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AP US History
dhsapush.
Chris Curtis
ccurtis@
Bri Dayton
bdayton@
Jennifer P. Gonzalez
jgonzalez@
I. Course Description:
This course is designed to provide a college-level experience and to prepare students for the AP exam on May 14, 2014. There will be a focus on acquiring historical knowledge, developing conceptual understandings about history, and analyzing historical documents.
The AP test is broken up into three sections. First is the multiple-choice section, which focuses on assessing the depth and breadth of historical students have under their command. To this end we will focus on getting this content both inside of class and outside of class through readings, lectures, and research.
The second section is the DBQ, or Document Based Question, which shows the student’s ability to understand, analyze and categorize primary source documents, add their historical knowledge, and then write a comprehensive essay. To this end the students will spend significant time in and out of class on document analysis and writing.
The third section is the free response essay on topics throughout history. Students will need an in-depth understanding of various periods and be able to write an essay using a great deal of information to show collegiate level of analysis.
(see separate description of the AP examination)
As with all IB MYP courses, this class seeks to develop inquirers, thinkers, communicators, and risk-takers who are knowledgeable, principled, reflective, open-minded, and balanced. Throughout the course, all students will be given opportunities to develop in these areas through rigorous study and through frequent opportunities for communication and collaboration.
II. Course Standards and Objectives:
This course will meet the Georgia Performance Standards in addition to the College Board requirements. Each content unit will address the following MYP objectives.
1. Knowing and Understanding which includes
o Using humanities terminology in context
o Demonstrating knowledge and understanding of subject-specific content and concepts through developed descriptions, explanations and examples.
2. Investigating which includes
o Formulating a clear and focused research question for Document based and free response questions
o Formulating and follow an action plan to investigate a research question
o Using methods accurately to collect and record information consistent with the research question
o Effectively addressing the research question.
3. Thinking Critically which includes
o Analyzing concepts, events, issues, models and arguments
o Analyzing and evaluating a range of sources in terms of origin and purpose, recognizing values and limitations
o Interpreting different perspectives and their implications
o Synthesizing information in order to make valid, well-supported arguments
4. Communicating
o Communicating information and ideas using an appropriate style for the audience and purpose
o Structuring information and ideas in a way that is appropriate to the specified format
o Document sources of information using a recognized convention.
|Georgia Performance Standards |AP Standards |
|SSUSH1 The student will describe European settlement in North America during the 17th century.|1. Pre-Columbian Societies |
| |2. Transatlantic Encounters and Colonial Beginnings, |
|SSUSH2 The student will trace the ways that the economy and society of British North America |1492–1690 |
|developed. |3. Colonial North America, 1690–1754 |
|SSUSH3 The student will explain the primary causes of the American Revolution. |4. The American Revolutionary Era, 1754–1789 |
|SSUSH4 The student will identify the ideological, military, and diplomatic aspects of the |5. The Early Republic, 1789–1815 |
|American Revolution. |6. Transformation of the Economy and Society in Antebellum |
|SSUSH5 The student will explain specific events and key ideas that brought about the adoption |America |
|and implementation of the United States Constitution. |7. The Transformation of Politics in Antebellum America |
|SSUSH6 The student will analyze the impact of territorial expansion and population growth and |8. Religion, Reform, and Renaissance in Antebellum America |
|the impact of this growth in the early decades of the new nation. |9. Territorial Expansion and Manifest Destiny |
|SSUSH7 Students will explain the process of economic growth, its regional and national impact |10. The Crisis of the Union |
|in the first half of the 19th century, and the different responses to it. |11. Civil War |
|SSUSH8 The student will explain the relationship between growing north-south divisions and |12. Reconstruction |
|westward expansion. |13. The Origins of the New South |
|SSUSH9 The student will identify key events, issues, and individuals relating to the causes, |14. Development of the West in the Late Nineteenth Century |
|course, and consequences of the Civil War. |15. Industrial America in the Late Nineteenth Century |
|SSUSH10 The student will identify legal, political, and social dimensions of Reconstruction. |16. Urban Society in the Late Nineteenth Century |
|SSUSH11 The student will describe the economic, social, and geographic impact of the growth of|17. Populism and Progressivism |
|big business and technological innovations after Reconstruction. |18. The Emergence of America as a World Power |
|SSUSH12 The student will analyze important consequences of American industrial growth. |19. The New Era: 1920s |
