Advanced Placement United States History

West Henderson High School

Vanessa Price, Instructor

2018-2019

Course Overview:
The Advanced Placement program in United States History is designed to cover the spectrum of American
history from pre-Columbian days to the present. Using chronological and thematic approaches to the material,
the course exposes students to extensive primary and secondary sources and to the interpretations of various
historians. Class participation through discussions, debates, presentations, seminars and role-playing activities is
required; special emphasis is placed on critical reading and essay writing to help students prepare for the AP
examination. The course is structured chronologically, divided into 12 units. Each unit includes one or more of
the nine periods and/or key concepts outlined in the AP U.S. History curriculum framework. The course is
designed to provide students with the analytical skills and factual knowledge to deal critically with the problems
and materials in US history. The program prepares students for intermediate and advanced college courses.
Students will learn to assess historical materials and to weigh evidence and interpretations presented in
historical scholarship.

Key Themes:
While the course follows a narrative structure supported by the textbook and audiovisual materials, the
following seven themes described in the AP US History Course and Exam Description are woven throughout
each unit of study:
1. American and National Identity (NAT)
2. Politics and Power (POL)
3. Work, Exchange and Technology (WXT)
4. Culture and Society (CUL)
5. Migration and Settlement (MIG)
6. Geography and the Environment (GEO)
7. America in the World (WOR)

Historical Thinking Skills:

These skills reflect the tasks of professional historians. While learning to master these tasks, AP US History
students act as “apprentice historians.”
1. Analyzing Historical Sources and Evidence
○ Primary Sources: Content and Sourcing
○ Secondary Sources: Interpretations
2. Making Historical Connections
○ Comparison
○ Contextualization
○ Synthesis
3. Chronological Reasoning
 ○ Causation
○ Patterns of Continuity and Change over Time
○ Periodization
4. Creating and Supporting a Historical Argument
○ Argumentation

Readings​:
Students will be asked to complete a reading assignment daily. These will be primary sources from the time
period that we are covering. These will be available on the class website and Google Classroom. They will be
submitted through Google Classroom before class on the day that they are due.

Textbooks:
Depending on what unit we are in students will need to read either from the textbook or from ​ Don’t Know
Much About History, o​ ccasionally it will be from both. Students will be told in class which they will be reading.
The Davis book is available online (linked in the class website). All reading from both texts that correlates with
each unit is listed on the last page of the syllabus.

​ avid M. Kennedy and Lizabeth Cohen, 16th ed., Cengage Learning, Boston, MA, 2016.
American Pageant. D

Davis, Kenneth C. ​Don’t Know Much About History: Everything You Need to Know About American History
but Never Learned​. New York: Harper Collins, 2003.

Course Expectations:
Although students in this course are high school juniors, the course expectations are such that the workload is
college level. It should therefore be understood by both student and parent that the work expected may be more
rigorous that what has been previously experienced in other high school courses.

Class Format:
Much of the class time will be devoted to lecture, discussion and simulations of themes covered in the assigned
readings. Students will be expected to have the assignment read prior to the beginning of the class. Short,
unannounced quizzes should be expected on reading assignments.

Grading Policies:
The grading scale for West Henderson High School is as follows:
A - 90 -100
B - 80 - 89
C - 70 - 79
D - 60 - 69
F - 59 or below
Semester grades are determined as follows:
Product = 50% (Tests, Quizzes, Projects and Essays)
Process = 50% (Classwork, Homework, Simulation Participation, and Warm-Ups)
You will receive a midterm progress report at the end of the 1st and 3rd nine weeks. You will receive a semester
grade on your report card at the end of the 2nd and 4th nine weeks. Your final grade will be computed as
follows:
40% Semester 1 Average
40% Semester 2 Average
20% Final Exam
Your final grade is recorded on your high school transcript. Because your AP Exam score is not reported until
July of 2018 it will not be reflected in your course grade.

