Margaret Scott
Advanced Placement United States History
Fall 2014
APUSH 2014 Syllabus and Course Expectations:
I. Purpose of the Course and Overview: Advanced Placement United States History is a college-level academic course that traces the history of the United States and the development of the American experience from colonization to the twenty-first century. The course emphasizes the analytical and writing skills essential for success in a college-level history course. To achieve this end, considerable time will be devoted to the critical evaluation of primary and secondary sources, class discussion and essays.
II. This year the College Board has introduced a new curriculum
frame work that asks instructors to emphasize the skills that students need to be historians with the learning objectives that will be required to demonstrate mastery of the content material. The hope is that this will relieve the burden of trying to cover 31 chapters of potential material with more meaningful inquiry into specific periods and events in American history.
Historical Thinking Skills:
Skill Type 1: Chronological Reasoning
Skill 1: Historical Causation- Students are asked to identify and compare basic causes and/or effects to distinguish between both short-and long-term causes and effects. I.e.- effective analysis of the Civil War might consider both long-term and proximate causes as well as short-and long-term effects.
Skill 2: Patterns of Continuity and Change over Time- Students will be asked to recognize, describe and analyze instances of historical patterns of continuity and change over time. I.e.- The course theme and concept of identity can be discussed as both the denial and extension of political and economic rights to specific groups over different periods of time while simultaneously highlighting the heroic accomplishments of individuals during their struggle for recognition.
Skill 3: Periodization- The ability to describe, analyze, evaluate and construct models that historians use to organize history into discrete periods. I.e.- Discussion could include “What is the best way to dividing the history of the United States into meaningful periods? What are the consequences of choosing one set of dates for a particular movement instead of another time frame? “
Comparison and Contextualization:
Skill 4: Comparison- Students will be asked to compare related historical developments and processes across place, time, or different societies (or within one). A comparison example might be “How similar or different were the periods of US expansion or how does “conservatism” compare in the 1920s, 1950s and 1980s? “ Students could also compare thematic developments in different time periods, such as how environmental attitudes and policies in the first decade of the 20th century compare with those in the last decade of that century, or the comparative impact of migrations to the US in the 1890s and the 1980s.
Skill 5: Contextualization- This skill asks students to recognize and explain ways in which historical phenomena or processes connect to broader regional, national or global processes. How does the history of a particular group, region or era fit into the larger story of the development of the United States? Students could look at the interaction between watershed events like Reconstruction and the later civil rights movement.
Skill 6: Historical Argumentation- Students will be asked to be able to describe commonly accepted historical arguments about the nature of the past and then explain how such arguments have been constructed from historical evidence. I.e.- Connecting the themes of politics and power, students might be asked to examine evidence and construct an argument about the causes of the Civil War.
Skill 7: Appropriate Use of Relevant Historical Evidence- This skill asks students to analyze documents for one or more of the following features: audience, purpose, point of view, format, argument, limitations and context important to the historical evidence considered. I.e.- archeological and geographical evidence might be other things to consider during analysis.
Skill 8: Interpretation-Students will create their own interpretation of U.S. history; interpretations should be evaluated over time. This will also introduce the idea of “presentism” where modern perspectives are introduced into historically significant events. An example might be looking at how interpretations of American slavery or Reconstruction have changed.
Skill 9: Synthesis- Students demonstrate an understanding of the past by making an argument that draws appropriately on ideas from different fields of inquiry or disciplines when presented to them in the form of data and/or arguments.
Thematic Learning Objectives- topics of historical inquiry to explore throughout the APUSH course:
All questions on the AP exam will measure student understanding of the specified thematic learning objectives listed below.
· IDENTITY-Students should be able to explain how these sub- identities have interacted with each other and with larger conceptions of American national identity.
Overarching Questions:
1. How and why have debates over American national identity changed over time?
2. How have gender, class, ethnic, religious, regional and other group identities changed in different eras?
· WORK, EXCHANGE AND TECHNOLOGY- Students should explore the lives of working people and the relationships among social classes, racial, ethnic groups and men and women including the availability of land and labor, national and international economic developments and the role of government support and regulation.
