AP Government & Politics 2017-2018
Course Overview:
This course is an advanced placement course. AP U.S. Government and Politics is an intensive study of the formal and informal structures of government and the processes of the American Political system, with an emphasis on policy making and implementation. The course is a “college level” course that is designed to prepare students to take the AP exam on Tuesday May 10, 2018. All students in the AP course are required to take the AP exam. The course content will follow the outline prepared by the College Board. Topics to be covered will include: Constitutional Underpinnings, Political Beliefs and Behaviors, Political Parties, Interest Groups and Mass Media, Institutions of National Government, Public Policy, and Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. The pace and depth of the course will model an introductory college course. In order for a student to be successful in a “college-level” course, it is essential that students take responsibility for reading and learning textbook material as it is assigned. Students are expected to complete reading prior to class discussions. Knowledge of contemporary political events and political science “language” is essential for the analytical focus that must be exhibited when discussing and writing about politics. It is recommended that students expose themselves to as many political types of media as possible. Some examples include: local and national newspapers and magazines, national news internet sites, and television news shows that discuss and explore politics. Textbooks: * James Wilson & John Dilulo- American Government 15th edition Copyright 2015
* Textbook website:
* William Lasser- Perspectives on American Politics 5th edition (Classroom readings)
* John J. Dilulo & Meena Bose Classic Ideas and Current Issues in American Government
* Barrons AP Government & Politics (supplemental text for exam review)
* Summer Reading: The Constitution: An Introduction by Michael Stokes Paulsen and Luke Paulsen
* These texts as well as outside readings and internet resources will be used throughout the course. Course Units:
Unit 1: Constitutional Underpinnings of the U.S. Government (15-25 days, 15% of AP Test Material)
o Ch.1: The Study of the American Government
. AP Government Pre-Test (SLO Measurement)
. Philosopher Idols of the Founding Fathers research paper (3-4 page paper)
. American Government Current Event . Ch.1 Quiz (Multiple choice and true and false questions)
o Ch.2: The Constitution
. Federalist Papers #10, 51, and 78 analysis
. Ch.2 Quiz (Multiple choice and true and false questions)
o Ch.3: Federalism
. American Federalism Current Event
. Ch.3 Quiz (Multiple choice and true and false questions)
o Unit 1 Test (multiple choice and AP free response question)
Unit 2: Political Beliefs and Behaviors (15-25 days, 15% of AP Test Material)
o Ch.4: American Political Culture
. Distrust of Government Current Event
. Ch.4 Quiz (Multiple choice and true and false questions)
o Ch.5: Civil Liberties
. Civil Liberties Court Case research and class presentation
. Freedom of Speech in Schools web quest activity and 1st Amendment in schools Supreme Court cases research
. Civil Liberties News Article from the Reading Eagle entitled “In God We Trust” in Schools Bill Advances in State House
. Ch.5 Quiz (Multiple choice and true and false questions)
o Ch.6: Civil Rights
. ACLU website research
. How Would You Decide? Students read events that led to actual court cases and decide the cases based on past precedent.
. Ch.6 Quiz (Multiple choice and true and false questions)
. Famous Supreme Court Cases research paper
o Unit 2 Test (multiple choice and AP free response question)
Unit 3A: Political Participation in our Democracy (10-14 days, 15% of AP Test Material)
o Ch.7: Public Opinion
. National poll current event . Create your own poll project: formulate appropriate questions, calculate your sampling error, and present your findings.
. Ch.7 Quiz (Multiple choice and true and false questions)
o Ch.8: Political Participation
. Students will read Tammany Hall and write a letter on why people should support the Democrats.
. Ch.8 Quiz (Multiple choice and true and false questions)
o Ch.9: Political Parties
. Where do I stand? Students answer online questionnaire to discover which political party they align themselves with more than another.
. 3rd party research and the creation of a persuasive essay
. Ch.9 Quiz (Multiple choice and true and false questions)
o Unit 3A Test (multiple choice and AP free response question)
UNIT 3B: Elections, Interest Groups, the Courts and the Mass Media’s Influence (10-14 days 15% of AP Test Material)
o Ch.10: Elections and Campaigns
. Election History Research Project/Presentation (key terms covered in this project: incumbent, electorate, position issues, valance issues, coattails, PAC’s)
. Ch.10 Quiz (Multiple choice and true and false questions)
o Ch.11: Interest Groups
. Campaign Finance Reform research and its effectiveness/ineffectiveness on labor unions, large corporations, rich, poor, incumbent politicians, etc.
