AP World History Summer Reading Assignment 2015-2016 All World History AP students in the district are required to complete the summer assignment. Our expectation is that the work will be completed by the first day of school. Within the first week of school, there will be a quiz, test or essay over the assignment. The assignment and guidelines are listed below. 1. Read: a. Chapters 1, 2 & 3 of the required textbook - World Civilizations: The Global Experience by Peter N. Stearns et al, 3 rd edition. b. You will need to check out a book before school ends or in July. 2. Process a. All World History AP students are required to fill out the reading guides for Chapters 1-3. All answers should be handwritten on a separate piece of paper (please email us if this is a problem). b. The reading guides can be found on the Leanderisd.org website or on your school s homepage. If you have any questions, please email the appropriate teacher below. CPHS: LHS: RHS: VHS: VRHS: Mrs. Geiger-Aguilar Mr. Johnson Mrs. Palazzolo-Thompson Mrs. Hudson Mrs. Duncan or Coach Stone
Prologue Read What Civilizations Mean (xxx) and list using bullet points the main characteristics of Civilization. Chapter 1: From Human Prehistory to the Early Civilizations 1. Define Paleolithic and give the dates of the Paleolithic Age. 2. When did Homo Sapiens Sapiens (modern human) originate and where? (8) 3. Define Demography (use dictionary) and summarize the world s demography during the Paleolithic Age. (8). 4. Paleolithic society was believed to be relatively Egalitarian. Define egalitarian and explain why historians believe so. (8) 5. The greatest achievement of Paleolithic people was the sheer spread of the human species over much of the earth s surface. (9) Summarize human migration during the Paleolithic Age. Make sure to include technological inventions that allowed this movement to be possible. 6. Define and give dates of the Mesolithic Age. (9) 7. List the technological improvements of the Mesolithic Age. (9) 8. Define Domestication and explain the effects of it in Mesolithic society. (10) 9. Define Neolithic. (10) 10. What worldwide trend is responsible for the shift from Paleolithic to Neolithic in some parts of the world and explain how this process took place. (11) 11. Explain the demographic changes that took place as a result of the Neolithic Revolution. (11) 12. When and where did the Neolithic Revolution first occur? (11) 13. List the major changes that took place as a result of the Neolithic Revolution. (11-12) 14. List and give dates of the five core areas of agriculture. (11-12) 15. Define Specialization and explain how the Neolithic Revolution led to increased specialization. (12) 16. When and where did metalworking begin? What was the first metal used? (13) 17. When and where did humans begin using bronze tools? (13) 18. List the effects metal working had on Neolithic society. (13) 19. When and where did humans begin fashioning tools from iron? (13) 20. When and where did the first Civilization develop? (15) 21. What is the Latin root word for Civilization? (15) 22. When and where did writing originate and explain the effects writing had on society? (15) 23. Civilization creates inequality. Support this statement. (15) 24. Explain the environmental impact civilization had. (16) 25. List the four initial centers of civilization. (16)
Teacher s Note: The text does a poor job of covering the Early Civilizations. I will go over the Early Civs in more depth in class. As you read about these civilizations, focus on how they all fit the characteristics of Civilizations and what these Early Civs have in common. Tigris-Euphrates Civilization 26. Define Mesopotamia (16) 27. Define Scribe (16) 28. Define Cuneiform (16) 29. List their achievements in Astronomy and Mathematics 30. Define Polytheism. (17) 31. Summarize the religion of Tigris-Euphrates Civilization. (16-17) 32. Define Ziggurat 33. Define City-state and summarize the political structure of the Tigris-Euphrates Civilization. (17) Egyptian Civilization 34. When did Egyptian civilization begin? (19) 35. Define Pharaoh. (19) 36. What was the purpose of the Egyptian pyramids and how is this evidence of the power of the Pharaoh. (19) 37. Explain how the pyramids reflect Egyptian religious beliefs (19). This takes some thinking! Indian and Chinese River Valley Civilizations 38. When and where did Indian civilization begin? (20) 39. Define Harrappa and Mojenjo Daro. (20) 40. When and where did Chinese civilization begin? (20) Heritage of the River Valleys 41. Explain the Phoenicians contribution to writing. (25) 42. The Jews main impact on the world was and still is their religion. Summarize their religion and explain how it is different than the religions of all of the other Early Civilizations. (25 and 28) Read Part 2: The Classical Period-1000 B.C.E to 500 C.E. (33-33). List the main characteristics of Classical civilizations and where did they develop?