1. How have changes in markets, transportation and technology affected American society from colonial times to the present day?
2. Why have different labor systems developed in British North America and the U.S., and how have they affected U.S. society?
3. How have debates over economic values and the role of government in the U.S. economy affected politics, society, the economy and the environment?
· PEOPLING- Students explore the ideas, beliefs, traditions, technologies, religions and gender roles that migrants/immigrants and annexed peoples brought with them and the impact these factors had on both these peoples and on U.S. society.
1. Why have people migrated to, from and within North America?
2. How have changes in migration and population patterns changed or affected American life?
· POLITICS AND POWER- Students trace efforts to define or gain access to individual rights and citizenship and survey the evolutions of tensions between liberty and authority in different periods of U.S. history.
1. How and why have different political and social groups competed for influence over society and government in what would become the United States?
2. How have Americans agreed on or argued over the values that guide the political system as well as who is a part of the political process?
· AMERICA IN THE WORLD- Students should also investigate how American foreign policies and military actions have affected the rest of the world as well as social issues within the United States itself.
1. How have events in North America and the United States related to contemporary developments in the rest of the world?
2. How have different factors influenced U.S. military, diplomatic and economic involvement in international affairs and foreign conflicts, both in North America and overseas?
· ENVIRONMENT AND GEOGRAPHY-PHYSICAL AND HUMAN- Students should analyze the interactions between the environment and Americans in their efforts to survive and thrive. Students should also explore efforts to interpret, preserve, manage or exploit natural and man-made environments, as well as the historical contexts within which interactions with the environment have taken place.
1. How did interactions with the natural environment shape the institutions and values of various groups living on the North American conflict?
2. How did economic and demographic changes affect the environment and lead to debates over use and control of the environment and natural resources?
· IDEAS, BELIEFS AND CULTURE-Students will analyze the interactions between beliefs and communities, economic values and political movements, including attempts to change American society to align it with specific ideals.
1. How and why have moral, philosophical and cultural values changed in what would become the United States?
2. How and why have changes in moral, philosophical and cultural values affected U.S. history?
HISTORICAL PERIODS-
There are 9 historical periods encompassed in the exam. These historical periods will accompany the learning objectives and skills as the basics for the AP exam. Below are the rough estimates of where the emphasis will be and accordingly how much time should be devoted to that particular period’s material.
Period Date Range Approximate Percentage of…
Instructional Time AP Exam
1 1491-1607 5% 5%
2 1607- 1754 10%
3 1754-1800 12% 45%
4 1800-1848 10%
5 1844-1877 13%
6 1865-1898 13%
7 1890-1945 17% 45%
8 1945-1980 15%
9 1980-Present 5% 5%
Textbook:
Faragher, John Mack, Mari Jo Buhle, Danile Czitrom, and Susan H. Armitage. Out of Many: A History of the American People, AP Edition, 6th edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006.
Assessment and Grading Scale:
Student achievement in the class will be assessed in five areas:
Exams…………………………………………30%
Quizzes……………………………………….20%
DBQ and Free Response Essays………….30%
Classwork…………………………………….10%
Homework……………………………………10%
Exams will consist of multiple-choice questions formatted similar to those on the AP exam. Some exams will be cumulative meaning previous material could be seen again. This is designed to reinforce material and facilitate the discovery of connections and comparisons with the content.
Being able to analyze documents and develop a logical written argument is a skill essential for success on the AP exam but also in college. Topics for our assigned DBQ and free response essays will follow the AP format and emphasize material addressed in class. The AP grading rubric will be used to evaluate each piece of writing for the Document-Based Question and Free Response.
Classroom Expectations:
1. The textbook, notebook and pen or pencil must be brought daily. Success in AP depends in part of the student’s self-discipline and work ethic. Good attendance is crucial! Being prepped for class, taking notes and contributing to the discussion are explicit expressions of those essential characteristics. It is also an expression of respect for the class, the subject and the instructor.
