Advanced Placement Politics and Government
NewcomersHigh School
Principal Orlando Sarmiento
Assistant Principal Judy Aguayo-Nunez
Instructor Mr. Gill
Email:
PURPOSE
This is a preparatory course for the AP exam on U.S. Government and Politics, which offers the opportunity toearn college credit while in high school. Students enrolled in the course are expected to take the AP exam.Therefore, the aim of the course is to provide a content rich learning experience equivalent to an introductorycollege course in U.S. government and politics.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
AP U.S. Government and Politics is a college level course designed to give a comprehensive understandingof government and politics in the United States. The course will include the study of broad concepts neededto understand U.S. politics and governmental systems as well as analysis of specific examples. It willrequire familiarity with ideas, individuals, groups and institutions that make up U.S. politics. Aftercompletion of this course, students will have gained a strong foundation for understanding how governmentin America actually works.
TEXTBOOK
James M. Burns, et al. Government By The People. 18th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ:Prentice-Hall, 2008.
ONLINE TEXTBOOK LINK
REQUIRED READING (SUMMER)
Monk, Linda R. The Words We Live By: Your Annotated Guide to the Constitution. New York: Hyperion, 2003. Print.
SUGGESTED READING
Beckel Bob,Cal Thomas (2007). Common Ground. New York CityNew York: HarperCollins Publishers.
OTHER RESOURCES
Students will be provided with an instructed generated booklet of approximately fifty United States Supreme Court Cases with historical annotations. The cases will be derived from numerous sources.
Supplemental readings will also be utilized throughout the course. Sources will include various daily and weekly publications and periodicals such as the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Time, Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report etc.
Audio and video of political speeches, political television programs, pod-casts, debates and other politically related sources will be regularly utilized in the classroom. (PBS, C-Span, CNN, NPR, etc)
THE EXAM
The AP United States Government and Politics Exam is 2 hours and 25 minutes long. It includes a 45-minute multiple choice section consisting of 60 questions and a 100- minute free-response section consisting of 4 questions.
CURRENT EVENTS
Students are responsible for keeping up with the daily events in the nation and the world. Students will need to read newspapers, magazines, or access reliable internet sources in order to complete current events assignments during each marking period. I also suggest that students watch TV news stations and political programs (usually airing on Sunday mornings) weekly, in order to further understand current trends and events in the United States and around the world.
USING GRAPHS, MAPS, CHARTS, POLITILCARTOONS AND MEDIA
Students will utilize and analyze graphs, maps, charts, political cartoons and other media to understand major concepts related to the curriculum content. Students will be tested on their understanding of quantitative and visually presented information regularly, through tests and quizzes. Students will also be expected to research and find their own sources of graphs, maps, charts, political cartoons and other media for their marking period projects.
FREE RESPONSE QUESTIONS
In order to prepare for the AP Government and Politics test and provide a college level experience, students will be given free response questions to answer both in class and at home. There will be various methods of free response questions that the students will have to answer in the form of: homework, projects, presentations, tests or quizzes.
ASSESMENT
Students will be assessed by the following criteria for each marking period.
Unit exams30%
Vocabulary quizzes20%
Group and individual projects/essays20%
Reading quizzes10%
Written assignments (essays) and notes15%
Class participation 5%
The students final grade (3rd marking period) will be composed of:
1st marking period grade30%
2nd marking period grade30%
3rd marking period grade30%
Final exam(this will also count as the 3rd marking period Unit exam)10%
COURSE OF STUDY
In your binder, separate your notes by these units by tab dividers so you will be organized for the
AP test. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!
