AP United States History: Syllabus
Mr. Gillitzer
Room 407
Telephone: (956) 427-3800 (school)
email: michael.gillitzer@hcisd.org
homeowner4life@yahoo.com
Course Overview:
This course provides a two semester survey of United States history which is meant to be the
equivalent of a two semester college survey course and it can earn students college credit. It
covers the development of the U.S. from its Native American origins to the present. Solid
reading and writing skills along with a willingness to devote considerable time to homework
and study are necessary to succeed. Emphasis is placed on critical and evaluative thinking skills,
essay writing, interpretation of original documents, and historiography. Students grapple with
some of the major interpretive questions of U.S. history by focusing on selected political,
economic, social, cultural, military, and foreign policy themes. Students read and analyze
primary source documents and secondary historiographical interpretations. Thus, students
develop an ability to both command systematic factual knowledge and to analyze that
knowledge critically in order to arrive at conclusions. Analytical “AP style essays” are prepared
for each unit studied. At the conclusion of the course, students will be prepared to earn a score
of qualified or better on the Advanced Placement exam in US History.
Course Objectives:
the student will be able to
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master a broad body of historical knowledge
write a college-level analytical essay that formulates and argues a thesis and backs that
thesis with sufficient persuasive historical examples
effectively use analytical skills of evaluation, cause and effect, compare and contrast
analyze historical cartoons, graphs, tables, letters, diaries and other primary sources and
apply this analysis by writing a Document Based Question (DBQ) essay and standard
essays
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identify and evaluate the major historiographical schools of thought on major issues in
U.S. history
demonstrate an understanding of the major chronological periods in U.S. history
prepare for and earn at least a score of qualified on the College Board’s Advanced
Placement Exam in U.S. history
Course Texts and Readings
Primary Text:
David M. Kennedy, Lizabeth Cohen, and Thomas A. Bailey The American Pageant: A History of
the Republic, 12th ed. (Houghton Mifflin: New York 2002)
Other texts and readings books used:
David M. Kennedy and Thomas A. Bailey The American Spirit, Vols 1 & 2 (Houghton Mifflin:
Boston 2002)
Howard Zinn A People’s History of the United States (Perennial Classics: New York 2003)
Baron’s How to Prepare for the AP U.S. History Exam 2006-2007 ed. (Baron’s Educational Series
2007)
George Tindall and David Shi America: A Narrative History (Brief Fifth Edition) Norton
&Company : New York 2000
Course Purpose:
The major purpose of this course is to develop in students an ability to think about and analyze
the meaning of and significance of major developments in the political, social, economic,
cultural, and foreign policy development of the United States. The course is intended to be a
challenging one that is the equivalent of a two-semester college survey course in U.S. History
and which prepares the student to earn a score of at least Qualified on the College Board’s AP
U.S. History Exam. Students also learn how to write an analytical essay in which they must
formulate a thesis and substantiate it with sufficient historical examples. Students will also
learn to write a document based essay in which they must analyze and interpret primary and
secondary sources and use these sources to prove a thesis.
Course Organization
The course is organized into 12 three week units. Each unit is followed by a unit test. A
comprehensive semester exam is given at the end of each semester. Assignments and due
dates are posted weekly.
Unit 1: Colonial America (1492-1763)
Unit 2: The Era of the American Revolution (1763-1789)
Unit 3: The Early National Period (1790-1815)
end of 1st quarter
Unit 4: The Era of Good Feelings, The Age of Jackson, and Manifest Destiny (1815-1848)
Unit 5: The Civil War and Reconstruction (1848-1877)
Unit 6: The Gilded Age (1877-1900)
END OF 1ST SEMESTER
Unit 7: The Lure of Empire and Progressive Era (1898-1916)
Unit 8: World War I and the Roaring Twenties (1917-1929)
Unit 9: The Great Depression and World War II (1930- 1945)
end of 3rd quarter
Unit 10: Postwar America (1945-1960)
Unit 11: The 1960s (1960-1973)
Unit 12: Contemporary America (1973-present)
Semester Exam
END OF THE SECOND SEMESTER
Grading Policy
Exams , Historical Essays and Major Projects- 25%
Daily Work- 75%
This grade will be divided between quizzes, daily work, and homework. Quizzes will carry
approximately twice the weight of daily work and homework grades although all grades should
be considered important.
Materials
3-Ring Binder with your personal choice of paper.
Pens (Preferably Black or Blue)
Pencils (All exams are scantron exams)
Highlighters
Textbook
REMEMBER- WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER! I PROMISE TO WORK AS HARD AS I CAN TO HELP YOU
SUCCEED IN THIS CLASS!