AP United States Government and Politics
2015-16 Course Syllabus
Comment From the Instructor
Advanced Placement classes are the most challenging classes offered at this high school. Instruction occurs in a class setting, but
the homework volume requires and extra commitment outside of class. Also, because we are a community of learners, it is essential that
each student be a contributing member of the class. Each student in an Advanced Placement class must academically perform at this
higher level. You have CHOSEN to take this class – it is not a requirement. Therefore, a lack of preparation, participation, or display of
either apathetic or disruptive behavior is reason for reassignment to another course. You will get out of this class as much as you put into
it. It has an enormous potential to be an intellectually challenging and rewarding experience but only if you approach this course with that
attitude. The dreaded disease known as “senioritis” will not be tolerated by this instructor.
Course Description
This course will give student an analytical perspective on government and politics in the United States. It includes both the study of
general concepts used to interpret U.S. politics and the analysis of specific examples. The course requires familiarity with the various
institutions, groups, beliefs and ideas that constitute U.S. politics. Students will become acquainted with the variety of theoretical
perspectives and explanations for various behaviors and outcomes. The topics covered will parallel those explored
in college courses. Topics for the class include: Constitutional Underpinnings of the U.S. Government; Political Beliefs and Behaviors;
Political Parties, Interest Groups, and Mass Media; Institutions of National Government; Public Policy; and Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.
Students will learn facts and concepts to understand the typical political process. Students will use specific information in order to critically
evaluate general propositions about, and the relationships between, government and politics. Students will also analyze relationships
between the people and political institutions as well as the relationships among the different institutions. Using primary and secondary
sources, students will interpret and utilize basic data relevant to government and politics in sustained written arguments.
Course Goals (from the College Board)
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Know important facts, concepts, key vocabulary and theories pertaining to U.S. government and politics
Understand typical patterns of political processes and behavior and their consequences (including the components of political
behavior, the principles used to explain or justify various governmental structures and procedures and the political effects of these
structures and procedures, and the relationships among the political and governmental “stakeholders”)
Be able to analyze and interpret basic data relevant to U.S. government and politics
Units of Study for the AP United States Government and Politics Course
Unit
Unit
Unit
Unit
Unit
Unit
Unit
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
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Constitutional Underpinnings of American Democracy
Political Beliefs and Political Behaviors
Political Parties, Interest Groups and Mass Media
Institutions of the National Government: The Congress and The Presidency
Institutions of the National Government: The Supreme Court and Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
Public Policy
Commonwealth of Kentucky: State and Local Government
Required Course Text – provided by the school district
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On-line Textbook: Government in America – AP Edition with 2014 Election Updates by George C. Edwards III and Martin P.
Wattenberg (ISBN 978-0-13-399175-8)
Supplemental Class Materials – provided by the instructor
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The Lanahan Readings in the American Polity – 4th Edition Edited by Ann G. Serow and Everett C. Ladd (ISBN 978-1-930398-09-2)
Homework and Assignments
Students will receive a reading schedule and unit assignment sheet for every unit in this course. Reading and preparing the vocabulary for
each chapter will be part of the unit assignment. NOTE: Not all terms are in your book – some vocabulary terms require you
research on your part.
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Homework (Readings from other sources, vocabulary)
Free Response Questions (every other Friday on “FRQ Fridays”)
Multiple Choice tests (at the end of each unit)
Current Events Writing Reflection (post on the class blog)
Writing Portfolio pieces (as required by the Fort Thomas Board of Education)
Group and individual presentations
Unit Tests
Each unit will culminate in a multiple choice test using AP-style questions. Also, two to three FRQ’s (free-response questions) will be
completed in class throughout the unit. Both the multiple choice test and the FRQ will be timed precisely using the AP exam timing
requirements.
The AP Exam
The AP exam for this course consists of the following:
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60 Multiple Choice Questions in 45 minutes
4 Free Response Questions in 100 minutes
Classroom Supplies
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School-issued Email Address
School-issued Schoology account
Accordion file with at last 6 sections
Loose-leaf paper, pens, pencils, hi-liters
Course Plan
Unit
Unit 1 –
Constitutional
Underpinnings
of American
Democracy
Content
Considerations that influenced the
formation and adoption of the
Constitution, including, but not
limited to:
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British political theorists
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Declaration of Independence
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Constitutional Convention
debates
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Federalist/Anti-Federalist
debates
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Separation of Powers
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Checks & Balances
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Federalism (powers of
government at the different
levels, such as expressed,
implied and inherent at the
national level and reserved
at the state level)
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Amendment Process (formal
and informal)
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Judicial Review
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Theories of interpreting the
Constitution
Skills
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Learning to write FRQ in a timed
fashion
Learning to read and understand
the FEDERALIST PAPERS
Analyzing the ongoing debate of
Federalism - who should have the
power?
