Course Syllabus For United States Cultures I

The curriculum of study for this course is designed to challenge the student's cognitive skills by engaging them in a wide variety of activities. These activities will range from textbook assignments (knowledge, comprehension, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation levels of cognitive skills) to projects, role-playing, and simulations (application, synthesis, and evaluation levels of cognitive skills). Students will complete one or more written research projects and spend a lot of time developing research skills. Students will work extensively in the library and using the Internet as a research tool.

United states Cultures I is a semester Course, usually taken in the freshmen year. It is a course for graduation. It is an overview of the history, economics, politics, society, and geography of the British colonies and the development and growth of the United States of America. A special emphasis will be placed on Pennsylvania history and culture as it effects the culture and history of the United States. Materials concerning Lancaster County will be studied when they relate

to the topic being studied. United States Cultures I is to be followed by United States Cultures II, which is also required for graduation.

Assessment will be based on a combination of classwork and homework, tests and quizzes, and projects. Major written papers will be evaluated on content and writing mechanics.

Students should expect homework two to three days a week

as well as reading assignments.

The goals of this course are to make the student aware of the rich cultural legacy they have inherited from their forefathers. That heritage will be studied from the perspective of world, national, state, and local events as they relate to shaping our past and creating our present and future.

Units of Study:

1. Native Americans

2. Review of Renaissance and Reformation

3. The Age of Discovery

4. The English Colonies

5. The French and Indian Wars

6. The American Revolution

7. The Articles of Confederation

8. The Constitution of the United States

9. The Federalist Era

10. The Age of Jefferson

11. Westward Expansion

12. Antebellum America

13. The American Civil War

14. The Reconstruction Era