|SSUSH13 The student will identify major efforts to reform American society and politics in the|20. The Great Depression and the New Deal |
|Progressive Era. |21. The Second World War |
|SSUSH14 The student will explain America’s evolving relationship with the world at the turn of|22. The Home Front During the War |
|the twentieth century. |23. The United States and the Early Cold War |
|SSUSH15 The student will analyze the origins and impact of U.S. involvement in World War I. |24. The 1950s |
|SSUSH16 The student will identify key developments in the aftermath of WW I. |25. The Turbulent 1960s |
|SSUSH17 The student will analyze the causes and consequences of the Great Depression. |26. Politics and Economics at the End of the Twentieth |
|SSUSH18 The student will describe Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal as a response to the |Century |
|depression and compare the ways governmental programs aided those in need. |27. Society and Culture at the End of the Twentieth Century |
|SSUSH19 The student will identify the origins, major developments, and the domestic impact of |28. The United States in the Post–Cold War World |
|World War II, especially the growth of the federal government. | |
|SSUSH20 The student will analyze the domestic and international impact of the Cold War on the | |
|United States. | |
|SSUSH21 The student will explain the impact of technological development and economic growth | |
|on the United States, 1945-1975. | |
|SSUSH22 The student will identify dimensions of the Civil Rights Movement, 1945-1970. | |
|SSUSH23 The student will describe and assess the impact of political developments between 1945| |
|and 1970. | |
|SSUSH24 The student will analyze the impact of social change movements and organizations of | |
|the 1960s. | |
|SSUSH25 The student will describe changes in national politics since 1968. | |
III. Areas of Interaction the MYP
This course will address the Areas of Interaction through thematic examination of US History. We will constantly be addressing and exploring the best way to approach an AP class with Approaches to learning. We will examine the history of community service and Human ingenuity that have made this country what it is today while looking at the impact of our actions on various environments, health and social systems.
IV. Texts and resources
Students need to provide a three-ring notebook with dividers for keeping notes and handouts, three-hole notebook paper for the notebook, and pencils and blue or black pens.
This course’s main text is
David M. Kennedy’s The American Pageant, 15th ed. (Boston: Wadsworth, 2013).
V. Grading policy
Grades in this class will be given on Summative Assessments. The gradebook will be organized in groups that correspond to the IB (subject) objectives: Knowing and Understanding, Investigating, Thinking Critically, and Communicating.
Typical assessments in each category:
|IB criteria |Assessment example |
|Communication |Debates, performances, speeches |
|Knowing & Understanding |Multiple choice tests, short answer tests |
|Investigating |Research projects |
|Thinking Critically |Writing assessments |
All tests, DBQs, and essays (free response questions, or FRQs) will be similar to questions and prompts given during previous AP exams. The format of tests and essay rubrics will closely resemble those used on the AP exam and will help to acclimate the student to this collegiate style. These grades will be recorded as assessments for 11 units of study.
The course average will make up 80% of your grade. The EOCT which will be worth 20%.
Effort scores will be determined from formative grades, timeliness of work, authenticity of work, and participation in class. Low effort scores, frequent absences, and/or late work will result in required after school tutorial, Saturday school attendance, and parent/teacher conferences.
Students are expected to redo major assignments to achieve a predetermined level of proficiency. No extra credit will be given to offset poor performance on assigned work.
VI. Final Exam
All APUSH students will be required to take a mock AP exam on a Saturday morning in late April/early May. This will help prepare each student for the timing and nature of the College Board AP US History test on May 14, 2014. The exact date will be announced early in the spring semester.
VII. Absences and Technology
The length of the absence and the nature of the work missed determine the amount of time allowed to make-up the work; however, ALL arrangements for making up work need to be made the day a student returns to school if not before via text or email. The calendar on the class website is always up to date.
Assignments given outside of class will be turned in via This website will record the time and day the assignment is turned in as well as analyzing how much of each assignment is copied material from another source.
Students are expected to check the website calendar for homework and reading assignments at least one time per week. They should also regularly check their FirstClass email for class communication, assignment details, and updates. Students will be expected to participate in online discussion forums during some units. Please see the instructor if a computer and the internet are difficult to access.
VIII. I Need HELP!
Please use the website which includes a calendar, resources and handouts for every unit. No student should ever come to class without completed work because he or she didn’t understand the assignment. We would rather get an email with a question!
