Jesus Gonzalez 1

Organization- My class will be student-orientated and my job is to allow the

students to explore the information with little assistance from me. Of course, we

will discuss each topic in full discussion, but allowing the students to become

historians will be my priority. After each discussion, assignment, or worksheet the

students will write or place their work in their journals. The journals will be

collected weekly for me to grade over the weekend and allow me to give crucial

feedback.

Throughout the semester, I will assign projects. The projects will come with

a model, rubric, and options to help each student succeed. Each project will be

presented in class to show their classmates what they have been working so hard to

accomplish. I will also give students in class to work on their project so I can walk

around and assist anyone who is struggling or have any questions.

I will be available to any student before, during, or after school for any

assistance on an assignment/project. My lessons will be designed to guide every

student either by me or their peers. My goal as an educator is to not allow any

student to fail. My classroom will hold this value by including each student and

respecting everyone.

Goals- My personal goals for each student will be equal. I want each student to

think as a historian and interact with each student respectfully. I will teach each
 Jesus Gonzalez 2

student to keep an open mind since we will discuss popular topics that occur within

our nation. I will teach each student to look at situations through more than one

perspective.

Habits of Mind- The habits of mind are an essential part in my classroom. Habits

of mind involve certain methods of thinking that historians use when researching

the past. Instead of the students covering history, the student will uncover history

by using the habits of mind.

 Grasp the significance of the past in shaping the present

My academic goals as a teacher is for the students to connect past to present.

This is crucial because it gives a student a comparison to the past and understand in

depth the news being said today. The phrase “history always repeats itself” will

occur every day to allow the students to understand why this phrase stays true

today. After uncovering the past, everyone can see the resemblance to today. It’s

crucial to understand this because it allows us to better understand how to go

forward into the future.

 Perceive past events and issues as they might have been experienced by the

people of the time, with historical empathy rather than present-mindedness

Another habit of mind that will be taught is having empathy. Empathy is

important in anyone’s academic career because striking an emotion will help any
 Jesus Gonzalez 3

person relate to the subject. We will also indulge into other cultures and having

empathy helps relate what those people went through. It is important to look at

everyone contribution to an event in history so we do not them for granted today.

Mastering empathy is useful outside the school’s walls as well.

 Interrogate texts and artifacts, posing questions about the past that foster

informed discussion, reasoned debate and evidence-based interpretation

Students will learn this through primary recourses I will provide and developing

questions to dig deeper into the main point. This will encourage students to not

take anything at face value. Question people or articles to get to the truth. This

habit of mind will venture outside my classroom and assist each student. The

world is full of false media and deciphering the message will filter the false

information.

Values- The values I will strive to teach is for each student to value each other’s

opinion and themselves. Valuing in each other’ opinion allows them to keep an

open mind during discussions, debates, or presentation. Valuing each other’s

opinions allows students to step out of their comfort zone and devaluing anyone’s

opinion will have zero tolerance. Throughout my assignments, my hopes of

students finding a little about themselves will be on top of my priority list. Having
 Jesus Gonzalez 4

options for students to complete an assignment allows them to understand what fits

their needs. As a teacher, I will put my student’s happiness than my own needs.

Subject/content objectives- The standards that we will be covering throughout the

semester can be found at Arizona department of education website under strand 1.

Here are some standards to give a little clear understanding on the material that

will be covered.

Concept 2: Early Civilizations PO 1. Describe Prehistory Cultures of the North

American continent:

Concept 3: Exploration and Colonization PO 1. Review the reciprocal impact

resulting from early European contact with indigenous peoples:

Concept 4: Revolution and New Nation PO 1. Assess the economic, political, and

social reasons for the American Revolution:

Concept 5: Westward Expansion PO 1. Trace the growth of the American nation

during the period of western

Concept 6: Civil War and Reconstruction PO 1. Explain the economic, social, and

political causes of the Civil War

 Jesus Gonzalez 5

Concept 7: Emergence of the Modern United States PO 1. Analyze how the

following aspects of industrialization transformed the American economy

beginning in the late 19th century.

Concept 8: Great Depression and World War II PO 1. Describe causes and

consequences of the Great Depression:

Concept 9: Postwar United States PO 1. Analyze aspects of America’s post World

War II foreign policy:

Concept 10: Contemporary United States PO 1. Describe current events using

information from class discussions and various resources (e.g., newspapers,

magazines, television, Internet, books, maps).

United States History

Grade 11th
Trevor G. Browne
Mr. Gonzalez

Welcome! - Welcome everyone to United States History course. To tell a little

about myself, my name is Jesus Gonzalez and I graduated Arizona State University

with a bachelors in Secondary Education in History. I have lived in Arizona, west

 Jesus Gonzalez 6

valley, for the majority of my life. That being said, I still have so much to learn. I

hope to grow and learn alongside every student this semester.

Course description- This United States History course will be worth .5 credits

toward your academic career in Trevor G. Browne High School. For this course,

every student will need a Journal. The journals will be used to complete

assignment and keep assignments organized throughout the semester. The journal

will be a composition because they will last much longer than a three ring binder.

Content- in the United States History, we will discuss multiple topics that helped

American become what it is today. We will discuss early civilization,

colonization, American Revolution, westward expansion, Civil War and

reconstruction, Emergence of modern America, WWI, Great depression, WWII,

Post WWII, 1960’s, and current events. Each will have a big idea that the student

can see today. We will discuss each subject in depth and how we can see their

impact today.

Purpose and Expectations- My purpose of teaching United States History is to

uncover the truth about the present with the past. Also, to knowledge how far we

came along through the two decades we have been a country and how much more

we still need to grow. My expectations will stay equal between each student.

They will be high expectations and I will hold the students accountable to have the
 Jesus Gonzalez 7

same high expectation for me. I will not let any student fail and set everyone up

for success. Good luck on a great semester!