Advance Placement World History Summer Assignment
Dear Students,
Welcome to AP World History! For your summer assignment, I am asking you to do a series of
activities that will assist in building your fundamental skills and knowledge of World History. These
assignments are intended to lay the foundation for the material that we will cover during the course
of the school year. You will also have a comprehensive assignment that will cover the major
introductory ideas of the first unit of the course, Technological and Environmental Transformation
to 600 B.C.E.
Be mindful that an Advanced Placement class requires all students to stay focused and to work
hard. You should be prepared to spend four to six hours each week reading and studying for this
course. We have about 10,000 years of history to cover in about 32 weeks, so we need to cover some
over the summer so we can hit the ground running on the first day of school. Please take this
assignment seriously, for you will be graded as such. This will be exciting class that will allow us to
look at the big picture of history, trace cultures over time, and examine human interactions.
THIS ASSIGNMENT IS DUE THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL. Late assignments will not be
accepted! This only exception is for student who enrolled during the summer or early fall. It is
important for you to demonstrate that you are capable of successfully completing independent work
in the time allotted. This will help to provide me with a clear picture of your ability to handle a
college-level course. You will receive three grades for this work.
I will be available to answer questions this summer. My school e-mail is rtims@harmonytx.org .
Please be patient on my responds as it may take a couple of days for me to get back to you. I am
excited and looking forward to a great year!
All the best,
Ms. Rebecca Tims
AP United States History Summer Assignment Check List
Below is a checklist that should guide you through this assignment. Please complete ALL of these
tasks to assure success, more effort will equal a better grade on our first exam.
World Maps
Period 1 Key Concepts and Folder Assignment
Continuity and Change Over Time Personal Essay
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AP World History Test Information
Course Introduction:
Welcome to AP World History! AP World History is a challenging college-level course. Throughout
this course you will develop a greater understanding of the evolution of global processes and
contacts including interactions over time. You will investigate themes woven into key concepts
covering distinct chronological periods. You will also be able to show your mastery of the course
goals by taking part in the College Board AP World History Exam in May.
The AP Exam:
The AP Exam is created by the College Board. You will receive an extensive AP Exam Preparation
Guide, Outline, and Review. It is your full responsibility to research on potential colleges and
universities you wish to receive your AP score(s) and what is required for college credit.
This year we will study world history in 6 periods:
Period
Period
Period
Period
Period
Period
1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:
Technological and Environmental Transformations to c. 600 B.C.E.
Organization and Reorganization of Human Societies, c. 600 B.C.E. to c. 600 C.E
Regional and Transregional Interactions, c. 600 C.E. to c. 1450
Global Interactions, c. 1450 to 1750
Industrialization and Global Integration, c. 1750 to c. 1900
Accelerating Global Change and Realignments, c. 1900 to the present
We will also explore and investigate the following five themes of World History:
Theme
Theme
Theme
Theme
Theme
1
2
3
4
5
–
–
–
–
–
Interaction Between Humans and the Environment
Development and Interaction of Cultures
State building, Expansion and Conflict
Creation, Expansion and Interaction of Economic Systems
Development and Transformation of Social Structures
Class Materials:
1. Two 3-ring binders with 6 dividers: You must have two 1” binders with lined loose leaf paper
and 6 dividers. You will keep EVERYTHING that you do in Social Studies class in one
binder, so make sure you have one that will not fall apart. You may not keep work for any
other classes in your Social Studies binder. You will have a separate binder to use for your
texts.
2. Pencils or pens
3. Pencil Sharpener: You must bring a small, plastic pencil sharpener with you to SS class
every day. (Unless you choose to use mechanical pencils or pens.)
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Assignment #1 Map the World for Period 1
Use the world map on the next page to label the following information.
Continents
(In Black)
Landforms
(In Green)
Oceans/
● Africa
● Antarctica
● Asia
● Australia
● Europe
● North
America
● South
America
● Sahara
Desert
● Anatolian
Peninsula
● Arabian
Peninsula
● Gobi
Desert
● Himalaya
Mts.
● Atlantic
Spread of
● Pacific
human race
● Indian
(solid line)
● Arctic
● Arabian
● Bay of Bengal
● Mediterranean
Sea
● Caribbean Sea
● East China Sea
● South China
Sea
● Tigris R
● Euphrates R
● Nile R
● Indus R
● Ganges R
● Huang He R
● Chiang Jiang
(aka Yangtze R)
Waterways (In
Blue)
Movement (In Societies/Civilizations
orange)
(Outline in purple, use
numbers on map)
1. Sumer
2. Mesopotamia
3. Egypt
4. Kush
5. Axum
6. Hittites
7. Hebrews
8. Harappa
9. Aryan civ
10. Shang Dynasty
11. Zhou Dynasty
Other ( In Red)
Spread of
agriculture
(dotted or
dashed line)
Location of
Jewish faith
(star)
Location of
Hinduism
(x)
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Assignment #2 Period 1 Key Concepts/Folder Assignment
PURPOSE: To help organize and condense the information learned in the specific time
periods. This will constitute a major grade, but will also help you in the studying process
for class tests and the AP test in May.
REQUIREMENTS:

