Monday, August
th
10
Bell-Ringer: Please locate your assigned seat using one
of the sheets on the back tables and grab a syllabus and
student information sheet. Silently complete the
Student Information Sheet provided while you wait for
me to complete attendance. If you finish it, take a
moment to look over your syllabus, as we will not be
going directly over it in class.
Daily Agenda:
• Bell-Ringer: Student Info
Sheets
• Course Introduction:
• Syllabus
• Expectations
• Student Contracts
Essential Questions:
• What can I expect and
what is expected out of
me in AP US History?
• Textbook Distribution
• Discussion: Bracketing
Dates
Homework: Read syllabus and return Student Contract and
Student Info. Sheet with parent signature. In addition, read pgs. 321 in your textbook and complete Short Response Questions.
Welcome!
About Your Teacher:
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Born in MI, lived in FL longer than you’ve been alive
Graduated from Oviedo High School and UCF
Married with two kids (Julia and Grant)
Taught for 13 years, 7 at CHS
Have taught every Social Studies course except for
Psychology
Books I read this summer: The Martian by Andy
Weir, Paper Towns by John Green, One Second After
by William Forstchen, The Art of Fielding by Chad
Harbach, and The Riptide Ultra-Glide by Tim Dorsey.
Love watching and playing sports- Favorite teams are
Orlando Magic and University of Florida
Secret guilty pleasures: John Oliver, anything having
to do with Space, and stand-up comedy
Course Introduction:
• AP 1st Semester; Honors 2nd Semester (ONE
COURSE – 2 credits)
• EOC will be taken in April; Honors is the
Graduation Requirement
• AP Exam  Friday, May 6th
• 1st Semester  Pre-Columbian – World War I
• 2nd Semester  1920s-Present (Review)
Course Themes:
• While much of the course will be presented
chronologically, an emphasis on the following themes
will be essential for success:
 Identity
 Work, Exchange, and Technology
 Peopling
 Politics and Power
 America in the World
 Environment and Geography – Physical and Human
 Ideas, Beliefs, and Culture
Course Overview:
Additional Emphasis:
• Writing
• Short Response
• DBQ Essay
• Long Essay
• SFIs
• Beyond Vocab
• Chronology
• Yes, you will need to know dates
You should know this going in…
• There is a TON of reading in this
course, and you can’t get by without
doing it!
• Every unit you will be asked to take
notes, identify specific factual
information, write an essay, and
complete other class activities.
• You will write essays each unit!
(“Practice makes Perfect”)
• The AP exam (required) is over 3
hours and 15 minutes, and the EOC
counts 30% of your spring semester
grade
• Statewide, APUSH has the a “pass”
rate of only 39%. Citrus High School
had the highest “pass” rate in the
county last year though!
Dedication vs. Commitment
Are you
going to be
a chicken or
a pig this
year?
Students taking at least 1
Advanced Placement course
in High School are 33%
more likely to graduate
college with at least a 4
year degree than students
that do not.
Expectations and Responsibilities
You are expected to:
• Attend class regularly and
on time
• Bring all required materials
• Complete assignments to
the best of your ability
• Keep an open mind
• Use your time in class for
the right purposes (Be here
in every sense of the
phrase)
• Obey school and district
policies to ensure the best
learning environment for
everyone
You are entitled to:
• Relevant instruction
• Ask relevant questions
and receive an answer
• Purposeful activities
• A College Board
approved curriculum
• A safe and clean
learning environment
• Your due respect and
dignity
Course Materials:
1.
2.
Textbook – American History: Connecting with
the Past
3-Ring Binder (at least 1”– no folders) *AVID
students may merely devote a section of their AVID binder to the class.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Pens and Pencils (Blue and Black only)
Highlighters (At least 4 different colors)
Notebook Paper (You’ll need a bunch)
Composition Book or Spiral Notebook (to be
collected frequently)
3” x 5” notecards
Textbook Distribution
• Please fill out your entire textbook obligation card
and sign it.
• Place the completed card on top of your desk for
me to come pick up.
• Do NOT lose your book. The school currently has 0
extra books and you will need it all year.
Getting to Know You…
Please take two minutes to introduce
yourself to the person directly next to you. In
that time, make sure to share with them the
following two pieces of information:
• One food you dislike
• One word you think is funny/funny
sounding (school appropriate)
Why do we study U.S. History?
According to the 2010
National Assessment of
Educational Progress
(NAEP), just 12 percent of
seniors are proficient in U.S.
history while only 24 percent
measure up in civics.
For Discussion:
• Why do American students struggle to retain an
understanding of history/civics?
• What should we study in U.S. History? Why?
• Did you know you are taking a controversial
course?
A Word About Dates…
History is impossible to understand without
a sense of chronology and cause-and-effect.
It just simply is unavoidable. But trying to
remember when everything happened is also
a futile effort.
Jamestown Colony was founded
•1607
French and Indian War Ends / Land
Proclamation Issued
•1763
Declaration of Independence created /
Revolutionary War declared
•1776
Constitution is ratified
•1789
Thomas Jefferson wins his first election
for the Presidency
•1800
Louisiana Purchase / Marbury v. Madison
•1803
End of War of 1812 / Start of Era of Good
Feelings
•1815
Andrew Jackson wins his first
Presidential Election
•1828
Mexican War Ends / Gold First Discovered
in California
•1848
Republican Party Founded / KansasNebraska Act Passed
•1854
Abraham Lincoln first elected president /
Confederate States of America created
•1860
Civil War ends and Reconstruction begins
•1865
Major Trends / Themes by Decade
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1760s
1770s
1780s
1790s
1800s
1810s
1820s
1830s
1840s
1850s
1860s
1870s
Homework:
Please read and take notes on pgs. 3-21 in
your textbook tonight. In addition, please
complete the short answer questions
worksheet. Limit your answers to the boxes
provided. No thesis is needed for each
response, but you need to fully explain your
response.
Where do you stand?
• For the next activity, you will need to choose a side
for each position presented.
• If you agree with the statement, stand in the back
of the classroom
• If you disagree with the statement, stand in the
front of the classroom
I think that people who enter this country illegally need to be
shipped back to where ever they came from.
WHERE DO YOU STAND?
I think that equality of opportunity is more important for this
country than that equality of outcome.
WHERE DO YOU STAND?
The United States should continue to take an active role in
global issues, even if it means having to send troops to another
country.
WHERE DO YOU STAND?
The United States government should raise taxes to help
improve our environment and infrastructure.
WHERE DO YOU STAND?