Welcome to the Mr. Hall's website!

As Mesa's best and brightest teacher it is my goal to impart some of my vast knowledge and life lessons on my students.  Check out the useful links and documents on this site to supplement and enhance your middle school experience.

Also...this website is currently under construction, so please don't judge it too harshly.  I spend all of my waking hours planning amazing and dynamic lesson plans, but check back soon for an equally amazing site.

Syllabus Overview:

Welcome to your 8th Grade US History class at Mesa Middle School! My name is Tom Hall and I’ll be your history teacher for the 2021-2022 school year.  In this class, you will be asked to balance the triumphs and tragedies of our nation’s past in order to better understand the world that we live in today.  This class will help you to process the events that are currently unfolding in our country, and how to communicate researched opinions, beliefs, and questions in an appropriate and meaningful way. We will emphasize tolerance, empathy, and understanding as we tackle our complicated past and attempt to engage ourselves in meaningful conversations about our American identity in the past, present, and moving forward.  By participating in this process, you will practice skills that will help you become successful high school students and citizens, and will help you to process events and trends as you deal with an ever-changing world. 

Expectations:

Tolerance for peer’s backgrounds, beliefs, and opinions.

Respect for your teachers, peers, and school materials.

Patience with Mr. Hall and your peers

Responsibility: Come ready to learn

Participation in class activities and discussions will make being in this class a much more positive experience!

Grading Overview:

60% ASSESSMENTS

Tests, quizzes, essays, and projects.

30% INDEPENDENT PRACTICE

Completion of daily classroom assignments

10% Academic Engagement

Participation in class activities, discussion, and group work.

*Latework: if you can’t get something done on time ask for an extension.  If it’s just plain late with no good excuse then it’s half credit.

Note to Families:

Teaching history today is going to present challenges. As we tackle current events and the historical roots of these events, we will make sure to present multiple perspectives and multiple sources of information. We understand the current political climate of our country and aim to present a curriculum that takes into account all histories, backgrounds, perspectives, and beliefs. This will not be an easy task, but please know that we will be working with our students to identify bias and source reliability as we break down primary/secondary sources. All websites, multimedia., and informational text used in class will be sent to families in order to stay informed and promote family conversation about our past as well as current events.  Please contact us with any questions or concerns that you might have.

Need help in class?  Or just have joke to share?

Contact me:

• tom.hall@lmusd.org

• ...or call at (805) 474-3400

• ...or come to my classroom at Room 304

• ...or come find me at break or lunch.

• ...or if it's a weekend look for me at Lopez Lake or Pismo Beach.