AP Government & Politics, US

Welcome to what is probably the most useful AP course you will ever take! How do I know this? Well, APGoPo provides an analytical perspective on government and politics in the United States. This course involves both the study of general concepts used to interpret U.S. politics and the analysis of specific case studies. It also will give you familiarity with the various institutions, groups, beliefs, and ideas constituting U.S. political reality. Those are fancy words for....EVERYTHING in your life deals with government, and your participation in this system through various methods will affect every aspect of your daily life. Still do not believe me? Check out A Day in the Life to see how much governments affect your life.

In order to be successful in this course, you will need to first get a broad overview of what this course is all about from the below links. While your daily assignments will be posted on Canvas, you may want to re-visit this website frequently to review "big picture" information about the AP exam using the helpful summary and tutorial links. Also, you will need to live, love and learn from the "textbook" for this course on the daily.

Finally, do not forget to review your Course Syllabus so you understand everything about my expectations of you and your family during distance and in person learning for this class.

AP Exam Details and Essays

To learn more about the AP GoPo exam, style of multiple choice questions, and essay writing tutorials, click here.

Foundational Documents

For a quick tutorial of the nine required foundational documents, click here. I will post the full documents to Canvas and you will frequently have assignments that analyze these docs.

SCOTUS Cases

For a quick tutorial of the fifteen required SCOTUS cases, click here. I will provide you with more detailed information to help you complete your SCOTUS One-Pager project.

Civic Engagement Project

Students are provided with an opportunity to engage in a political science research or applied civics project tied to the AP U.S. Government and Politics course framework culminating in a presentation of findings. For more information click here.

The 5 Big Ideas

Often you will see abbreviations in class lessons correlating with what this course calls, the "5 Big Ideas". If you understand these big ideas, you will be able to remember the details a heck of a lot better. To learn more about these 5 Big Ideas in this course, click here.

CB Course Description

If you really want to put yourself to sleep at night, take some time to read the nitty gritty of what this course is all about from the AP College Board Official Course Exam and Description found here. This also has useful information about all 5 Units in the course.