COUNCIL ROCK SCHOOL DISTRICT
CRHS - S / MR. HOLLORAN
ADVANCED PLACEMENT UNITED STATES HISTORY
COURSE SYLLABUS
GENERAL STATEMENT
Welcome back to Council Rock South! This is my professional home and you all are my guests. Please treat your host, other guests, and the room accordingly. When working with underclass students, at this point I feel the need to provide a rationale for the importance of the course. However, you elected to take APUS. You’ve expressed an interest in the subject matter. Therefore, instead of a rationale, I’ll state my expectations for you, my APUS students:
1. to analyze factual data about our nation's past; to enhance your cultural literacy
2. to develop a set of collegiate scholastic skills
3. to synthesize the facts and skills in preparation for the A.P. United States History exam given in May
To be successful in meeting these expectations, you must be:
1. willing to complete all reading assignments
2. dedicated to analyzing and evaluating the reading assignments
3. eager to discuss your observations about the reading assignments in class
COURSE APPROACH
Even though there is little to recommend in the mechanical memorizing of names and dates, there is a certain mainstream body of information you will need to draw upon in exercising your scholastic abilities. The information for APUS will be presented chronologically; various themes (explained below) will be investigated within each unit. One major goal of this course is to build on historical thinking skills (listed below) to be used at the college level. Collegiate expectations imply collegiate techniques of instruction, especially, lecture on vital content, discussion of independent reading and evaluation via writing assignments. Given the nature of the course, it is impossible to “cover” in class all material you may see on the AP exam. As in a college course, a great deal of responsibility will be placed upon you to glean text content.
GENERAL RULES AND CONSEQUENCES
· You are in high school; I will not insult you by telling you how to conduct yourselves in a classroom setting
· The 1st and 2nd compliance failure will result in a warning, the 3rd and 4th will result in detention / further action if needed.
EVALUATIONS & GRADING
· Here are some of my beliefs concerning grades:
*I do not give grades; you earn them. *You have the option to excel and you have the option to fail.
· Over 50% of any given marking period’s points will be derived from unit exams [multiple choice, short answer, & essay] the remaining points will be derived from a combination of class discussion, unannounced quizzes, projects, and homework.
· At least one week's notice will be given to you for unit exams.
· Like the APUS Exam, scores earned on prepared written work are a crucial part of each marking period’s grade.
· Most quizzes in this course are unannounced. In the majority of cases, if you are absent and miss a quiz, you will be asked to take a make-up quiz the day you return. Importantly, however, I will not quiz you on any material for which you are not responsible.
· I will use a point percentage system to determine your grade.
{100 – 97.5 = A+; 97.49 – 91.5 = A; 91.49 – 89.5 = A-; 89.49 – 87.5 = B+ and so forth}
· The final course grade is determined by the grade conversion chart found in your student handbook.
· All assessments (quizzes / exams) will be reviewed in class. I feel it is vital for each student to use this review to reflect upon misunderstandings and ask questions to clarify material when appropriate.
· Most, if not all, quizzes will be returned to the students to become part of his/her notebook and to assist with unit exams. To maintain exam integrity, unit evaluations will be reviewed in class and then collected; however, should further clarification of the test be needed following the in-class review, exams may be signed out, taken home, and returned 2 days later.
ATTENDANCE AND ABSENCES
· Regular attendance is vital. You can't learn if you're not here! In most cases, I'll allow one week to complete missed work. Please keep in mind that it is your responsibility to find out what work you missed. It would be a good idea to network with a classmate to help with this process.
· In accordance with school policy, more than 20 days of absence may result in loss of credit for this course.
· Make-up exams will usually be scheduled for after-school. At times I can administer them during class.
NOTEBOOK, TEXTBOOK & CLASS PREPARATION
· I am expected to be prepared for class each day. I respectfully expect the same from you.
· The text is Alan Brinkley’s American History: A Survey. Other texts/readings will be utilized throughout the year.
· Bring your notebook to class every day
· Previous students have told me that a three ring binder works best for my classes.
· Review your class notes every night !!
· Late work is unacceptable and oxymoronic.
