BUSCH/CARSON APUSH 2015-16
Our class is based on: the 2015-16 College Board released APUSH curriculum. This curriculum has three
(3) key elements that are interconnected; The Concept Outline divided into nine (9) periods
chronologically, the ten (10) Historical Thinking Skills, and the seven (7) Themes divided into nineteen
(19) Thematic Learning Objective questions. All three (3) of these key elements will be explained and
interacted with consistently throughout the year to enable us to “DO” history… thus, be successful on
our class assessments and tests, the American History I NCFE in January, and the APUSH Exam in May.
We will read/interact/analyze a primary text, The American Pageant, read/interact/analyze a variety of
Primary and Secondary Sources, and examine/read/interact with Notes constructed from a variety of
sources by Mr. Busch and Mr. Carson…all interconnected with the APUSH Curriculum. YOU will be
expected to WRITE often to develop the ability to create a Relevant Historical Argument using specific
evidence and analysis to support a claim/thesis/answer to historical questions --Mr. Busch and Mr.
Carson will give you meaningful feedback throughout this developmental process to guide you to success.
We… “Begin with the End in mind.”
The AP U.S. History Exam –Friday May 6, 2016
Exam Description
The AP U.S. History Exam is 3 hours and 15 minutes and includes both a 105-minute multiple-choice/short-answer (Section I) [You
will take the m/ch 1st then they will take that up and give you the SAQ, then take that up…Then you will begin (Section II) the 90minute free-response section which will ask you to write one of each- 1 DBQ & (your 1 choice from 2 LEQs) [Note: you are
responsible for managing your time*** you will have 90 minutes to write 2 essays…the time you spend will be up to you***] Each
section is divided into two parts, as shown in the table below. Student performance on these four parts will be compiled and
weighted to determine an AP Exam score. Scores on the exam are from 1 to 5… with “passing” considered a 3 or above 
Section
Question Type
# of Questions
Timing
% of Total Exam Score
I
Part A: Multiple-choice questions
55 questions
55 minutes
40%
Part B: Short-answer questions***
4 questions
50 minutes
20%
Part A: Document-based question***
1 question
55 minutes
25% (rubric)
Part B: Long essay question***
1 question (chosen from a pair)
35 minutes
15% (rubric)
II
Time management is especially critical with regard to Section II, which consists of two essay questions. Time left is announced,
but students are not forced to move to the next question. Students have the choice of beginning with the LEQ OR DBQ... and it is
YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO MONITOR THE TIME REMAINING AND HOW MUCH TIME YOU WISH TO SPEND ON
EACH OF THE TWO (2) ESSAYS****
*** - ON ALL THREE (3) OF THE WRITING SECTIONS [SAQ, DBQ, & LEQ]*** YOU ARE REQUIRED to provide
specific historical evidence to support your answers*** proper nouns…e.g.,…people, acts, court cases...etc…
and IN THE DBQ AND LEQ, ANALYSIS OF HOW THESE PIECES OF EVIDENCE CONNECT TO YOUR ANSWER TO THE
QUESTION (THESIS) AND THUS YOUR ARGUMENT/CLAIM.
Student understanding of the course content will be assessed on the AP Exam in one of two ways. First, multiple-choice
questions will expect that students are familiar enough with the concepts in each period of American history to be able to analyze
related primary and secondary source material--- as well as HOW those concepts connect to the THEMES AND HISTORICAL
THINKING SKILLS. Second, all of the free- response questions, Short Answer, LEQ, & DBQ, will reward students for accurately
citing SPECIFIC evidence.
-The following are general parameters about the questions that will be asked of students on the AP Exam:
- Thematic Learning Objectives will be assessed throughout the exam.
- Historical Thinking Skills will be assessed throughout the exam.
- All 9 periods of U.S. history, SHOWN IN THE CONCEPT OUTLINES, will be assessed throughout the exam.
-No DBQ or LEQ will focus exclusively on events prior to 1607 (period 1) or after 1980 (period 9). However, they may span
two or more periods, addressing events or documents from periods 1 or 9.
****NOTE: On last years exam…an SAQ was from Period 1..and the DBQ combined periods 8 & 9****
- ****One essay will always examine long-term developments that span multiple time periods.
