Please watch this video to get an overview of the course and (hopefully!) preemptively answer questions you may have about this class.

U.S. History B. Ms. Price ~ mollie.price@rentonschools.us

Website: Canvas

Communication methods:

I will communicate with you through your Canvas inbox. Messages from Canvas can be checked in Canvas OR in your school Outlook account. Please note: Emails from Canvas do not go to your school gmail.
Canvas discussions
Videos, webcasts, and virtual meetings. As this course progresses, I may ask you to create a Screencastify video or join an online meeting discussion. Do not fret, though! I will give you clear direction and explanation about how to use those communication methods before we use them for this class.

Office Hours: 10am-1pm Monday-Friday unless otherwise stated.

“People are trapped in history, and history is trapped in them.”

James Baldwin, Stranger in the Village

WELCOME TO U.S. HISTORY B! This course builds off the key concepts and historical thinking skills you learned in U.S. History A. My role is to facilitate critical thinking so that you and your classmates can develop educated opinions on topics that have affected people in the past and today. Most of history involves humans disagreeing, and as students of history we must analyze issues to understand the actions and motives of those who lived in the past and present. Some topics discussed in history are controversial, deal with morality and religion, involve political views, and directly tackle racism, sexism, and/or LGBTQ-phobia. Examining history, therefore, means exploring a diversity of perspectives, with particular attention paid to those from historically marginalized communities.

COURSE STRUCTURE:

This course will be taught online, through Canvas. You will create projects and engage in activities that include a mix of individual reflection and opportunities to work collaboratively with each other.

As this is new to all of us - you, your classmates, your families, and your teachers! - I ask that you be gracious and kind with yourself and others. We are all learning together about how to transition from in-person school to remote learning. While there are many fun and creative ways that we can maximize online interaction, there will undoubtedly be things that are confusing or frustrating or simply don't work very well the first time. And that's okay! I will prioritize getting feedback from you so that, at the end of this course, you have not just thought about important concepts and ideas from US History, but you have been part of shaping a new and dynamic way of learning.

COURSE OVERVIEW:

This course is designed around projects and reflection/discussion.

Unit 1: Impact of WWII on the United States. Case studies on how WWII shaped Mexican-Americans and Japanese-Americans' identities and experiences.

Unit 2: The Cold War

Lead up to the Cold War and the US's role on the international stage after WWII.
Cold War Propaganda and domestic culture of the 1950s.

Unit 3: Political, social, and economic dimensions of early US-American Rock n’ Roll and its role in the Cold War.

Unit 4: 1950s-70s Civil Rights Movements and connections to contemporary social movements.

COURSE SUPPLIES: Your brain and your chromebook.

STAYING ON TOP OF YOUR WORK:

The most important part of this class is your participation. My job is to give you opportunities to think critically about important historic concepts and ideas and practice skills. I don't expect your work to be perfect, but I do expect you to actively participate in this class every week.
Because we will not have the opportunity to see each other in person, it is very important that you develop good time management systems for yourself so you don't fall behind. Mapping out how much time you have to devote to school each day is one of your first assignments for this class. Although at times it may feel like you have all the time in the world to complete work for this and other classes, if you let a week slip by without checking in on assignments it will quickly start to catch up with you. Please do what you need to do to stay up-to-date with your classes!
The purpose of this course is for you to learn new concepts and new skills. I am, therefore, a big proponent of students revising and resubmitting work. If you turn in a project and are not satisfied with how you did, you are welcome to make revisions and resubmit.

For all other class policies please see the Hazen Student Handbook.