Advanced Placement American History B

Advanced Placement American History B. Rice – Instructor

2016-2017 Baker High School

Course Description: AP U.S. History covers the spectrum of American history from pre-Columbian days to the present. Using a thematic approach to the material, the course exposes students to the extensive primary and secondary sources and to the interpretations of various historians. Class participation through seminar reports, discussions, debates, creative assignments, and role-playing activities is required; special emphasis is placed on critical reading and essay writing to help students prepare for the AP examination. The course is structured thematically, divided into nine periods. The content learning objectives for the AP U.S. History course and exam are organized under seven themes, which are topics of historical inquiry to explore throughout the AP U.S. History course. The seven themes are; Identity; Work, Exchange, and Technology; Peopling; Politics and power, American in the World; Environment and geography – physical and human; and Ideas, Beliefs, and Culture. Advanced Placement American History is designed to teach the political, social, economic, intellectual and military history of the United States, and is designed to provide students with the analytic skills and factual knowledge necessary to deal critically with the problems and materials in U.S. history. The course will therefore be taught on the college level with expectations the same as a college class. Students will also improve research, writing, analyzing, and study skills related to social sciences.

There will be a $10.00 class fee to purchase essential supplies for the school year. I know that this may be difficult, especially when class fees begin to mount. If you find that you cannot contribute financially please contact me by email. There are plenty of other ways to help our class obtain the materials we need. My email address is .

Themes

While the course follows a narrative structure supported by textbook and audiovisual material, the following seven themes described in the AP U.S. History Course and Exam Description are woven throughout each unit of study:

1. Identity (ID)
2. Work, Exchange, and Technology (WXT)
3. Peopling (PEO)
4. Politics and Power (POL)
5. America in the World (WOR)
6. Environment and Geography (ENV)
7. Ideas, Beliefs, and Culture (CUL)

Skills Developed

These skills reflect the tasks of professional historians. While learning to master these tasks, AP U.S. History students act as “apprentice historians.”

Chronological Reasoning

-Historical Causation

-Patterns of Continuity and Change Over Time

-Periodization

Comparison and Contextualization

-Comparison

-Contextualization

Crafting Historical Arguments from Historical Evidence

-Historical Argumentation

-Appropriate Use of Historical Evidence

Historical Interpretation and Synthesis

-Interpretation

-Synthesis

In addition, class activities and assignments will address the following academic skills: Reading for comprehension and recall, improving study skills in preparation for assessments, improving formal writing skills, improving public speaking skills in class discussions and activities, and improving skills of map reading and interpretation.

Texts

The texts for the course will be:

Brinkley, Alan, American History: Connecting with the Past, AP* Edition. McGraw Hill, New York, NY, 2012

Davidson, James W. & Lytle, Mark H.After the Fact: The Art of Historical

Detection. McGraw-Hill, Boston, 2005.

Oates, Stephen B., ed.Portrait of America.Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, 2003.

Belmonte, Laura A., Speaking of America, Readings in U.S. History, Vol. 1 and 2, Wadsworth, 2005.

Shi, David E. & Mayer, Holly A. For the Record, A Documentary History of America., Vol. I and II, Third Edition, Norton & Co. 2007

Other readings will be provided by the instructor from the following sources:

Commanger, Henry SteeleDocuments of American History.Vol. I & II., Prentice Hall,Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1973.

Abbott, Kathryn A. & Minter, P.A. American Stories: Biographies in United States History. Vol. I & II, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2004.

Dollar, Charles M., et al, eds.American Issues: A Documentary Reader. Glencoe- McGraw Hill, New York, 2002.

Hollitz, JohnContending Voices: Biographical Explorations of the American Past. Vol. I & II, Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 2007.

Lorence, James J.Enduring Voices. Vol. I & II, D.C. Heath & Co., Lexington,

Mass. 1996.

O’Doherty, BrianAmerican Masters: The Voice and the Myth. Random House,

New York, 1988.

Zinn, HowardA People’s History of the United States: 1492 – Present. Harper,

New York, 2003.

Documents in United States History. Vol. I & II, Pearson-Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2004.

Students will also be issued Five Steps to a Five, 2015-2016, cracking the AP U.S. History Exam.

Format

The course will be taught using a variety of techniques and methods including: lecture, discussion in class, research, and possibly field trips and guest lectures. The students will be expected to read the text and other material when assigned, do homework and research when assigned, turn in assignments on time, discuss current events, and participate in class activities daily. An objective sheet will be provided to the student for each week of study, outlining the course schedule and historical period of study. This will list the important things to know, key learning objectives,as well assignments and due dates.The student is responsible for knowing this material for class participation and assessments, bot quizzes and exams. Because the class is taught in a split block format we will not meet every day. Therefore, it is extremely important for students commit to a schedule of reading and preparation.

Grading:

-Grades will be calculated by points

-Student progress will be evaluated through: portfolio assignments, participation in seminars, their ability to use key terms, both summative and formative writing assignments, quizzes and exams.

