We are pleased to welcome the seventh cohort of students into American Studies for the 2021-22 school year. Students in American Studies are enrolled concurrently in AP US History and AP Language and Composition. The teachers, Mr. Coyne and Ms. Thompson, work together to align the curricula of both classes, so that in AP Lang we will be reading and analyzing documents, speeches, and visual rhetoric that were produced during the historical era that students are studying in APUSH.

Both classes will prepare students to take the AP Exams in May 2022. Students earning a score of 3 or above on the AP exam may qualify to receive college credits. (Check the policies of the College or University.)

The AP U.S. History course focuses on the development of historical thinking skills (chronological reasoning, comparing and contextualizing, crafting historical arguments using historical evidence, and interpreting and synthesizing historical narrative) and an understanding of content learning objectives organized around seven themes, such as identity, peopling, and America in the world. In line with college and university U.S. history survey courses’ increased focus on early and recent American history and decreased emphasis on other areas, the AP U.S. History course expands on the history of the Americas from 1491 to 1607 and from 1980 to the present.