ISA Advanced Placement United States History
Instructor: Jenny Snoddy
http://waltonhigh.typepad.com/ms_snoddy
Room G-105
Course Description: This course is designed to provide a college-level experience and preparation for the Advanced Placement examination in May 2013. An emphasis is placed on interpreting documents, mastering a significant body of factual information, and writing critical essays. Topics include life and thought in colonial America, revolutionary ideology, Constitutional development, Jeffersonian and Jacksonian democracy, nineteenth-century reform movements, and Manifest Destiny. Other topics include the Civil War and Reconstruction, westward expansion, immigration, industrialization, Populism, Progressivism, World War I, the Jazz Age, the Great Depression, the New Deal, World War II, the Cold War, and the post-Cold War era. History, however, is not just the straight facts. It is always an interpretation of those facts, and, as such, is always biased by the perspective of the presenter, whether because of race, class, gender, ethnicity, political affiliation or other considerations. In order to deal with this problem, we will attempt to look at a variety of perspectives on American history beyond the one presented in the required text. Keep in mind that my perspective is just that, a perspective. It is not the “truth.” In fact, when it comes to history, there is no “truth,” only competing perspectives. So, question everything in order to determine what you believe and why you believe it.
As an International Spanish Academy (ISA) course, this APUSH class is the second of many Spanish language acquisition classes that are available to ISA students throughout their four-year academic tenure at Walton High School. To qualify as an ISA class, instruction will include, but is not limited to, Spanish discussions in class, viewing film clips in Spanish, completing maps, graphs, and charts in Spanish, and taking quizzes and tests in Spanish.
Advanced Placement U.S. history is an advanced academic course designed to meet the needs and challenges of gifted students and high achievers in Cobb County Schools. Students who qualify for gifted services are taught by a gifted-certified teacher every day during the course. Learning is differentiated through in-depth analysis of historical events and sources, and through formal essay assignments and individual projects. Note: As AP U.S. history is the equivalent of a college course, all components of the course must be completed to receive credit for the course on your transcript. This means that all students MUST take the AP U.S. history test at the end of the year or they will receive credit for Honors U.S. history on their official transcripts.
The Advanced Placement U.S. history course is very intense. The reading writing, and thinking required can be quite daunting. Create a schedule and stick with it. Do not allow yourself to fall behind. I have little sympathy for those students who choose not to complete the work that is required. This course fulfils the United States history graduation requirement, but is not specifically required for graduation, therefore, there are no prisoners, and there are no victims.
Textbook: Tindall, George Brown and David Emory Shi, America: A Narrative History, 7th edition, New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2007.
Required Fall Semester Parallel Readings: Two (2) selections are required.
Everyone should read the following by August 16, 2012
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
Everyone should read the following by October 15, 2012:
Blood and Thunder by Hampton Sides
Document Readings: Primary and secondary sources will be provided for additional readings. Some of these will be individually copied for your use at home. Others will come from Hofstadter, Richard and Beatrice K., Great Issues in American History, Vols. I-III, Vintage Books, New York, 1982, copies of which will be available for your use in class and for check out.
Guidelines for a Great Class:
1. All school policies will be enforced. Please review the Student Handbook, especially the sections regarding academic honesty.
2. You are expected to take notes in class and over assigned readings and keep track of all materials received in this class. Do not throw anything away. You will need all your materials (old tests, DBQs, handouts, etc.) to review at the end of the year.
3. I use the percentage system for grading.
Homework/Classwork-5%
Multiple Choice Tests-30%
DBQs/FREs-30%
Special Projects-10%
HAT Charts/Reading Quizzes-10%
Final Exam-15%
4. It is your responsibility to find out about any assignments missed during absences. I will not remind you, and I will assign zeros for missed work until it has been completed.
5. I am available before school and on WEB days for extra help. If you are struggling with anything, please come see me for assistance. I am also available after school by appointment.
6. Late work will receive half credit regardless of when it is submitted.
7. Cell phones and other electronic devices may not be used in the class unless specific permission is granted by the teacher. These devices may NEVER be used on the day of an assessment such as a test or essay even after the assessment has been turned in. If a student is found using such a device on an assessment day, a zero will be assigned for the assessment.
Reading Schedule-Fall Semester 2012-2013
All readings should be completed by the beginning of the week during which they will be discussed (excluding the first week’s reading, which should be completed as soon as possible during the first week.) Reading quizzes may be administered at any time, with or without warning. Reading quizzes may also be administered in Spanish. Test dates may be changed so that all classes can test on the same day. Any changes will be announced well in advance. Additional required readings of primary and secondary sources will be assigned for many topics. They will be photocopied for your use either in class or at home.
