US History Honors Designation

THE ACADEMY OF TUCSON

The Social Studies Department at the Academy of Tucson allows students the option
of receiving an honors designation on their transcripts while enrolled in the
standard US History course.
The honors designation is intended to:

Provide sufficient challenges for those students who have strong academic
skills.
Increase student proficiency in reading, writing and critical thinking.
Expand student exposure to US History.
Prepare students for collegiate level history courses.

The honors designation program:

Students will take standard US History, fulfilling all requirements and

participating in class on a daily basis.
To receive the honors designation, students must receive a mark of B or
better in the standard class and complete the following in a manner
acceptable to the teacher.
Students will read the A Peoples History of the United States by Howard Zinn
in its entirety.
A 3-5 page compare/contrast paper will be completed each semester. This
paper will analyze a time period in US History as presented in A Peoples
History with that of A Patriots History of the United States by Larry Schweikart
and Michael Allen.
o Paper #1 Rough draft due by last day of first quarter, final paper due
Monday, one week before finals begin.
o Paper #2 Rough draft due by last day of third quarter, final paper due
Monday, one week before finals begin.

In order to participate students must:

Have an above average grasp on both reading and writing fundamentals,

they must understand the concept of a thesis and how to construct a multipage paper based off of that thesis. Their reading comprehension must be of
a higher level to sufficiently complete their additional tasks.
Fulfill all requirements for US History class.
Fulfill all requirements for the honors designation outside of normally
scheduled class time.
Read this entire document and agree to all of its terms, indicated by a
signature below.
Have parent/guardian read this entire document and agree to support the
student in fulfilling all of its terms, indicate with a signature below.
Be willing to work with teacher on rough draft and rewrites.
Be able to turn in work on time. Being an honors student means you are
able and willing to take responsibility for your own work and due dates.

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