Weekly tutorial (3 different offerings with 3 different teachers!), Saturday school, and the APUSH Support learning connection will also be good times to get some extra help either weekly or periodically. Please make sure to use these resources. Mr. Jackson will also be holding AP prep tutorials for this course. He is an EXCELLENT resource and can help prevent students from getting off-track during this year.
IX. Classroom Rules and Expectations
Students are expected to treat themselves, their peers, the teacher, and all materials and school property and equipment with respect. Teachers will treat students with the same courtesy and respect. Kindness, courtesy, and personal responsibility on both parts make for a more pleasant class and a better world.
Success in this class must be a joint effort. The grade a student receives in any course results from the interaction of the work the teacher does and the work a student does. The teacher will do everything possible to help each student be successful. In turn, the teachers ask every student to work hard, to come to class on time and prepared, to participate in class activities, and to seek extra help in a timely manner.
Homework expectations: All homework will be posted to the course calendar. This is the only place students will find their homework assignment and students are expected to check this daily. Finally, yes, you have to do the reading. Yes, all of it. Yes, I will be checking, but more importantly, it will help you. All homework assigned in class has a purpose and must be accomplished in order to do well on the summative assessments.
X. Academic Honesty
All students and teachers are expected to abide by the Decatur High School Honor Code below.
When we engage in scholarly activities, we strive to demonstrate our understandings and skills, to generate new ideas and explanations, and to build on the work of others.
To act honorably, we must be honest with our fellow students and our teachers about the sources of the ideas and explanations in the work we submit. We must credit sources properly, give or receive assistance only when appropriate, and, above all, complete all work with integrity in accordance with the spirit and intent of the assignment. We recognize that ignorance is no defense for dishonest behavior. We pledge to familiarize ourselves with the Decatur High School Honor Code and to inquire about the code when we are uncertain.
We believe that when we violate the Decatur High School Honor Code we should be held accountable to the penalties established therein.
As the teacher of this course, I will clearly communicate how a student might unintentionally violate the Honor Code on summative assessments. The following statement will appear on every summative assessment given to students.
“On my honor, I have not cheated or plagiarized this work. I have not allowed others to use my work to cheat or plagiarize.”
I will only accept summative assessments with signed honor statements.
XI. Major Themes
The following themes will be woven throughout our analysis of each time period or movement.
• American Diversity
• American Identity
• Culture
• Demographic Changes
• Economic Transformations
• Environment
• Globalization
• Politics and Citizenship
• Reform
• Religion
• Slavery and its Legacies
• War and Diplomacy
Curriculum Guide
Unit 1: Colonial History to 1763- How Did We Get Here?
Required Reading
• Pageant 2,3,4,5
Key Discussion Topics
Compare and Contrast the colonial regions; examine relationships with Native Americans, women and Europe; analyze the various political systems and policies regarding religion.
Unit Assessments- All unit assessments will be modeled after the AP exam. Every unit will have a multiple choice test and a written component which will either be a DBQ or Free Response.
• DBQ on Chesapeake and New England Colonies. Work in class on breaking down each document and categorizing them.
• Multiple Choice Exam Students will answer 40 multiple choice questions. Students will rank their questions on a scale of 1-4 (from “I got this” to “ I can’t even eliminate one choice”}
Unit 2: Revolution and New Government- Out with the Old, In with the New
Required Reading
• Pageant 6,7,8
• Common Sense
• The Declaration of Independence
• Secondary Sources on federalists and anti-federalists
Key Discussion Topics
The origins of resistance; the British response; the Declaration of Independence; the military course of the war; and peace negotiations; weaknesses and accomplishments of the Articles of Confederation, foreign affairs in the Confederation periods; the nationalist critique and the role of Hamilton and Madison; the Constitutional Convention; and the debate over ratification.
Unit Assessments
• Take home DBQ on the American Revolution- Categorization game and then writing thesis paragraph at home. Bring to class and use the checklist/rubric to assess. Compare to samples.
• Multiple Choice Exam Students will answer 45 multiple choice question. Students will rank their questions on a scale of 1-4 (from “I got this” to “ I can’t even eliminate one choice”}. Please note that each exam will include a group of questions that were from the previous units.
