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US HISTORY ONLINE – SYLLABUS DOC.: USHIST OL Syllabus
Instructor: Mike Swords, MAT, RWI
Address: 32 Saint Albans Road
Irmo, SC 29063
Office hours: 11am to 5pm
Office phone: (803) 732-9226
NOTE TO THE CLASS
Dear class,
Welcome to the course! My name is Mike Swords and I will be your U.S. History instructor. I
hope that you enjoy the course, and pray that it will benefit you in life and career. I have
designed it with two kinds of students in mind: those who find history boring, impractical, or
impossible to understand; and those who find history enticing, enjoyable, and applicable (and
it is applicable, as you will see).
I designed the assignments as learning experiences which would be as easy and rewarding as
possible to the first group (non-historians), and as challenging and valuable as possible to the
second group (history-lovers). You will see that I give you some room to “personalize” the
course for yourself with the History Comes Alive assignments and Critical Thinking Question #
3.
This is the syllabus which will govern our course, so please, for your own sake, do several
things right now: 1. run a copy of this syllabus, and 2. read this important document word for
word, noting important information which calls for action on your part.
The “Term calendar” in this syllabus is an important tool to help you keep up with what is going
on each week, so please utilize it for your benefit. Also, please check your course e-mail at
least once per week for messages from me.
Lynn, my wife (also a teacher), assists me in the administrative and technical aspects of the
course, while I handle questions regarding course content (history) and bear sole
responsibility for the curriculum content. Lynn often responds to student e-mails asking for
technical assistance (e.g. trouble using the website).
We are both very willing to answer your questions, or to render any assistance that you need,
but please save us and yourself valuable time by checking the syllabus, the directions for
each assignment posted on the course site, and our e-mails before asking a question.
Otherwise, send me an e-mail via the course, or call my office (during office hours) if it is an
emergency.
U.S. HISTORY (ONLINE) COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course covers the development of the United States, from prehistory to the present.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
This course is designed to give the student a survey of the period under study—the “big
picture”—while zooming in on key events in the development of the United States. The
readings and other assignments are designed to give the student the opportunity to see the
big picture, develop critical thinking skills, and develop an understanding of how the study of
history can help them in real life. In the process, the student should be able to see how
current events have sprung out of past events (how we got where we are) and possibly, where
we may be headed.
TEXTBOOK
I recommend either of two options for a US History text: one by a secular publisher, and one
by a Christian publisher. Ordering information for the Christian textbook is on the website. I
will email you the ordering information for the secular option if you are interested. Here is the
information on the Christian option:
Text: Keesee and Sidwell’s 3rd edition of United States History for Christian Schools (BJU
Press). Cost: $35. See the U.S. History section of the website for ordering information.
ASSIGNED READINGS
There are 27 chapters in our text. In order to survey the most critical developments in human
history within our term, it is recommended that you divide up the readings according to the
number of reading days you will have each week. I will send a Time Management Guide to
help you with this task. You won’t read for details or “names and dates” initially, just for the
flow of events and main concepts. I will send a study guide in the New Year that will indicate
which names and dates you need to learn so that you can prepare for the final exam.
COURSE OVERVIEW: TOPICS
Part I Horizons
Part II Forge
Part III Nation
Part IV Crisis
Part V Quest
Part VI Leadership
Part VII Challenge
COURSE OVERVIEW: ASSIGNMENTS AND METHODS OF EVALUATION
Your course grade will be made up of two proctored exams, six relatively small written
assignments (usually a one page minimum or shorter), and five online discussions (see
below). With the midterm you merely write a short essay covering CTQ (Critical Thinking
Question) # 1. The final exam covers critical developments from the assigned chapters.
These thirteen items constitute both learning experiences and assessments of learning.
(Honors and Track I students have some extra work. See below.)
Item (not in order according to due dates)
CTQ 1 essay, “Why study history?”*
CTQ 2 essay, “Historic method”
CTQ 3 essay, “Lessons in History”
HCA 1 essay^
HCA 2 essay
HCA 3 essay
D1**
D2
D3
D4
D5
Midterm exam (an essay covering CTQ # 1)
End-of-course exam (25 objective questions)
Footnotes:
*CTQ = Critical Thinking Question short essay (1 paragraph minimum). See the detailed
instructions for
this and all assignments on the course homepage, on the web site.
