Towson High School
Advanced Placement United States History
Hoefler & Faya
http://apusths.pbworks.com
Course Description:
United States History is a chronological study of American History from the founding of the first colonies to the present. Topics covered are organized around periods of major emphasis inn the development of America’s history. Within the major topics are units that are broken down into narrower segments.
Course Rationale& Purpose:
A high school program of Advanced Placement United States History is predicated on the belief that there is a direct relationship between an informed and capable citizenry and the success of our democratic republic. A meaningful Advanced Placement United States History program prepares students to be informed, responsible citizens through the development of competencies essential for personal fulfillment and the improvement of society and simultaneously immerses students in the rigors of collegiate expectations. The educated citizen and the scholar, when considering matters of personal and national importance, seeks accuracy through evidence, considers a variety of viewpoints, and employs logical processes such as reasoned judgment, informed opinion, decision making, and problem solving. These criteria for citizenship and intellectual development provide a set of standards for Advanced Placement United States History, thus providing opportunities for students to develop and refine these competencies.
The purpose of Advanced Placement United States History is to prepare students for the Advanced Placement United States History Examination. This level of achievement requires abilities of independent learning, mastery of content, superior levels of processing, applications of test-taking strategies, and highly developed skills of expression. Student achievement in Advanced Placement United States History will be the equivalent of success in college level introductory American history courses.
Advanced Placement United States History is designed to provide capable, motivated students a learning experience which integrates challenging subject matter and dynamic instruction. Approaches to learning will actively engage students, utilize their curiosity, and employ strategies appropriate for high school instruction.
Upon completion of Advanced Placement United States History, students will have demonstrated achievement as knowledgeable, skilled, and as perceptive citizens. They will also have applied their abilities and efforts towards assumption of the role of historian, seeking and finding meaning from the past.
Goals
AP United States History will:
-Provide you with the thinking skills and enduring understandings necessary to deal critically with the main issues and documents of U.S. history.
-Prepare you for intermediate and advanced college courses by making demands upon you equivalent to those made by full-year introductory college courses
-Enable you to assess historical sources — their relevance to a given interpretive problem, their reliability, and their importance — and to weigh the evidence and interpretations of the past presented in historical scholarship
-Develop the skills necessary to arrive at conclusions on the basis of an informed judgment and to present reasons and evidence clearly and persuasively in an essay format
-Train you to analyze and interpret primary sources, including documentary materials, maps, statistical tables, and pictorial and graphic evidence of historical events
-Teach you to take notes from both printed materials and lectures or discussions, to write essay examinations, and to write analytical and research papers
-Enable you to express yourself with clarity and precision and know how to cite sources and credit the phrases and ideas of others
Historical Thinking Skills:
Skill Type / Historical Thinking SkillChronological Reasoning / 1. Historical Causation
2. Patterns of Continuity and Change over Time
3. Periodization
Comparison and Contextualization / 4. Comparison
5. Contextualization
Crafting Historical Arguments from Historical Evidence / 6. Historical Argumentation
7. Appropriate Use of Relevant Historical Evidence
Historical Interpretation and Synthesis / 8. Interpretation
9. Synthesis
Historical Themes:
The AP U.S. History course focuses on the development of historical thinking skills and an understanding of content organized around seven themes:
1. Work, Exchange, and Technology
2. Identity
3. Ideas, Beliefs, and Culture
4. America in the World
5. Environment and Geography
6. Politics and Power
7. Peopling
Eras of Study
Unit 1: EARLY CONTACT AMONG GROUPS IN AMERICA (1491-1607)
01. Students will analyze the contested exploration and settlement of the Western Hemisphere in order to evaluate the impact of colonization on indigenous peoples and Western Europeans.
Unit 2: NORTH AMERICAN SOCIETIES IN THE CONTEXT OF THE ATLANTIC WORLD (1607-1754)
2. Students will analyze political, social, religious, and economic developments from 1607 to 1754 in order to compare and contrast values, behavior, and institutions within the North American colonies of Britain, France, Spain, or the Netherlands.
Unit 3: BIRTH OF A NATION AND STRUGGLE FOR IDENTITY (1754-1800)
3. Students will analyze the reactions of natives, colonists, and British leaders to the French and Indian War in order to evaluate the impact of British imperial policies.