Unit 3: Early America- Heroes and Foes
Required Reading
• Pageant 9, 10,11,12
• “America, France and their Revolutions” in Historical Viewpoints [CR4]
Key Discussion Topics
The structure of the new government; an overview of the Constitution; Hamilton v Jefferson; the rise of political parties; relationship to Great Britain, France and Spain; the “Revolution of 1800”
Unit Assessments
• Writing workshop- Students will begin breaking down elements of good writing for AP Free Response essays.
• Multiple Choice Exam Students-will answer 55 multiple choice questions. Students will rank their questions on a scale of 1-4 (from “T got this” to “ I can’t even eliminate one choice”}. Please note that each exam will include a group of questions that were from the previous units.
Unit 4: Development of America- Opportunity, Oppression and Resistance
Required Reading
• Zinn Chapters 6, 7, 8, 9
• Pageant 12, 13,14,15
Key Discussion Topics
Mass democracy; Jackson vs. Calhoun; the Bank War, Indian Removal; rise of the working class; the Whig alternative; and the reformist “benevolent empire”; the “peculiar institution” and its impact on the South; Manifest Destiny; Texas; war with Mexico; Polk; Thoreau; abolition; women and reform
Special Activities
• Document Quest- Each student will specialize in a subtopic for this unit. Students will find and identify 8 documents that they believe would make a great DBQ for their topic/perspective.
• The Grand Canyon Timeline- Students will create a whole class timeline showing how each of the subtopics of this unit interact and effect each other.
Unit 5: Civil War and Reconstruction Clash of the Titans
Required Reading
• Pageant 16, 17, 18, 19,20,21, 22
• “the View from the Bottom Rail” After the Fact
• Various charts, graphs and maps
• Emancipation Proclamation
• Collection of primary source documents collected from the National Archives.
• Hunter Atlanta Washerwomen’s Strike
Key Discussion Topics
Sectionalism and territorial disputes; political, social and economic interests in slavery and its subsequent cause of the War; the South’s chance of victory; Lincoln v Douglas; emancipation; brief military history of the war; the impact of the civil war on both the North and the South, Presidential reconstruction v. Radical reconstruction; Freedmen’s bureau; Emancipation without Freedom; rise of the black middle class; Compromise of 1877; KKK; sharecropping; efforts to reform the South and the South’s efforts to resist federal control.
Special Activities
• Stop that War-students will examine the role of various acts, compromises and elections in terms of vying for power and efforts to create or disrupt the balance in the country prior to the war.
• Mapping the Country- Students will create a flip-book of maps to represent geographic changes over time based on demographics and conflict during this unit. These could include political, economic, resource and war maps.
• Symbolic Timeline- Students will create symbols to represent various movements, battles and groups and then use those symbols to create a timeline
Unit Assessments
• DBQ- The role of the Constitution in the Crisis of the 1850s. Peer Edit and turn in.
• Multiple Choice Exam- Students will answer 70 multiple choice questions. Students will rank their questions on a scale of 1-4 (from “I got this” to “ I can’t even eliminate one choice”}
Unit 6: Gilded Age- The Land of Milk and Honey
Required Reading
• Zinn Chapter 11
• Pageant 24,23,25,26
Key Discussion Topics
Settling the West; a question of exploitation; laissez-faire and social Darwinism; rise of industrialists; labor’s response; urbanization; immigration and “Tweedism”; the “Social Gospel”; the politics of the 1890s; big governments Republicans and the Populists.
Unit Assessments
• In Class DBQ- First In class DBQ
• Multiple Choice Exam- Students will answer 80 multiple choice questions.
Unit 7: Progressives- Cleaning up the House
Required Reading
• Pageant 28, 29
• “The fight for Women’s suffrage: an interview by Alice Paul” in Historical Viewpoints
• Zinn 13
Key Discussion Topics
Progressivism; a ferment of ideas; the “muckrakers”; Trustbusting; the Social Justice movement; the Purity crusade; state and local reforms; women’s suffrage; the progressive presidents- Teddy Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson, the Square Deal and the new freedom.
Unit Assessments
• In Class DBQ -progressive women DBQ using rubric
• Multiple Choice Exam- Students will answer 80 multiple choice questions.
Unit 8: Foreign Policy (1898-1920)- US Enters the World
Required Reading
• Pageant 27, 29, 30
• “The Needless War with Spain” in Historical Viewpoints
Key Discussion Topics
Imperialist arguments; war with Spain and the Philippine war; Teddy Roosevelt; the corollary and Panama; Dollar Diplomacy; neutrality; isolation or intervention; 14 points; league of nations
Unit Assessments
• Group in class Essay- Students will plan out what they would write in this essay in heterogeneous groups and then write the essays at home.
