Advanced Placement US History Course Syllabus

Fall 2015

Classroom: A-6

Teacher: Master Daniel Mitchell

Email:

Make Up Hours: 7:30-8:00

Course Description

AP US History is designed to provide the students with a collegiate experience in preparation for the Advanced Placement exam in May. We will examine primary resources from all time periods including letters, journals, newspaper articles, art, political cartoons, and speeches, just to name a few. Students will be expected to master a wealth of factual information and use analytical skills to examine relationships, trends, causes, and effects. Writing is a key component to this course.

Course Goals:

-Become a better (College Level?) writer

-Learn to read at a higher level

-Learn to think and read analytically

-Learn to formulate, develop, and write historically accurate arguments

AP Student Checklist:

  • I want to attend a 4 year college/university or the equivalent
  • I want to learn to improve my writing
  • I want to do the work required to improve my knowledge of U.S. History
  • I want to be respectful to classmates
  • I want to hear what Mr. Mitchell has to say every time he opens his mouth
  • I would like to possibly save time and money by testing out of college history courses
  • I know that I will have to do a lot of work and I will try to do this work

Historical Thinking Skills:

One of the main differences between AP and a typical high school history course is that AP requires you to learn and practice historical thinking skills. These skills are:

  • Analyzing Sources and Evidence
  • Interpretation
  • Comparison
  • Contextualization
  • Synthesis
  • Causation
  • Continuity and Change (Patterns recognition)
  • Periodization
  • Augmentation/Argument Creation

Themes

Throughout the year, we will examine US History utilizing specific themes determined to be essential by the College Board to ensure a comprehensive study. These themes are as listed:

  • American and National Identity:focuses on how and why national identity and values have developed, and topics such as citizenship, constitutionalism, foreign policy, assimilation, and American Exceptionalism
  • Politics and Power: focuses on how different social and political groups have influenced society and government, and how political beliefs and institutions have changed over time.
  • Work, Exchange, and Technology: focuses on the factors behind the development of systems of economic exchange, particularly the role of technology, markets, and government.
  • Culture and Society: focuses on the roles that ideas, beliefs, social norms, and creative expression have played, as well as identities, cultures, and values that have been preserved or changed.
  • Migration and Settlement: focuses on why and how various people moved into and throughout the U.S., and adapted to and transformed their social and physical environments.
  • Geography and Environment: focuses on the role of geography and both natural and human made environments on social and political developments.
  • America in the World: focuses on the interactions between other nations and America as a geographic, social, and political entity.

Course Unit Outline:

Each Unit will last between 2 and 3 weeks. There will be multiple assignments, at least 2 quizzes, and one major writing assignment/project in addition to a Unit exam for every Unit.

Unit 1: 1491-1754

Topics of discussion will include pre-Columbian American history, the discovery and colonization of America, the creation of distinct North American colonies, and the development of a unique and separate American cultural identity.

Unit 2: 1754-1783

Topics of discussion include the French and Indian War, Parliamentary Acts, the movement towards and debate over rebellion, and the American Revolutionary War.

Unit 3: 1783-1824

Topics include the creation of the new nation, the Constitutional Convention, Constitutional Compromises, Federalism, the early Presidents, Alexander Hamilton, and the Era of Good Feelings.

Unit 4: 1824-1848

Topics include the Election of 1824, the rise of Jacksonian Democracy, the Jackson Era (this actually includes Martin Van Buren too), Manifest Destiny, Texas freedom and annexation, John Tyler, and the war with Mexico.

Unit 5: 1848-1860

Topics include Slavery and Abolition, social reform movements, the Compromise of 1850, the Sectionalism movement, Kansas Nebraska, Bleeding Kansas, Dred Scott, and other stuff about the North and South not getting along so good.

Unit 6: 1860-1877

Topics include the election of 1860, the American Civil War, the War of Northern Aggression, the War of Southern Economic Independence, the Reconstruction Period, and Famous Robert E. Lee quotes.

(End of Semester)

Unit 7: 1860-1900

Topics include economics and political connections during the Civil War and Reconstruction, the Gilded Age, Tycoons, railroad building, the forgotten Presidents, stalwarts and the old guard, and Grover Cleveland TWICE!

Unit 8: 1900-1919

Topics include the great Theodore Roosevelt, the Progressive Era movements, the Progressive Presidents, the U.S. as a foreign power, the Great War, the Fourteen Points, and the Treaty of Versailles.

Unit 9: 1920-1937

Topics include the boom of the roaring 20’s, the cultural movements of the 1920s, the Jazz Age, the Stock Market crash, the causes of the Great Depression, the New Deal, and the Second New Deal.

Unit 10: 1935-1945

Topics include the movement to war, the home front during World War II, World War II, and the atomic bomb.

Unit 11: 1945-1959

Topics include postwar peace talks, the fall of Eastern Europe, the start of the Cold War, the spread of Communism, strategies to combat Communism, and the start of the Space Race.

Unit 12: 1960-1975

Topics include JFK, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the space race, the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, Nixon, Watergate, and the Oil Crisis.

Unit 13: 1976-Present
Topics include Carter, Reagan, and the other Presidents, Middle Eastern crises, the end of the Cold War, the rise of terrorism, the Roaring 90’s, the Internet boom, and the coming end of the world.

Grading

The following is the breakdown of how grading will be done this semester:

· Tests – 30%

·Classwork and other Assignments – 30%

·Unit Projects and Writing Assignments – 20%

· Quizzes – 20% (Will often be from READING, so keep up or ahead)

Important Information Below!!!

In this class we will watch clips from various movies from time to time. Any movie or movie clip selected for viewing has been approved by the administration and correlates with one or more essential standards. However, due to the nature of Hollywood, some of the best movies about history are rated PG-13 or R. None of the movies shown include gratuitous nudity or adult situations. However, some movies may include violence or offensive language. It is not my goal to promote this kind of behavior; instead I only intend to use those situations to improve the student’s understanding of historical events. If you agree to allow your student to watch any movies or movie clips deemed acceptable by both the teacher of this classroom and the administration at Randleman High School, please sign below on the appropriate line. If you do not agree please sign on the appropriate line and your student will be given an alternate assignment dealing with the same subject matter.

I agree to allow my student to watch any movies or movie clips selected by the teacher and approved by the administration of Randleman High School.

______

I do not agree to allow my student to watch any movies or movie clips that contain an R rating, and I understand that my student will be given an alternative assignment to ensure that they do not miss out on any relevant material.

______