Syllabus: AP American Government
Room 148
Spring Semester 2016
Mr. Baldwin: / 828-5201 ext. 1148 /Conference Hours: / 4th-7th: 10:08-2:30 (when I don’t have meetings)
Course Objective: / To introduce students to the American system of government and prepare them for the advanced placement exam.
Expectations of AP Government Students:
“All students who are willing to accept the challenge of a rigorous academic curriculum should be considered for admission to AP courses.” The College Board Course Description
· Perfect attendance or as close to it as humanly possible.
· Complete all readings (text chapters and supplemental readings) during unit or when assigned.
· Complete all assignments.
· Stay organized.
· Take good notes.
· Participate in class discussions.
· Think critically and use problem solving skills.
· Prepare for all exams.
· Put forth an effort equal to your ability.
Texts:
O’Conner, Karen O. and Larry J. Sabato. American Government: Continuity and Change. 2004 Edition. New York: Pearson Education, Inc. 2004.
Woll, Peter. American Government: Readings and Cases. 15th or 19th Edition. New York: Longman/Pearson Education, Inc. 2004 or 2012.
Various News Articles – Provided by Mr. Baldwin.
Meltzer, Tom and Paul Levy. Cracking the AP: U.S. Government and Politics Exam. 2010 or 2013 Edition. New York: Random House.
Websites: You will find the following websites very helpful over the course of the quarter.The White House / www.whitehouse.gov
U.S. Senate / www.senate.gov
House of Representatives / www.house.gov
Library of Congress / www.thomas.loc.gov
Supreme Court Decisions / www.supct.law.cornell.edu/supct or http://www.oyez.org/
CSPAN / www.cspan.org
Democratic National Committee / www.democrats.org
Republican National Committee / www.rnc.org
Open Secrets (campaign funding) / www.opensecrets.org
Polling Central / www.pollingreport.com
Politics 1 / www.politics1.com
2016 election details / www.thegreenpapers.com
Class Webpage / http://staff.district87.org/baldwinr (click on AP Government)
Semester Grades: / Your semester grade will consist of the following categories: Exams and Quizzes 70%, Assignments and Activities 30%. Following is a brief description of each category, plus opportunity to earn extra credit points.
Exams: / Three unit exams will be given per quarter; each equal in weight. Exams will be modeled after the AP exam, and consist of multiple choice and free response questions. All exam questions will come from retired AP exams. Use the Cracking the AP manual to review unit content.
Quizzes: / Quizzes will be announced and given at the mid-point of each unit (Unit #4 will have two quizzes). They will consist of in class multiple choice questions or take home free response questions and will assess both content knowledge and reading comprehension. All quiz questions will come from retired AP exams. Three unit quizzes will be equal in weight to one unit exam. Any quiz missed due to attendance must be made up by the date of the corresponding unit exam.
*There will be NO quiz or exam retakes.
Required Exams: / The state mandated (you must pass to receive credit for the course) U.S. Constitution and Illinois Constitution exams will be given after the AP exam, during the final two weeks of the course. These exams will count toward your semester grade, but combined will not equal the weight of one unit exam.
Assignments and Activities: / A variety of activities will be assigned to extend and reinforce content. Expect an assignment every day. Use the unit web page to keep track of these. Activities will include, but are not limited to readings, current events, short essays, court cases analysis, internet activities, and a public opinion poll. There will not be, however, any unit study guides. Assignments will come with recommended deadlines, but all unit work will be accepted, for full credit, up to the dates of the unit exam.
Extra Credit: / Good citizens contribute to their communities. You will be given extra credit for any volunteer community service completed during each grading quarter. Examples include: Habitat for Humanity, Special Olympics, and donating blood. Community service work must be OFF-CAMPUS. A community service form MUST be filled out to verify the work. I will determine the amount of the extra credit. The maximum that can be earned is 25 points per grading quarter, but you will be able to apply it to the assignment or exam category of your grade.
Grading Scale: / Grades will be rounded.
90-100 A
80-89 B
70-79 C
60-69 D
Semester Grade: / Semester = 80%
Final Exam = 20%
The final exam will be a practice AP Exam, and be given prior to the actual AP exam on Tuesday May 10th.
Late Work: / All work turned in during the unit in which it was assigned, will receive FULL credit. Worked turned in after the completion of the unit (unit exam) in which it was assigned will receive NO credit.
Units of Study:
Assigned Reading / Duration (approx.)Unit 1:
Constitutional Underpinnings / O’Conner and Sabato: Chapters 1, 2 and 3
Woll: Chapter 1 and 2 / 21/2-2 weeks
Unit 2:
Political Beliefs and Behaviors / O’Conner and Sabato: Chapters 11, 13 and 14
Woll: Chapter 4 - #32, 33, 34, and 35 / 2 weeks
Unit 3:
Political Parties, Interest Groups, and Mass Media / O’Conner and Sabato: Chapters 12, 15 and 16
Woll: Chapter 4 - #36-40 and Chapter 5 / 2 weeks
Unit 4:
Congress, the Presidency, Bureaucracy, and the Courts / O’Conner and Sabato: Chapters 7, 8, 9 and 10
Woll: Chapters 6, 7, 8, and 9 / 4 weeks
3rd Quarter will end during Unit #4.
Unit 5:
Public Policy / O’Conner and Sabato: Chapters 17, 18 and 19
Woll: None / 1 1/2 weeks
Unit 6:
Civil Rights and Liberties / O’Conner and Sabato: Chapters 5 and 6
Woll: Chapter 3 / 1 1/2 weeks
Final Exam (Practice AP) (3 days) Will be scored the same as the actual AP Exam. The corresponding BHS final exam grade will be 5=A, 4=B, 3=C, 2=D, 1=F.
AP Exam
U.S. Constitution Exam
Unit 7:
State Government / State Constitution Exam
*MAP and PARCC testing will interfere with the above schedule and adjustments MAY be made when necessary. We will “play it by ear.”
AP Exam: / The American Government AP exam will be given on Tuesday, May 10th at 8:00 a.m. The exam will be 2 hours and 25 minutes long, consisting of a 45 minute multiple choice section and a 100 minute free-response (essay) section. There will be 60 multiple choice questions and 4 free response questions. Each section will comprise 50% of the overall grade.
Weighting of units on the AP Exam
· Constitutional Underpinnings: 5-15%
· Political Beliefs and Behaviors: 10-20%
· Political Parties, Interest Groups, and Mass Media: 10-20%
· Institutions: Congress, Presidency, Bureaucracy, Courts: 35-45%
· Public Policy: 5-15%
· Civil Rights and Civil Liberties: 5-15%
Preparing for the AP Exam: The course itself is designed to prepare you for taking the AP Exam, but the biggest key comes through exposure to AP-type questions. There are two ways in which this course will give you this exposure.
1. Class quizzes, exams and the Practice AP (final exam) - I will use retired multiple choice and free response questions for all class assessments. The Practice AP will be a complete AP Exam that is provided by the College Board.
2. Cracking the AP - Provides unit summaries, test taking techniques, and includes two complete retired exams. These practice exams should be used in the week leading up to the practice exam and the actual AP Exam.