AP United States History Syllabus
Teacher’s Name:
E-Mail Address:
School:
Phone:
Cynthia Azua
cazua@rockdaleisd.net
Rockdale High School
(512) 430-6219
Course Description:
This course is designed to provide a college-level experience and preparation for the AP
Exam in May. An emphasis is placed on interpreting documents, mastering a significant
body of factual information, and writing critical essays. The AP U.S. History course
focuses on the development of historical thinking skills (chronological reasoning,
comparing and contextualizing, crafting historical arguments using historical evidence,
and interpreting and synthesizing historical narrative) and an understanding of content
learning objectives organized around seven themes, such as identity, peopling, and
America in the world. In line with college and university U.S. History survey courses’
increased focus on early and recent American and decreased emphasis on other areas,
the AP U.S. History course expands on the history of the Americas from 1491 to 1607
and from 1980 to the present. It allows teachers flexibility across nine different periods
of U.S. History to teach topics of their choice and depth.
* The information above is from AP Central.
Goals & Expectations:
All students taking this course will be expected to take the Advanced Placement Exam.
In order to ensure success on this exam (a passing score of 3 or higher) students will be
expected to attend class regularly and also attend additional class meetings outside of
school. The goal of this course is to increase the number of students passing the
Advanced Placement U.S. History Exam.
Textbook:
Kennedy, David M., Lizabeth Cohen, and Thomas Bailey. The American Pageant: A
History of the Republic. 12th Edition. Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2002
(Student textbook)
Brinkley, Alan. American History: Connecting with the Past. 15th Edition. Boston,
Mass.: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill Co., 2014 (pending)
Kennedy, David M., Lizabeth Cohen, and Thomas Bailey. The American Pageant: A
History of the Republic. 16th Edition. Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2015.
Supplemental Readers:
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Bender, David L. Opposing Viewpoints in American History, Volume I: From Colonial
Times to Reconstruction. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1996.
Bender, David L. Opposing Viewpoints in American History, Volume II: From
Reconstruction to the Present. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1996.
Bennett, Clifford T. A Political Cartoon History of the United States. Glenview, Illinois:
Scott Foresman, 1992.
Garraty, John A. Historical Viewpoints: Notable Articles from American Heritage. Vol.
1 & 2. 6th Ed. New York, New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1991
Heffner, Richard D. A Documentary History of the United States, 7th Ed. New York:
Penguin Putnam, Inc., 2002.
Kennedy, David M., Lizabeth Cohen, and Thomas Bailey. The American Spirit Volume
1&2. Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2002
Oates, Stephen B. Portrait of America, Volume 1 and 2. 7th ed., Houghton Mifflin, 1999.
Ravitch, Diane. The American Reader: Words That Moved a Nation. New York, New
York: HarperCollins, 2000.
Schweikart, Larry and Michael Allen. A Patriot’s History of the United States. New
York: Sentinel, 2004. (CR1c)
Smith, James L. Ideas that Shaped a Nation. Suncrest, 2000.
Stanford History Education Group. Reading Like a Historian.
http://sheg.standord.edu
Ward, Kyle. History in the Making. New York: The New Press, 2007.
Zinn, Howard. A People’s History of the United States. New York: Harper Perennial
Modern Classsic, 2005. (CR1c)
Materials Required:
2 inch Binder
2 packs of dividers
Loose Leaf Notebook Paper (The number packages of paper may vary throughout the school
year)
1 Spiral Notebook (College-Ruled) (150 pages)
Blue/Black/Red Pens
Highlighters (4 colors: pink, blue, yellow, and green)
Post-it notes
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Grading will be as follows:
A variety of oral and written, group and individual assignments will be given.
Homework takes various shapes: group assignments and presentations, debates, and
more. The worth of such projects will be announced as they are assigned.
Exams and Special Projects-60%
 Essays, both LEQ’s and DBQ’s, are graded based upon the College Board scoring
rubric (0-9)
 Chapter Quizzes
 Multiple choice tests grades are adjusted to reflect College Board scoring. (55
questions)
o Multiple choice and essay test are modeled after the AP Exam. Questions
come primarily from the textbook and will always cover information not
discussed in class.
o Special research projects will be assigned periodically.
Homework and Classwork- 40%
 Classwork
 Cornell notes taken on each chapter
 History Logs
 Brief Bio’s
 Class participation and discussion
A further word about homework: Needless to say, APUSH means extensive and
challenging reading and writing assignments. Students are encouraged from the first
day to keep up with all assignments. Do not procrastinate or the joys of sophisticated
learning become quickly discounted if you place yourself in a position of always having
to “catch-up.”
