Advanced Placement US History (APUSH) 2014-2015
Welcome to APUSH! Advance Placement U.S. History is a challenging course that is meant to be the equivalent of a
freshman college course. It is a two-semester survey of American history from the age of exploration and discovery to the
present.
Solid reading and writing skills, along with a willingness to devote considerable time to homework and study, are
necessary to succeed. The ability to adhere to reading schedules and effective note taking are critical to your success.
Emphasis is placed on critical and evaluative thinking skills, essay writing, interpretation of original documents, and
historiography. This course is designed to help students prepare for the College Board Advanced Placement Exam in U.S.
History.
A.P. U.S. History is an assessment based course where the grade is determined by performance on multiple
choice and essay exams. Therefore, assigned homework will be in preparation for exams and not given for
points.
Materials needed for course:
Five subject notebook
Five highlighters: blue, yellow, pink, orange and green.
Flash drive for projects
Unit topics will cover but will not be limited to: Colonial America, A New Nation, Slavery, Westward
Expansion, Technology, Immigration, The Civil War, Industrial Revolution, Urbanization, The U.S and War,
The Great Depression, The Civil Rights Movement, The Rise of Conservatism, Todays Issues. The focus of
these topics will deal with how they impacted what will become America on a political, economic, and social
level.
Grading scale for exams:
A; district scale = 4 mastery
B; district scale =3 proficient
C; district scale = 2 basic
D; district scale =1 below basic
E; district scale = 0 no evidence
Exams:
If you are absent on exam/quiz day, it is your responsibility to reschedule with me. Make-up exams will not be
taken during class time. Furthermore, the absent day must be marked as excused.
Finals:
Students who do not take the final exam in a course will receive an “I” (incomplete) as a grade for that course.
The student then has 10 school days to complete the final exam or the incomplete grade converts to a failing
grade.
Furthermore, students must complete prerequisites to qualify to take the final exam in the course. Students will
be required to complete at least 60% of formative assessments and must complete 100% of summative
assessments to qualify to take the course final exam.
Changes for the 2014-15 School Year:
 Progress Reports and Report Cards will continue to reflect letter grades. Points will be converted to a
grade at the end of the grading period.
 +/- is eliminated from all final grades.
 The 0-100 scale will be replaced by the 0-4 scale.
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Teachers will move to a 0-4 “marks” scale and use a mark of 0-4 for each assignment entered in the
grade book.
Teachers will have the option to use Standards Based Grading (SBG).
Students will need to demonstrate evidence of their learning to reach proficiency.
All power points and many handouts will be accessible at www.hasanapush.wikispaces.com.
Cheating:
Zero tolerance. If you are caught cheating, by any means, you will earn a zero for the exam, project, quiz, etc.
and a parent conference will take place as well as notification to your guidance counselor. If you are a National
Honor Society member, you will be brought before the NHS faculty committee.
Electronics and food:
If either becomes a problem, they will not be allowed.
Although this will be a trying school year for all of us, I believe that if we build strong networks within our
classroom and with our classmates, a great support system can develop so that we can complete this school year
successfully.
I look forward to working with all of you as well as your parents.
Mrs. Hasan
630.370.4700 x 4682
anahasan@u-46.org
Class Period_________________________________________________________________________
Student Signature:_______________________________ Print_________________________________
Parent signature:______________________________________________________________________
e-mail: _____________________________________________________________________________
phone:______________________________________________________________________________
Due Friday August 22.