Advanced Placement U.S. History

ADVANCED PLACEMENT U.S. HISTORY

Mr. Glasser / Mrs. La Barge 2006-2007

Required Text: Bailey, Kennedy, and Cohen -- The American Pageant Required Workbook: Glasser/La Barge Production -- $5 Optional Text: Newman and Schmalbach -- United States History: Preparing for the AP Exam Optional Text: Gordon -- Review Text in American History

ORGANIZATION

This is a yearlong course designed to give students grounding in the subject matter of United States History. It will primarily be a survey course that will examine major interpretive questions that derive from the study of selected themes. This will be an extremely time- consuming and demanding class. It will require five to ten hours of out-of-class studying per week. It will also be one of the best courses that you will take.

THE A.P. EXAMINATION

The A.P. examination is three hours and five minutes in length and consists of two sections: a 55-minute multiple-choice section of 80 questions and a 130-minute free-response section. The multiple-choice section accounts for 50% of the final grade. There are two parts within the free-response section. Part A is a DBQ (Document-Based Question). Part B involves two groupings of two standard essays, from which the student will be allowed to choose one in each group to answer. The DBQ counts for 45% of the free-response section, and the two essays account for 55%.

CHRONOLOGICAL COVERAGE

Both the multiple-choice and free-response sections cover the period from the first European explorations of the Americas to the present, although the majority of the questions are based on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In the multiple-choice section, approximately 20% of the questions deal with the period through 1789; 45% with the period 1790-1914; and 35% with the period of 1915 to the present. The multiple-choice section may include a few questions on the period since 1990, but neither the DBQ nor the essay questions in Parts B and C deal exclusively with this period.

COVERAGE OF MAJOR AREAS

Together, the multiple-choice and free-response sections cover the major areas of historical study. Approximately 35% of the questions cover political institutions, behavior, and public policy (e.g., the Supreme Court and federal legislation). Another 40% of the questions concern social change (e.g., the movement of farm girls into textile factories in the 1820s and 1830s) and cultural and intellectual developments (e.g., architecture, music, painting, and literary movements). Another 15% of the questions deal with diplomacy and international relations (e.g., wars, treaties, and international incidents). The other 10% deal with economic history (e.g., road, canal, and railroad construction). A substantial number of the questions on social history and economic history deal with traditional topics, such as the impact of legislation on social groups and the pressures brought to bear on the political process by economic developments. Because historical inquiry is not neatly divided into categories, many questions relate to more than one area.

GRADING POLICY

Your grade in this course will be decided by a combination of assignments and examinations. Examinations and essays will be more heavily weighted than homework assignments. It is imperative that you do all the assignments, as you will fall behind and may have trouble recovering. Remember that the workload is enormous. If you do not complete the assignments, the workload will quickly become unmanageable. The assignments will include ID/SIGs, study guides, quizzes, essays, and DBQs. A.P. U.S. History receives weighted points toward your G.P.A. Therefore, the workload is significantly greater and more difficult.

CHEATING

While students are encouraged to help each other and work collectively, cheating will not be tolerated. For the purposes of this class, cheating occurs whenever a student attempts to take credit for someone else’s effort. Cheating includes plagiarism from another person or source. Any student found cheating will be given a negative 100% on that assignment. A second offense will result in a negative 200% on that assignment. Cheating on major assignments, such as tests or essays, may lead to expulsion from the class with a transfer grade of “F” rather than negative points. All major assignments (DBQs, ID/SIGs, and other writing assignments) will be turned in online through TurnItIn.com.

DROP POLICY

If the student drops prior to the quarter then he/she will be placed in regular U.S. History. If the student wishes to drop at the quarter, then parent, counselor, and teacher consent will be required. If this is a concern, please contact your counselor.