Reading and understanding charts
Learning to deconstruct multiple
choice questions to determine the
correct answer
Learning to read and understand
major Supreme Court decisions
Learning the components of and
participating in a “Socratic
Seminar”
Assignments & Activities
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Edwards/Wattenberg Chapter 1,
2, 3
Fineman 1 & 2 “Who is a
Person?” and “Who is an
American?”
Graham/Hand pp. 17-28
Federalist Group Activity
(Federalist #’s 10, 51, 78. 84)
Class Activity “Hamiltonian or
Jeffersonian?”
Governing Documents Group
Activity
Selected scenes from the film
“1776”
Unit 2 –
Political Beliefs
and Political
Behaviors
Components of the United States’ political
culture, including, but not limited to:
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From where their specific political
ideology has come
The differences between major
ideologies in the United States
today
The various demographic groups
in the US and their political
beliefs
How public opinion is measured
and how it affects public policy
The forms of participation in
Americans undertake to sustain a
democracy
The importance of voting
How elections are structured in
this country
How money plays a factor in
elections/campaigns.
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Students will know:
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What interest groups are
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What “Iron Triangles” are
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What techniques interest groups
use to influence public policy and
elections
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What the functions of political
parties are and how they shape
the American electorate and
government
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What the mass media is and how
it impacts what the public think
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How the mass media can affect
campaigns and elections.
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Unit 4 –
The Congress
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Institutions of the
National
Government: The
Congress and The
Students will know the following aspects
of the legislative process
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How a bill becomes a law
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The unique functions and powers
Unit 3 –
Political Parties,
Interest Groups
and Mass Media
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Utilizing research skills to
differentiate between/among the
various ideologies and political
parties
Reading and analyzing charts
(voter turnout, types of political
participation and frequency of,
electoral college map, campaign
contributions)
Research and discuss statistical poll
data from Gallup, Pew, The Qhio
Poll and Quinnipiac
Analyzing any campaigns that are
current in the semester through
advertisements and how those
make the individual student feel
about the candidate.
Participate in a Socratic seminar
discussing White’s “Values Divide”
essay
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Utilizing research skills to
differentiate between/among the
various ideologies and political
parties
Analyzing the various mass media
outlets for bias
Analyzing any campaigns that are
current in the semester through
advertisements and how the media
presents those candidates & issues
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Edwards/Wattenberg, Ch.7, 8, 10
Lanahan Reader “Democracy in
America” (de Tocqueville essay)
and “Who Will Tell the People?”
(Greider essay)
Analyzing charts of Congress
(demographics, turnover rates,
midterm elections)
Analyzing legislation vocabulary
(pork barrel, expressed or implied
power, etc.)
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Edwards/Wattenberg, Ch. 11, 12,
13, 14
Primary Sources - US
Constitution Articles 1 & 2
Amendments 17, 22 & 25
Review of Federalist 10
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Edwards/Wattenberg, Ch. 6, 9
Primary Sources: Buckley v.
Valeo and Amendment 12 of the
US Constitution
Lanahan Reader “Critical
Elections” (Burnham essay) and
“Values Divide” (White essay)
Jonathan Haidt “The Righteous
Mind”
Website: “The Living Room
Candidate
Presidency
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of the legislative branch
The specific similarities and
differences between the House
of Representatives and the
Senate
The relationship between/among
Congress and the other two
branches
How Congress has evolved over
time in terms of rules & powers
and representativeness
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The Presidency
Students will know the following roles of
the presidency:
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The constitutional roles of the
President
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The evolution of
traditional/ceremonial roles and
duties of the president
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The role and duties of the VicePresident
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The role and duties of the
Cabinet
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The role and duties of the
Executive Office of the President
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The conflicts of power between
the presidency and the Congress
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The role of bureaucracy is and
how it functions
Unit 5 –
Institutions of the
National
Government: The
Supreme Court
and Civil Rights
and Civil Liberties
Analyzing the relationship of
Congress to the President through
news media articles of current
events.