Make-Up and Late Work:
Late work: Late work IS NOT ACCEPTED. All assignments are due at the beginning
of the class period on the assigned due date.
Make-Up Work: If you know you will miss class, YOU MUST TURN IN YOUR
ASSIGNMENT(S) THE DAY BEFORE YOUR ABSENSE. If you are unexpectedly
absent, your assignments will be due the day you return. If you are absent on the day of
a pre-announced test, you will be required to make-up the missed test during class the
first day back. This means you will miss the presentation or activities for that day.
Students who are absent for class, but who are at school at any time during the day an
assignment is due, must submit the pre-assigned work on the due date. NO LATE
WORK WILL BE ACCEPTED.
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History Binder:



Bring to class each day and keep plenty of paper in the binder.
Syllabus will be the first document in the binder.
Dividers- 10 Dividers
o Objectives
 Objectives
 APUSH REVIEW MATERIAL
o Units 1-9
General Information:
Attendance
The pace of this course is accelerated and missing class might cause
problems. All assignments should be completed in a timely fashion and
according to district policy.
Calendar
A calendar will be given as an outline for the course and chapters that will
be given. Students are to include dates of other assigned work and exams
on their calendar. Look at it often.
Assignments Keep up, especially with your reading! All papers written outside of class
should not be typed. All in class papers should be in BLACK OR BLUE inkNO EXCEPTIONS! All notes and assignments need to be hand written.
Mid-term &
Final Exam These exams are comprehensive and AP style.
Make-up
Refer to “Make-Up Work” section above.
Late Work
LATE WORK WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED! Refer to “Late Work” section
above.
Missing Assignments- If you fail to come to class prepared, complete a missing
assignment form and turn it in to me. These will be kept on file and
parents will be contacted as needed. You will not be allowed to complete
missing assignments.
No Names
Ten points will be deducted from the grade if a name is not on the paper.
Please be sure to write your last name first followed by your first name.
LAST NAME, FIRST NAME on the upper right hand corner of your
assignments at all times unless otherwise directed by the teacher.
Integrity
The highest degree of integrity is expected at all times. Collaboration is
expected on homework assignments. However, collaboration is not
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copying. It does include discussion for understanding or providing
examples. Every paper with your name on it should be your own,
independent work. Copied work is considered cheating. Both students
involved in copied work will be given a zero on the assignment. Plagiarism
is cheating, and cheating is wrong!!! Students are reminded that
plagiarism is not permitted. Any student involved in plagiarism will
receive a zero on the assignment. If you are not clear about plagiarism,
please ask me for a further explanation.
School Rules RHS rules are enforced in this classroom in reference to tardies, absences,
discipline, and dress code. See student handbook for a detailed
explanation.
Study Group Every student is encouraged to become a member of a study group that
meets often. If a student becomes a member of a study group, the study
group should include 4-5 students who will work together for optimal
benefit. This is recommended but not required.
Textbook
The American Pageant 12th edition will be our main textbook. Each
student will be given a copy of their textbook to do their reading. The textbook is also
available online.
SKWARD
Every student will have access to his/her grades. Once a grade for an
assignment is posted, you have one week to communicate the need for
corrections to me.
BYOD
Electronic devices will be allowed on a limited basis for EDUCATIONAL
PURPOSES, at the discretion of the teacher and WILL BE TEACHER
DIRECTED. Pay close attention to Rockdale district policy regarding
BYOD.
AP EXAM
MAY 6, 2016. This is the day of the APUSH exam! Please be sure you have
attended all pertinent tutorials and/or study sessions and are ready for the
NATIONAL exam!
Discipline Policy:
1st offence: Verbal warning.
2nd offence: Call home to parents.
3rd offence: After School Detention
3rd offence: Referral to office.
*In case of extreme behavior, the above steps may be disregarded and the student will
be immediately referred to the principal.
Writing:
You will be writing in various forms throughout the duration of this course- journaling,
history logs, short essays, long essays, brief bio’s, and of course, plenty of document
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based questions. Keep the writing in your binder under the writing section. Write in ink
on the front side of the paper.
The AP U.S. History Exam
The AP U.S. History exam is 3 hours and 15 minutes long and includes both a 105
minute multiple choice/short answer section and a 90 minute free response section.
Each section is divided into two parts, as shown in the table below. Student
performance on these four parts will be compiled and weighed to determine an AP
Exam Score.
