Montwood High School
Course Syllabus: 2015-2016
AP World History
Course Description: This course provides an overview of human history from the early
humans to the present times, with the emphasis on the study of significant people, events
and issues. Students will trace the development of Western civilization as well as other
civilizations around the world. Students will view and interpret history from various
perspectives, including historical, geographic, political, religious, economic, and cultural.
This course is for diligent students who will be receiving much content thru lecture notes
as well as there being extensive reading assignments especially of primary sources, that
will require students to analyze global conflicts, regional patterns, and the whole process
of change and continuity in history. As mentioned above, this course imposes heavy
reading as well as various writing exercises. Students will improve their skills to be
successful in the AP exam as well as in other higher level classes. This course is
equivalent to a full year introductory college course.
The course themes below represent areas of historical inquiry that will be investigated
throughout the course:
1-Interaction between humans and the environment
2-Development and interaction of cultures
3-State building, expansion and conflict
4-Creation, expansion and interaction of economic systems
5-Development and transformation of social structures.
Instructor: Mr. Canales.
Office hours and Contact Information: 7:40-8:40 every Tuesday and Thursday and
lunch time daily in classroom. Room 339
E-mail: ccanal01@sisd.net
Telephone: 937-2625
Textbook: Adas, Michael, Marc J. Gilbert, Peter Stearns, and Stuart B. Schwartz. World
Civilizations: The Global Experience. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ.: Prentice Hall,
2000.
Supplemental readings(Secondary Sources):
1-Andrea, Al and Overfield, James. The Human Record: Sources of Global History. 4th
ed. Vols. 1 & 2. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2001.
2-Pomeranz, K. and Topik, S. 1999. The World that Trade Created. M.E. Sharpe.
3-McNeil, H. William. Plagues And Peoples. Anchor Books. 2001
Primary Sources used in the class:
 Selection from Epic of Gilgamesh
 Selection from Hammurabi’s Code
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Selection from the Book of the Dead
Selection from Confucius’ Analects
The Ten Commandments
Selection from Plato’s The Republic
Selection from Homer’s The Odyssey
Rand McNally Historical Atlas of the World
Selection from Niccolo Machiavelli’s The Prince
Excerpts from Luther’s 95 Theses
Selection from Bartolome de las Casas’ Brief Account of the Devastation of the
Indies
Selection from Hitler’s Mein Kempft
Selection from John Locke’s Treatise on Government
Excerpts from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Excerpt from “Justification of the Reign of Terror” by Robespierre
Selection from Adam Smith’s, Wealth of Nations
Selection from Jonathan Swift’s, A Modest Proposal
Selection from Karl Marx The Communist Manifesto
Selection from Kipling’s The White Man’s Burden
DBQ Practice: 10 AP-Style DBQs ( Williams, ed., Social Studies School
Services, 2004)
Selection from Ibn Battuta, Travels in Asia and Africa
Demographic Changes, the End of the Atlantic Slave Trade, Industrial Revolution
And Its Impact, Rise of Nationalism, Imperialism and its Impact on the World
Using the sources above, and other types of sources like maps, images, quantitative data
(charts, graphs, tables), and works of art, students will conduct a primary source
analysis that will include identifying point of view, intended purpose, audience, and
historical context of each source.
Materials: Student is required to have a Spiral 3 subject notebook with side pockets, as
assigned journal writings will be given, practice essays, record lecture notes and students
will write their interpretation of the assigned textbook readings. One ream of paper is
required for the year as they will receive many readings and rubrics.
Grading Scale:
50% Homework & Daily grades
30% Test Grades
20% Final Test
If you are absent it is your responsibility to make up missing assignments including
quizzes and tests, within one school day of actual excused absence.
Late policy: Late work will be accepted with a completed late form request attached and
signed by both the student and parent up to three days after the due date with a 10 point
deduction per day. After three days late work will not be accepted and the grade will be a
zero. Since there is no extra credit, students need to study for the tests which count as
30% of final grade. If the student fails a test, you have three school days to retake a test at
your own time and test shall be averaged with the grade earned on the first attempt.
It is imperative that you attend the class regularly, poor attendance will result in the
student missing vital lectures given by the teacher and as a result the student will be
required to read the covered material from the class textbook and take notes into his or
her notebook, which is critical for test preparation and the May AP exam
All test material comes from class lectures, readings and class assignments. All
assignments prepare students for quizzes, and quizzes prepare the student for the tests.