Content AreaPercentage Goals for Exam
(multiple-choice section)
I. Constitutional Underpinnings of American Democracy (Chapters 1-3, Federalist 51) 5- 15%
A. The Study of American Government
- Outside influences on Constitution
- Greece
- Rome
- Enlightenment
- Monarchy/Parliamentary System
B. The Constitution
- Constitution of Massachusetts, 1780: Constitution of United States of America, 1787
1. Principles of the Constitution
- Separation of Powers
- Checks and Balances
- Popular Sovereignty
- Judicial Review
- Federalism
C. Considerations that influenced the formulation and adoption of the Constitution.
1. The Great Compromise
2. 3/5’s Compromise
3. Federalists vs. Antifederalists
4. Bill of Rights
II. Political Beliefs and Behaviors of Individuals (Chapters 7- 9, Common Ground)10 – 20%
A. Political Culture and Ideology
1. Political Spectrum
2. Polarization
B. The American Political Landscape
1. Historic changes of Republicans and Democrats
2. “Red vs. Blue” and SwingStates
C. Public Opinion, Participation and Voting
1. Beliefs citizens hold about their government and its leaders
2. Processes by which citizens learn about politics
3. The nature, sources and consequences of public opinion
4. The ways in which citizens vote and otherwise participate in political life
5. The variety of factors that influence citizens to differ from one another in terms of their political beliefs and behaviors
III. Political Parties, Interest Groups, Media (Chapters 10- 13, Federalist 10, What Liberal Media?) 10-20%
A. Political parties and elections
1. Functions
2. Organization
3. Historical Development
4. Effects on political process
B. Interest groups (including PACs)
1. The range of interests that are or are not represented
2. The activities of interest groups
3. The effects of interest groups on the political process
C. Campaigns and Elections
D. The Mass Media
1. The functions and structures of the news media
2. The impacts of the news media on politics
3. The news media industry and its consequences
- Media’s role in elections and political process
- Media’s role in political polarization
IV. The Institutions of Government and Policy Process (Chapters 14-17, Federalist 78)35-45%
A. Congress: The People’s Branch
1. Powers of Legislative Branch
2. Senate
3. House of Representatives
4. Committee’s
5. The CapitolBuilding
B. The Presidency: The Leadership Branch?
1. Powers of Presidency
2. Historic Trends of Presidential Power
C. The Judiciary: The Balancing Branch (The Referee)
1. The Powers of the Judicial Branch
2. Precedents
3. Historical Supreme Court Cases
D. The Bureaucracy: Real Power?
- The major formal and informal institutional arrangements of power
- Relationships among these four institutions
- Links between these institutions and political parties, interest groups, the media, sub-nationalgovernments and public opinion
- Policy processes and outputs
- Policy making in a federal system
V. Public Policy (Chapters 18-20, Do Political Action Committees Undermine Democracy?)5-15%
A. Policy making in a federal system
B. The formation of policy agendas
C. The role of institutions in the enactment of policy
D. The role of the bureaucracy and the courts in policy implementations and interpretation
E. Connections between policy processes and the following:
1. Political institutions and federalism
2. Political parties
3. Interest groups
4. Public opinion
5. Elections
6. Policy networks
VI. Civil Liberties and Civil Rights (Chapters 4, 5, 6, Bill of Rights and Civil Liberties)5-15%
A. Development of civil liberties and civil rights by law and judicial interpretation
1. Supreme Court Case Studies (mixed cases from 1- 65)
B. Substantive rights and liberties
C. Impact of 14th Amendment on rights and liberties
This course will be difficult and challenging. You must be responsible enough to keep up with the work load both inside the classroom and at home. If you are experiencing difficulty grasping any information or if you have any questions or if you do not understand some of the concepts we are studying, do not be afraid to ask me for help. I am available after school and my weekly schedule is posted on my door way if you ever want to know where I will be during the day. My email address is on the top of the syllabus if you ever have questions when you are doing work over vacations, weekends or during the school week.
I can not stress enough that my job is to help you. Please do not put further burdens on your family members, parents or guardians at home because you need help with my course. We will have a lot of fun in this course while we learn; I look forward to having you in this course.
Mr. Gill
Advanced Placement Government and Politics Student Responsibility Form
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