AP WORLD HISTORY: 2014 – 2015
Potomac Falls High School
Instructors: Jon Ackerman, Sarah Jedrzejczak, Kristin Bird
STUDENTS, PICK UP YOUR TEXTBOOKS IN ROOM 209 BEFORE THE END OF EXAM WEEK!
Dear Students and Parents:
Welcome to AP World History and to the world of the College Board which develops the AP curriculum and trains instructors. Please
remember that AP World History is a COLLEGE level class, and expectations are higher than those of other high school courses.
Students are expected to accept responsibility for completing assignments independently, and to come to class prepared to contribute.
Goals of the class include the following:
A. Understanding of World history from prehistoric times to the present, with an emphasis of non-Western civilizations. The AP World
History curriculum differs greatly from the Virginia SOL objectives for World History I & II. Note: Students in AP World are
still required to take the Virginia SOL in World History II (1500 to Present).
B. Development of skills in evaluating historical materials, both primary and secondary.
C. Improvement of skills in test-taking and essay-writing.
D. Development of ability to see history in the context of politics, world events, and economic and social changes.
Required activities during the school year include the following:
1. Completion of independent reading assignments in text and supplementary books, including summer reading. Most students at
the beginning of the year will need to spend at least 2 hours outside of class studying for each class period of 90 minutes.
2. Completion of various written assignments on each unit, including outside work, notes, and required book readings.
3. Classroom participation and discussion of content (from outside reading), documents, and essay construction.
4. Essay writing. Students will write in class approximately 2 times during each 9 weeks. Writing in class is planned to help students
learn to organize ideas and express thoughts clearly within a time limit. Some essays will be on document-based questions
(DBQ's), which will involve reading and evaluating primary sources. ALL TESTS WILL INCLUDE ESSAY QUESTIONS AND MULTIPLE
CHOICE QUESTIONS.
The AP Exam is given in May by the College Board, and offers students the opportunity to earn college credit for what they have
learned. Not all colleges accept AP credits, but most colleges do give favorable consideration to student applicants who have
succeeded in AP classes.
Because this class is taught and graded on the college level, most students will find that it is harder to make A's or B’s. It is extremely
important that students have good attendance; new learning happens every day, and prompt make up work is necessary so that
students do not fall behind.
Sincerely,
Jon Ackerman, Sarah Jedrzejczak , & Kristin Bird
AP World History Teachers
Potomac Falls High School
1
AP WORLD HISTORY SUMMER ’14 ASSIGNMENT—Read Carefully!!
**DUE DATE: the FIRST DAY of AP World History class.**
Purpose: To review major topics and civilizations prior to 500 CE in the framework of the AP World curriculum with a focus on nonWestern civilizations, themes, and comparisons.
How much is it worth? The summer assignment will be worth roughly 10% of your first quarter grade.
What does it consist of?
1. Read chapters 2-4 of the textbook , Peter Stearns’ World Civilizations, 4th Ed., understand and take notes on each
theme and complete the comparisons and chart based on that reading. (70%)
2. Read and complete the analysis of the attached comparative article on Classical Rome & China. (30%)
PART 1— TEXT ASSIGNMENT
The text assignment is designed to review some of the basic building blocks of civilizations you studied in Pre-AP World History I and
get you to think in a thematic way, as the AP curriculum demands. We will not spend a lot of time on these in class, so it is imperative
you understand them well before arriving in August. You should expect to be tested on these chapters by mid-late September.
Directions:
 Using your textbook chapters 2-4 and the page numbers indicated for each theme, please read and take notes on each
theme. These can be bullet points or full sentences.
 For EACH theme make comparisons between societies by identifying specific similarities and differences between groups of
people. See example page below.
 Complete the chart on major world religions.
 All writing must be HANDWRITTEN in black or blue ink.
PART 2— ANALYSIS OF COMPARATIVE ARTICLE
The purpose of this part of the assignment is to increase your familiarity with 2 of the important early civilizations through the reading of
a comparative historical article. As you read, you should pay close attention to the similarities and differences discussed between
China and Rome, and then demonstrate your understanding through the completion of a series of follow-up questions. Comparing and
contrasting is a central skill of the AP World curriculum and is therefore a skill you will need to develop as early as possible.
Directions:
 Thoroughly read the attached article (you may need to read it more than once in order to understand it).
 Complete the attached analysis questions to demonstrate what you’ve learned from the article.
The summer assignment is due on your first day of AP WH class in September.
Please contact us if you have any questions. We look forward to getting to know all of you and sharing a year of our exploration of
World history together.
Jon Ackerman,
jon.ackerman@lcps.org
Sarah Jedrzejczak ,
sarah.jedrzejczak@lcps.org
Kristin Bird
kristin.bird@lcps.org
2
Making Comparisons in AP World
In AP World History you will be required to constantly be able to make comparisons between groups of people. This will
be done based on the five themes of the course. For example, theme 1 includes government structures, so you should
be able to explain what was similar and different between how people organized power in China, India, and the
Mediterranean.
For the purpose of the summer assignment, you should write as many comparative sentences as you can for each
theme but no fewer than five total per theme (so, five for theme 1 and five for theme 2, etc.). This should be done when
you finish taking notes on that specific theme. Below you will find examples of how to write comparative sentences:
Identifying Similarities
Both Sam and Jill like apples.
