Mrs. Aunce-Oberndorfer
USH 320 Advanced Placement United States History 2016-2017 Purpose: According to the College Board “the AP U.S. History course is designed to provide students with the analytic skills and factual knowledge necessary to deal critically with the problems and materials in U.S. history. The program prepares students for intermediate and advanced college courses by making demands upon them equivalent to those made by full-year introductory college courses. Students should learn to assess historical materials - their relevance to a given interpretive problem, reliability and importance – and to weigh the evidence and interpretations presented in historical scholarship. An AP U.S. History course should thus develop the skills necessary to arrive at conclusions on the basis of an informed judgment and to present reasons and evidence clearly and persuasively in essay format.” Course Design: This course is based on the concept of a “flipped classroom”. It is essentially a freshman level college course. It provides students with a two semester survey of American history from preColumbian times to the present. Exceptional reading and writing skills, along with a willingness to devote time outside of class to homework and independent study are essential keys to success in this course. Emphasis is placed on critical and evaluative thinking skills, as evidenced through oral discussions and written essays, interpretations of primary source documents, and analysis of historiography. College Board Expectations: This year long course is equivalent to an introductory university course and is aligned to College Board curricular expectations. Therefore, students are provided with numerous opportunities to:
apply detailed and specific knowledge to broader historical understandings develop coherent written arguments that have a thesis supported by relevant historical evidence identify and evaluate diverse historical interpretations, analyze evidence about the past from diverse sources such as written documents, maps, images, quantitative data (charts, graphs, tables), and works of art examine relationships between causes and consequences of events or processes identify and analyze patterns of continuity and change over time and connect them to larger historical processes or themes investigate and construct different models of historical periodization compare historical developments across or within societies in various chronological and geographical contexts connect historical developments to specific circumstances of time and place, and to broader regional, national, or global processes combine disparate, sometimes contradictory evidence from primary sources and secondary works in order to create a persuasive understanding of the past apply insights about the past to other historical contexts or circumstances, including the present. use to technology to study history and effectively communicate concepts
Mrs. Aunce-Oberndorfer College Board Themes: This course is structured both chronologically and thematically. The following seven themes described in the AP U.S. History Course and Exam Description provide the underpinnings of the course. Select themes are woven throughout each unit of study: I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII.
American and National Identity (NAT) Politics and Power (POL) Work, Exchange, and Technology (WXT) Culture and Society (CUL) Migration and Settlement (MIG) Geography and the Environment (GEO) America in the World (WOR)
Course Textbook:
Murrin, John et al. Liberty, Equality, Power. 6th edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, 2013.
Textbook Themes:
Liberty – “the impact that the ideals of liberty and equality exerted on American politics, society, and economics during the American Revolution and after. . . . [H]ow the creation of a free economic environment – one in which entrepreneurial spirit, technological innovation, and industrial production have flourished – underpinned American industrial might” (Murrin et al, xxvi). Equality – “the successful struggles for freedom that, over the course of the last 225 years, have brought – first to all white men, then to men of color, and finally to women – rights and opportunities that they had not previously known” (Murrin et al, xxvi). Power – “The invocation of power as a variable in American history forces us to widen the lens through which we look at the past and to complicate the stories we tell. Ours has been a history of freedom and domination; of progress toward realizing a broadly democratic polity and of delays and reverses; of abundance and poverty; of wars for freedom and justice and for control of foreign markets” (Murrin et al, xxvi).
Historical Thinking Skills:
Skill 1: Historical Causation Skill 2: Patterns of Continuity and Change Over Time Skill 3: Periodization Skill 4: Comparison Skill 5: Contextualization Skill 6: Historical Argumentation Skill 7: Appropriate Use of Relevant Historical Evidence Skill 8: Interpretation Skill 9: Synthesis
Mrs. Aunce-Oberndorfer Course Organization: Semester I. Summer Assignment Unit 1. Course Introduction Unit 2. Settlement and Expansion Unit 3. Birth of a New Nation Unit 4. The Early National Period Unit 5. The War of 1812 and Its Impact Unit 6. Jacksonian Democracy Unit 7. Reform Era Policies and Practices Unit 8. Early Western Expansion Unit 9. The Coming of the Civil War Unit 10. The Era of the Civil War
Semester II. Unit 11. Reconstruction Unit 12. Later Westward Expansion and Industrialization Unit 13. The Gilded Age Unit 14. The Progressive Era Unit 15. From Isolation to Imperialism Unit 16. World War I and Its Aftermath Unit 17. Great Depression and the New Deal Unit 18. America and the Second World War Unit 19. Origins of the Cold War Unit 20. Later Cold War Unit 21. Sound Bite Society
Unit Design: Each unit will address essential questions related to the time period and contain the following activities:
Reading assignments (course textbook, historiography, primary sources, websites, etc.)
