Syllabus

AP United States Government and Politics Syllabus 2019-20

Instructor: D. Williams

Room 116 WHHS

Phone: 355-0189

2020 U.S. Government & Politics Exam-Monday, May 4, 2020

Course description: The AP Government and Politics course is constructed to give students an- introduction to the concepts and ideas that illustrate our U.S. constitutional system and the political features which support this system. Students will study a variety of government related documents, examine a series of Supreme Court decisions, and engage with visual documents to enhance their study of U.S. government and its operation. In relation to these topics, students will analyze data in order to make comparisons. Students will practice developing evidence based arguments. Also, the students will participate in a political science research project or applied civics project as a component of the course.

Instructional Philosophy: The following practices are a part of AP program endorsed by the College Board. Students will apply political concepts and processes to scenarios in context, analyze and apply Supreme Court decisions in real world scenarios, analyze and interpret quantitative data represented in tables, charts, graphs, maps, and infographics. Also, they will read, analyze, and interpret foundational documents and other text-based and visual sources. In addition, students will be able to develop an argument in essay format.

Course Goals: The course is divided into five units. The units are:

Foundations of American Democracy -SC Social Studies Standard –USG-1 , USG-2

Interaction Among Branches of Government-SC Social Studies Standard-USG-3

Civil Liberties and Civil Rights-SC Social Studies Standard –USG-4

American Political Ideologies and Beliefs-SC Social Studies Standard-USG-4

Political Participation-SC Social Studies Standard-USG-4

Major Course Assignments: Specific information on each activity will be provided to students as the assignments are made.

1. Current Events Presentations-weekly activity.

2. Analytical paper assignment-Students will write three papers about important topics in the course. The papers will be no more than four pages in length. The papers will be due on varying dates during the course.

3. Vocabulary activity-weekly activity

4. Discovery Build a Board activity-group assignment involving one of the fifteen required Supreme Court decisions.

5. Political science research project or applied civics project.

Primary Textbook

Edwards, George C., Martin P. Wattenberg, and Robert L. Lineberry, eds. Government in America: People, Politics, and Policy, 2012 Election Edition. 16th ed. New York, NY: Pearson, 2014.

Supplemental Readings

The primary text will be supplemented by additional reading material which will include the fifteen required Supreme Court cases and nine foundational documents which are referenced at different points in the course

Instructional Schedule

This AP U.S. Government and Politics class is taught on a year- long schedule using a 4 by 4 block school day schedule. Each class period is 90 minutes long. The classes meet on an A/B schedule. There are approximately 90 instructional days in each semester.

Unit 1: Foundations of American Democracy (15 days A/B schedule) Chapters 1-3 8/20-9/30

Unit 2: Interactions among Branches of Government (22 days A/B schedule) Chapters 11-15 10/1 -12/5

Unit 3: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights (10 days A/B schedule) Chapters 4 & 5 12/6-1/14

Unit 4: American Political Ideologies and Beliefs (16 days A/B schedule) Chapter 6 1/16-3/2 Unit 5: Political Participation (17 days A/B schedule) Chapters 7-10 3/3 – 4/24

Course Review 4/27-5/1

May 4, 2019 AP U.S. Government and Politics Exam

Mid semester test January 2020

Final exam

Assessment Plan

Final Grade

S1-40%

S2-40%

Final 20%

Quarter Grade

Major-60%

Minor 40%

Grading Scale

A 90-100

B 80-89

C 70-79

D 60-69

F 0-60