OUR GOALS
Every student will score a 3, 4 or 5 on the College Board’s AP Examination.
Every student will earn an “A” or “B” in this class and college credit
Every student will improve by 30% on the post assessment.
Every student will increase their knowledge about American Government and it’s operations.
Every student will improve their writing and critical thinking skills.
Every student will have fun and most importantly…will LEARN SOMETHING !!
THE COURSE
This course is designed for the highly motivated student. There will be a great deal of independent
reading, writing, and thinking. Comprehension, analytical evaluation, critical thinking and advanced
writing skills will be emphasized. Since the overall goals are to earn college credit and to prepare for
the AP test, the process will be as important as product. All major topics focusing on the American
political system and appropriate tangent social studies, currents events and historical concerns will be
studied in depth. This course will develop a comprehensive base of knowledge about the subject
An AP test, which students will pay (about $100) for, will be given in May.
Once Students decide to take the test, they are responsible for the cost.
Text Books & Supplementals – We will use a variety of texts, some of these resources may not be used
very often, while others may be used on a regular basis.
Edwards, Wattenberg, & Lineberry. Government in America: People, Politics and Policy.2009
This is our newest AP Government book that we will use most of the time.
Wilson, James Q. and Dilulio, John J. American Government: Institutions and Policies. 1998
This is the “old” AP text. We will use this book occassionally for specific information.
Remy, Richard C. United States Government: Democracy in Action. 2002
This is the old Junior level APS text, we will usually have writing assignments and
introductory worksheets based on this book each chapter.
McClenaghan, William A.Magruder’s American Government 1991
This is the “oldest” senior government text (Your parents may have used it since it’s been the
most popular government textbook since the 1970s). Almost every chapter this will be used
for basic vocabulary. We will do some introductory worksheets based on the text.
YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES
Be in your seat when the bell starts to ring.
All tardies will be reported to the office
Be respectful of others and their property.
Be knowledgeable, engaged, and inquisitive when in class.
Bring needed and required material to class on time.
No food allowed. Water is the only drink allowed when in bottles with caps.
No phones or earbuds (If I see them, I will take them.)
.
THE CONSEQUENCES
Meeting with me after class.
Possible detention which I will assign.
Possible parental contact
Extreme disruptions may result in immediate removal.
GRADES
A = 92.5%, B = 82.5% - 92.4%, C = 69.5% - 82.4%, D = 59.5% - 69.4%, F = 59.4%
Different categories of work will be weighted as follows:
25%-Review work (homework, class work, projects)
25%-Essays (in-class, take home, supplemental reading assignments)
25%-Quizzes ( in-class and take home)
25%-Tests
Here’s how a grade would be determined:
Review work
150/160 = 93%
Quizzes
126/150 = 84%
Essays
98/110 = 89%
Tests
156/200 = 78%
93 x .25 =23.25
84 x .25 =21.0
89 x .25 =22.25
78 x .25 =19.5
Your grade =86.0
In-class quizzes and essays falling below the “A” level may be redone.
Take home quizzes, essays, projects, and tests may not be redone.
If an assignment is late – you can not earn an “A” on that assignments.
The highest grade for work that has been redone is 92%.
Work may be redone an unlimited number of times, but only once a day.
REMEMBER YOU MUST PASS GOVERNMENT IN ORDER TO GRADUATE
(American Political Studies [APS] counts as a “government” credit)
CHAPTER READING
YOU ARE EXPECTED TO READ EVERY CHAPTER WE COVER IN THE EDWARDS TEXT
AND REVIEW EVERY CHAPTER IN THE MAGRUDERS / REMY BOOKS. YES - THERE
IS A LOT OF READING. INDEPENDENT READING IS THE MOST IMPORTANT STUDY
HABIT YOU CAN DEVELOP. YES - IT CAN BE DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND YES WHEN YOU DON’T’ UNDERSTAND SOMETHINGYOU ARE EXPECTED TO BRING IT UP
FOR CLASS DISCUSSION.
READING QUIZZES (10 POINTS)
UNANNOUNCED QUIZZES WILL BE GIVEN OCCASIONALLY AT THE START OF
CLASS. THE READING QUIZZES WILL BE OVER THE MATERIAL COVERED IN
PREVIOUS DAYTS OR OVER THE ASSIGNED READING FOR THE DAY BEFORE
CLASSWORK / HOMEWORK (USUALLY 10, 20 AND 30 POINTS)
WORK DONE TO INTRODUCE OR REVIEW SUBJECT MATERIAL WILL BE CHECKED
ON A REGULAR BASIS. ACCURACY OF ANSWERS WILL AFFECT THE GRADE, BUT
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS DOING THE WORK AND TURNING IT IN ONTIME.LATE WORK WILL EARN PARTIAL CREDIT. THE LONGER OR MORE DIFFICULT
THE ASSIGNMENT THE MORE POINTS IT WILL BE WORTH.
IN-CLASS WRITING ASSIGNMENTS (USUALLY 10 POINTS)
ONCE A WEEK (OR SO) WE WILL START THE CLASS BY DOING SOME KIND OF ESSAY
/ DBQ WRITING. THE SELECTED WRITING ACTIVITY WILL THEN LAST BETWEEN 10
AND 20 MINUTES. GRADES WILL BE BASED ON EFFORT, ORGANIZATION, AND
ACCURACY.
