- Howard Middle School
- Syllabus for Civics
-
Advanced Civics 2106020
Seventh Grade
IB-MYP Year Two
Howard Middle School
william.talbert@marion.k12.fl.us
Supplies: For students attending classes in person at school—Please bring at a minimum some notebook paper and either a pen or a pencil for writing. We are restricted from sharing items, so your own highlighters (3 colors), and colored pencils or crayons will give you a chance to enhance your work. For students engaged in distance learning, an ability to create and upload a .jpeg image of your work products (camera of some type) may enhance your productivity.
Basic Expectations:
1. Please check regularly with the assignments posted in the classroom or on Mr. Talbert’s teacher website assignments page. please click here for link to Current Assignments
2. Please retain all assignments and notes chronologically (definition click here please) in a binder or folder designated specifically for this class. There is a test grade and an IB assessment for the organization of your Civics work toward the end of each 9 weeks.
3. Your learning focus will be on the state standards as you prepare for an end-of-course exam in the spring of 2021. The pacing calendar leaves little room for delay, so no late work, especially homework, is acceptable.
Course Outline: Individuals and Societies IB_MYP Year 2
I. COURSE DESCRIPTION with Aims and Objectives
Seventh Grade Individuals and Societies under the International Baccalaureate Programme focuses on the state required course of Civics. There are elements, too, of Economics and Geography. The course implements the Florida Sunshine State Standards for Social Studies (Link to FL Dept. Ed. Civics Item Specifications). Students grow through the following learning experiences:
· appreciating human and environmental commonalities and diversity
· understanding the interactions and interdependence of individuals, societies, and the environment
· understanding how both environmental and human systems operate and evolve
· thinking and acting as responsible citizens of local and global communities
· developing inquiry skills that lead towards conceptual understandings of the relationships between individuals, societies, and the environments in which they live.
The course employs units of inquiry to encourage students to seek answers while completing textual studies, reading, writing, and various projects. The teacher engages students with an assortment of tasks to meet differentiated learning styles to master the Florida Department of Education’s Civics Items Specifications as the students are required to demonstrate on the Florida’s Civics End of Course Exam in May.
IB-MYP Year Two students develop an appreciation for the subject as they learn to become lifelong learners with a capacity to adapt to the rapidly changing realities of our world. This course emphasizes Civics and provides unique opportunities to help students grow to recognize relationships between school subjects and the world with a renewed emphasis on the critical thinking skills required to succeed on the Civics End of Course (EOC) Exam.
II. International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme
Individuals and Societies studies at Howard Middle School incorporate the six Global Contexts where learning through inquiry focuses on the conceptual understanding of the following key concepts: Change, Global Interactions, Time-Place-and-Space, and Systems. Assessments follow a progression of four specific learning objectives: Knowing and Understanding, Investigating, Communicating and Thinking Critically.
III. S.T.E.A.M. Concentrations
Students engage the disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) in the Civics Curriculum through the application of the “Approaches to Learning” Skills elements of the IB-MYP Curriculum, as well as in implementation with the IB “Key Concepts.” Students will employ authentic experiences to evaluate a true understanding of how the STEAM concepts apply in relation to the course curriculum. The natural collaboration of integrated STEAM principles provides a more thorough and long-lasting content mastery.
IV. Texts and Resources
The Marion County Public Schools Curriculum Resource Guide and Pacing Schedules (as revised) for
2020-21 provides the framework for the academic and cognitive learning opportunities[i].
1) For students attending school in person on campus, expect blended learning and coaching for online platforms.
2) For students engaged in Distance Learning, engagement with these online platforms is essential:
- MCPS Student Desktop as the platform for
- Office365 applications
- Outlook (email)
- Teams
- Word
- Power Point
- Skyward (grades)
- Library Media Resources (research and inquiries)
- Civics360.org--homework and classwork best resource
- iCivics--lessons and games
- Quizlet -- Weekly Vocabulary Lessons
- Kahoots -- occassional review exercises
- Supplemental textbooks are available upon request:Center for Civic Education and Charles N. Quigley, We the People, 3rd Ed., 2017;and Jarret & Yahng, Gateway to American Government, 2014.
V. Methods of Assessment
Formative Assessment –Formative assessments include, but not limited to, various entry tasks (warm-ups or bell-ringers), discussions, collaborative work, record-keeping, reading analyses, presentations, peer evaluations, observations, note-taking, and/or interpretation of maps, charts, and graphs:
· Homework (10%)
· Class work (30%)
· Quizzes (20%)
Summative Assessments— More formal assessments include tests, Marion County 9 week standardized tests (QSMA), DBQ essays, 9 week binder checks, research projects (posters, dioramas, student publications, presentations), and an end of year classroom Civics portfolio for each student:
· Tests and Projects (40%)
End-of-Course Exam--Pursuant to Florida statue, the EOC Exam constitutes 30% of the final year-end grade.
VI. Grading Policy including MYP Criteria
Grades follow the scale prescribed by the Marion County School Board:
A -- 100-90%
B -- 89-80%
C -- 79-70%
D -- 69-60%
F -- 59% and below.
As part of Howard Middle School MYP, summative assessments apply the appropriate Individuals and Societies Assessment Criteria:
· Criteria A—Knowing and Understanding,
· Criteria B—Investigating,
· Criteria C—Communicating, and
· Criteria D—Thinking Critically.
IB Assessment Criteria for Individuals and Societies (Social Studies) can be found at: http://www.marionschools.net/cms/lib010/FL01903465/Centricity/domain/5372/pdf/Individuals_and_Societies_Assessment_Criteria.pdf
[i] FLDOE --2106020 M/J CIVICS Advanced The seventh grade Advanced Civics course offers scaffolded learning opportunities for students to develop the critical skills of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation in a more rigorous and reflective academic setting. Students are empowered to perform at higher levels as they engage in the following: analyzing historical documents and supplementary readings, working in the context of thematically categorized information, becoming proficient in note-taking, participating in Socratic seminars/discussions, emphasizing free-response and document- based writing, contrasting opposing viewpoints, solving problems, etc. Students will develop and demonstrate their skills through participation in a capstone and/or extended research- based paper/project (e.g., history fair, participatory citizenship project, mock congressional hearing, and projects for competitive evaluation, investment portfolio contests, or other teacher- directed projects). - MCPS Student Desktop as the platform for