Mr. Kwasny's Class

                                                                                7^th Grade

                                                                      U.S. History: Part One

                                                                            (Through 1865)

1.  We deal with the creation and development of America, and, eventually, its crumbling in the Civil War.
2. We will use the text book and some primary sources.  The latter will be given to the students as we move along.
3. The students will work on the following skills all year long:  listening; note-taking (from class and from readings); synthesis of varied concepts; precise use of written language; formation of paragraphs; support of a thesis.
4. We spend a considerable amount of time and energy on the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.  We introduce these in the fall, and then deal with them right through the end of the school year.  We are especially concerned with the founding principles of our nation, and then the system created to ensure that we lived according to those principles.  We focus on the system of government and the balance of power among the Branches.  Also, we emphasize the rights of the people; the Bill of Rights, then, is key in this (Amendment IV, V and VI get quite a bit of attention, as do Amendment I and Amendment X).
5. Your children will be quizzed and tested on those three documents all year long.  Quizzes and tests probe understanding rather than mere rote learning.  SO, be patient as various grades come home, remembering that learning is a process and not a one day event.
6. Every Friday, there will be some kind of quiz (map, no-map or notebook).  These usually are 50 points.  We will have a number of tests this year, which will be announced at least one week prior to the test day.  Tests must be signed by a parent!
7. The basic units we will cover:  Colonization and European rivalry; Causes of the Revolution; The Revolution; The Federalist Era; Causes of the Civil War; The Civil War.
8. My hopes for the year:  the kids will have enjoyed history; the kids will have learned something about our basic system of government; the kids will have become aware that the Bill of Rights is an important document for all Americans; the  kids will have been challenged, in some way, to think and/or improvise; the kids will realize, to some extent, that merely having facts is not enough; the parents will have been patient with the kids, especially if, at some point, the kids have struggled in here.

John Kwasny

kwasny@savcds.org