- ****The Exam will approximately reflect the period weightings. (see content outline doc)
Multiple-Choice Questions – 40% - 55 questions in 55 minutes
The multiple-choice section will contain a number of sets of questions, with between two and five questions per set, that ask students
to respond to stimulus material: a primary or secondary source, including texts, images, charts, graphs, maps, etc. The set of multiplechoice questions about the material will draw upon knowledge required by the curriculum framework [Concept Outline], and each
question will address one of the learning objectives [Themes] for the course. While a set may focus on one particular period of U.S.
history, the individual questions within that set may ask students to make connections to thematically linked developments in other
periods [HTS]. Multiple-choice questions will assess students’ ability to reason about the stimulus material in tandem with their
knowledge of the historical issue at hand.
Short-Answer Questions -20% -- 4 questions in 50 minutes (appx. 12.5 minutes per Q)
Note: the short-answer questions do not require students to develop and support a thesis statement. Each question will have
three (3) parts A, B, & C. Identify your response accurately within the boundary on the lined response paper. Cite SPECIFIC content
and evidence to support your answers. Each SAQ is graded out of three points… each is either a 0 or a 1…no evidence no points
 General ideas do not count as sufficient.
Short-answer questions will directly address one or more of the Thematic Learning Objectives for the course. At least two of the
four questions will have elements of internal choice, providing opportunities for students to demonstrate what they know best. All of
the short-answer questions will require students to use Historical Thinking Skills to respond to a primary source, a historian’s
argument, non-textual sources such as data or maps, or general propositions about U.S. history. Each question will ask students to
identify and analyze examples of historical evidence relevant to the source or question AND will DEMAND students accurately cite
SPECIFIC content and evidence.
Document-Based Question – 25% (see rubric) 1 question – suggested writing and planning time 55 min.
The document-based question [DBQ] measures students’ ability to analyze and synthesize historical data and to assess verbal,
quantitative, or visual materials as historical evidence. Responses to the document-based question will be judged on students’ ability
to formulate a thesis and support it with relevant evidence. The documents will include charts, graphs, cartoons, and pictures, as
well as written materials. The diversity of materials will allow students to assess the value of different sorts of documents. The
document-based question will typically require students to relate the documents to a historical period [CONCEPT OUTLINE] or
theme [THEMATIC LEARNING OBJECTIVES] and, thus, to focus on major periods and issues. For this reason, outside
knowledge**** 1 PT ON RUBRIC***(AT LEAST 2 SPECIFIC PIECES OF EVIDENCE, WITH ANALYSIS OF HOW IT TIES
TO YOUR ARGUGMENT/THESIS/ANSWER) beyond the specific focus of the question is important and must be incorporated
into students’ essays to earn the highest scores. Student essays must include the development of a thesis/argument supported by an
analysis of specific, relevant historical evidence and how it relates to the documents and your answer to the question.
There will be one document-based question on the exam. The document-based question will have one of the following historical
thinking skills as its main focus: historical causation, patterns of continuity and change over time, comparison, interpretation,
or periodization. All document-based questions will also always assess the historical thinking skills of argumentation, analyzing
evidence, contextualization, and synthesis and IS SCORED OUT OF 7 POINTS. [SEE RUBRIC]***
Sample instructions for the DBQ:
You are advised to spend 15 minutes planning and 40 minutes writing your answer. (55 minutes)
Write your response on the lined pages that follow the question.
In your response you should do the following:
-State a relevant thesis that directly addresses all parts of the question.
-Support the thesis/argument with evidence from all, or all but one, of the documents.
-Support the thesis/argument by accounting for historical complexity, relating diverse historical evidence in a cohesive way.
-Focus your analysis of each document on at least one of the following: authors point of view, author’s purpose, intended
audience, and/or historical context. [H.I.P.P.]****
-Support your argument with analysis of historical examples outside the documents.
-Connect historical phenomena relevant to your argument to broader events or processes. [SYNTHESIS]***
-Cohesively synthesize the elements above into a persuasive essay.
Long Essay Question (LEQ) – 15% (standard 5 paragraph essay with no docs) YOUR CHOICE
BETWEEN 2 QUESTIONS – SUGGESTED WRITING AND PLANNING TIME 35 MINUTES.
Students will be given a choice between two (2) comparable long essay questions. The long essay questions will measure the use of
Historical Thinking Skills to explain and analyze significant issues in U.S. history. Student essays must include the development of
an appropriate thesis/argument supported by a solid historical argument based on an analysis of specific, relevant historical
evidence and will also ask you to provide a SYNTHESIS COMPARISON. This essay is SCORED OUT OF 6 POINTS.
(****See Rubric)