AP United States History Mr. Hess Room 159 610-889-1900 x22159 khess@gvsd.org Course Purpose Advanced Placement United States History is the equivalent of a college-level course designed to provide students with the analytical skills and factual knowledge necessary to deal critically with problems and materials in United States history. Students learn to assess historical materials and weigh the evidence and interpretations presented in historical scholarship. This course develops the skills necessary to reach conclusions based on informed judgment and to present reasons and evidence clearly and persuasively in oral and written forms. Within a chronological framework, students examine the people, experiences, and events which have shaped the American nation. The program prepares students for college courses by making demands upon them equivalent to those of full-year introductory courses. This course is also intended to prepare students to take the AP U.S. history exam. Students in this course are expected to take the AP United States History Examination on Friday, May 5, 2017. Additional Course Requirements To continue the procedure of formal research and inquiry training begun in ninth grade, a lengthy research project is required. The research project will also provide students with the opportunity to analyze evidence and interpret historical scholarship in order prove their thesis. The project will be completed after the AP Exam. Successful completion of this project is required to receive credit for the course. Course Texts/Readings Kennedy, David M., and Lizabeth Cohen. The American Pageant. 16 th ed. United States: Cengage Learning, 2015. Print. Kennedy, David M., and Thomas Bailey, eds. The American Spirit: United States History as Seen by Contemporaries. 11 th ed. Vol. 1. Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2006. Print. Kennedy, David M., and Thomas Bailey, eds. The American Spirit: United States History as Seen by Contemporaries. 11 th ed. Vol. 2. Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2006. Print. Various Supplemental Readings
Grading/Expectations Grades will be accumulated through chapter exams, unit essays, quizzes, group projects, homework, and a research presentation. Summative chapter exams will occur every two to three weeks and will be formatted in the same way as the AP Exam. They will consist of multiple choice, short answer, long essay, and DBQ questions. Each exam will cover two or three chapters. The midterm and final exams will also have the same format as the AP Exam. Formative assessments will consist of reading quizzes and small projects. Classwork/homework grades consist of notebook checks, unit theme worksheets, and other small over-night or in-class assignments. This course is graded using a weighted points system. Each assignment will be worth a certain number of points. Assignments are placed into three categories: Summative, Formative & Classwork/Homework. Each category will make up a percentage of each marking period grade. Summative Assessments: 70% Formative Assessments: 20% Classwork/Homework: 10% The due date and point value of each assignment will be posted online via Skyward, my teacher webpage, and email. Both students and parents/guardians are strongly encouraged to check these resources regularly throughout the year. Any cheating will result in an automatic zero for the assignment as well as a discipline referral. All students are expected to behave in a mature and responsible manner. Immature and disrespectful behavior will not be tolerated and violations of any school policies will be punished according to the student handbook. Late Work Missing assignments will be accepted for partial credit. The maximum credit possible for collected late work is as follows: One Day Late: 90% Two Days Late: 80% Three Days Late: 70% Four Days Late: 60% Five Days Late: 50% More than Five Days Late: NO CREDIT Please note: homework assignments that are simply checked for completion cannot receive late credit. If you are absent from school, it is your responsibility to make up any notes, assignments or assessments you may have missed. Any assignment that is not turned in will earn a zero. If special circumstances exist, please let me know ASAP.