^HCA = History Comes Alive short essay (2 paragraph minimum)
**D1=Graded Discussion # 1
All assignments and exams are equally weighted, by design. This should (I hope) cut down on
anxiety for those of you predisposed to worry about your performance.
The Critical Thinking Question essays provide an opportunity to develop your critical thinking
skills. The “History Comes Alive” essays are provided in order to enable history (hopefully) to
do just that for you by utilizing movies, literature, and historic site visits, etc., as resources.
Any student should be able to handle these assignments without undue difficulty, achieving the
main goals for the course (to provide a survey of the period, develop critical thinking skills, and
provide applications for real life).
The midterm exam asks you to summarize my official answer to CTQ # 1, “Why study history?”
There are 10 concepts covered in my answer to this question, and each concept counts 1
point on the exam.
The final exam caps off your learning experience in history. It is made up of 25 objective
questions.
OUR GRADING SCALE
A 93-100
B 85-92
C 77-84
D 70-76
E 0-69
DUE DATE POLICY
I have heard that one of the most challenging things for homeschoolers is dealing with
deadlines. I have witnessed that firsthand in the last two years since I began teaching
homeschool students online. Last year, particularly, it was very difficult for me to manage my
workload and keep track of several students who failed to turn in work on time. I have tried
therefore to space due dates throughout the year in such a way as to alleviate stress on you. I
am also implementing this policy for 2007-2008, which includes some grace for my students,
and aids me in “classroom” management:
I have designed our calendar so that you have at least a full 7 days to complete short
assignments and get your work in. You are not penalized for turning work in early, but I do feel
the need to ensure that students are not incredibly late. I have therefore decided to deduct
points for tardy work. Work turned in after the due date, except in the event of a medical
emergency or illness (attested to by phone, by your parent), will be dropped a letter grade for
each week that it is overdue. This essentially gives you several days of grace should you be
just a little late with an assignment.
Having compassion on students and fellow strugglers, and wanting to help students develop
skills for succeeding in college and life, I have carefully considered these policies. I have
arrived at the following conclusion: Should a student have a genuine hardship once in a blue
moon, reduction of tardy work by one letter grade per week only represents “taking it on the
chin,” and shouldn’t wreck one’s GPA. Having hardships and being late with work all the time
indicates that a student probably has overcommitted him- or herself, is being a perfectionist,
and/or that they need to develop habits that will help them succeed in the future.
So, please turn in all work by the due date, so you’re not stressed out and I’m not hit by a
deluge of work to grade at the last minute. I especially cannot accept your answers to CTQs 1
or 2 much after their due dates, since my official answer will be available afterwards. I don’t
keep track of Post marks. Please make sure that work sent via US Mail is in my mailbox by the
due date.
Finally, students who fail to respond to my emails or phone calls within a month of my
attempted contacts will be asked to withdraw from the course due to non-attendance (absence
beyond the allotted days) in the online classroom. Please respond, therefore, to my emails
and phone calls within one week.
Also, students who fail to turn in any work before the midterm (January) will be asked to
withdraw.
TERM CALENDAR
Please add these dates to your calendar:
Due date*^ Item
Sept. 10-16 Getting To Know You and CTQ 1 discussion (ungraded)
Sept. 16 CTQ 1 essay due
Oct. 8-14 CTQ 2 Discussion (ungraded)
Oct. 28 CTQ 2 essay due
Nov. 5-11 D1**
Nov. 18 HCA 1 essay due
Jan. 1-20 Midterm exam sitting should be done during this period
Jan. 14-20 D2
Jan. 20 Midterm essay due
Feb. 10 HCA 2 essay due
Feb. 18-24 D3
Mar. 17-23 D4
Mar. 30 HCA 3 essay due
Apr. 13 CTQ 3 essay due
Apr. 14-20 D5
Apr. 28-May 4 Final exam sittings
May 4 Final exam results due
Footnotes:
*All weeks in my online courses begin on Monday and end on Sunday. Due dates therefore
fall on
Sundays, meaning that all work should be in my email inbox by midnight, Sunday (or in my US
Mail box
by the Saturday before that date).