Both Han China and Imperial Rome had centralized governments.
Identifying Differences
While Sam likes blueberries, Jill prefers strawberries.
Whereas Han China had a unified culture, Imperial Rome was very ethnically diverse.
3
AP World Themes for Period 2: Organization and Reorganization of Societies
Theme 1: State-building, expansion, and conflict
How do people govern themselves, and how do these processes lead to conflict?
Includes: political structures and forms of governance; empires; nations and nationalism; revolts and
revolutions; regional, transregional, and global structures and organizations
China: 35-40, 98-99
India: 53-57, 98-99
Greece and Rome: 71-79, 99-103
Theme 2: Development and interaction of cultures
How do people express themselves and what is the impact of ideas?
Includes: religions; belief systems; philosophies; ideologies; science and technology; the arts and
architecture
China: 41-43, 47-48
India: 57-61, 65-67
Greece/Rome: 79-83,88
Japan: 96
Americas: 96-97
Overall: 103-110
Theme 3: Creation, expansion, and interaction of economic systems
How do human societies use their environments to produce, distribute and consume goods and services?
Includes: agricultural and pastoral production; trade and commerce; labor systems; industrialization;
capitalism and socialism
China: 44-47
India: 61-65
Greece/Rome: 83-87
Overall: 94-95
Polynesia: 97
Central Asia: 98
Theme 4: Development and transformation of social structures
How do human societies group their members socially, and how do these groupings affect people’s lives?
Includes: gender roles and relations; family and kinship; racial and ethnic constructions; social and
economic classes
China: 45-46, 44-47
India: 61-65
Greece/Rome: 77-78
4
Theme 5: Interactions between people and the environment
How does the environment shape human societies, and how do humans shape the environment?
Includes: demography and disease; migration; patterns of settlement; technology
The textbook does not specifically cover this topic the way it deals with the other four but you will find
some references to diseases, migration, and technology in chapters 2-4. See what you can pick out for this
theme.
5
MAJOR WORLD BELIEF SYSTEMS by 600 C.E.
Type of
Religion
Founder/
Leaders
Time
Period
Place
Founded
Supreme
Beings/
Deities
Basic
Dogma/
Beliefs/
Teachings
(Birth, Life,
Death,
Salvation)
Holy Book
& Sacred
Writings
Polytheism
Polytheistic
Hinduism
Judaism
Confucianism
Daoism
Christianity
N/A
Sumerians-3000 BCE—
earliest polytheistic rel.
Mesopotamia,
Egypt
Variable.
Mesopotamian &
Egyptian deities were
based on natural
elements—wind, sun,
sky, etc. Gods were allpowerful, usu. harsh &
merciless. Egyptian
pharaohs had divine
status
Variable.
How did it
spread?
Mode of
Cultural
Diffusion
Unknown.
Areas
Influenced/
Regions
Practiced
by 600 C.E.
Polytheism practiced in
Mesopotamia, Egypt,
Greece/Rome—
Mediterranean region.
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
Analysis of “China & Rome Compared”
1. Address similarities and differences for each of the major topics covered in the article. Respond with detailed phrases, not one-word answers.
Unique to China
Similarities
Unique to Rome
Origin
Organization
Outcome
Foundation
Architectonics
Decay
Attach an additional page with your responses to questions 2 and 3.
2. In your opinion, which similarity between China and Rome is the most important? Which difference? You MUST explain WHY you believe this is true.
3. At the beginning of the article, the author states that “The conclusion will be that the differences [between China and Rome] outweighed the
similarities.” Using examples from the article, explain whether or not you believe this to be true.
19
Part III: Optional Resources:
The AP World curriculum demands that students develop a high degree of self-motivated learning in order to find
success. It is impossible for your teacher to convey all of the information and skills you will need within the confines of
the classroom. To that end, it is absolutely imperative that you learn to independently seek out information and
resources that will provide you with the greatest personal academic benefit. You will never “receive a grade” for this
kind of work, but the payoff will be obvious in your performance in class discussions, quizzes, tests, and essays.
To ease your transition into this sort of academic environment, we would like to introduce you to some resources that
may prove beneficial to you throughout the year. This is by no means an exhaustive list, and we strongly encourage you
to seek out additional resources on your own.
Geography:



Quiz yourself on the locations of major historical developments.
o http://universityhigh.webs.com/maps.htm?cfd3=1dea
A variety of geography games, broken down by continent.
o http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/Geography.htm
A variety of geography games, broken down by country.
o http://www.geography-map-games.com/
Historical Content:
 Student resources provided by our textbook’s publisher.
o http://wps.ablongman.com/long_stearns_wcap_4/0,8810,1189431-,00.html
 “Crash Course: World History” YouTube videos hosted by John Greene
 ABC Clio: Ancient World History Database – GREAT resource for additional content on history before 1500 CE
o http://ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/
o User: lcpsh
Password: high
 ABC Clio: Modern World History Database – GREAT resource for additional content on history after 1500 CE
o http://worldhistory.abc-clio.com/
o User: lcpsh
Password: high
As with material covered in the classroom, repetition is the key to learning. Making regular use of these kinds of
supplemental sources of knowledge can go a long way towards improving your retention of historical content. None of
these resources can replace the textbook or classroom activities. They can, however, help to clarify confusing
concepts, provide greater detail, or simply provide an additional path to mastering the curriculum.
20