FRONT COVER-20 pts.
o Title of the time period
o Illustrations representing major themes/ideas/people/etc. from the time
period. A minimum of 5 relevant pictures is required.
INSIDE COVER (left side)-30 pts.
o Turn AP WH Key concepts into questions that you answer relevant to the time
period (refer to Periods & Key Concepts handout). This site will help
http://media.collegeboard.com/digitalServices/pdf/ap/AP_World_HistoryCED.pdf
 INSIDE COVER (right side)-20 pts.
o Examples from the chapters that are relevant to the 5 AP World History
Themes. USE THE SPICE CHART TO COMPLETE THIS


BACK COVER (20 pts.)
o Create a timeline of major events during the time period. A minimum of 10
events is required.

OVERALL PRESENTATION-10 pts.
o Neat
o Shows effort & creativity
o Colorful
o Spelling/Grammar/Punctuation
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Assignment #2 Period 1 Key Concepts/Folder Assignment
SPICE Chart
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Assignment #2 Period 1 Key Concepts/Folder Assignment
Key Concepts
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Assignment #2 Period 1 Key Concepts/Folder Assignment
Key Concepts
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Assignment #3 Period Continuity and Change over Time (CCoT) Personal
Essay
Part I: You may do your timeline horizontally or vertically, whichever way you’d like.
 Create a timeline of your life that includes the following items, up to the beginning
of August 2015:
o Birth
o Learned how to walk
o Learned how to talk
o Birth of siblings
o Meeting of specific friends throughout life.
o Started daycare (if applicable)
o Started preschool (if applicable)
o Started kindergarten
o Started elementary school
o Start of you playing any sports you played (if applicable…dance,
cheerleading count, I don’t care what you say, this is hard work if done
correctly!)
o Start of you taking part in any activites you took part in (acting, reading
groups, etc)
o Starting middle school
o Learning a foreign language (or have you always known a foreign language?)
o Starting high school
o Any other defining points in your life (deaths of grandparents if you want to
add this, getting your driving permit, fishing license, hunting permit,
boating license, lifeguarding certification…if these are things that you get
renewed yearly, then say that; milestones in sports or other activities that
you’re proud of etc…you get the idea).
Part II: Essay
In a typed essay of no more than two double spaced pages, I would like you to use your
timeline to describe and explain the important changes and continuities in your life. When
planning your paper, aim to discuss and explain at least two specific life changes and one
continuity; more is fine but not necessarily better—it is the quality and depth of your
discussion that I can most about. I will use the rubric on the next page to score your essay.
It is modeled off of the AP World History Change over Time rubric. You will see it again and
often this year.
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Assignment #3 Period Continuity and Change over Time (CCoT) Personal
Essay
Basic Core
Expanded Core
Historical skills and knowledge required to
show competence.
Historical skills and knowledge required to
show excellence.
1. Has acceptable thesis.
1 Point
(addresses the global issues and
the time period specified)
Expands beyond basic core of
1-7 Points. The basic core of a
0-2
Points
score of 7 must be achieved
before a student can earn expanded
core points.
2. Addresses all parts of the
Points
of the question, though not
necessarily evenly or thoroughly.
2
Examples:

(Addresses most parts of the
(1)
question: for example, addresses
change but not continuity)


3. Substantiates thesis with
2 Points
appropriate evidence.
(1)


(Partially substantiates thesis with
Has a clear, analytical, and
comprehensive thesis
Analyzes all issues of the question
(as relevant): global context,
chronology, causation, change,
continuity, effects, content.
Addresses all parts of the question
evenly.
Provides ample historical evidence
to substantiate thesis.
Provides links with relevant ideas,
events, and trends in an innovative
way.
appropriate evidence.)
4. Uses relevant world historical
1
Point
context effectively to explain
change over time and/or continuity.
5. Analyzes the process of change
Point
over time and continuity.
(tell why things are continuous
and why changes have occurred)
Subtotal
7 Points
TOTAL
9 Points
1
Subtotal
Points
2
9=97, 8=92, 7=87, 6=82, 5=77, 4=72, 3=67, 1=57, 0=50
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