. Interest Group Video on “The Battle Over Crusader, 1996 Welfare Reform Law”
. Interest Group research paper (3-4 page paper)
. Ch.11 Quiz (Multiple choice and true and false questions)
o Ch.12: The Media
. Reading “Media, Politics, and Democracy”
. Journalist Bias in the Media? Project
. Ch.12 Quiz (Multiple choice and true and false questions)
o Unit 3B Test (multiple choice and AP free response question) o Mid-term Exam (Covering Ch.1-12 with multiple choice questions and AP free response questions)
Unit 4: Institutions of National Government (30-40 Days, 40% of AP Test Material)
o Ch.13: Congress
. How a Bill Becomes a Law Quiz
. Congressional Current Event
. Ch.13 Quiz (Multiple choice and true and false questions)
o Ch.14: The Presidency
. Persuasive essay on the roles of a president
. Presidential Current Event
. Ch.14 Quiz (Multiple choice and true and false questions)
o Ch.15: The Bureaucracy
. The American Bureaucracy: A Controversial Necessity (covering FEMA, EPA)
. Bureaucracy Current Event
. Government Agency research paper (3-4 page paper)
. Ch.15 Quiz (Multiple choice and true and false questions)
o Ch.16: The Judiciary
. Judiciary Current Event
. Ch.16 Quiz (Multiple choice and true and false questions)
o Unit 4 Test (multiple choice and AP free response question)
o AP Government Post Test (SLO Measurement)
Unit 5: Public Policy (15-20 days, 5-15% of AP Test Material)
o Ch.18: Economic Policy
. Public Policy Current Event
. Ch.18 Quiz (Multiple choice and true and false questions)
o Ch.19: Social Welfare
. Social Welfare Current Event
. Ch.19 Quiz (Multiple choice and true and false questions)
o Ch.20: Foreign Policy and Military Policy . Foreign Aid and National Security reading and classroom debate
. Rights of Enemy Combatants (Hamdi v. Rumsfeld and Rasul v. Bush)
. Ch.20 Quiz (Multiple choice and true and false questions)
o Ch.21: Environmental Policy
. Environmental Public Policy Current Event
. Franking Controversy reading and essay
. Ch.21 Quiz (Multiple choice and true and false questions)
o Unit 5 Test (multiple choice and AP free response question)
o Final Exam (Covering Ch.13-21 with multiple choice questions and AP free response questions)
Requirements and Expectations
Bring your assigned charged laptop every day to class. This laptop is a tool to be used only for educational classwork, not for games or other non-educationally distracting components. Discipline will result in misuse of the laptop. Cell phones are not permitted in the classroom. If a student has an emergency and needs to contact a parent they need to ask the teacher for permission. Discipline will result in use of the cell phone in any form during class time. Each student is required to keep a notebook containing study guides, essential questions, guided reading questions and answers, key terms, court case summaries, law summaries, class notes and all other assignments. Students are expected to participate in all class activities and daily discussions. It is essential that students manage and maximize study time at home to keep up with readings and assignments. All students are expected to be on time and prepared for class daily. Laptops, textbooks and notebooks are to be in class daily. Students are expected to complete historical readings and textbook assignments and be prepared to discuss them in class seminars. Students are expected to prepare for exams, take notes, give presentations, and complete papers on historical events. THE MORE EFFORT AND TIME YOU PUT INTO YOUR COURSEWORK THE BETTER YOU WILL DO ON THE AP EXAM!
Assessment
Students will be assessed through unit tests (multiple choice questions and AP released free response questions), chapter quizzes (Multiple choice and true and false questions), pop quizzes, a cumulative mid-term and final exam (multiple choice questions and AP released free response questions), writing assignments, research papers, presentations and homework. The tests will “mirror” the actual AP exam. Most homework assignments and projects will be assigned, completed and graded via the Google Classroom platform. Assignments will be posted a week in advance so you may work ahead on assignments. Budget your time wisely. Students are required to submit a weekly current event article and summary (dealing with government issues) to Google Classroom. This may be submitted anytime during the week, but is due no later than the last day of the school week, or Friday. Your final grade will consist of the following: 60% tests/quizzes, 30% writing assignments, and 10% homework and class participation.
Late Work
Homework will be worth half credit if late, and will only be accepted up to one calendar week after the original due date. After this date the homework will be worth 0 points. Late presentations and papers will drop a grade for each day they are late. All tests and quizzes are to be made up as soon as possible, following the student handbook guidelines. Free-Response Questions
Students will be assigned historical writings that they will need to complete in a scholarly and empirical fashion. Some writings will include a primary historical documents or graph for the students to carefully read. At the conclusion of their reading they will need to answer a critical thinking question based on the primary document that they read. All writings will be typed and double-spaced and be at least 1-2 pages long. All free-response questions will be graded using the AP writing rubric.
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