Ms. Raines
AP Art History
Summer Assignment (if the course is in the Fall semester) or Winter Assignment (if the course is in the Spring semester)
June 5, 2015
Welcome to AP Art History! I have prepared some materials for you in order to help introduce you to and prepare you for the upcoming class. If at any time you or your parents need to contact me over the break or during the course, here is my information: jraines@ssacad.org
cell phone: (985) 502-4475 (text or call).
You need to have this assignment completed by the first day of class. No exceptions will be made. Please follow the directions provided.
Before completing the assignment, please familiarize yourself with the College Board AP Art
History Course Home Page and other resources you will use for the class.
Required Course Resources:
1. College Board AP Art History Course Home Page:
(http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/courses/teachers_corner/2177.html )
Be sure to familiarize yourself with the Course Overview and the AP Art History Course
“Curriculum Framework” included in the Full Course and Exam Description (pp. 9-174).
2. Khan Academy/ Smarthistory:
(https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-history-basics/beginners-art-history/a/cavepainting-contemporary-art-and-everything-in-between)
**Note: The AP Art History (APAH) Course has been re-designed. This will be the first school year dedicated to preparation for the new test, which will first be given in May of 2016.
Therefore, I have not decided upon a textbook for the course, so please do not purchase one until
I notify you of that decision.
An optional but helpful resource that you may want to purchase is The Annotated Mona Lisa; A
Crash Course in Art History From Prehistoric to Post-Modern, by Carol Strickland (ISBN: 0-
8362-8005-9). This book may be purchased for around $23.00 new- you may find a used copy for less online or from a student who took the course last year. This book may not be purchased from MBS.

1. Unit/ Test One Information :
Unit/ Test One will contain information from the folder of materials I have provided for you on the SSA Website and from the College Board’s AP website. The Unit contains a lot of useful information that will serve as a context for our study of art history. Included is information on the elements of art and principles of design and basic vocabulary to use when discussing or analyzing art. Also included is a section on media (materials) and processes used to make art and approaches to art history and criticism. Background on the AP Art History Exam is also part of the unit. You should learn this information and be prepared to be tested on it as soon as the course begins in either Fall or Spring Semester.
I suggest you print out the Word documents provided, the “Course Overview” and
“Curriculum Framework” ” (included in the Full Course and Exam Description, pp. 9-174) and put them in a 3-ring binder or download them to your iPad. Use the Test One Study Guide to narrow the information down and study strategically. Read and highlight the information, make note cards of terms and definitions, discuss the information with other students who are taking the course, apply the information to artworks for practice, and/or have someone quiz you on the information. Study it in ways that work best for you and your learning style. This information is important and will serve as a basis for how we look at art, so it is important that you know and understand it. You will be tested on this information the first week of the course.
2. Note Taking Template :
For this part of the assignment, you should choose an artwork from the list provided and fill out the blank Note Taking Template with information about the artwork. Because this is the first of many artworks that you will be researching for the course, it is important that you do so properly. Unless otherwise noted please use complete sentences for your answers. Also, please use at least three resources (Wikipedia does not count as a resource for this class) and cite the information you quote or paraphrase from another source using MLA parenthetical documentation. Please do not cut and paste information without putting it into quotes. This is plagiarism and is not acceptable. You will also prepare a brief Works Cited page giving credit to those resources. Although you may choose an artwork that another student in the course may use, YOU MAY NOT WORK WITH ANOTHER STUDENT ON THIS ASSIGNMENT. Doing so or plagiarizing will be considered cheating on the assignment and will result in a ZERO for the assignment grade and disciplinary action.
Use the directions provided in the document “Information for Research on an Artwork/
Fact Sheet” to research the artwork and fill out the Template. This is due the first day of class.
The completed template and MLA Works Cited page will be worth 50 points. It will be graded on the type, amount and quality of information given and proper usage of MLA documentation.
List of Artworks for Template Research
I suggest that you look at a few of these artworks on the internet and then choose one to study.
All of these artworks come from the “List of Required Works” given in Appendix A of the
Course and Exam Description (pp. 242-252). Given below are Content Areas and Numbers that correspond with this list.
Content Area 3: Early Europe and Colonial Americas: 50, 61, 64, 66, 68, 71, 72, 73, 76, 78, 79,
80, 83, 85, 86, 91, 92, 96, 98

Content Area 4: Later Europe and Americas: 100, 103, 104, 107, 108, 109, 111, 115, 120, 121,
122, 123, 126, 128, 130, 133, 134, 140, 141
Content Area 10: Global Contemporary: 226, 231, 232, 234, 241
3. Unit Two Preparation
At the beginning of the “Curriculum Framework” included in the Full Course and Exam
Description on the APAH Course Home Page (pp. 9-174), go to Content Area 1: Global
Prehistory (pp. 27-33). For the eleven artworks in the Image set (pp. 30- 33), make a flashcard for each image. You may use paper flashcards or digital flashcards on the iPad using Flashcard
Maker. If you need this app, please go to school during Summer Hours and see Mr. Caston or
Mr. Corey at the Help Desk. Put the picture(s) of the artwork on one side of the card, and the written (credit line) information on the opposite side of the card. Mark the geographic places of origin on a blank world map. Develop vocabulary words you think are important to know from the “Enduring Understanding” and “Essential Knowledge” statements on pages 27-29 and define them. The cards, map and vocabulary list is also due the first day of class.
If you have any questions about this assignment, please email me at the address above, text or call the number given. I will try to check my email periodically during the Summer Break.
Thank you for your hard work on this assignment!