Welcome to Mrs. Ricketts' US History Class,

I'm so excited to teach your students this year!  We are going to travel along an amazing journey learning about the beginning of our country. I currently teach 2 sections of US History, 2 sections of Honors US History and 1 section of the new AVID 8th Grade elective.

I have been teaching for 18 years, this is my 10th year in Oak Harbor.  I grew up on the south end of Whidbey Island and currently live there with my husband and daughters.  I received my teaching degree from Washington State University in 2004, Go Cougs!!  I enjoy the outdoors (hiking & digging in my flowerbeds), reading, Harry Potter trivia, supporting the Cougs & Seahawks, all things Disney and raising my two wonderful girls.  I have a passion for history and I hope to inspire my students to love it too!

In U.S. History, we begin by looking at the Exploration of the Americas, life in the American Colonies, and the road toward Independence.  We will continue on our journey with the revolutionary history of our country, followed by western expansion, the War of 1812, the Mexican/American War, and finishing up with the Civil War. We are focusing on historical methods of inquiry, using primary source documents to formulate a claim, and citing evidence within those documents to support a position.  My students will be investigating history, not memorizing dates. 

Honors U.S. History will follow the same timeline, but will go more in-depth into certain topics, provide enrichment opportunities as well as class projects and class novels related to our time periods. 

I'm looking forward to getting to know your student through our history class!

Please don't hesitate to contact me with questions and look for my weekly email outlining what we are discussing in class.

Kelly Ricketts