Class Attendance:
Attendance in class is very important and any absences from class should be avoided. Excessive absences will
most likely result in poor academic performance. If your absences total 5 or more for the year, you will not be
eligible for credit. (See the HCPS attendance policy.) Waiver and Saturday School information is available in
the guidance department.

Because tests are announced in advance, being absent from class the day prior to a test does not excuse you
from the test. If you are absent the day of the test, please schedule a day after school to take a make-up test. You
are not guaranteed the same test/quiz or format for make-ups. Please consider having a “study buddy,” someone
who will give you missed notes/handouts if you are absent.

The Advanced Placement Exam (APEX):

Your APEX will be Friday, May 10. The full AP testing schedul can be found at
www.collegeboard.com/ap/students/exam/schedule​. Your fee for the exam is paid by HCPS. It is required that
you take the exam. Your scores will be reported by the College Board in July. By passing this exam, you ​could
receive 3-6 hours of college history credit. You must check with the college(s) of your choice to see how AP
credit is awarded. Tests and class assignment will reflect the APEX format.

Student Assistance:
I am available to help before and after school. Please have the courtesy of making an appointment.

Extra Credit:
Extra credit will be offered through questions on tests, quizzes, and questions prior to the bell ringing only.

Classroom Rules:
Students are expected to follow all school and HCPS rules and regulations. Students should behave in a manner
conducive to a learning environment, showing respect to their peers, instructor and the subject matter.

Materials​:
Please bring the following material to class on a daily basis:
- Organized binder (loose leaf paper; dividers)
- Pen (blue or black and at least one other color), pencils, highlighter
 Units

Unit 1 → Period 1 and 2: 1491 - 1754  Unit 7 → Period 7: 1890 - 1920 

Text Readings: ​The American Pageant,​ Chapters 1-5  Text Readings: ​The American Pageant,​ Chapters 23-25 
Primary Readings: # 1- 9  Primary Readings: #61 - 64 
Davis: pgs. 1 - 61  Davis: pgs. 277 - 283 

Unit 2 → Period 3: 1754 - 1789  Unit 8 → Period 7: 1898 - 1920 

Text Readings: ​The American Pageant​, Chapters 6-9 Text Readings: ​The American Pageant,​ Chapters 27-29 
Primary Readings: # 15 - 21  Primary Readings: # 71 - 73 
Davis: pgs. 61 - 134  Davis: pgs. 283 - 318 

Unit 3 →Period 3 and 4: 1789 - 1815  Unit 9 → Period 7: 1920 - 1939 

Text Readings: ​The American Pageant,​ Chapters 9-12  Text Readings: ​The American Pageant,​ Chapters 30-33 
Primary Readings: #26 - 28  Primary Readings: # 90 - 95 
Davis: pgs. 135 -161  Davis: pgs. 319 - 358 

Unit 4 → Period 4: 1815 - 1848  Unit 10 → Period 7: 1936 - 1945 

Text Readings: ​The American Pageant​, Chapters 12-15, 17  Text Readings: ​The American Pageant,​ Chapters 33-34 
Primary Readings: # 33 - 38  Primary Readings: # 100 - 106 
Davis: Chapters pgs. 161 - 182  Davis: pgs. 358 - 396 

Unit 5 → Period 5: 1844 - 1877  Unit 11 → Period 8: 1945 - 1980 

Text Readings: ​The American Pageant,​ Chapters 16, 18-22  Text Readings: ​The American Pageant,​ Chapters 35-38 
Primary Readings: # 43 - 47  Primary Readings: # 111 - 115 
Davis: pgs.183 - 251  Davis: pgs. 397 - 510 

Unit 6 → Period 6: 1895 - 1898  Period 12 → Period 9: 1980 - Present 

Text Readings: ​The American Pageant​, Chapters 26  Text Readings: ​The American Pageant,​ Chapters 39-41
Primary Readings: # 52 - 56  Primary Readings: # 121 - 125 
Davis: pgs. 252 - 277  Davis: pgs. 510 - 587