Analyzing the organizational charts
of the bureaucracy and of a
particular department
Evaluating the effectiveness of the
bureaucracy by comparing a
national agency to its
corresponding state agency
Evaluating the effectiveness of the
circular and pyramidal organization
of the Executive Office of the
President.
Students will know:
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How the judicial branch is
organized in relation to the other
branches and the state court
systems
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The scope of judicial power
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How justices to the Supreme
Court are selected
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The Supreme Court
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Interpreting charts and readings on
incorporation
Reading Supreme Court decisions,
evaluating the impact of a variety
of Supreme Court decisions,
including, but not limited to:
Gideon v Wainwright, Engel v
Vitale, Brown v Board of Education
Topeka, Roe v Wade, Bakke v
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Lanahan Reader “In Praise of
Pork” (Ellwood/Patashnik essay
Lanahan Reader “Locked in the
Cabinet” (Reich essay)
Lanahan Reader “The Paradoxes
of the Presidency”
Edwards/Wattenberg, Ch. 15, 4,
5
Primary Sources - Article 3 of the
US Constitution, Federalist 78,
Landmark Supreme Court cases
The US Constitution, Amendment
14
Gideon v Wainwright, Engel v
Vital, Brown v Board, Roe v
Wade, Bakke v University of
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How the US Supreme Court
operates
How the role of the Court was
evolved over time
How to differentiate between
activism and restraint using
various excerpts from Supreme
Court decisions.
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University of California
Evaluating the debates that
surround, and understanding the
subtle differences between, civil
rights and civil liberties
California, etc
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Letter from a Birmingham Jail by
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Edwards/Wattenberg, Ch.16, 17,
18
Lanahan Reader “Soft Power”
(Nye); “South Park
Conservatives” (Anderson)
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
Students will understand:
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The guarantees provided by the
Bill of Rights
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The guarantees provided by the
other amendments
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The impact of the 14th
amendment on civil rights
(incorporation),
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The arguments made before the
Supreme Court in various cases
and the impact the Court’s
decisions had on American
society.
Unit 6 –
Public Policy
Student will know:
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the differences between
economic and monetary policy
and how each are formed
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who the major players are in the
formation of each type of policy
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Other types of economic policy
(trade, business regulation, etc.)
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what types of social policy is
formed at the nation level
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Analyze charts (mandatory v
discretionary spending)
Determine groups involved in
specific policy areas
Create "iron triangles" and “issue
networks” outlining what each
group wants
Dissect news media articles,
programs, and websites and how
they report on public policy issues
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Create a “white paper” on a policy
topic and present it to the class
Students will:
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Review each unit in a both a
small and large group setting
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Take a previously released AP
exam under testing time
constraints
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All course texts, readings,
vocabulary cards, charts, graphs,
“Mass Media Monday” notes
Students will:
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Create a “Project citizen”
presentation that addresses a
pressing need in our school, city
or county
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Analyze survey data
Research laws
Interview local officials
Create a viable solution to the
problem they have chosen to solve
Present that solution to the
governmental body that would be
responsible for implementing their
plan
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Project Citizen Handbook
(www.civiced.org)
Review Edwards/Wattenberg
Ch. 3
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AP EXAM PREP
Unit 7 –
State and Local
Government
“Project Citizen”
(health, welfare, education, etc.)
and who the players are in those
debates
what foreign policy is, how our
military policy is closely
intertwined with foreign policy
who the major players are in
those foreign policy discussions
the role of the bureaucracy and
the courts in implementing and
interpreting the policies
the role that the mass media
plays in shaping and discussing
public policy
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NOTE: Vocabulary terms will be completed for each unit. Also, charts, graphs, political cartoons and political satire will be
analyzed in each unit. A variety of print and web-based resources will be used. Below is a partial listing of some of those
resources:
Print Resources
Web-based Resources & Apps
TIME
The WEEK
The Economist
mental_floss
www.senate.gov
www.house.gov
www.scotus.gov
www.civiced.org
www.opensecrets.org
www.landmarkcases.org
www.factcheck.org
www.debtclock.org
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Louisville Courier-Journal
The Lexington Herald-Leader
USA Today
The Washington Post
The New York Times
Gallup Poll app
Twitter app
2nd Vote app
Countable app