AP European History s8
AP European History
Syllabus
Textbook: Western Civilization. Jackson Spielvogel, any edition
I. Course Objective: After attending lectures, completing assigned readings, participating in discussions and completing projects, the student should attain:
· Critical reading of sources
· Construction and evaluation of historical perspectives
· Essay writing/DBQ’s
· Oral communication
· Cause and effect relationships
· Historical analogies
· Inductive and deductive reasoning
II. Course Purpose: AP European History is a college-level survey course designed to introduce students to the heritage of Europe. This course is designed to prepare students for success on the AP European History Exam, which can allow them to earn college credit.
III. Course Description: This course surveys the development of European history. The class will cover a wide variety of topics, including developments in the political, religious, economic, social, and intellectual spheres that influenced the evolution of Europe.
IV. Course Themes:
· Nation building
· Progress
· Economic impact
· Societal struggles
· Human v. Environment
V. Course Format: Through lectures, discussions, and assigned readings, students will gain knowledge of important historical trends and events, and how historians have interpreted and debated them. Part of the exams and the majority of take-home assignments will be essay format and will require students to synthesize and present historical data, address important historical debates, and develop convincing arguments and interpretations based on evidence. On each written assignment, the instructor will provide students with feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of arguments and writing style so that students may improve their analytical skills and written presentation over the course of the semester. During in-class discussions, the instructor will encourage students to analyze and debate historical questions and problems orally in the same manner as they do on paper – by linking historical evidence to analysis in a convincing manner.
While the course will be lecture driven by the instructor, students will be responsible for outside reading and viewings so that the interpretation of such may be discussed in class. This will allow for textbook supplementation.
VI. Course Requirements:
Exams and Quizzes: Each quarter students will take two objective exams that will cover information from the textbook, supplemental readings, videos, lectures and discussions. The exams will be multiple-choice and/or essay questions. There will also be a minimum of one take home exam per semester. Each quarter students will also take 5 quizzes to check for understanding building up to exams.
Make- Up Exams/Quizzes: You are expected to take all exams on their scheduled dates. Make up exams will be scheduled by the instructor and will be an altered version of the scheduled exam. Make-up must be taken within 2 days of the scheduled exam, unless due to extended illness. Failing to take the exam/quiz within two days will result in a deduction of 10 percentage points per day.
Book Reports: You are required to submit 1 book report per semester. These reports are required assignments. Failure to submit a report will result in being dropped from the course.
Each report should be 6-8 pages in length, typed and double spaced. In addition to the 6-8 pages, there should be a cover page that clearly shows the name of the book, the name of the author and your name. The report should be typed with standard margins, size 12 font in Roman Times. Each report will have a scheduled topic and instructions given a minimum of 6 weeks before the due date.
Each report must be handed in on time. Since all papers will be scheduled weeks ahead of time; late reports will be penalized heavily. Each report will be dropped one full grade (10 points) for each calendar day it is late.
Projects:
Participation in discussions: We will discuss a wide variety of topics together over the course of this semester. I will try to motivate you to participate in and contribute your valuable ideas to these discussions. Students who participate frequently in these class discussions and students whose “quality of participation” in discussions improves over the course of the semester will receive special consideration at the end of the semester when it comes time to calculate final grades. (See comments about “discretionary points” below.)
VII. Grading: Grades are based on a nine week point system.
2 exams 200 points5 quizzes 100 points
5 Homework 100 points
book report 100 points
Total 500 points
1st quarter / 2 exams 200 points
5 quizzes 100 points
5 Homework 100 points
project (TBA) 100 points
Total 500 points
2nd quarter
2 exams 200 points
5 quizzes 100 points
5 Homework 100 points
book report 100 points
Total 500 points
3rd quarter / 2 exams 200 points
5 quizzes 100 points
5 Homework 100 points
project (TBA) 100 points
Total 500 points
4th quarter
Total Points Earned During Semester Grade for the Course
450-500 (90% of possible points or better) A
400-449 (between 80% and 89.99% of possible points) B
350-399 (between 70% and 79.99% of possible points) C
300-349 (between 60% and 69.99% of possible points) D
0-299 (59.99% of points or less) F
The instructor reserves the right to award up to 50 discretionary points (10% of the total points possible) to each student. Such points will be given only to students that merit them because they participate frequently in class discussions or show significant improvement in the quality of their written work over the course of the semester. Discretionary points are not given to any student automatically and will only be awarded at the end of the semester, if at all, and only to students who merit them. Each student must earn any discretionary points by demonstrating the above-mentioned qualities to the instructor. The number of discretionary points awarded will vary from student to student according to the instructor’s subjective evaluation of each student’s participation and improvement. Students who, in the opinion of the instructor, do not warrant discretionary points will not receive them.
VIII. Schedule of Topics
See Pacing Guide on the website