AP World History: Summer Assignment 2015-2016
Due: August 26th, 2015 by 4pm for all classes.
The following assignment is MANDATORY, and must be completed before school starts. The attached
course work will be graded based on correctness, depth, and quality of answers. Therefore, please read the
book carefully, and complete the assignment with attention to detail, as the books will also be tested in the
first week of school. I will give 10 points extra credit towards your first exam for students who turn in the
assignment by email (eneale@houstonisd.org) by August 11th, 2015. All students must submit a hardcopy by
August 26th, 2015.
Dear World History AP Student:
I am looking forward to working with you in August as we begin the new school year. Congratulations on
your choice to take AP World History (WHAP), a rigorous, college level history course. This course will prepare
you for the challenges ahead, and certainly will allow you to get a head start on college in terms of college credit
normally given for a score of 3, 4 & 5 on the AP exam, but also will prepare you to write well and think critically
in all of your endeavors. Increasingly many universities assess rigor of courses undertaken in both admissions
and in scholarship opportunities; your pursuit of an advanced track should serve you well.
While this course is challenging, persistent hard work and effort will pay off with great rewards. To that
end, you are expected to complete the following assignment over the summer. Although summer is certainly a
time of relaxation and family fun, it is also critical that we get a head start on this course due to the complexity
of the task before us and the vastness of the course content, which begins at around 8,000 BCE and ends near
the present. That’s why I chose A History of the World in 6 Glasses as our summer reading. It encompasses the
time frame we will cover, and it covers key themes of the course in an interesting way. We will also be using the
prep. book AP World History: An Essential Coursebook. This book does a great job breaking down content
without over simplifying important information. The summer assignment serves two purposes: it is a test of the
seriousness of your commitment to doing AP level coursework in World History and it helps you to gain a critical
head start on your studies.
Standage, Tom. A History of the World in 6 Glasses. 2006. ISBN-10: 0-8027-1552-4. You are only expected to
read through page 220, but the Cola section is pretty interesting. Can be found on Amazon; I also have
several copies available on a first come first serve basis.
Directions
1. Read, don’t skim, the book. Many WHAP students read this book, and it has become a favored choice by
teachers because it is interesting and well-written.
2. Work independently. All of the questions must be answered in context of the book, so use of the
internet will lead you astray, and will alert me to the fact that you weren’t able to read and comprehend
the book at the level needed for this course. Additionally, all plagiarism policies are in order for summer
reading, so you must complete this task independently, using only a dictionary and the book.
3. Terms and Questions: All work should be written in complete sentences, and you are required to cite
the page numbers for your answers. Typed or handwritten work is acceptable, but handwritten work
must be neat, legible, and easy for me to read. Handwritten work may not be written in pencil or ink
other than black or blue.
4. Due Date: Wednesday, August 26th. Work submitted to me via email (eneale@houstonisd.org) by
August 11th will be subject to a 10 point bonus. I am very stingy with bonus points, so this will be a
rare opportunity, and will benefit me in that I will be able to have the work graded and returned to
you by the first few days of school.
Adapted from other assignments via my colleagues at the AP World History Listserv
A History of the World in 6 Glasses
Standage, Tom. A History of the World in 6 Glasses. 2006. ISBN-10: 0-8027-1552-4. Can be found on
Amazon; I also have several copies available on a first come first serve basis. You are only expected to read
through page 220, but the Cola section is pretty interesting.
Terms: People, Places & Things. The following are terms which must be defined in context of the book. Number
each term, answering the questions: who, what, where, why and how. (In other words provide significant detail
without wordiness). Next, explain how this term is significant in relation to history and to the beverage under
discussion. The terms are roughly in order in which they appear in the book. You must provide page numbers
for only one encounter of the term, ideally the first. For example:
Symposia: (Pg. 3) Formal drinking parties in which philosophy, politics, literature, science and poetry were
discussed and/or performed. Wine was the chosen drink for these male-only gatherings, in which ideas were
discussed, in a forum in which all attendees were treated as equals regardless of their social status. These
symposia were significant because they were key in spreading and testing ideas in the Greek and later the
Roman world. They served as models for the democratic Greek society.
1. Fertile Crescent
2. Chicha
3. Storehouses
4. Uruk
5. Sumer
6. Epic of Gilgamesh
7. Ziggurat
8. Mesopotamian citystates
9. Cuneiform
10. Ashurnasirpal II
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
Dionysius
Plato’s Republic
Roman villas
Battle of Tours
Charles Martel
Cordoba
Aqua vitae
Dashee/bizy
19. 1773 Molasses Act
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
Sugar Act
Sufi Islam
Dutch East India Co.
Principia
Wealth of Nations
Voltaire
Encyclopedie
Changan
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
Celestial Empire
Richard Arkwright
Tea Act of 1773
Lin Tze-Su
Indian Mutiny
28. Lu Yu
Reading Questions: As you read, answer the following reading questions for each topic. Your answers need to
be thorough, but not lengthy—3-4 sentences should suffice for most. Cite the page numbers in which you found
the answers. Answer in complete sentences.
BEER:
1. How is the discovery of beer linked to the growth of the first civilizations?
2. What is the connection between the discovery of beer and the Neolithic Revolution (beginnings of
agriculture)?
3. How did Mesopotamian geography shape its peoples view of the gods?
4. How did beer civilize man, according to Standage?
5. How did the Egyptian attitude toward beer differ from that of Mesopotamia?
6. Who built the ancient pyramids of Egypt and how were they paid? What benefit did the pyramids and
their construction bring to Egyptian society?
WINE:
1.
2.
3.
4.
