AP World History Course Syllabus Ms. Johnson/C21

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1 Course Overview: Welcome to AP World History! Over the course of the next three terms we will be studying over 10,000 years of history! Because we are studying such a large expanse of time, the course will focus more on interconnections between societies and groups, change over time, and critical analysis of primary sources than on memorization of all the details of everything that has happened since the dawn of time. The course is organized into historical periods to create a framework for study as we analyze the five central themes that run throughout history on a global scale. This course will also include skill building in the areas of analytical thinking and historical essay writing. These skills will help prepare students to successfully complete the AP World History exam and potentially earn college credit! Historical Periodization: (The College Board uses the designations BCE= Before Common Era & CE= Common Era instead of BC Before Christ and AD- Anno Domini, in the year of our Lord) Period Title Date Range Weighting on AP TEST Period 1: Technological & Environmental to 600 BCE 5% Transformations Period 2: Organization and Reorganization of 600 BCE- 600 CE 15% Human Societies Period 3: Regional and Trans-regional 600 CE CE 20% Interactions Period 4: Global Interactions % Period 5: Industrialization and Global Integration % Period 6: Accelerating Global Change and Realignments 1900-present 20% AP World History Themes: As you read your textbook, these are the key ideas you should be paying particular attention to! Theme 1: Interaction Between Humans Demography and Disease, Migration, Patterns of Settlement, Technology Theme 2: Development and Interaction of Cultures Religions, Beliefs Systems, Philosophies and Ideas

2 Theme 3: State Building, Expansion and Conflict Political Structures, Empires, Nations and Nationalism, Revolts and Revolutions, Global Organizations Theme 4: Creation, Expansion and Interaction of Economic Systems Agricultural and Pastoral Production, Trade, Labor Systems, Industrialization, Capitalism and Socialism Theme 5: Development and Transformation of Social Structures Gender Roles and Relations, Family and Kinship, Racial and Ethnic Constructions, Social and Economic Classes AP World History Historical Thinking Skills: The following skills form the framework for studying world history! 1. Crafting Historical Arguments from Historical Evidence 2. Chronological Reasoning 3. Comparison and Contextualization 4. Historical Interpretation and Synthesis -Historical argumentation -Appropriate use of relevant historical evidence -Historical Causation (cause and effect) -Patterns of continuity and change over time -Periodization -Comparison -Contextualization -Interpretation -Synthesis Students will learn to construct clear, comprehensive thesis statements and critically evaluate the arguments of others based on evidence from diverse sources. Students will learn to identify, analyze, and evaluate relationships between multiple historical causes and effects & evaluate the dynamics of continuity and change over time. Students will be able to describe, compare/contrast multiple historical developments as well as evaluate multiple perspectives on a given historical experience. Students will be able to evaluate ways in which historical phenomena relate to broader regional, national or global processes.

3 The AP Exam: (Thursday, May 15, 2014, 8:00AM- registration is Jan/Feb 2014) EXAM FORMAT: Multiple Choice (MC) 70 Questions 55 Minutes 50% of the exam MC questions will have 4 possible responses (A-D) & are arranged in chronological clusters. Some questions will contain visual materials such as maps, charts, graphs & pictures. Always read the captions under maps and visuals in your chapters as these will often times appear on the AP test! Essays 3 Questions 130 Minutes 50 % of the exam Document Based Essay (DBQ) 10 minutes reading time 40 minutes writing time 33.3% of the essay section 16.7% of the entire test Change Over Time Essay (COT) 40 minutes writing 33.3 % of the essay section 16.7 % of the entire test Comparative Essay 40 minutes writing 33.3% of the essay section 16.7 % of the entire test Textbook: Bentley and Ziegler. Traditions and Encounters: A Global Perspective on the Past, 5 th Edition. New York: McGraw Hill, 2011 You will need to bring your textbook to class each day. If possible, use the online text at home and keep your actual textbook at school. Student Resources Companion Site: Materials: Please purchase a three ring binder for each term of AP World History to keep your materials organized in. You will also need notebooks/loose leaf paper, pens (blue or black only), three colors of highlighters, pencils, and colored pencils for mapping. Keeping organized is essential to successful completion of AP, having the right supplies is a good first step! Grading: A 93 B+ 87 B- 80 C 73 D 63 F - A- 90 B 83 C+ 77 C- 70 D- 60

4 Grading categories: Jefferson is now using the 80/20 grading scale in all courses. Assessment Support (Formative, i.e. homework/class work): 20% Assessments (Summative) 80% Tests [50%] Standard [10%] Final Exam [20%] *Students are allowed one test retake per term. *There is no extra credit for this course Course Expectations: AP World History is a college level course that requires 1-2 hours of homework each night. It is expected students will come to class each day prepared. Please show all members of the class and myself respect by coming to class on time and PREPARED, making up all work in a timely fashion, and honoring the opinions of others. Late work should be a rare occurrence- please talk to me before an assignment due date if you are having trouble. Obviously there are times when things happen beyond our control. If an assignment is late it may be given ½ credit based on teacher discretion. No work will be accepted after the summative assessment for the unit in which the assignment was a formative practice. Helpful Hints: How to be Successful in AP World History: 1. DO YOUR ASSIGNNED READINGS! The more prepared you are for class, the more you will learn. This is the single most important thing you can do to prepare for successful completion of the AP test! 2. Don t be afraid to ask questions in class. If you don t understand something, chances are other students are confused too! 3. As you complete the reading, look up words you are unfamiliar with. Write these words down and refer to them often. The writers of the AP World History Exam expect you to have a college level vocabulary! Often such terms will be used in AP test questions. If you can t understand the question, you won t be able to answer it! 4. Take notes as you read! Be an active reader- ask questions, summarize as you go, review when you are finished. Try the Cornell Note-taking method. Your text cannot

5 AP World History be read as a novel!! You need to think critically about what you are reading and take notes as you read in order to process the information. 5. Use the online resources located at the textbook website! 6. Budget your time carefully- leave yourself plenty of quality time to complete your homework. If you are busy during the week, get your readings done on the weekends before they are due! 7. Review past chapters as we go through the course- it will continuously help you to see the big picture! 8. Think of history as a story unfolding for you throughout the year. Become intrigued in the personal stories, emotional battles, exciting ideas, amazing accomplishments, disheartening (and sometimes humorous) failures, and the fascinating and often strange personalities of the people we are studying. 9. Form study groups- help each other! 10. Most importantly, ask for help when you need it or if you feel overwhelmed! I am more than happy to help!! A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. -Confucius

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