4. Students will analyze the advantages of the major combatants, wartime strategies and significant turning points in order to determine regional, national, and international consequences of the American Revolution.
5. Students will analyze the development and implementation of the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution in order to determine their impact on the new nation’s social, political, and economic identity.
6. Students will compare and contrast the Federalist and Democratic-Republican parties in order to evaluate their impact on domestic and foreign policies from 1789-1800.
Unit 4: GROWING PAINS OF THE NEW REPUBLIC (1800-1848)
7. Students will analyze the evolving relationship between the federal government, states, and individuals in order to evaluate the consequences of creating the first modern mass democracy.
8. Students will investigate the development of a national and international market economy in order to analyze their impact on national unity, stability, and identity.
9. Students will analyze artistic, religious, social, and political movements in order to evaluate the degree to which the United States developed a unified national identity by 1848.
Unit 5: EXPANSION, REGIONAL SEPARATION, THE CIVIL WAR, AND ITS
AFTERMATH (1844-1877)
10. Students will investigate patterns of migration and immigration in order to analyze the degree to which various groups caused conflicts over American cultural identities, citizenship, and the question of extending and protecting various rights of U.S. inhabitants.
11. Students will examine actions regarding the expansion of slavery in order to determine the extent to which these efforts promoted national unity.
12. Students will investigate political activity, resources, economics, diplomacy, and military strategies of the Union and the Confederate States of America in order to draw conclusions about the conduct of the War.
13. Students will analyze constitutional, political, and social developments in order to determine the degree to which Reconstruction transformed citizenship, national identity, and economic relationships in the United States.
Unit 6: INDUSTRIALIZATION, URBANIZATION, AND CULTURAL TRANSFORMATION (1865-1914)
14. Students will analyze the changing factors of production in order to evaluate their influence on the development of industrial connections, business consolidation, and standard of living.
15. Students will investigate immigration and urbanization in order to analyze the opportunities for, and restrictions a variety of groups of Americans.
16. Students will analyze organized responses to Gilded Age problems in order to evaluate the extent to which they ameliorated the negative consequences of industrial growth.
17. Students will analyze how progressive reform in order to evaluate the degree to which local, state, and national reform successfully addressed the social, economic, and political problems with an industrial society.
18. Students will analyze American imperialism in order to determine the extent to which global conflicts over resources, territories, and ideologies renewed debates over the nation’s values and role in the world.
Unit 7: DOMESTIC AND GLOBAL CHALLENGES AND THE CREATION OF MASS CULTURE (1890-1945)
19. Students will investigate American involvement in World War I in order to evaluate the degree to which the War affected migration patterns, social relationships, and the United States position in the world arena.
20. Students will analyze economic and social developments in the 1920s in order examine the impact of new technologies on standard of living, political conflict, and cultural change.
21. Students will analyze the Great Depression in order to assess social, political, and economic challenges brought about by the crisis.
22. Students will examine Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal in order to evaluate the extent to which reforms transformed the U.S. into a limited welfare state.
23. Students will investigate the American involvement in World War II (WWII) in order to evaluate the degree to which it transformed American society and position in the world.
Unit 8: INCREASING PROSPERITY AND GLOBAL RESPONSIBILITY AFTER
WORLD WAR II (1945-1989)
24: Analyze the implementation of United States’ Cold War foreign policy in order to assess the degree to which the United States successfully asserted and defended a position of global leadership.
25. Analyze the causes, course, and consequences of the civil rights movement in order to analyze the expansion and use of federal power to achieve social goals at home.
26. Analyze Post-war demographic and technological changes in order to assess their effect on American society, politics, and the environment.
Unit 9: GLOBALIZATION AND REDEFINING NATIONAL IDENTITY (1980 today)
27. Students will analyze the causes and consequences of new conservatism in order to assess the degree to which the movement influenced economic policies, social movements, and the role of government.
28. Students will analyze domestic and foreign challenges in order to determine their impact on national identity.
Course Texts (FOR CONTENT PURPOSES):
Bailey, Thomas A. and Kennedy, David M. The American Pageant: A History of the Republic*. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath and Company, 2006.