Students will always receive a test review before a test. It is vital that you study before a
major test if you want to be successful in class. This higher level course is very rigorous
and very demanding, whose course goal is to prepare you for the AP exam and other
academic courses for the future.
If you are falling behind, student must attend teacher office hours to get assistance. If a
student is performing poorly, the teacher will arrange for the student to be placed into a
regular World History Class.
Cheating will result in an immediate removal from the course. Cell phones must be
turned off at all times or it will be picked up and turned in to the office.
Course grading scale:
A: 89.6% to 100%
B: 79.6% to 89.5%
C: 69.6% to 79.5%
D: 59.6% to 69.5%
E: 59.5% or less
Unit I. Technological and Environmental Transformations/ Formation of
Civilizations: from 8000 BCE to 600 CE (9 Weeks)
1st Nine Weeks:
Key Concepts:
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The peopling of Earth
The Neolithic Revolution and Early Agricultural Societies
Interactions of Early Agricultural, Pastoral and Urban societies
The development and Codification of Religious and Cultural Traditions
The development of States And Empires
Emergence of Transregional Networks of Communication and Exchange
Topics for overview include:
 The Neolithic Revolution
 The River Valley Civilizations
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World Religions and Major Ideologies: Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism,
Hinduism, Confucianism, Legalism
Classical Period: Greece and Roman Societies
Special Focus:
 Students will get a breakdown of the AP Exam and will begin practicing writing
exercises focusing on thesis statements, change over time and DBQ’s
 Students will illustrate how geography affected the development of political,
social, economic, and belief systems in the earliest civilizations in Mesopotamia,
India, China, South Asia, and Mesoamerica.
 Students will analyze the causes that led to the collapse of the classical
civilizations
Parallel Reading: Students will read Ch. 1-2 of The Global Experience and
evaluate the authors’ perspective on the existence common characteristics in all River
Valley civilizations.
Students will read Ch 1-5 of The World Civilizations and identify and evaluate the idea
of civilization in world Historical perspective.
Activities & Skill Development:
 Essay-Read Hammurabi’s code and evaluate what was most valuable in Sumerian
society and what role did this law code play in the formation of this society? C7
 Students will map the changes and compare long distance trade networks between
the various civilizations in the Fertile Crescent Region, Mediterranean sea lanes,
and amongst the Christian and Muslim societies as well as the Eurasian silk roads.
 Essay analyzing the patterns of continuity and change over time in the various
Chinese dynasties established.
 Activity: using the textbook and the internet, students will explore how the
findings of archeologists have contributed to our knowledge of one of the
following cultures: Harappa, Shang, or Mesopotamian.
 Analyze the Artifacts to include cave paintings created during the Neolithic Age
to consider their purpose and social context.
Unit II. 600 C.E. TO 1750 C.E. Regional and Transregional Interactions (9 Weeks)
Second 9 weeks:
Key Concepts:
 Expansion and Intensification of Communication and Exchange Networks
 Continuity and Innovation of State Forms and their Interactions
 Increased Economic Productive Capacity and its Consequences
 Globalizing networks of communication
 State Consolidation and Imperial Expansion
Topics for Overview include:
 Islam (Caliphates in Asia, Africa and Europe)
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Middle Ages
Spread of Christianity
Byzantine Empire
Mongol Khanates
Tang, Song China
Slave Trade( West Africa and the Americas)
Ming’s China Global Trade
Age of Exploration/Colonization
Polynesian migrations
Special Focus:
 Islam and the Establishment of an empire
 Expansion of trade in the Indian Ocean-The Swahili Coast of East Africa
 Islamic Empires: Ottoman, Safavid, Mughal
Activities & Skill Development:
 Evaluate the Periodization in the textbook compared to that of the Periodization in
the course curriculum.
 After seeing the PBS Nova program “Cracking the Maya Code,” students will
assess the impact that archaeology and iconography have had on the study of
history.
 Writing a comparative essay, the role of women in the Ming’s Dynasty, Ottoman
Empire ad Renaissance Europe.
 Analyze Renaissance art and describe what the message was that the artists of that
era were trying to convey.
 Group assignment- Create a PowerPoint presentation to give to the class.
Possible topics: Renaissance figures spread of Islam, Protestant Figures,
Explorers or Navigators.
 Historical interpretation Essay. Examine the Lutheran perspective on Christianity.