CHAPTER QUIZZES (USUALLY 30 POINTS)
AT THE END OF EACH CHAPTER A QUIZ WILL BE GIVEN. THE QUIZ MAY BE MADE
UP OF MULTIPLE CHOICE AND ESSAY QUESTIONS. CHAPTER QUIZZES WILL
INCLUDE INFORMATION FROM EDWARDS, WILSON, MAGRUDER, REMY, LECTURE
NOTES, OUTSIDE READINGS, AND/OR CLASS DISCUSSION. THE CHAPTER QUIZZES
MAY BE RETAKEN FOR A HIGHER GRADE.
SUPPLEMENTAL READING ASSIGNMENTS (10 POINTS)
AT TIMES ONE NON-TEXT READING WILL BE ASSIGNED FOR EACH QUIZ TOPIC.
SOMETIMES WE WILL USE A XEROX READING FROM AN OUTSIDE SOURCE. WHEN A
SUPPLEMENTAL READING ASSIGNMENT IS GIVEN, THERE WILL BE A CORRELATED
WORKSHEET, AND ESSAY REVIEW ASSIGNMENT, OR A READING QUIZ OVER THE
MATERIAL.
UNIT TESTS (USUALLY 200 POINTS)
UNIT TEST WILL BE SET UP LIKE HALF OF AN AP EXAM. YOU WILL HAVE 30
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS (25 MINUTES) WORTH 50% OF YOUR GRADE (100
POINTS) AND TWO ESSAY QUESTIONS (50 MINUTES) WORTH 50% OF YOUR
GRADE (100 POINTS). UNIT TESTS MAY NOT BE RETAKEN FOR A HIGHER GRADE.
THE TEST WILL TAKE 2 DAYS AND WILL BE GIVEN EVERY 6 TO 8 WEEKS.
NOTEBOOK (30 POINTS)
IT IS EXPECTED THAT YOU WILL HAVE A NOTEBOOK EXCLUSIVELY FOR AP
GOVERNMENT. WHEN THERE IS A LECTURE YOU SHOULD TAKE NOTES. THERE
WILL BE A NOTEBOOK CHECK AT LEAST ONCE EACH QUARTER. THE GRADE
WILL BE BASED ON COMPLETENESS AND ORGANIZATION. YOU DO NOT HAVE
TO WRITE EVERYTHING DOWN (THERE IS A LOT), BUT WRITE DOWN THE MOST
IMPORTANT TERMS AND IDEAS. ALL NOTES (AND SOME EXTRAS) ARE ONLINE.
EXTRA-CREDIT
EXTRA-CREDIT WILL OCCASSIONALLY BE GIVEN TO THE CLASS. ON SOME
DAYS WE MAY ‘COMPETE’ (AS AN NDIVIDUAL OR IN GROUPS) FOR A CHANCE
TO EARN EXTRA-CREDIT. DO NOT COUNT ON EXTRA-CREDIT TO RAISE YOUR
GRADE.
“TYPICAL” DAILY CLASSROOM PROCEDURE
ATTENDENCE / CURRENT EVENTS / READING Q & A (1 – 10 MINUTES)
IN-CLASS WRITING / DBQ ASSIGNMENT, HOMEWORK REVIEW (5 - 10 MINUTES)
LECTURE / DISCUSSION OVER SUBJECT MATERIAL (25 - 35 MINUTES)
STUDENT TIME TO COMPLETE ASSIGNED WORK* (0 - 10 MINUTES)
* THIS MAY BE ELIMINATED IF NOT USED PROPERLY
Dear Parent,
This introductory letter is designed to open the lines of communication between us. I
believe that communication between student, parent, and teacher is crucial for a positive
educational experience. Therefore, I encourage you to contact me about any issue
concerning your child or their education. I can be reached by email
BVHSMBROWN@MDEAC.ORG (school) or by phone 833-6761 (school) or 716-7162 (cell).
The second purpose of this letter is to emphasize the importance of American Government and the
unique nature of an Advance Placement (AP) course. Successful completion of American Government
is required for graduation. Also, this AP American Government class is design to allowed the student to pass
the College Board AP examination in May. Successful completion of this test may result in
college credit being awarded to the student. The test cost about $90-$95 and must be paid to Brookville High
School. Because the test is extremely difficult, there will be an extraordinary amount of reading, writing,
and possibly frustration. The goal of this class is not only to prepare students for the test, but to
prepare them for a higher level of scholarship by having them face more demanding academic
challenges on a daily basis. Because American Government is required for graduation and the AP test is
costly I feel that this course should have priority over many other activities.
The final reason for this letter is to make sure you know my classroom rules and
expectations. A syllabus was handed out in class which contains my objectives, rules,
consequences, assignments and grading policy. In summary, there will be nightly reading
and writing assignments, regular chapter quizzes, “pop quizzes” and essays each week and unit tests every
quarter.
There may even be extra meetings or assignments before school or during breaks to review material. Each
student will receive multiple textbooks which will be turned in at the end of the school year. Students may also be
given other books temporarily to better focus on a specific topic or assignment.
The development of AP courses at Brookville High School was a big step in the on-going challenge
to improve as a school and to maintain our “excellent” rating by the State of Ohio. Personally, I am grateful for
the opportunity to work with students who are willing to push themselves well beyond the norm. Hopefully, this
AP course will be a demanding and rewarding academic experience for all involved. Thank you for your time
and energy.
Sincerely,
Mark A. Brown
This page is an ASSIGNMENT ! Thank you for returning THIS PAGE as soon as possible.
We have read and understand the syllabus which includes class goals, class rules, class attendance
and grading policy and the letter of introduction.
STUDENT SIGNATURE_________________________________
STUDENT E-MAIL ADDRESS_______________________________________
PARENT SIGNATURE__________________________________
PARENT E-MAIL ADDRESS ________________________________________