-Students will complete a portfolio for each period of U.S. History in our curriculum framework.

-Students will analyze diverse primary and secondary sources.

-There will be formal writing assignments based on the essay formats required for the AP U.S. History Exam.

-Students will be required to present team and individual presentations.

-Homework assignments will be posted at the beginning of each period of study and on the Baker web page for student access.

-Students must have a 3-ring binder filled with loose leaf paper for class assignments and lecture notes. All homework, handouts, portfolio assignments, as well as any other course material, must be kept in student binders in the order of our class progression. It is strongly recommended that tabs be used to divide each period of study.

Schedule

The course is being taught on the 4 x 4 Block schedule. This means the students will have class every other day. Eighty-five days in this format will be adequate time to cover the material required, however, it is important that students keep up with the reading and writing demands of the course.

Absences, make-up work, and academic dishonesty

-Making up Work:Make-up work is the responsibility of the student. An assignment that was due on the day of your excused absence should be completed with-in the appropriate number of days, coinciding with the absence. Students will receive a 25% point penalty for each day and could receive a zero for the assignment.

• If you are on campus on a due date (but have an early dismissal, a field trip, or check in late), find me to turn in your work.
• If you are not at school and excused on a due date, turn in your work the morning you return (even if you have Mrs. Barbosa or Fick scheduled for that day).
• Remember, field trips are a privilege and should not interfere with other class assignments. Therefore, a field trip is no reason to neglect due dates. Work should either be turned in before leaving, or on its assigned date, and exams should be taken early.

-Making up Tests: Make-up tests will be administered after school, on the Tuesdayor Thursday of your return. Tests given in this class correspond to reading and assignment deadlines. It is not equitable for students who come to school on the date a reading or assignment is due, if others take the test at their convenience. Late Work will not be accepted without proper documentation from a parent, guardian, legal entity or physician. I am certainly willing to work with all students in the event of a medical or family emergency, to help you achieve success in AP US History

-Academic Dishonesty: Cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated. Plagiarism includes copying from someone else’s work verbatim or copying the content of another person’s work without giving that person credit. (This means that if you use someone else’s ideas, even if you put them in your own words or change the wording of the original, without citing your source, you are plagiarizing.) Assignments that reflect cheating or plagiarism will result in the following: a zero for the assignment, contact with a parent/guardian, and notification to NHS sponsors. The zero for a dishonest assignment will (and should) affect your overall average.

Essays

Great emphasis will be placed on the students’ ability to explain, not just recall, historical facts. Previously used Document Based Questions and Free Response Essay questions will be used for evaluation and understanding during both semesters. The students will analyze primary sources such as, documents, maps, statistics, art, and pictures in practice for writing the Short Answer responses and DBQ essays. Rubrics from the College Board will be used in grading so the students will know what to expect in essay writing.

Research

Students will be required to research some topics, individually or in teamsfor class discussion and exam preparation. Further information concerning the competition in the MCPSS History Day Project will be forthcoming. Information concerning the project will be sent home during the first semester, and scheduled due dates will be assigned.

*There will not, however, be a formal term paper required during 1st Semester.

Attendance

Students are expected in class every day and on time. A student is allowed four excused absences per term with a parent note. After these four, parent note excuses will not be accepted. Doctor’s notes or legal excuses are the only exceptions. Four tardies equals one unexcused absence. Four unexcused absencesmay result in loss of credit. The student has two days to present a note, after which it becomes unexcused. Make up work is not allowed for unexcused absences.

Make up work

Any test missed should be made up within the appropriate number of days corresponding with the number of days for the student’s absence.For example, three days missed with a parent, doctor, or other excused absence will allow for three days to makeup and turn in assignments. Unexcused absences or failing to turn in an assignment will result in a 25% penalty of the original assignment’s value each day an assignment is late.

Behavior

Proper respect will be shown by all students toward other students and adults. Minor infractions will be dealt with in class or with a parent phone conference. Major infractions or repeat offenders could result in detention, referral to administration, conferences, counseling, and possibly suspension. (See Student Code of Conduct.) The uniform code of dress will be enforced in class and on campus. I will not tolerate any student stopping me from teaching or another student from learning.

Contact Information:

Baker High School

251-221-3000

Remind101 – text @abf06 to 251-263-8872

PERIOD 1: 1491-1607 [CR2]

Content Demographics of Europe, the Americas, and West Africa; Meso-American culture; transatlantic commerce; comparison of colonies across the Americas (religion, economies, politics, cultures); and foundations of slavery.

Reading Assignments: American History, Alan Brinkley; Chapters 1 and 2

Activities

• Students will be divided into groups, each one given a different pre-contact native population to research. As part of an oral presentation, groups will create a visual showing the social, political, and economic structures and interaction with the environment and other groups.

