Course Description

AP US History is meant to be the equivalent of a college course and students can earn college credit. It is a two-semester survey of American history from America’s discovery to the present. College-level reading and writing abilities along with a willingness to devote time to out of class studies on course subject area. The course will include a strong focus on higher level critical thinking and evaluation skills, interpretation of original historical documents. Summer reading and book analysis is required.

Course Goals and/or Major Student Outcomes

The course will prepare students take and successfully pass the College Board’s Advanced Placement U.S. History Exam.

Course Objectives

After successful completion of the course of study the student will be able to demonstrate the following skills and knowledge.

• Demonstrate comprehension of a broad body of historical knowledge.

• Express ideas clearly in writing.

• Work with classmates to research an historical issue.

• Interpret and apply data from original documents.

• Identify underrepresented historical viewpoints.

• Write to persuade with evidence.

• Compare and contrast alternate interpretations of an historical figure, event, or trend.

• Explain how an historical event connects to or causes a larger trend or theme.

• Develop essay responses that include a clear, defensible social studies thesis statement and supporting evidence.

• Effectively argue a position on an historical issue.

• Critique and respond to arguments made by others.

• Raise and explore questions about policies, institutions, beliefs, and actions in an historical context.

• Evaluate primary materials, such as historical documents, political cartoons, and first-person narratives.

• Evaluate secondary materials, such as scholarly works or statistical analyses.

• Assess the historical significance and cultural impact of key literary works

(ex. Uncle Tom’s Cabin, The Jungle, The Grapes of Wrath)

Course Textbook and Readings

Textbook:

David M. Kennedy, Lizabeth Cohen, and Thomas A. Bailey. The American Pageant: A History of the Republic (Boston: McDougal Little/Houghton Mifflin, 2006).

Supplement Texts:

David M. Kennedy and Thomas A. Bailey. The American Spirit: Vol. I & II (Boston: McDougal Little/Houghton Mifflin, 2006).

After the Fact: The Art of Historical Detection, 4th Edition James West Davidson, Mark H. Lytle McGraw-Hill Higher Education

Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong, 1st Edition James W. Loewen Simon & Schuster (Touchstone)

A People's History of the United States: 1492-Present, 1st Edition Howard Zinn HarperCollins Publishers Inc. (2003)

Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in American History, Volume 1, 10th Edition Larry Madaras, James M. SoRelle Publisher: McGraw-Hill /Dushkin

Arthur Schlesinger. The Cycles of American History (Mariner Books, 1999)

Various handouts and articles (teacher's discretion)

The course assignments are organized by chapter with each semester containing of 21 chapters. Each chapter contains the following assignments:

1) Readings – Required readings for the week from the primary textbook, The American Pageant, as well as a list of additional readings from supplemental texts. Reading assignments cover all topics in the course outline.

2) Lessons –Combination of lecture and notes, discussion, and on-line multimedia lessons that provide instruction cover all topics in the course outline.

3) Writing Assignments – There is a single writing assignment listed for each chapter.

4) Assessments – There is a multiple-choice assessment for each Chapter. They typically contain 18-25 questions and a styled after the questions used on the College Board’s Advanced Placement U. S. History exam. These are designed to be self-tests to help students assess their understanding of the material and focus their study.

5) Discussion Questions – There is a discussion question assigned for each chapter that designed to drive class discussion about the current chapter as well as introduce concepts in the upcoming chapter. Discussions are managed by a on-line discussion board software and student participation is required.

Assessment Methods and/or Tools

There is a midterm exam for each semester that contains 15 multiple-choice questions and one essay question (modeled after the College Board Exam’s FRQs) and a cumulative final exam with 30 multiple-choice questions and one essay question (modeled after the College Board Exam’s DBQs)