I. course description

AP United States History is a college level course. Course will survey American History from the Colonial Period to the present. Students are expected to participate on a high academic level, interpret and analyze both primary and secondary sources, make historical interpretation and be able to use historical facts to defend their views, and present their opinions in a clear, concise and orderly fashion in both an oral and written manner. All students must take the AP Exam in May.

Classroom attendance is mandatory. AP U.S. History is a highly demanding course and missed class time will be difficult to make up. If you fall behind, it will be difficult to catch up. Any missed work, assignments, quizzes, or tests must be made up as soon as possible. I suggest you exchange telephone numbers with a classmate, so you can find out what you missed in case of absence. Please, inform me of any field trips or extended absences prior to leaving.

Students will be assigned one textbook chapter to read a week. Students will be given a weekly reading quiz on Mondays, testing the previous weeks reading assignment. In the past, students have achieved the best result by outlining the chapters. I strongly suggest you outline each chapter or develop some other method of keeping notes as your read, because these notes will form the basis for your studying for unit exams and the AP Exam. I also recommend you do not wait to last minute to complete your weekly assignment. Your first assignment will be to read Chapter 2 and Chapter 4 (pp. 66-72).

In addition to the weekly reading assignments, students will be assigned daily assignments which will supplement the weekly readings. Guided discussion questions will be assigned each night and will be used for daily classroom discussions. These questions will be distributed on Mondays and will form the basis for the week’s discussions. Since these discussions will form the foundation of the course, it is essential that you are prepared for each day’s class. If I feel students in general are unprepared for class, I will collect each day’s questions and grade as a quiz.

Students will complete a minimum of 2 free response essay questions and 2 DBQ questions per quarter. These questions will be assigned and completed in class. You will also have at least 2 multiple choice tests per quarter. All essays and Multiple Choice tests will mirror the AP exam.

Students will be assigned at least one project per marking period. These projects will require research to be conducted during class time and on your own. The final paper for each project should meet the high level of scholarship expected of an AP student. Students will be expected to use appropriate resources. The use of encyclopedias is UNACCEPTABLE.

Each test, quiz, essay question and project will be given an assigned point value. (e.g. test = 100 pts., quiz = 30 pts.) Students will also be assigned a class participation grade worth 100 pts. Student grades will be determined by totaling the points earned and dividing by the total possible points.