Read Luther’s 95 Thesis. Evaluate the author’s perspective and assess the impact
that this document had on the Roman Catholic Church. C7
 Read Pope Urban II Summons and students will debate, what were the motivating
factors for the Crusades? and the perspective from the Byzantine Christians,
Arabs, and Christian Europeans. C7
Parallel Reading:
Students will read Ch6-10, 12-16 of The World Civilizations
Unit III. 1750 C.E. TO 1914 C.E. Industrialization, Global Integration and Change.
( 9 Weeks) 3rd 9 weeks
Key Concepts:
 Industrialization and Global Capitalism
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Imperialism and Nation State Formation
Nationalism, Revolution and Reform
Global Migration
Topics for Overview Include:
 Industrial Revolution
 The Enlightment period
 Napoleonic Wars
 Causes of European Imperialism
 American and French Revolutions
 Latin American Revolutions
 Constitutionalism
 WWI
Special Focus:
 Comparing the French and the American Revolutions
 Changes in Production in Europe and the Global Impact
Activities and Skill Development:
 Students will write a Change and Continuity over Time Essay. Changes and
continuities in the formation of national identities 1700’s to1900’s
 Students will analyze political cartoons about European imperialism in
Asia and Africa to identify how nationalism and the Industrial Revolution served
as motivating factors in empire building in this time period.
 Point of View- Was Nationalism the main reason for WWI?
Parallel Reading:
 Students will read Ch 20-28 Textbook: The World Civilizations.
Unit IV. 1914 to Present. Accelerating Global Change and Realignments (9 Weeks)
4th 9 weeks
Key Concepts:
 Science and the Environment
 Global Conflicts and their Consequences
 New Conceptualizations of Global Economy, Society and Culture
Topics for Overview Include:
 Bolshevik Revolution
 Great Depression
 Totalitarian Governments
 Holocaust
 Mao Zedong’s China
 Japanese expansion in pacific theatre(Asia, Oceania, Australia)
 WWII, Korean, Vietnam, Cold Wars
 Decolonization, International Organizations and World Globalization
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Science and the Environment
Special Focus:
 World Wars: Global Causes and Consequences
 Development of Communism in China, Russia and Cuba
Activities and Skill Development:
 Essay-What was the causation of the alliance system in the 1900’s?
 Point of view analysis. Does the end justify the means? Truman’s Reason for the
use of Nuclear weapons
 Change over time essay on Technology and Pollution
 Students will evaluate the causes and consequences of the Stock Market collapse
affecting world nations.
 Create the lyrics to Billy Joel’s song “We Didn’t Start the Fire”, using historical
events from the 20th and 21st centuries.
 DBQ Activity Causes of Vietnam
Parallel Reading:
 Students will read Ch 29-36 from textbook World Civilizations
Final Exam, Review, AP Test.
Students and Parents:
This course is probably the first AP course that high school students are likely to
take since most often it is scheduled sequentially in the sophomore year.
A student’s performance on the AP World History exam (offered in May)
determines a student’s eligibility to earn up to six hours of college credit. Course
curriculum, materials, and expectations are designed to prepare students for the
rigorous three-hour exam.
The purpose of the course, however, extends beyond the possibility of earning
college credit by providing students with the opportunity to develop skills and
knowledge that will form a useful foundation for college studies. A recent study
of this “AP Effect” reported the following results:
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Better prepared academically for college
More likely to specialize in majors with tougher grading standards
More likely to complete more college course work
More likely to take subjects in their AP subject area
Likely to perform significantly better over four years of college course
work
More likely to be superior in terms of leadership
 More likely to make significant accomplishments in college
 Twice as likely to do graduate level studies
Students who take this course should realize that AP courses are taught and
graded at the college level; they significantly exceed the demands and
expectations for typical high school courses. I just want to remind that there is no
substitute for reading. All studies show that truly talented and gifted
Students read and read well. And the one single ingredient to remedy low
grades and low performance is to read. Other aspects of preparation enhance
learning and understanding, but a student MUST read to be prepared. And you
cannot read too much.
My son/Daughter___________________ and I have read the course description and
syllabus for Advanced Placement World History. I understand my responsibilities in this
course, the requirements to be successful, and that there will be more work than in a
typical class. I will do my best to abide by class expectations.
Finally, all students enrolled in this course are expected to take the AP History exam at
the end in MAY.
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Student Signature
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Parent/Guardian Signature
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