^Discussions take place between Monday and Sunday of the week in which we discuss a topic.
**D1=Graded Discussion #1. Discussion questions will be posted on the discussion board the
week of the
discussion.
In addition to the above dates, Track I and Honors students should add the following dates to
their calendar:
Due date Item
Jan. 13 Journal Article Review
Mar. 23 Family History Paper
In addition to the above dates, Honors students should add the following date to their calendar:
Due date Item
Mar. 9 Book Review
SENDING WORK
You may send assignments via US Mail (to my address in this syllabus), as part of the text of a
normal course e-mail message (you can cut and paste a Word document into the text of a
course e-mail), or in an attachment. I do not, however, have a dedicated fax line at which to
receive faxed work. Also, please don’t post work on the discussion board if you are submitting
it to be graded.
You must consider, ahead of time, the mode (US Mail, or course e-mail) you expect to use to
get your work to me. US Mail may take up to 2 or 3 days, or more, to get to me. You will
therefore need to finish your work early, to get it to me by the due date, if sending it that way.
You will also need to consider the type of document you want to produce, if you want to send it
in the text of a regular course e-mail. You will have to send any work done in a spreadsheet
format (for example), via US Mail. Please, however, if possible, create all documents in 8 ½ x
11 inch format, so they will fit in my files.
Please have work in my US Mailbox or email inbox by the due date.
See the various documents on the course site, for details and directions for all assignments.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY STATEMENT
Honesty in personal and academic matters is a cornerstone of life. Students are expected
to achieve on their own merits and abilities, and to exercise integrity in all their affairs.
Plagiarism is taking credit for ideas and/or concepts that are not your
own, even if you are not using the exact words of a source. This
includes copying from sources, downloading from a website, or having
someone ghost write something for you. Sources must be properly
referenced in a bibliography or Works Cited page.
TAKING THE EXAMS
The exams will be administered by your proctor (a parent, or a designee of your parent).
Detailed information and directions will be sent as we approach the times for exams.
COMMUNICATING
Checking you email inbox each week, regularly, and responding promptly to my emails, is
equated with being “present” in an online course. Failing to keep up with email
communications and assignment due dates is equal to being “absent.”
EMAIL
Use course e-mail to
1. send questions or messages to me
2. check for individual messages from me each week
3. submit work (you may also use US Mail)
Please include the prefix “USH” (for US History) or “WH” (for World History) in the subject
heading of your emails in order to help me segregate the emails from my different courses.
(All emails come to one inbox and are separated into different folders according to these
prefixes.)
Examples: emails from 2 students about their CTQ 1 essay
Subject of an email from a US History student: USH: CTQ 1 essay
Subject of an email from a World History student: WH: CTQ 1 essay
DISCUSSIONS
Use the discussion board for
1. checking for any messages from me to the class
2. posting messages or questions for the entire class
The discussion board allows you to view one another’s responses, creating the equivalent of a
classroom discussion. Aligning our schedules has proven very difficult in the past; therefore I
do not have chat rooms for this course. I do encourage you, however, to discuss questions to
clarify directions for assignments or to flesh-out ideas at the beginning stage of an essay.
This is not an invitation to plagiarize or ask someone to ghost-write for you.
There will be five graded online discussions, plus three others. The three ungraded
discussions take place early in the course. These ungraded ones allow us to get to know one
another, and allow you to flesh out your ideas about CTQs 1 and 2 and get feedback from
other students.
Please don’t post your work on the discussion board unless you are merely asking other
students for a critique of your work before submitting it for a grade. Send work to be graded
via email or US Mail.
Note: If you need an immediate response (24 hours, or less) during business hours, you may
want to leave me a voice mail on my office phone and explain the urgency. I check my voice
mail, and course e-mail, every week day, with few exceptions, but I’m not online 24 hours a
day/7 days a week.
Enjoy the class, and congratulations on reading the entire syllabus!
I affirm that this is an official copy of my syllabus.