Direct instruction, audio visual supplements, and in-class or independent note-taking
Scaffolding activities- i.e. sequencing, advance organizers, data analysis, vocabulary acquisition, thesis construction, etc.
Primary source analysis: Using the SOAPSTONE format the students will evaluate sources for historical context, purpose and intended audience, the author’s point of view, type of source, argument and tone.
Socratic Seminars – Students will be provided opposing viewpoints expressed in either primary or secondary source documents. In a small group setting and in writing, the students will dissect each author's argument, make connections to background knowledge, offer a critical analysis of the points of view expressed, and explain which perspective they find most credible and why.
DBQ deconstruction activities: In small groups, the students will discuss, debate / and or respond to the question posed by the DBQ.
Practice FRQ/ DBQ response questions
A unit exam. Unit exams will have three components: analytical multiple choice questions (MC), analytical short answer questions (SA), and either a free response essay (FRQ) or a document based question (DBQ). Each component of the exam will emphasize the application of historical thinking skills to answer the question. Information from prior units is often a critical component of the response.
Grading Percentages: Class participation In class assignments Homework, essays, journal entries, blog entries Quizzes and minor papers Tests, major papers, and projects
10%, 0-5 scale 10% 20% 20% 40%
Mrs. Aunce-Oberndorfer
Deadlines: Due dates for all assignments will always be listed via the course website. Typically, homework is due the next day unless otherwise stated via the website or in class. Late assignments will not be accepted unless they are the result of a legitimate absence. Class Absences:
If you are absent from class it is your responsibility to find out what happened in class and to make up any missing work. Missed work due to absence must be made up according to student handbook rules. Students will be given one day per day absent to make up the work unless a mutually agreeable deadline has been arranged. Once a student has exceeded their allotment of makeup days, the item in question will not be accepted. In the event of an illness before an assessment, you will be expected to take the test / quiz if present in class on the day the assessment is given. If you are absent the day of an assessment, you must make up the test / quiz within one week of returning to school. Missed assessments not made up after a week’s time will receive a “0”. Makeup examinations may be considerably harder than the original assessment. Class cuts will obviously result in a zero for any work, test, project, or quiz given on that day.
Integrity:
All sources are to be cited. Your work will be your own. Students are never to complete assignments together unless I specify otherwise. Work that is copied from or is similar to another student's will receive a zero. Plagiarism / cheating will result in a zero and administrative action.
Extra Help/ Extra Credit:
Extra help is given by appointment. Extra credit opportunities will be given at the teacher’s discretion. Extra credit will not be given to make up for any assignment or assessment that a student has intentionally skipped.
Study Techniques: Students are required to read all of the assigned text material and are encouraged to outline or take notes on the readings, though this is not a mandatory requirement. However, you are responsible for understanding all of the material for testing, even if topics are not lectured upon in class! The amount of time devoted to readings will vary based upon your reading speed. Efficient time management is essential and you must become responsible for successfully budgeting your time.
Mrs. Aunce-Oberndorfer As you become more accustomed to the format of the course, this will become easier. Please do not get discouraged! One often learns best through discussion and it is recommended that you find ways to discuss and share your learning with your classmates as much as possible. Forming study teams would be advisable. However, all items for submission should be your own work unless otherwise noted by the instructor at the outset. Collusion on assignments is not permitted and will be considered a breach of RHHS academic integrity policy. When in doubt, please discuss any questions you might have on an assignment with your instructor. The Keys to Success: A successful Advanced Placement United States History student must first and foremost be willing to expend the necessary time and energy needed for this course. You must become a historian and this requires an ability to master information, analyze and interpret it within an historical framework and most importantly, express your ideas in a well-written fashion that reflects a deep understanding of history. A true scholar consistently seeks to improve upon one’s work and that is what I expect to see over the course of the year. Please do not hesitate to seek extra help. I am available at various periods throughout the day, after school, and through email. Important Links and Contact Information: Mrs. O's General Page: https://sites.google.com/site/aunceoberndorfer/ APUSH Website: https://sites.google.com/a/rockyhillps.com/rhhs-ap-united-states-history/home APUSH Lecture Notes: https://sites.google.com/site/rhhsapushreviewmaterials/ Mrs. O’s Youtube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4NYWtnz7WAcNCr9dia0Upg Email:
[email protected] Phone: 860-258-7721, Ext. 326
