academic Integrity
Students are expected to abide by ethical standards in preparing and presenting material which
demonstrates their level of understanding and which is used to determine success in this course. Such
standards are founded on the basic concepts of honesty and integrity.

Course Content
Possible topics include:
Medieval civilizations Networks of exchange Imperialism
World religions Gunpowder Empires Industrialism
Crisis in classical world Europe/Asia in transition Decolonization
Rise & decline of Regional Growing global economy Contemporary Global
empires Political Revolutions Issues

Coursework
Below are descriptions of the overall coursework students can expect to engage in:
Textbook readings: Students will be assigned textbook reading in conjunction with the course units of
study. Often, students will be expected to complete an accompanying assignment.
Supplemental readings: In addition to the textbook, students will frequently be assigned additional
readings relating to the current unit of study. Students will be often be required to be prepared to
discuss or apply the readings to other activities in the course.
Vocabulary: Vocabulary associated with course content will be emphasized throughout the course.
Students will be responsible through various assignments for incorporating and highlighting important
vocabulary terms and applying them to real-world contexts.
Class discussions: Students will participate and contribute substantively to discussions carried out in
class. Historical debates, world religions and important and controversial issues will be among the
discussion topics. The classroom may be extended to the virtual world through online discussions
designed to enhance communication, collaboration, and the understanding of course concepts.
Data, graph, image and cartoon analysis: A fundamental skill required in this course is the ability to
read and interpret various charts, graphs, and data relevant to world history. Understanding and
interpreting optics is also important. Both of these skills will be developed and exercised throughout the
course.
Position papers: A strong student should be able to express their positions in formal writing. Using
factual evidence to support the position taken will be expected.
Projects/simulations: Students will have the opportunity to engage in research projects,
presentations, debates, and simulations on various topics related to the course. Some projects will be
individual while others will involve significant group collaboration.
Research project and presentations: Students research will be done on topics relevant to the course
and in accordance with individual task requirements.
End-of-unit assessments: Each unit concludes with an exam that comprises multiple choice
questions and/or free response questions.