Signed,
Date:_____________________
Michael T. Swords
Instructor, U.S. History Online
Founder, School Success
© 2006, Michael T. Swords
Instructor: Mike Swords, MAT, RWI
Address: 32 Saint Albans Road
Irmo, SC 29063
Office hours: 11am to 5pm
Office phone: (803) 732-9226
NOTE TO THE CLASS
Dear class,
Welcome to the course! My name is Mike Swords and I will be your U.S. History instructor. I
hope that you enjoy the course, and pray that it will benefit you in life and career. I have
designed it with two kinds of students in mind: those who find history boring, impractical, or
impossible to understand; and those who find history enticing, enjoyable, and applicable (and
it is applicable, as you will see).
I designed the assignments as learning experiences which would be as easy and rewarding as
possible to the first group (non-historians), and as challenging and valuable as possible to the
second group (history-lovers). You will see that I give you some room to “personalize” the
course for yourself with the History Comes Alive assignments and Critical Thinking Question #
3.
This is the syllabus which will govern our course, so please, for your own sake, do several
things right now: 1. run a copy of this syllabus, and 2. read this important document word for
word, noting important information which calls for action on your part.
The “Term calendar” in this syllabus is an important tool to help you keep up with what is going
on each week, so please utilize it for your benefit. Also, please check your course e-mail at
least once per week for messages from me.
Lynn, my wife (also a teacher), assists me in the administrative and technical aspects of the
course, while I handle questions regarding course content (history) and bear sole
responsibility for the curriculum content. Lynn often responds to student e-mails asking for
technical assistance (e.g. trouble using the website).
We are both very willing to answer your questions, or to render any assistance that you need,
but please save us and yourself valuable time by checking the syllabus, the directions for
each assignment posted on the course site, and our e-mails before asking a question.
Otherwise, send me an e-mail via the course, or call my office (during office hours) if it is an
emergency.
U.S. HISTORY (ONLINE) COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course covers the development of the United States, from prehistory to the present.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
This course is designed to give the student a survey of the period under study—the “big
picture”—while zooming in on key events in the development of the United States. The
readings and other assignments are designed to give the student the opportunity to see the
big picture, develop critical thinking skills, and develop an understanding of how the study of
history can help them in real life. In the process, the student should be able to see how
current events have sprung out of past events (how we got where we are) and possibly, where
we may be headed.
TEXTBOOK
I recommend either of two options for a US History text: one by a secular publisher, and one
by a Christian publisher. Ordering information for the Christian textbook is on the website. I
will email you the ordering information for the secular option if you are interested. Here is the
information on the Christian option:
Text: Keesee and Sidwell’s 3rd edition of United States History for Christian Schools (BJU
Press). Cost: $35. See the U.S. History section of the website for ordering information.
ASSIGNED READINGS
There are 27 chapters in our text. In order to survey the most critical developments in human
history within our term, it is recommended that you divide up the readings according to the
number of reading days you will have each week. I will send a Time Management Guide to
help you with this task. You won’t read for details or “names and dates” initially, just for the
flow of events and main concepts. I will send a study guide in the New Year that will indicate
which names and dates you need to learn so that you can prepare for the final exam.
COURSE OVERVIEW: TOPICS
Part I Horizons
Part II Forge
Part III Nation
Part IV Crisis
Part V Quest
Part VI Leadership
Part VII Challenge
COURSE OVERVIEW: ASSIGNMENTS AND METHODS OF EVALUATION
Your course grade will be made up of two proctored exams, six relatively small written
assignments (usually a one page minimum or shorter), and five online discussions (see
below). With the midterm you merely write a short essay covering CTQ (Critical Thinking
Question) # 1. The final exam covers critical developments from the assigned chapters.
These thirteen items constitute both learning experiences and assessments of learning.
(Honors and Track I students have some extra work. See below.)
Item (not in order according to due dates)
CTQ 1 essay, “Why study history?”*
CTQ 2 essay, “Historic method”
CTQ 3 essay, “Lessons in History”
HCA 1 essay^
HCA 2 essay
HCA 3 essay
D1**
D2
D3
D4
D5
Midterm exam (an essay covering CTQ # 1)
End-of-course exam (25 objective questions)
Footnotes:
*CTQ = Critical Thinking Question short essay (1 paragraph minimum). See the detailed
instructions for
this and all assignments on the course homepage, on the web site.