2. Make-up tests are to be taken AFTER-SCHOOL or during a STUDY HALL.
3. If you are absent the day an assignment is due, the expectation is that it is emailed in to me the same day, if there is a test or quiz the expectation is that you take it upon return. For longer absences, you will be given the requisite number of days to complete the assignment, as you were absent- 3 days out, 3 days to make it up. Extenuating circumstances do present and will be considered if necessary.
4. PLEASE USE THE RESTROOM AT THE VERY START OF CLASS OR END.
5. Use of technology- this will be in flux this year as we start the one- to- one initiative but use the tech appropriately and your time wisely
6. It is also my expectation that you take the AP exam in May; I want you to receive college credit. I also appreciate getting the feedback about how I am in doing with preparing my students to take the exam. Do us both a favor? If your college accepts the AP score- take the test!
Homework and Articles Assignment:
There will RARELY be a day when the student does not have homework in AP U.S. Expect daily reading assignments, taking notes or reviewing class materials. Reading assignments by unit will be broken out in advance and given in handout form or posted on my webpage. If you do not like to read or lack motivation, sadly, this course may not be for you. I will not change the rigor or expectations if you contract senioritis and I have had students fail marking periods of APUSH in the past. We should not have to worry about you graduating because you’ve chosen to take my class!
Course Planning and Pacing by Unit:
UNIT 1- 1491-1607:
Historical Synthesis, DBQ Analysis, Presidential Chunking and varied Pre-colonial Native American cultures
Some introductory activities like the APPARTs structure, DBQ analysis to determine what scorers and I will look for in upcoming DBQ and free response questions and a collaborative activity designed to have students commit to memory our nation’s presidents, their political party and at least one memorable event in each presidency. “An Aztec account of the Conquest of Mexico”, Burying the White Gods: New Perspectives on the Conquest of Mexico” by Camilla Townsend.
Skills and Learning Objectives Addressed: (Interpretation, Comparison, PEO-1, ENV 1 & 2) Length: App. 9 Days
UNIT 2- 1607-1754:
This unit will focus upon the diversity of settlement among the English and the expansion of settlement in North America. Demographic change will be addressed as African Americans replace indentured servants as a labor source. Comparisons of southern, middle and northern colonies will be evaluated.
Primary sources that will be utilized are the following: “Ann Putnam’s Deposition and Confession”, “Mayflower Compact”, “William Penn’s Description of PA”, and “VA Law on Indentured Servitude.” Other sources used: “Anne Hutchinson is Banished (1637)”, “Cotton Mather on the Virtuous Woman, 1698” “Entertaining Satan Witchcraft and the Culture of Early New England”. Selections from James Axtell, ed., “Indian Peoples of Eastern America: A Documentary History of the Sexes” and “The Rhythms of Labor: African American Women in Colonial Society.” “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jonathon Edwards and James Oglethorpe’s “Establishing the Colony of Georgia.” Chapters 2-5 Out of Many, Faragher, et al.
Skills and Learning Objectives addressed: (Appropriate Use of Relevant Historical Evidence, Interpretation, Contextualization, Comparison, Patterns of Continuity and Change over Time, ID-4, ID-6, WXT-4 & 5, PEO-1, PEO-4, POL-1, WOR-1, ENV-1, ENV-4, CUL-1, CUL-4) Length: Approximately 14 days
Unit 3: 1754-1800
British imperial attempts to reassert control over its colonies and the colonial reaction to these attempts produced a new American republic, along with struggles over the new nation’s social, political and economic identity.
Primary sources that will be used are the following: “Albany Plan of the Union”, “Join or Die “political cartoon, “Common Sense”, “Remember the Ladies” letter, Paul Revere’s engraving, Townsend Acts, Stamp Act. “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death,” Patrick Henry, Boston Gazette’s Description of the Boston Massacre, 1770; Dickinson’s “Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania” and James Otis, “The Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved.” Joseph Warren’s “Account of the Battle of Lexington” and Jefferson’s rough draft of the Declaration of Independence. We will also be evaluating the differences between the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution, James Madison’s “The Virginia Plan,” Alexander Hamilton’s “An Opinion on the Constitutionality of an Act to Establish a Bank” and the Bill of Rights. Students will also use Out of Many, Faragher, and et.al chapters 6-8.