• Working in groups, students develop a class presentation that analyzes reasons for the development of different labor systems in any two of the following regions of British colonial settlement: New England, the Chesapeake, the southernmost Atlantic coast, and the British West Indies. (WXT-4) [CR4]

• Students will read the first chapter of A People’s History of the United States and identify the main ideas through participation in a Paideia Seminar. Following the seminar students will read the first chapter of A Patriot’s History of the United States and create a chart indicating the strongest arguments from each chapter based on historical evidence. Following these discussions, students will write an in-class essay, which includes a thesis statement, responding to the question, “Columbus: hero or villain?” Using The American Spirit (pages 3-6) readings, students will identify the European view of Native Americans. “Juan Gines de Sepulveda Belittles the Indians” (1547) and “Bartoleme de Las Casas Defends the Indians” (1552).

• Students will complete a Semantic Features Chart comparing England, France, and Spain during the period of exploration and colonization. Once the chart is completed, students will write an essay on the following: Analyze the cultural and economic responses of TWO of the following groups to the Indians of North America before 1750. A) British B) French C) Spanish

Review:

As a review for the unit, students will work in groups discussing and framing answers to the essential questions.

Identity - How did the identities of colonizing and indigenous American societies change as a result of contact in the Americas?

Work, Exchange, and Technology - How did the Columbian Exchange—the mutual transfer of material goods, commodities, animals, and diseases—affect interaction between Europeans and natives and among indigenous peoples in North America?

Peopling- Where did different groups settle in the Americas (before contact) and how and why did they move to and within the Americas (after contact)?

Politics and Power- How did Spain’s early entry into colonization in the Caribbean, Mexico, and South America shape European and American developments in this period?

America in the World – How did European attempts to dominate the Americas shape relations between Native Americans, Europeans, and Africans?

Environment and Geography- How did pre-contact populations of North America relate to their environments? How did contact with Europeans and Africans change these relations in North America?

Ideas, Beliefs, and Cultures - How did cultural contact challenge the religious and other values systems of peoples from the Americas, Africa, and Europe?

PERIOD 2: 1607–1754 [CR2]

Content European colonization; American Indian resistance; economic and population patterns; formation of race and identity; and tensions with Britain.

Reading Assignments: American History, Alan Brinkley; Chapters 3 and 4 Activities: Colonization

• Complete a map showing the resources and products for different regions. Describe the settlement of Northern, Middle, and Southern colonies showing motives, location, religious influences, political system, economic structure, labor source, relations with natives, etc. Discuss in small groups the environmental and geographic impact on the development of each region.

• Center for Learning Lesson–Compare Great Awakening, Puritans, and Enlightenment and the influence of each on colonial ideology and development.

• Students will read articles from Opposing Viewpoints, and be ready to discuss the two articles in small groups, focusing on sourcing and contextualization. “A Defense of the Salem Witch Trials” (1692) Cotton Mather and “An Attack on the Salem Witch Trials” (1692) Thomas Brattle. [CR1b]

• After studying colonial development and utilizing all readings, students will write an essay on the following: Early encounters between American Indians and European colonists led to a variety of relationships among the different cultures. Analyze how the actions taken by BOTH American Indians and European colonists shaped those relationships in TWO of the following regions. Confine your answers to the 1600s. A) New England B) Chesapeake C) Spanish Southwest D) New York and New France [CR11]

PERIOD 3 1754–1800 [CR2]

Content British colonial policies; enlightenment ideas; war for independence; formation of republic and national identity; work and labor (free and unfree); and regional economic differences.

Reading Assignments: American History, Alan Brinkley Chapters 5, 6, 7, 8 Activities: American Revolution

• Students examine two charts representing two time periods of riots and rebellions, looking for patterns of location and categories of unrest for each time period. Students will then draw conclusions based on the chart and conversation.

• Introduce the DBQ with students working in groups, reading and analyzing the documents to answer the prompt: In what ways did the French and Indian War (1754- 1763) alter political, economic, and ideological relations between Britain and its American colonies? Students will also utilize information from lessons and articles to answer prompt: “The Real First World War and the Making of America” by Fred Anderson.

• Students read and discuss in small groups Howard Zinn’s Chapter 2 “Drawing the Color Line” from A People’s History of the United States. Students will then organize the pre-writing for the prompt: How did economic, geographic, and social factors encourage the growth of slavery as an important part of the economy of the Southern colonies between 1607 and 1775?
• Students will read Gordon S. Wood, “Radical Possibilities of the American Revolution” and Gary B. Nash, “The Radical Revolution from the Bottom Up” from Major Problems in American History to help them determine: “Who was the real patriot?” Students also read “Mohawk Leader Joseph Brant Commits the loyalty of His People to Britain” and “Virginian Patrick Henry Warns the British to Maintain America’s Liberties.”
• Students will list the 10 events that led directly to the Revolution. Students will defend their choices, then pick the one event that made the Revolution inevitable.

Students look at primary and secondary sources on the Articles of Confederation and U.S.