Section
I
II
Question Type
Number of Questions
Timing
Percentage of Total
Exam Score
Part A: Multiple-choice questions
55 questions
55 minutes
40%
Part B: Short-answer questions
4 questions
50 minutes
20%
Part A: Document-based question
1 question
55 minutes
25%
Part B: Long essay question
1 question
(chosen from a pair)
35 minutes
15%
RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE STAKEHOLDERS
ADVANCED PLACEMENT
Responsibilities of the Teacher
● Support the concept of Pre-AP and Vertical Teams
● Teach the strategies, skills, concepts, and material needed to prepare the students
to participate in AP courses and those skills necessary to be successful on the AP Exam
● Participate in Pre-AP and AP professional development opportunities
● Be open to new ideas and new learning
Responsibilities of Parents
● Become familiar with the concept of Pre-AP and AP courses and knowledgeable
about AP Exams
● Be aware that good grades are not always synonymous with academic rigor or
academic excellence
● Encourage students to strive toward academic excellence
● Accept the study of advanced, diverse, and ambiguous material
● Support the teachers
Responsibilities of the Student
● Accept the challenge of higher academic standards
● Develop independent learning skills
● Seek academic assistance when necessary
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●
Accept the study of advanced, diverse, and ambiguous material
The successful Advanced Placement class does the following:
● Uses the College Board AP Curriculum
● Assesses student performance with both multiple choice and free response
testing formats
● Employs timed assessments
● Holds students accountable for independent reading
● Uses a variety of instructional materials, including primary and secondary source
materials
● Employs a variety of instructional strategies which includes opportunities for
students to engage in discussion about complex issues
● Is efficient in the use of instructional time
● Concentrates on building student capacity to understand rigorous content
through the development of skills as defined by the College Board.
● Allows for students to participate in a variety of grouping formats
● Allows for students to reflect on learning and make connections across concepts
Important College Board Websites and Information:
College Board Website: http://www.collegeboard.org/
AP Central: http://apcentral.collegeboard.com
AP US History Course Description:
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap-us-history-course-description.pdf
College Board Info for Students with Disabilities:
http://professionals.collegeboard.com/testing/ssd
American Pageant Chapters in pdf form
https://sites.google.com/a/whschoolapps.org/ap-u-s-history/american-pageant-e-text
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1st Semester
All of the following readings should be completed by the beginning of the week
during which they will be discussed. Each unit also utilizes discussions of and
writing about related historiography: how interpretations of events have changed
over time, how the issues of one time period have had an impact on the
experiences and decisions of subsequent generations, and how such reevaluations
of the past continue to shape the way historians see the world today.
Units of Study:
Unit 1: 1491 – 1607: The American Pageant, Chapters 1 – 2
Unit 2: 1607 – 1754: The American Pageant, Chapters 2 – 4
Unit 3: 1754 – 1800: The American Pageant, Chapters 6-10
Unit 4: 1800 – 1848: The American Pageant, Chapters 11-17
Unit 5: 1844 – 1877: The American Pageant, Chapters 17– 23
Mid-term Exams (AP Style Format) will be administered in December. The
exam is comprehensive, which means that it will assess information from
Chapters 1-23.
2nd Semester
Unit 6: 1865 – 1898: The American Pageant, Chapters 23-28
Unit 7: 1890 – 1945: The American Pageant, Chapters 29-36
Unit 8: 1945 – 1980: The American Pageant, Chapters 37-40
Unit 9: 1980 – Present: The American Pageant, Chapters 41-42
Final exams (AP Style Format) will be administered in June. The final exam is
comprehensive, which means that it will assess information from Chapters 142.
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APUSH Acknowledgement Sheet
I _______________________________________________________, the
parent (or guardian) of
(parent’s name)
______________________________________________________
understand the following facts
(student’s name)
concerning the Advance Placement United States History course at Rockdale High
School.
o The course is taught at a college level
o The rigors of the course are demanding and the student will have to adapt to the
higher level of expectations.
o There is a large amount of reading and writing with course.
o Information that is tested may cover 4 to 5 chapters at a time.
o All assessments are timed and students are expected to finish in the allotted time.
o There may be homework/assignments given over weekend and holidays
o There will be a large amount of factual information the student must master.
o The PRIMARY responsibility for success in the course rests squarely on the
shoulders of the student.
Parent Signature :_______________________________________Date
___________________________________
Phone Number
______________________________
Alternate Phone Number
___________________________________
E-mail address
______________________________
Alternate E-mail Address
Student Signature:
______________________________________Date___________________
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