*12th edition OR 13th edition
Krieger, Larry. AP US History Crash Course (2ND Edition). NJ: Research & Education, Association, 2011.
STRONGLY RECOMMENDED Academic Supplements: (Pick one of the recommended Review Guides)
· Barrons; “The AP: United States History” OR The Princeton Review; “Cracking the AP: United States History” (most popular among former AP students), 5 Steps to a 5 AP U.S. History
Since the Test was reformatted for the 2014-15 school year, it is recommended to purchase the editions AFTER 2015Any edition prior to 2014-15 is not recommended because it holds little value since the format of the US AP Exam has significantly changed in 2014-15.
Also Required:
-Pen & Pencil, Highlighter, and Notebook that is to be brought to class and used every day!
-Colored Pencils (Keep in locker until needed.)
-Computer Access & Printer w/ Ink (Home)
Grading Policy:
Grades in the gradebook are categorized in two different categories: Graded & Non-graded. Only grades that are in the Graded category will be used to determine overall grades per marking period. The following provides a synopsis of what will be used to determine students’ overall grade for each marking period.
1-2 Unit (Stimuli-based) Assessments (CW) 100 pts each
-Redo is not available
1 Cumulative Assessment (CW) 100 pts each
-Redo is not available
*4-6 Weekly SLCs (HW) 10-30 pts each
-Redo is available if student completes the Learning Check prior to the due date and shows initiative of wanting to redo. Student must provide evidence of effort (ex: Completion of Chapter Assignments).
*2-8 Graded Kidblogs (HW) 15-45 pts each
-Some KBs are available for redo. When applicable, in order to qualify for a redo, the KB must be completed by the due date.
*2-? Projects (HW/CW) & Graded Class Activities 10-100 pts each
-All are available for redo, however some parts may not be applicable for redo.
*Non-graded Assignments N/A
- Will be assessed using the rubric below. Although not calculated in the overall grade, these non-graded assignments can always be resubmitted.
(In-class Activities, Rubric-based Projects, In Class Practice Essays & DBQs, Essay & DBQ Peer Reviews, Group & Class Participation, Presentations, Presidential Evaluations & Discussions, Assigned Readings…)
In order to be provided the opportunity to redo, the assignment must be completed on time! In addition, ALL Redos must be completed and submitted on the Monday prior to all Unit Assessments. For an example Ch. 4-6 Weekly Assessment will not be available for redo after 9/19 (Monday), the week of the Unit 1 & 2 Stimuli Assessment.
Much of the classwork activities are group-oriented; therefore, many of the assignments will be assessed as a group grade. It is also worth mentioning that not all assignments will be collected for a grade; however, all the assignments have its own educational purpose. Students are expected to complete ALL assignments with the utmost quality regardless of whether it will be collected.
Many of the classwork or homework assignments will be assessed by utilizing a holistic grading scale below. Each number links with appropriate feedback and will convert to a numerical point value for gradebook purposes if selected as a summative assessment.
4 (A): Your thoughts and reflections that were used to complete the assignment were insightful, well developed, clearly focused, and consistently supported by specific, relevant, and accurate information. You successfully applied many historical thinking skills when completing the assignment. Your analysis was in-depth and, when applicable, thoroughly confronts and discusses different points of view.
3 (B/A-): Your thoughts and reflections that were used to complete the assignment were developed, focused, and supported by relevant and accurate information. You successfully applied one or two historical thinking skills when completing the assignment. Your analysis had some depth, and, when applicable, acknowledges different points of view.
2 (C/D): Your thoughts and reflections that were used to complete the assignment were partially developed, somewhat focused and partially supported by information. You attempted to apply historical thinking skills, although you may have been unsuccessful. Your analysis was illogical, and when applicable, refrains from acknowledging different points of view. *
1 (D/E): Your thoughts and reflections that were used to complete the assignment were poorly developed, lacking focus, and often off-topic. It includes many irrelevant and/or inappropriate information. There was no attempt to apply any historical thinking skills. Your analysis was off-topic and/or does not exist.*
*Assignments that are not at least 80% completed cannot exceed a 2 based on the grading scale. Assignments that are not at least 50% completed cannot exceed 1 based on the grading scale.