HISTORICAL THINKING SKILLS
Skill Type / Historical Thinking SkillI. Chronological Reasoning / 1. Historical Causation
2. Patterns of Continuity and Change over Time
3. Periodization
II. Comparison and Contextualization / 4. Comparison
5. Contextualization
III. Crafting Historical Arguments from Historical Evidence / 6. Historical Argumentation
7. Appropriate Use of Relevant Historical Evidence
IV. Historical Interpretation and Synthesis / 8. Interpretation
9 Synthesis
THEMATIC LEARNING OBJECTIVES
· This course focuses on seven overarching historical themes: 1.) Identity, 2.) Peopling, 3.) Work, Exchange, and Technology, 4.) Politics and Power, 5.) Environment and Geography – Physical and Human, 6.) America and the World, 7.) Ideas, Beliefs, and Culture
· Each theme has particular learning objectives that will be explored throughout the units of the course.
PERIODIZATION
· The College Board has divided the study of U.S. History into 9 historical periods.
Period / Date Range / AP Exam Coverage1 / 1491 – 1607 / 5%
2 / 1607 – 1754 / 45%
3 / 1754 – 1800
4 / 1800 – 1848
5 / 1844 – 1877
6 / 1865 – 1898 / 45%
7 / 1890 – 1945
8 / 1945 – 1980
9 / 1980 – present / 5%
· It is important to note that these periods will at times be within one unit and at others be spread across several. We as a class will be referencing these periods throughout the year.
UNITS OF STUDY
Unit Title / Approximate Years / Brinkley Chapters / Marking Period / AP Exam CoverageThe Colonial Experience / 1491 – 1763 / 1 – Meeting of Cultures
2 – Transplantations & Borderlands
3 – Society & Culture in Provincial America / 1st / Period 1
Period 2
Period 3
From Rebellion to Republic / 1763 – 1800 / 4 – The Empire in Transition
5 – The American Revolution
6 – The Constitution & the New Republic
American Nationalism / 1800 – 1850 / 7 – The Jeffersonian Era
8 – Varieties of American Nationalism
9 – Jacksonian America /
Period 4
Period 5
Period 6
American Sectionalism / 1800 – 1850 / 10 – America’s Economic Revolution
11 – Cotton, Slavery & the Old South
12 – Antebellum Culture & Reform / 2nd
The Crisis of Union / 1844 – 1877 / 13 – The Impending Crisis
14 – The Civil War
15 – Reconstruction and the New South
The Triumph of Industrialization / 1865 – 1900 / 16 – The Conquest of the Far West
17 – Industrial Supremacy
18 – The Age of the City
The Challenge of Industrialization / 1880 – 1916 / 19 – From Crisis to Empire (1st half)
20 – The Progressives / 3rd
Origins of the American Century / 1898 – 1929 / 19 – From Crisis to Empire (2nd half)
21 – America & the Great War
22 – “The New Era” / Period 7
Period 8
Period 9
Exigency Home & Abroad / 1929 – 1941 / 23 – The Great Depression
24 – The New Deal
25 – The Global Crisis, 1921 – 1941
World War II & Aftermath / 1941 – 1960 / 26 – America in a World at War
27 – The Cold War
28 – The Affluent Society / 4th
(BEFORE AP EXAM)
Left to Right / 1960 – 1992 / 29 – Civil Rights, Vietnam, & The Ordeal of Liberalism
30 – The Crisis of Authority
31 – From the Age of Limits to the Age of Reagan
A New
World Order / 1992 – 2014 / 32 – The Age of Globalization
** Various Reading in Current Issues **
A.P. UNITED STATES HISTORY EXAM STRUCTURE
Multiple Choice
· 55 questions
· 55 minutes total
Short-Answer
· 4 short-answer questions
· 45 minutes total
DBQ
· 1 document-based question
· 60 minutes total
FRQ
· 1 free response question (long-essay)
· 35 minutes
Total exam time: 3 hours and 15 minutes
SUCCESS, SUCCESS SUCCESS!!!
· My primary expectation is that you will work to the best of your ability at all times
· Through the year keep this in mind:
“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.”
- Colin Powell
I have read and understand the course syllabus.
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