^HCA = History Comes Alive short essay (2 paragraph minimum)
**D1=Graded Discussion # 1
All assignments and exams are equally weighted, by design. This should (I hope) cut down on
anxiety for those of you predisposed to worry about your performance.
The Critical Thinking Question essays provide an opportunity to develop your critical thinking
skills. The “History Comes Alive” essays are provided in order to enable history (hopefully) to
do just that for you by utilizing movies, literature, and historic site visits, etc., as resources.
Any student should be able to handle these assignments without undue difficulty, achieving the
main goals for the course (to provide a survey of the period, develop critical thinking skills, and
provide applications for real life).
The midterm exam asks you to summarize my official answer to CTQ # 1, “Why study history?”
There are 10 concepts covered in my answer to this question, and each concept counts 1
point on the exam.
The final exam caps off your learning experience in history. It is made up of 25 objective
questions.
OUR GRADING SCALE
A 93-100
B 85-92
C 77-84
D 70-76
E 0-69
DUE DATE POLICY
I have heard that one of the most challenging things for homeschoolers is dealing with
deadlines. I have witnessed that firsthand in the last two years since I began teaching
homeschool students online. Last year, particularly, it was very difficult for me to manage my
workload and keep track of several students who failed to turn in work on time. I have tried
therefore to space due dates throughout the year in such a way as to alleviate stress on you. I
am also implementing this policy for 2007-2008, which includes some grace for my students,
and aids me in “classroom” management:
I have designed our calendar so that you have at least a full 7 days to complete short
assignments and get your work in. You are not penalized for turning work in early, but I do feel
the need to ensure that students are not incredibly late. I have therefore decided to deduct
points for tardy work. Work turned in after the due date, except in the event of a medical
emergency or illness (attested to by phone, by your parent), will be dropped a letter grade for
each week that it is overdue. This essentially gives you several days of grace should you be
just a little late with an assignment.
Having compassion on students and fellow strugglers, and wanting to help students develop
skills for succeeding in college and life, I have carefully considered these policies. I have
arrived at the following conclusion: Should a student have a genuine hardship once in a blue
moon, reduction of tardy work by one letter grade per week only represents “taking it on the
chin,” and shouldn’t wreck one’s GPA. Having hardships and being late with work all the time
indicates that a student probably has overcommitted him- or herself, is being a perfectionist,
and/or that they need to develop habits that will help them succeed in the future.
So, please turn in all work by the due date, so you’re not stressed out and I’m not hit by a
deluge of work to grade at the last minute. I especially cannot accept your answers to CTQs 1
or 2 much after their due dates, since my official answer will be available afterwards. I don’t
keep track of Post marks. Please make sure that work sent via US Mail is in my mailbox by the
due date.
Finally, students who fail to respond to my emails or phone calls within a month of my
attempted contacts will be asked to withdraw from the course due to non-attendance (absence
beyond the allotted days) in the online classroom. Please respond, therefore, to my emails
and phone calls within one week.
Also, students who fail to turn in any work before the midterm (January) will be asked to
withdraw.
TERM CALENDAR
Please add these dates to your calendar:
Due date*^ Item
Sept. 10-16 Getting To Know You and CTQ 1 discussion (ungraded)
Sept. 16 CTQ 1 essay due
Oct. 8-14 CTQ 2 Discussion (ungraded)
Oct. 28 CTQ 2 essay due
Nov. 5-11 D1**
Nov. 18 HCA 1 essay due
Jan. 1-20 Midterm exam sitting should be done during this period
Jan. 14-20 D2
Jan. 20 Midterm essay due
Feb. 10 HCA 2 essay due
Feb. 18-24 D3
Mar. 17-23 D4
Mar. 30 HCA 3 essay due
Apr. 13 CTQ 3 essay due
Apr. 14-20 D5
Apr. 28-May 4 Final exam sittings
May 4 Final exam results due
Footnotes:
*All weeks in my online courses begin on Monday and end on Sunday. Due dates therefore
fall on
Sundays, meaning that all work should be in my email inbox by midnight, Sunday (or in my US
Mail box
by the Saturday before that date).
