United States Government and Politics
Advanced Placement
Course Syllabus
Course Objectives:
· Develop an appreciation for and understanding of the process of governmental theory and its application:
· Analyze and study American system of government by examining primary and secondary source documents:
· Develop an appreciation for the study of history and government:
· Acquire a greater understanding of the fundamental issues that are at the heart of the American Government:
· Acquire a better understanding of the relationship of the United States Government and its citizens in political, economic, social and cultural terms:
· Improve higher level thinking skills specifically to develop ability to analyze historical arguments:
· Challenge students with college level material:
· Prepare students to succeed on the AP Test in May:
Core Text:
Wilson, James Q. American Government: Institutions and Politics. 9th edition. Houghton and Mifflin 2004.
Additional Texts and supplemental material:
Woll, Peter, ed. American Government: Readings and Cases. NY: Harper Collins.
SIRS Interactive Citizenship Database "What Citizens Need to Know About Government"
Lasser, William. Perspectives on American Politics. New York, NY: Houghton
Mifflin Company.
Primary Source Documents “100 Milestone Documents” www.ourdocuments.gov
Contemporary news analysis:
Websites that will be utilized for news analyses throughout the course:
CNN.com/ Inside Politics
Washingtonpost.com
The New York Times on the Web
Newslink
FoxNews.com
C-Span
Drudge Report
Polling Report.com
The Weekly Standard
National Review Online
Zogby International
Daily Assignment:
Chapters- For each chapter students will receive an assignment sheet. The Length of assignments may vary, however students will be expected to dedicate at least one hour of homework for each days class. Be prepared to be accountable for your learning!
Examinations/Tests:
Tests are given at the end of each chapter. They mirror the AP examination in structure: They consist of a selective response section and a mandatory free response question – each comprises 50% of the test grade, tests are generally valued at 120 points, a few are 80 points.
Students should be prepared for quizzes at any time based on the assigned readings, discussions and terms.
Free Response Questions: Essays
Outside of the Free Response Questions given on Tests, students will be assigned additional Free Response questions every two weeks. These questions may be released questions from previous Advanced Placement Exams or one generated by me. Essays will be written to the standards of the Advanced Placement requirements
Outside Readings- a number of outside source readings will be assigned throughout the year.
Analytical and Data Analysis
Several assignments will be used to achieve analytical and data interpretation: Each student will complete the following assignment.
Analysis of Census Data from 1970-2000 and evaluate the shift in population and cite reasons that reflect your findings.
The election data from 1992 will be investigated in order to analyze the role of H.Ross Perot in several key states.
Students will create a chart that tracks voter turnout in the 9th Congressional District of Pennsylvania during the elections of 1990 through 2008. Students will then interpret the data in analyses of issues and economic activity during this period.
Current Events Journals:
Each student will be required to keep a journal of their individual study of current events that relate to either U.S. government or the political parties and their situation. You will make a minimum of two journal entries a week (each should be approximately a page in length), and each journal entry will contain the following:
The date of the event and the date of the journal entry
A detailed description of the event.
An analysis of the political impact of the event.
An analysis of the effect on the level and branch of government involved with the event.
How the event relates to what you have learned about government and politics in this course.
You must include the source of your information (News? Internet? Newspaper?). Please be specific in identifying your source being sure to include titles, authors, dates, exact website addresses, and any other pertinent bibliographic information.
Course Outline
Unit 1 The American System:
Chapter 1 The Study of American Government
SR- Government Philosophers
Chapter 2 The Constitution
Chapter 3 Federalism
SR Unfunded Mandates and the effect on State and County Government
Chapter 4 American Political Culture
Unit 2 Opinions, Interests, and Organizations
Chapter 5 Public Opinion
SR Student Community Opinion Poll
Chapter 6 Political Participation
Chapter 7 Political Parties
Chapter 8 Elections and Campaigns
Chapter 9 Interest groups
SR ACLU and the ACLJ
Chapter 10 The Media
Unit 3 Institutions of Government
Chapter 11 Congress
SR The Contract with America 1994
SR Pennsylvania General Assembly
Chapter 12 Presidency
SR Executive Departments
Chapter 13 The Bureaucracy
Chapter 14 The Judiciary
SR Key Supreme Court Cases
Unit 4 The Politics of Public Policy
Chapter 15 The Policy-Making Process
Chapter 16 Economic Policy
SR NAFTA
Chapter 17 Social Welfare
Chapter 18 Civil Liberties
SR Research and Class Debate concerning 2 Civil Liberty Issues
Chapter 19 Civil Rights
SR Affirmative Action
Chapter 20 Foreign and Military Policy
SR The War on Terror
Chapter 21 Environmental Policy
SR=Supplemental Research or Activity