On skyward, the following symbols will be used for missing work: * - No worries! This asterisk means that the assignment was handed in, but is yet to be graded. 0 Worry! If there is a zero as your grade, you failed to hand in the assignment. Materials Students are required to have the following: binder, pen or pencil, loose-leaf paper or three ring notebook, and a chapter exam folder (to be kept in room 159). Extra Help Students are more than welcome to make arrangements for help at any time during the year. I am usually available before/after school or during periods 3, 4, and 5B. It is best to schedule time with me to guarantee an appointment. Course Themes Each of the following themes, as determined by the College Board, will be highlighted throughout the year to aid students in their examination of people, experiences, and events which have shaped the American nation. 1. American and National Identity 2. Politics and Power 3. Work, Exchange, and Technology 4. Culture and Society 5. Migration and Settlement 6. Geography and the Environment 7. America in the World Course Skills Each of the following skills, as determined by the College Board, will be highlighted throughout the year to aid students in their examination of people, experiences, and events which have shaped the American nation. 1. Chronological Reasoning a. Historical Causation b. Patterns of Continuity and Change over Time c. Periodization 2. Comparison and Contextualization a. Comparison b. Contextualization 3. Crafting Historical Arguments from Historical Evidence a. Historical Argumentation b. Appropriate Use of Relevant Historical Evidence 4. Historical Interpretation and Synthesis a. Interpretation b. Synthesis
AP Exam: Time Management Section 1 Part A: 55 Multiple Choice Questions Section 1 Part B: 4 Short Answer Questions Section 2 Part A: 1 Document Based Question Section 2 Part B: 1 Long Essay Question 55 minutes 50 minutes 55 minutes 35 minutes AP Exam: Chronological Breakdown Period 1 1491-1607 Period 2 1607-1754 Period 3 1754-1800 Period 4 1800-1848 Period 5 1844-1877 Period 6 1865-1898 Period 7 1890-1945 Period 8 1945-1980 Period 9 1980-Present Period 1 = 5% of AP Exam Periods 2 through 5 = 45% of AP Exam Period 6 through 8 = 45% of AP Exam Period 9 = 5% of AP Exam Course Outline **Please note that the below schedule is subject to change as the year progresses.** Unit 1: Founding the New Nation c.33, 000 B.C.-A.D. 1783 Chapters 1-8 5 Weeks (August 29 th September 30 th ) Week of August 29 th Chapter 1: New World Beginnings 33,000 BCE-1769 Chapter 2: The Planting of English Colonies 1500-1713 Chapter 3: Settling the Northern Colonies 1619-1700 EXAM: Chapters 1-3 Thursday, September 1 st Week of September 5 th Chapter 4: American Life in the Seventeenth Century 1607-1700 Week of September 12 th Chapter 5: Colonial Society on the Eve of Revolution 1700-1775 EXAM: Chapters 4-5 Friday, September 16 th Week of September 19 th Chapter 6: The Duel for North America 1608-1763 Chapter 7: The Road to Revolution 1763-1775 Week of September 26 th Chapter 8: America Secedes from the Empire 1775-1783 EXAM: Chapters 6-8 Friday, September 30 th UNIT EXAM Take Home Essay (due about one week after last chapter exam)
Unit 2: Building the New Nation 1776-1860 Chapters 9-15 6 Weeks (October 4 th November 11 th ) Week of October 4 th Chapter 9: The Confederation and the Constitution 1776-1790 Week of October 10 th Chapter 10: Launching the New Ship of State 1789-1800 EXAM: Chapters 9-10 Friday, October 14 th Week of October 17 th Chapter 11: The Triumphs and Travails of the Jeffersonian Republic 1800-1812 Week of October 24 th Chapter 12: The Second War for Independence and the Upsurge of Nationalism 1812-1824 EXAM: Chapters 11-12 Friday, October 28 th Week of October 31 st Chapter 13: The Rise of Mass Democracy 1824-1840 Week of November 7 th Chapter 14: Forging the National Economy 1790-1860 Chapter 15: The Ferment of