• Multiple Choice Exam Students will answer 80 multiple choice questions.
Unit 9: 1920s and 1930s- What Goes Up Must Come Down
Required Reading
• Pageant 31, 32, 33, 34
• Sacco and Vanzetti: The Case of History vs. Laws” in After the Fact
• New Deal Jackdaw
• Images of the Great Depression
Key Discussion Topics Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover; Republican Orthodoxy; normalcy; the Red Scare; immigration legislation; the resurgence of the KKK; the Harlem Renaissance; crash of the stock market, causes of the Great Depression, Roosevelt and the Hundred Days; relief, recovery and reform; critics of the New Deal; Economic Royalists on the right and Long, Townsend and Coughlin, court packing.
Unit Assessments
• Final FR Essay- after work shopping the New Deal essay, students will take home and write a final essay.
• Multiple Choice Exam -Students will answer 80 multiple choice questions.
Unit 10: America and the World – You Dropped a Bomb on Me, Baby
Required Reading
• Pageant 35
• Jackdaw Primary Source Documents on WWII and the Atomic Bomb
• Interact secondary sources regarding the Japanese American Internment Camps and the Decision to use the Atomic Bomb
Key Discussion Topics Isolationism, pacifism and neutrality and their impact of US policy in Europe, Latin America and Asia during 1920s and early 1930s; neutrality legislation of the 1930s; undeclared war in Europe and the course of US- Japanese relations in the late 1930s; Pearl Harbor; halting the German blitz; turning the tide in the Pacific and the decision to drop the A-Bomb; the war on the home front; wartime diplomacy.
Unit Assessments
• Free Response Essay- at home students will write an evaluative essay.
• Multiple Choice Exam -Students will answer 80 multiple choice questions.
Unit 11: Cold Warriors- from moving Pawns to Check Mate
Required Reading
• Pageant 36 ,37
Key Discussion Topics Cold War in Europe; the beginning of atomic diplomacy; containment (Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan, NATO); crisis in Berlin; the Cold War expands; loss of China and the Korean War; the Cold War at home; McCarthyism; JFK and flexible response; Second Berlin Crisis; Cuban Missile crisis.
Unit Assessments
• In Class independent DBQ
• Multiple Choice Exam -Students will answer 80 multiple choice questions.
Unit 12: Fair Deal to Great Society- We Shall Overcome
Required Reading
• Pageant 38,
• Interact- Black Leadership Conference
Key Discussion Topics Postwar Post War economic boom and the rise of suburbs; the “good life” in the 1950s; the New Frontier; the Warren Court; The Great Societies War on Poverty; NAACP and court cases; conflict within the movement; role of women within the movement; Voting rights and education; political change vs. social change;; reality of Northern, Southern and Western versions of the movement. Black Power and Women’s lib
Unit Assessments
• Free Response essay- on Civil Rights Movement in class
• Multiple Choice Exam- Students will answer 80 multiple choice questions.
Unit 13: Vietnam to Watergate- Stop Children What’s that Sound
Required Reading
• Pageant 38,39
• Jackdaw on Vietnam and protest
• “Instant Watergate: Footnoting the Final Days” in After the Fact
Key Discussion Topics Involvement and escalation in Vietnam; Vietnam dilemma and stalemate; student protest and revolt; election in 1968; Nixon and Kissinger; election 1972; Watergate
Unit Assessments
• In class DBQ
• Multiple Choice Exam- Students will answer 80 multiple choice questions.
Unit 14: 1970s Disco Inferno or Malaise? And 1980s to today- Things your Parents could teach you
Required Reading
• Pageant 39
Key Discussion Topics OPEC and the oil shock; inflation and the new economy; affirmative action; US China relations; nuclear disarmament; welfare, Carter and camp David; Iran hostage crisis rise of the conservative movements; the “evil empire”; the Gulf War; Clinton and NAFTA; Immigration issues; private lives, public issues; election of 2000 and 911
Unit Assessments
• Final practice essays
• Final practice DBQ
• Multiple Choice Exam Students will answer 80 multiple choice question.
Please turn this form in by Monday, August 5.
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