Week of August 13-17: Pre-Colombian Societies
America-chapter 1-The Collision of Cultures
Mann, Charles C., “America, Found and Lost,” National Geographic, May 2007
Summer Reading Test-August 16
Week of August 20-24: Early North American Colonization
America-chapter 2-Britain and its Colonies
-chapter 3-Colonial Ways of Life
Discussion of colonial documents and practice with the DBQ
Week of August 27-31: Late Colonial North America and the French and Indian War and its Aftermath
America-chapter 4-The Imperial Perspective
Excerpts from Common Sense and/or other documents
DBQ-August 30
Week of September 4-7: Revolutionary America
America-chapter 5-From Empire to Independence
-chapter 6-The American Revolution
Labor Day Holiday-September 3
Unit Test-September 6-chapters 1-3
Week of September 10-14: The Articles of Confederation and the Constitutional Government
America-chapter 7-Shaping a Federal Union
-chapter 8-The Federalist Era
Excerpts from The Federalist Papers
Week of September 17-21: The “Revolution” of 1800 and its Impact
America-chapter 9-The Early Republic
Unit Test-September 17-Chapters 4-6
Week of September 24-28: The Era of Good Feelings
America-chapter 10-Nationalism and Sectionalism
DBQ/FRE-September 27
Week of October 1-5: Jacksonian Politics and Conflicts
American History-chapter 11-The Jacksonian Impulse
Unit Test-October 4-Chapters 7-9
Week of October 8-12: The Market Revolution
America-chapter 12-The Dynamics of Growth
DBQ/FRE-October 11
Week of October 15-19: Antebellum Reform Movements
America-chapter 13-An American Renaissance: Religion, Romanticism, and Reform
Parallel Reading Test-October 15
Week of October 22-26: American Expansionism
America-chapter 14-Manifest Destiny
Week of October 29-November 2: The Antebellum South and the Coming of the Civil War
America-chapter 15-The Old South
-chapter 16-The Crisis of Union
Primary Source Readings on Slavery from Great Issues in American History
Unit Test-November 1-chapters 10-14
Week of November 5-9: The Civil War
Student Holiday-November 6 (Election Day!)
America-chapter 17-The War of the Union
DBQ/FRE-November 8
Week of November 12-16: Reconstruction
America-chapter 18-Reconstruction: North and South
Week of November 19-23: Thanksgiving Holidays
Week of November 26-30: The Old West and the Closing of the Frontier
America-chapter 19-The South and the West Transformed
“The Significance of the Frontier in American History” by Frederick Jackson Turner
Unit Test-November 29-chapters 15-18
Week of December 3-7: The Second Industrial Revolution
America-chapter 20-Big Business and Organized Labor
DBQ/FRE-December 6
Week of December 10-14: Urbanization
America-chapter 21-The Emergence of Urban America
SEG Due-December 10
All Makeup Work Due-December 10
Unit Test-December 13-chapters 19-21
Week of December 17-20: Semester Review and Final Exams
*Note: As there is no second semester exam for those who take the AP exam, no
one is allowed to exempt the first semester final regardless of attendance.
Incentive points, however, are available.
Reading Schedule-Spring Semester 2011
Week of January 4-7: Populism
America-chapter 22-Gilded Age Politics and Agrarian Revolt
Populist Primary Source Readings from Great Issues in American History
“Bryan, Bryan, Bryan” by Vachel Lindsay
Week of January 10-14: Imperialism
America-chapter 23-An American Empire
“To the Person Sitting in Darkness” by Mark Twain
Week of January 17-21: Progressivism and Reform
MLK Holiday-January 17
America-chapter 24-The Progressive Era
Week of January 24-28: World War I
America-chapter 25-America and the Great War
DBQ/FRE-January 28
Week of January 31-February 4: The Jazz Age
America-chapter 26-The Modern Temper
-chapter 27-Republican Resurgence and Decline
The 42nd Parallel Parallel Reading Test-February 1
Week of February 7-11: The Depression and New Deal
America-chapter 28-New Deal America
Unit Test-February 7-chapters 22-24
DBQ/FRE-February 11
Week of February 14-18: Interwar Foreign Policy
America-chapter 29-From Isolation to Global War
Unit Test-February 18-chapters 25-27
Week of February 21-25: Winter Break
Week of February 28-March 4: World War II
America-chapter 30-The Second World War
Week of March 7-11: Post-War Foreign and Domestic Policy
America-chapter 31-The Fair Deal and Containment
Unit Test-March 11-chapters 28-30
Week of March 14-18: 1950s Culture
America-chapter 32-Through the Picture Window: Society and Culture 1945-1960
DBQ/FRE- March 14
Student Holiday-March 18
Week of March 21-25: Georgia High School Graduation Tests
DBQ/FRE-March 25
Week of March 28-April 1: 1960s Politics
America-chapter 33-Conflict and Deadlock: The Eisenhower Years
America-chapter 34-New Frontiers: Politics and Social Change in the 1960s
Unit Test-April 1-chapters 31-34
Week of April 4-8: Spring Break
Week of April 11-15: The Counterculture
America-chapter 35-Rebellion and Reaction in the 1960s and 1970s
Choice Book Parallel Reading Test-April 15
Week of April 18-22: The New Right
America-chapter 36-A Conservative Insurgency
Week of April 25-29: Postmodern America
America-chapter 37-Triumph and Tragedy: America at the Turn of the Century
Unit Test-April 29-chapters 35-37
Week of May 2-6: Review for the AP Exam
Music Video Projects Due May 2
AP U.S. History Exam-May 6
Week of May 9-13: Second Week of AP Exams
Presentation of Music Video Projects
Week of May 16-20: Finishing the Semester and Post-Exam Joy
SEG Due-May 16
Complete all Makeup Work by May 20
Week of May 23-25: Final Exams
Because of the AP Exam and the state End of Course Test, there is no final exam for AP U.S. History during the spring semester.
Good luck on all of your other finals! Have a great summer!