^Discussions take place between Monday and Sunday of the week in which we discuss a topic.
**D1=Graded Discussion #1. Discussion questions will be posted on the discussion board the
week of the
discussion.
In addition to the above dates, Track I and Honors students should add the following dates to
their calendar:
Due date Item
Jan. 13 Journal Article Review
Mar. 23 Family History Paper
In addition to the above dates, Honors students should add the following date to their calendar:
Due date Item
Mar. 9 Book Review
SENDING WORK
You may send assignments via US Mail (to my address in this syllabus), as part of the text of a
normal course e-mail message (you can cut and paste a Word document into the text of a
course e-mail), or in an attachment. I do not, however, have a dedicated fax line at which to
receive faxed work. Also, please don’t post work on the discussion board if you are submitting
it to be graded.
You must consider, ahead of time, the mode (US Mail, or course e-mail) you expect to use to
get your work to me. US Mail may take up to 2 or 3 days, or more, to get to me. You will
therefore need to finish your work early, to get it to me by the due date, if sending it that way.
You will also need to consider the type of document you want to produce, if you want to send it
in the text of a regular course e-mail. You will have to send any work done in a spreadsheet
format (for example), via US Mail. Please, however, if possible, create all documents in 8 ½ x
11 inch format, so they will fit in my files.
Please have work in my US Mailbox or email inbox by the due date.
See the various documents on the course site, for details and directions for all assignments.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY STATEMENT
Honesty in personal and academic matters is a cornerstone of life. Students are expected
to achieve on their own merits and abilities, and to exercise integrity in all their affairs.
Plagiarism is taking credit for ideas and/or concepts that are not your
own, even if you are not using the exact words of a source. This
includes copying from sources, downloading from a website, or having
someone ghost write something for you. Sources must be properly
referenced in a bibliography or Works Cited page.
TAKING THE EXAMS
The exams will be administered by your proctor (a parent, or a designee of your parent).
Detailed information and directions will be sent as we approach the times for exams.
COMMUNICATING
Checking you email inbox each week, regularly, and responding promptly to my emails, is
equated with being “present” in an online course. Failing to keep up with email
communications and assignment due dates is equal to being “absent.”
Use course e-mail to
1. send questions or messages to me
2. check for individual messages from me each week
3. submit work (you may also use US Mail)
Please include the prefix “USH” (for US History) or “WH” (for World History) in the subject
heading of your emails in order to help me segregate the emails from my different courses.
(All emails come to one inbox and are separated into different folders according to these
prefixes.)
Examples: emails from 2 students about their CTQ 1 essay
Subject of an email from a US History student: USH: CTQ 1 essay
Subject of an email from a World History student: WH: CTQ 1 essay
DISCUSSIONS
Use the discussion board for
1. checking for any messages from me to the class
2. posting messages or questions for the entire class
The discussion board allows you to view one another’s responses, creating the equivalent of a
classroom discussion. Aligning our schedules has proven very difficult in the past; therefore I
do not have chat rooms for this course. I do encourage you, however, to discuss questions to
clarify directions for assignments or to flesh-out ideas at the beginning stage of an essay.
This is not an invitation to plagiarize or ask someone to ghost-write for you.
There will be five graded online discussions, plus three others. The three ungraded
discussions take place early in the course. These ungraded ones allow us to get to know one
another, and allow you to flesh out your ideas about CTQs 1 and 2 and get feedback from
other students.
Please don’t post your work on the discussion board unless you are merely asking other
students for a critique of your work before submitting it for a grade. Send work to be graded
via email or US Mail.
Note: If you need an immediate response (24 hours, or less) during business hours, you may
want to leave me a voice mail on my office phone and explain the urgency. I check my voice
mail, and course e-mail, every week day, with few exceptions, but I’m not online 24 hours a
day/7 days a week.
Enjoy the class, and congratulations on reading the entire syllabus!
I affirm that this is an official copy of my syllabus.
Signed,
Date:_____________________
Michael T. Swords
Instructor, U.S. History Online
Founder, School Success
© 2006, Michael T. Swords