Reform and Culture 1790-1860 EXAM: Chapters 13-15 Friday, November 11 th UNIT EXAM Take Home Essay (due about one week after last chapter exam) Unit 3: Testing the New Nation 1820-1877 Chapters 16-22 6 Weeks (November 14 th December 23 rd ) Week of November 14 th Chapter 16: The South and the Slavery Controversy 1793-1860 Week of November 21 st NOTE: This is the week of Thanksgiving Break. Students will be required to complete an assignment over break. It will be due several days after the end of break. Chapter 17: Manifest Destiny and Its Legacy 1841-1848 Week of November 28 th Chapter 18: Renewing the Sectional Struggle 1848-1854 Week of December 5 th Chapter 19: Drifting Toward Disunion 1854-1861 EXAM: Chapters 16-19 Friday, December 9 th Week of December 12 th Chapter 20: Girding for War: The North and the South 1861-1865 Chapter 21: The Furnace of Civil War 1861-1865 Week of December 19 th Chapter 22: The Ordeal of Reconstruction 1865-1877 EXAM: Chapters 20-22 Friday, December 23 rd UNIT EXAM No Take Home Essay for Unit 3 due to Winter Break & Midterms
Unit 4: Forging an Industrial Society 1865-1909 Chapters 23-27 4 Weeks (January 3 rd January 27 th ) Week of January 2 nd Chapter 23: Political Paralysis in the Gilded Age 1869-1896 Chapter 24: Industry Comes of Age 1865-1900 Week of January 9 th Chapter 25: America Moves to the City 1865-1900 EXAM: Chapters 23-25 Thursday, January 12 th Week of January 16 th Chapter 26: The Great West and the Agricultural Revolution 1865-1896 Week of January 23 rd Chapter 27: Empire and Expansion 1890-1909 EXAM: Chapters 26-27 Friday, January 27 th UNIT EXAM Take Home Essay (due about one week after last chapter exam) Unit 5: Struggling for Justice at Home and Abroad 1901-1945 Chapters 28-34 7 Weeks (January 30 th March 15 th ) Week of January 30 th Chapter 28: Progressivism and the Republican Roosevelt 1901-1912 Week of February 6 th Chapter 29: Wilsonian Progressivism in Peace and War 1913-1920 EXAM: Chapters 28-29 Friday, February 10 th Week of February 13 th Chapter 30: American Life in the Roaring Twenties 1920-1929 Week of February 20 th Chapter 31: The Politics of Boom and Bust 1920-1932 Week of February 28 th Chapter 32: The Great Depression and the New Deal 1933-1939 EXAM: Chapters 30-32 Friday, March 3 rd Week of March 6 th Chapter 33: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Shadow of War 1933-1941 Week of March 13 th Chapter 34: America in World War II 1941-1945 EXAM: Chapters 33-34 Friday, March 15 th UNIT EXAM Take Home Essay (due one about week after last chapter exam)
Unit 6: Making Modern America Chapters 35-41 7 Weeks (March 20 th April 28 th ) Week of March 20 th Chapter 35: The Cold War Begins 1945-1952 Week of March 27 th Chapter 36: American Zenith 1952-1963 EXAM: Chapters 35-36 Friday, March 31 st Week of April 3 rd Chapter 37: The Stormy Sixties 1963-1973 Week of April 10 th NOTE: This is the week of Spring Break. Students will be required to complete an assignment over break. It will be due several days after the end of break. Chapter 38: Challenges to the Postwar Order 1973-1980 Chapter 39: The Resurgence of Conservatism 1980-1992 EXAM: Chapters 37-39 Tuesday, April 18 th Week of April 17 th Chapter 40: America Confronts the Post-Cold War 1992-2000 Week of April 24 th Chapter 41: The American People Face a New Century 2001-2014 EXAM: Chapters 40-41 Friday, April 28 th UNIT EXAM No Unit Exam due to AP Exam prep & Research Presentations AP Review Week of May 1 st Students will have Monday through Thursday to review in class. AP EXAM: Friday, May 5 th (AM) In the weeks before the AP Exam, after-school review sessions will also be made available. Post AP Exam Beginning May 8 th June Students will conduct research on a chosen topic. They will be asked to formulate an original thesis based on that research. They will then present their thesis with supporting evidence to the class in a fifteen-minute presentation.