Chapter 2: Classical China 1. What effect does China s isolation from the other centers of civilization have on China s development? (35) 2. Explain the Chinese concept of Dynastic Cycle and Mandate of Heaven.(36) 3. Create a timeline showing the dates of the Shang/Zhou/Period of Warring States/ Qin and Han. 4. Who is the founder of the Qin and list the ways he centralized China. (37-38) 5. Summarize Wu-Ti s rule in China Political Institutions 6. What is the purpose of Civil Service Exams established by Wu-Ti? (39) 7. Define meritocracy (Use a dictionary) and explain how it applies to the Chinese Civil Service Exams. 8. the Chinese were the most tightly governed people in any large society in the world. Justify this statement by listing the power and roles of the Chinese government. (40) Religion and Culture 9. Give the dates of when Confucius lived and explain what was occurring in China during his life that might have influenced his view of the world. (41) 10. List the main principles of Confucius teachings. (41) 11. List the main tenets of Legalism. (41-42) 12. Who is the founder of Daoism, when did he live and what was occurring in China at the time he lived? (42-43) 13. List the main teachings of Daoism. (43) Economy and Society 14. Diagram China s social hierarchy (pyramid) showing the three main groups in China. (45) 15. List the main products China traded in. (45) 16. Explain the Chinese and Confucius view on the merchant class. (45) 17. China was the most technologically advanced society in the Classical World. Provide evidence from the text for this statement. (45) 18. Summarize the Chinese family structure. (45)
Chapter 3 Classical Indian Civilization 1. What is the focus of Indian Civilization? How is this different from Classical China? 2. Define: Vedic Age (50) Vedas (51) Rig Vedas (51) Upanishads (51) 3. Define Caste System and diagram the five main Caste Groups (Pyramid) (51) 4. Identify Chandragupta(52) 5. Give the dates of the Mauryan Empire. (52) 6. Summarize the rule of Ashoka and when did he rule? (52) 7. Give the dates of the Gupta Empire and explain how they ruled. (54) 8. Hinduism and the Caste system is the glue that holds India together, not their political system. Explain this statement. (55) Religion and Culture Teacher s note: Unfortunately, I believe the text is rather poor on the Indian religions of Hinduism and Buddhism. I will cover these in class and will not ask many questions from this section. 9. Explain the Hindu concept of reincarnation (56) 10. Define Dharma 11. Who is the founder of Buddhism and when did he live? (57) 12. Define Nirvana (58) 13. Which religion (Hinduism/Buddhism) ultimately won out in India? (58) 14. Where and how did Buddhism spread to? (58) 15. List the Indian achievements in: Education, Literature, Visual Arts, Math, Astronomy, Medicine.( 58-59) Economy and Society 16. Define Patriarchal and provide evidence that India society was patriarchal. (59) 17. Explain the Indian view of the merchant class. (63) 18. List the Items of trade in India. (63) 19. What parts of the world were influenced by Classical India? (64) How did Indian influences spread? Conclusion China and India 20. Create a Venn diagram showing the similarities and differences between Classical China and India.
Finally, you are almost done. Lecture notes, handouts, worksheets, book outlines. are all meaningless unless you review them regularly. Before the first day of class, review these questions. Expect some sort of assessment testing your knowledge from Chapters 1,2, and 3.