American History I

Thanks for visiting the American History I Page. Here you will find information, links, activities, tools, handouts, and objectives for each unit in American History I.

This site will continue to grow as I add new things, discover new links, and create items that will be useful for learning American History I.

On the right are three important sections. The first lists the Goals and Objectives according to the North Carolina Essential Standards for each unit. The second lists the handouts associated with the unit. I will be doing my best to keep the list updated as we go along.

What Is American History I?

Sounds pretty obvious, “the first part of the history of the United States.” I guess that description is valid, but could use a little clarification. Since we are living here in the United States, we can say it is the beginning of the story of this country. I know we are not living in the past, so sometimes history seems like something that should be more of a hobby for people who get excited about that kind of thing. The truth is, without knowing the beginning of the story it is difficult to understand the part of the story we live in. For example, if you have ever walked in on the middle of a movie or began watching a TV series from the eighth episode, there are a lot of questions about the events and characters we need answered before we can fully understand what we are currently watching. American History I gives you the back story of where we are today.

Through eight units, we will learn about American History from the settlement of the 13 Colonies through Westward Expansion after Reconstruction and the Civil War. We will be focusing on key events, people, concepts, and patterns, building on American History that you have learned in previous grades through Middle School and the little bit covered in World History. The focus of both American History I & II is to put it all together to learn how we got to where we are now and understand the ideas behind policies and events taking place in the broader world today.

In this course, I expect each of you to be responsible for your education and learning. In order to best prepare you for all the possible topics on which you will be tested, this course will be taught strictly according to the North Carolina Essential Standards for Social Studies. You must think broadly about subjects we discuss and be able to apply what you know and learn to different situations because the final exam will be about the application of the broad ideas, not necessarily about the specific examples we will use in the class to explain them.

Remember, this is NOT the class for the passive or lazy, you get out what you put in. This is your education; take an ACTIVE part in it. I hope that this semester will make the world around you become more relevant to you instead of simply a series of abstract ideas and concepts.

	Each page will also include links to the online textbook resources. You will be able to access various activities as well as the student edition of the textbook. Take advantage of the tools the McDougal-Littell Website provides from the online self-quizzes to section summaries and online flashcards for chapter vocabulary.
Each page will include links to USHistory.org free online "textbook". The website has plenty of resources and links relating to American History, but the online textbook should be used as a supplement to our textbook and in class discussions.

Homework and Announcements (via Remind)

Period 4

American History 1 Calendar

Copyright M. Caggia 2018