UNTEST ASSIGNMENT INFORMATION
Overview
This is an open note/material/resource assignment. You may discuss all you want about the history under discussion through participation activities, but this assignment is to be your own original work. We are interested in what you have to say and how you see things.
Word of Warning (necessitated by actions of previous students): If we determine that you have submitted an untest utilizing a format from a previous semester, use work submitted by another student as your own (from a previous semester or a different section this semester), provide a copy of your submitted work to another student or post your work to any website or cheating service, or generally submit work that is not your original work – we will give you a 0 on the untest and submit a report to Student Conduct. If we determine that you have provided/posted materials after the conclusion of this course, we will submit your name to Student Conduct for collusion. If you copy or closely paraphrase any information from another source, you MUST properly footnote otherwise you will be plagiarizing, and you will receive a 0 for this assignment and will be turned into Student Conduct.
Bottom Line: We take all forms of academic dishonesty seriously in the History Department and will turn students in to Student Conduct for disciplinary action. This is a critical thinking assignment. We want you to discuss American history broadly with other students. We want you to read/watch assigned materials and think about how they relate to everything else you are learning. We want you to have all information at your fingertips as you work on this assignment. Then we expect you to do your own work, cite where necessary, proofread, and then submit. Trust us, doing your own work and possibly receiving a bad grade is much better than committing academic dishonesty and possibly ending up on academic probation and maybe flunking this course. Even if you do poorly on an assignment, we have ways to improve your semester grade, including dropping of scores.
To prepare for the untest, we suggest the following:
Participate in the Connections Discussion and History Jam
Pay attention to the Guiding Questions and Geographical Awareness information in each lesson; make sure that you have a good understanding of the importance of each before leaving a lesson
Take notes and write up IDs as you cover each lesson. As you make connections going through the materials, jot those down as well.
Be sure to review Unit 0 skills before completing.
All unit Untests will utilize the format below (be sure to look at the sample untest we have posted). Note that points add up to 90. An additional 10 points is reserved for grammar, mechanics, and following format directions. A rubric is posted with the upload link.
PART I. KEY IDs – 10 points each
In this section, you must create 3 IDS for the untest. IDs are key people, places, events, or concepts (so “George Washington” or “trickle-down economics” for example).
For each ID you will provide a sample answer (explaining the who/what, where, when, and why it is important). After providing your ID and sample answer, you will then need to explain why you chose this ID for the list, what makes it so key that it should appear on your imaginary test?
II. CONNECTIONS – 20 points
This is a critical thinking exercise. You have an example in Unit 0 and there is a “Connections Discussion” in each substantive unit.
A connection is just that, an explanation of how two or more historical facts fit together. It contains the facts in addition to your analysis/explanation with evidence.
For this part of the Untest, you are to make ONE connection from the time period covered in the unit. The facts should be different facts (not two sides of an issue, battle, debate, etc.) that may not seemingly be connected, but are. List the two historical facts and then explain the connection.
III. Geographic Connections – 20 points
A geographic connection is similar to the connection above, except that at least one of the facts is related to geography, climate, or environment. (Remember the discussion of how geography and history are related in Unit 0). You need to make 1 geographic connection using the same formatting as above.
IV. Overall Takeaway – 20 points
This is an “un-essay.” Instead of giving you a prompt and having you write a full-length essay, I want you to sit back and think about the unit as a whole. What are your three key takeaways (these are the most important overall themes in the history covered in the unit – they may span more than one lesson or period). How would you explain these most important “big picture” concepts of American history? How would you explain this in a paragraph (think of this as a two-minute elevator speech on US History to someone who knows nothing about the subject).
Note that your paragraph (which should be 200-250 words) should follow rule of three formatting and contain a thesis statement as the first sentence. This is followed by your description of the first key takeaway, its importance, and your detailed supporting evidence. Continue this pattern with the second and third key points from the thesis statement and then have a one sentence conclusion.
Review the Rule of Three information in Unit 0 before completing.
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