Ap World History Fall 2013-14
Joela Basse Room 203
Joela.Basse@stpsb.org
Welcome to AP World History for the 2013-141 school year. If you haven’t realized it yet, you will be doing an
astonishing amount of work in preparation for the May 2014 AP World History Exam. This begins NOW. That is, your first
semester reading begins your quest for a “5” on the AP World Exam!!! We will cover the first 1/3 of the book fairly
quickly, so it is a good idea to read as much as you can from the text.
Assignments:
As you read Guns Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond, you will answer the focus questions based on your reading of the
chapters in an organized informal written/typed journal. Each of these questions should be answered with reference to
the book (meaning quote from the book or just write the page number where the answer is) and explain with your own
thoughts. This is to help you through the book.
Due date: 1st day of school. Points=45 Points
Prologue: Yali’s Questions
 What question is Jared Diamond trying to answer? Why is this question important? What is Diamond’s overall
thesis (the answer to the question)?
Chapter 1: Up to the Starting Line
 In the year 11,ooo BC, could an archaeologist have predicted which human societies would develop guns, germs
and steel? explain
Chapter 2: A Natural Experiment of History
 How are the Polynesian Islands “an experiment of history”?
Chapter 4: Farmer Power
How does Diamond challenge traditional assumptions about the transition from hunting-gathering to farming?
Chapter 6: To Farm or Not to Farm
 What advantages did the Fertile Crescent possess that caused it to become the earliest site of the development
of farming?
Chapter 9: Zebras, Unhappy marriages and the Anna Karenina Principle
 Identify and define the Ancient Fourteen. What is domestication? Which animals most helped Eurasians?
Chapter 10: Spacious skies and Titled Axes
 According to Diamond, what effect did the orientation of the continents’ axes have on the spread of crops,
livestock, and inventions?
Chapter 11: Lethal Gift or Livestock
 How does civilization lead to epidemics?
Chapter 12: Blueprints and Borrowed Letters
 Why did only some people , and not other, develop writing? How many separate times did writing evolve in
human history, under what circumstances, and for what uses?
Map Activity Part 2
Directions: Label or number a world map with the land and water features listed below in the
color indicated in parenthesis. This is to help refresh your memory of geography. There will
be a map test on the 3rd day of school. I will collect the maps on the day of the test for points
(20 points).
Continents (Red)
Rivers (Green)
1. North America
2. South America
3. Australia
4. Europe
5. Antarctica
6. Asia
7. Africa
1. Nile River
2. Amazon River
3. Mississippi River
4. Indus River
5. Ganges River
6. Danube River
7. Yangtze River
8. Huang He River
9. Tigris River
10. Euphrates River
Oceans and Seas (Blue)
1. Atlantic Ocean
2. Pacific Ocean
3. Indian Ocean
4. Arctic Ocean
5. North Sea
6. Baltic Sea
7. Mediterranean Sea
8. English Channel
9. Aegean Sea
10. Black Sea
11. Caspian Sea
12. Red Sea
13. Persian Gulf
14. Arabian Sea
15. Bay of Bengal
16. South China Sea
17. East China Sea
18. Yellow Sea
19. Sea of Japan
20. Gulf of Mexico
Mountains (Orange)& Deserts (Brown)
1. Rocky Mountains
2. Appalachian Mountains
3. Andes Mountains
4. Alps
5. Atlas Mountains
6. Ural Mountains
7. Hindu Kush
8. Himalayan Mountains
9. Pyrenees Mountains
10. Sierra Madre
11. Gobi Desert
12. Kalahari Desert
13. Namib Desert
14. Atacama Desert
15. Syrian Desert
16. Great Sandy Desert
17. Sahara Desert
Draw and label (some maps may already have them drawn) the following Major Lines of
Longitude and Latitude:
1. Arctic Circle (66.5 degrees N Latitude)
2. Equator (0 degrees Latitude)
3. Tropic of Cancer (23.5 degrees N Latitude)
4. Tropic of Capricorn (23.5 degrees S Latitude)
5. Antarctic Circle (66.5 degrees S Latitude)
6. Prime Meridian (0 degrees Longitude)
7. International Date Line (180 degrees Longitude)
Chapter outline part 3
Students need to have chapters 1 and 2 outlined prior to the 2nd day of school (20 points each chapter). We typically
cover them during the 1st week of school. I STRONGLY suggest that the student outlines MORE chapters in advance to
help alleviate stress. Our textbook for the class is World Civilizations 4th edition but I was unable to find a link on the
web of the entire book. Earth and Its People is a wonderful book with very similar chapter breakdowns. I prefer the 5th
edition myself.
Earth and Its People 3rd edition
http://www.owasso.k12.ok.us/webpages/psmith/resources.cfm?subpage=839082
http://bhsgilbert.weebly.com/uploads/5/1/0/4/5104641/the_earth_and_its_peoples.pdf
http://www.fusdweb.com/sites/hs/JurupaHills/Library/Documents/earth%20and%20its%20peoples-complete.pdf
Earth and Its People 4th edition
http://clarkchargers.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=189386&type=u&termREC_ID=&pREC_ID=262389
Earth and Its People 5th edition (my favorite link- has all of the textbook in one)
http://www.lindblomeagles.org/apps/classes/show_assignment.jsp?classREC_ID=481549
Partial notes
1s-t 15 chapter 5th edition
http://www.wuhsd.org/Page/8690
5th edition (To change chapters- change the number after chapter 01 to 02 etc.)
https://www.nelsonbrain.com/content/bulliet44383_0538744383_02.01_chapter01.pdf
http://www.ofalvo.com/chapter01.pdf
http://www.wuhsd.org/cms/lib/ca01000258/centricity/domain/391/chapter01.pdf
http://www.hardin.k12.ky.us/nhhs/teachers/tgarrison/AP%20WORLD/The%20Earth%20and%20It's%20Peoples/chapter
01.pdf