Welcome to
APUSH
2014-15!!!!
Who am I?
Goals for Today…
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Understand how AP courses work
Understand the APUSH Exam
Understand our approach to class
Administrative stuff….
Why take an AP course?
Do college level work and earn….
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a +0.4 GPA bump (i.e. B+ = 3.9 not 3.5)
“props” on the MMA transcript for the
college resume
potentially college credit ($$)
an opportunity to develop
critical thinking skills necessary
for college success
How do I get college credit?
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Successfully complete the class
Take the standardized AP Exam
(yes, produced by the College Board : the same folks that torture you with the SAT )
Exam scored on a 1 to 5 scale
 Scores of 5, 4 or 3 may earn
credit but it is at each college’s
discretion
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earn
Sound easy enough????
Statistics from the 2014 exam to consider
2.3 million total AP exams / avg. score 2.83
 383,000 APUSH exams / avg. score 2.92
 APUSH Scores
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11% Scored 5
21% Scored 4
21% Scored 3
27 % Scored 2
20% Scored 1
What do these numbers tell you????
Brainstorm Questions…..
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Why is this course/
this exam so
demanding?
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What skills do I
need to develop to
earn a 4 or 5?
The rigor of APUSH Content
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Over 400 years of history (breath)
Detail historical analysis demanding
(depth)
interpretation
 contextualization
 analysis
 synthesis
 argumentation
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The 2015 Exam ( 3hrs 15 minutes : D-day(5/8/15)
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Part 1: Multiple choice
55 questions, 55 minutes = 40% of exam
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Part 2: Short Answers
4 questions in 45 minutes = 20%
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Part 3: DBQ (Documents Based Question)
1 question in 60 minutes = 25%
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Part 4: Long Essay
1 of 2 questions in 55 minutes = 15%
(Questions : 1) Breath or depth?
2)How is 2015 different than 2014?)
The Redesign’s Approach
 Concepts ….
are stressed over rote memorization; “depth” over “breath.”
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Themes ….
“package” the content covered in the nine time periods so it
can be studied conceptually.
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Thinking Skills …
are to be the focus of the class. Different
sections of the APUSH exam will explicitly or
implicitly test each of these nine skills.
The Goal of the Course
“The course is designed to encourage
students to become apprentice historians
who are able to use historical facts and
evidence in the service of creating deeper
conceptual understandings of
critical developments in U.S.
history.”
College Board, The AP US History Curriculum
Framework : Fall, 2014, pg. 9
Time Periods & Concepts
Course is
divided into
9 different
time periods
 Each time
period has 3
key concepts
and
supporting
subconcepts
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APUSH Themes
Historical Thinking Skills
Our Approach: The Museum Analogy
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Preview for breath
Discuss within concepts and themes
Explore with illustrative examples
Explain with historical
thinking skills
Who am I?
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Time period?
Occupation?
Insight from image?
What’s the tone?
Who drew the picture?
For what reason?
What is happening in the US
at this time?
In the world?
How does the image
compare to the generation of
women before her? After?
Basic Weekly Timeline
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Monday:
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Tuesday:
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Group work on concepts and content map (AKA study guides)
Wednesday:
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Quiz on last week’s content and concepts
Introductory lecture to this week’s content and concepts
Class discussion concepts and content map
APUSH Skill building exercise(s)
Introduction to illustrative examples assignment
Thursday and Friday:
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Illustrative examples exercises
Administrative Stuff
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Syllabus Review
Textbooks
Technology Use Contracts
Student Information Forms
HW Assignment