How did the development of large states and empires promote wine as a drink of choice?
What role did Greek geography play in its economic development and trade?
How was wine used by Greeks and how did it develop into a symbol of status?
What was Plato’s view of democracy? How did Plato’s symposium differ from others?
Adapted from other assignments via my colleagues at the AP World History Listserv
5. How was wine important in the transmission of Greek culture throughout the Mediterranean and Asia.
6. Compare the Roman convivium to the Greek symposium.
7. Compare the acceptance of wine in Christianity to the Islamic view of spirits?
Spirits:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
What is the origin of distilled spirits?
Explain the connection between spirits, slaves, and sugar.
Why did spirits become an important staple in colonial America?
What role did rum play in the American Revolution?
Why did whiskey supplant rum in the western colonial regions of America?
What were the causes and effects of the Whiskey Rebellion?
Coffee:
1. How did Arabs come to dominate the coffee industry?
2. Why did coffee come to be preferred over alcoholic beverages?
3. Why was it important to Europe’s development that many Europeans chose coffee over alcohol as their
favored beverage of consumption?
4. How did coffee play a pivotal role in the scientific revolution?
5. How did coffee play a pivotal role in the financial revolution?
6. How did coffee play a pivotal role in the Enlightenment and the French Revolution?
Tea:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
How did tea transform Chinese society?
What were China’s major exports during the Tang dynasty?
What two factors made tea a popular drink in England?
How was tea an integral part of the Industrial Revolution?
What was the connection between tea and politics?
What role did the British East India Company play in world history? (Be detailed here)
How was tea connected to the opium trade and the Opium war of 1839-1842?
Adapted from other assignments via my colleagues at the AP World History Listserv
Part 2:
Woods, Ethel. AP World History: An Essential Coursebook. 2nd ed. ISBN: 978-0-9831766-2-6 This book will be
provided to students the May 22nd, 2015.
Directions
1. Read, don’t skim, the book. Many WHAP students read this book, and it has become a favored choice
by teachers because it is compact and easy to read.
2. Work independently. All of the questions must be answered in context of the book, so use of the
internet will lead you astray, and will alert me to the fact that you weren’t able to read and
comprehend the book at the level needed for this course. Additionally, all plagiarism policies are in
order for summer reading, so you must complete this task independently, using only a dictionary and
the book. Yes, the answers to questions are in the book, however for me to be able to have an
accurate perception of your level of knowledge and readiness for the course I need you to answer
the questions to the best of your ability. Do not copy all the answers out of the book. It will only hurt
you in the long run as I will be adjusting the course pace based on your work.
3. Terms and Questions: All work should be written in complete sentences, and you are required to
cite the page numbers for your answers. Typed or handwritten work is acceptable, but handwritten
work must be neat, legible, and easy for me to read. Handwritten work may not be written in pencil
or ink other than black or blue.
4. Due Date: Wednesday, August 26th. Work submitted to me via email (eneale@houstonisd.org) by
August 11th will be subject to a 10 point bonus (I will still require a paper copy turned in on August
26th). I am very stingy with bonus points, so this will be a rare opportunity, and will benefit me in
that I will be able to have the work graded and returned to you by the first few days of school.
Activity 1: Read the introduction and Unit One (Chapters 1-2).
Activity 2: Take the diagnostic multiple-choice practice exam starting on page 574. Do NOT do the essay
portion. Record your results on your own document, which will be submitted to via email
(eneale@houstonisd.org).
Activity 3: For Chapters 1&2 you will complete the following activities.
Create an illustrated dictionary using the following terms from Chapters 1&2.
13. Division of
1. Cultural
labor
Diffusion
14. Horticulture
2. Demography
15. Independent
3. Intervening
invention
obstacles
16. Jericho
4. “marker”
17. Lucy
events
18. Neolithic
5. migrations
Revolution
6. The Myth of
19. Paleolithic
Continents
Age
7. Periodization
20. Pastoralism
8. Perspective
21. Polytheism
9. Push and pull
22. Primary
factors
sources
10. Agriculture
23. Specialization
11. Bipedalism
24. Surplus
12. Catal Hayuk
25. Akkadian
Adapted from other assignments via my colleagues at the AP World History Listserv
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
Empire
Amon-Re
Amulets
Analects
Aryans
Babylonians
Book of the
Dead
Book of Songs
Cataracts
Chavin
City-state
Civilization
Confucianism
Cosmopolitan
ism
Cultural
Hearths
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.
Cuneiform
Dravidian
Dynasty
Dynastic
Cycles
Epic of
Gilgamesh
Fertile
Crescent
Hammurabi
Hammurabi’s
Code
Harappa
Hatshepsut
Hittites
Horus
Hyksos
53. Isis
54. Labor
Systems
55. Late Bronze
Age
56. Law code
57. Loess
58. Ma’at
59. Mandate of
Heaven
60. Matrilineal
61. Menes
62. Mesopotamia
63. Minoans
64. Monsoon
raind
65. Mycenaens
66. Olmec
67. Oracle bones
68. Papyrus
69. Patriarchy
70. Pharaoh
71. Rosetta Stone
72. Semtic
73. Shaman
74. Shang
Dynasty
75. Social
mobility
76. Sumerians
77. Theocracy
78. Tribute
79. Vassals
80. Xia Dynasty
81. Zhao Dynasty
82. Ziggurats
B) Take Cornell Notes over Chapters 1 & 2. The review questions at the end of the unit will go in the summary
box for your notes.
Adapted from other assignments via my colleagues at the AP World History Listserv
Adapted from other assignments via my colleagues at the AP World History Listserv