AP World History
Southside High School
Summer 2015
Welcome to high school and congratulations on choosing Advanced Placement World History! In
accordance with Southside’s mission of providing college-preparatory education, students enrolled in AP
World History are required to read a book over the summer and complete an assignment regarding the
book. Below is a selection of books along with the corresponding assignment. Please review the information
carefully and notify me of any questions.
Requirements
Students are required to complete the following assignment outside of class.
1.
Students must read: Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared M. Diamond. Complete the
attached activities (see pages that follow) and be prepared to turn in your work and to take a quiz on the first
day of school.
AP World History Summer Assignment
Obtain the book Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond. You could get the book at any major bookstore or
Amazon.com. It is available in paperback. (It was a national bestseller and winner of the Pulitzer Prize, so it’s not very
difficult to find.) If you do not want to purchase the book, check your local libraries.
You MUST read the following chapters in the book:
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Prologue: Yali’s Question
Ch. 1: Up to the Starting Line
Ch. 2: A Natural Experiment of History
Ch. 4: Farmer Power
Ch. 6: To Farm or Not to Farm
Ch. 9: Zebras, Unhappy Marriages, and the Anna Karenina Principle
Ch. 10: Spacious Skies and Title Axes
Ch. 11: Lethal Gift of Livestock
Ch. 12: Blueprints and Borrowed Letters
Ch. 13: Necessity’s Mother
Epilogue: The Future of Human History as a Science
Feel free to read the rest of the book if you would like, but you are not required to do summaries for those extra
chapters.
Time Management
Plan Take your time reading the book. Do not wait until the end of the summer. I suggest you read one or
two chapters at a time. It is probably best to create a schedule for your readings that will allow you to finish
the book in time for school to start. Also, reading it too early in the summer tends to wipe things from our
minds at warp speed, so you shouldn’t rush through it either.
Written Reflections
Buy a spiral notebook, composition notebook, or sketchbook to record your reflections for this assignment.
Pre-Reading Assignment
Before reading the book, record your answers to the following questions.
1. What is your definition of world history?
2. What interests you about studying world history? What does not?
3. Look at the major themes for the course (last page). Explain how historical evidence you learned in
ninth grade geography or from earlier study addresses these themes. Be as specific as you can. List
form is acceptable. The purpose is to show you how much you already know about world history. (In
other words, brainstorm a list for each theme things you remember learning in previous history
classes.)
Reading Assignment
The concept of AP World History is to focus on the big ideas, concepts, themes, and trends of history. Instead
of focusing on minor events and occurrences, we will focus on the big ideas that have shaped world history
and our world today. To get your mind thinking in this direction, as you read Guns, Germs, and Steel you will
create a written and illustrated summary of the “Big Ideas” in your journal.
Format for “Big Ideas”
For each assigned chapter, including prologue and epilogue, summarize AND illustrate the big ideas. One
page summary and one page of illustrations per chapter is sufficient. Make sure the words are exclusively
your own. Any evidence of plagiarism will result in a grade of zero for this project.
Focus on the big ideas and do not get bogged down in the science, unless you are really interested in that
aspect of it. One way to practice getting the main idea is to verbally explain the main idea to someone after
you have read each chapter. If you have made it easy for them to understand, then you have successfully
identified the main idea.
You can use your own artwork for the illustrations if you are artistic or use a collage-type method with
cutouts or computer printouts if you choose to. Feel free to be creative and do what you feel most
comfortable doing.
Post-Reading Assignment
After reading the book, answer the following questions in your journal.
1. What question is Jared Diamond trying to answer?
2. What is his thesis (main idea)?
3. Is he successful in supporting his thesis? Why or why not? To what extent? Are particular chapters stronger
than others? Are any chapters particularly problematic?
4. Do you agree with his theory? Why or why not?
5. Is Guns, Germs, and Steel the best title for this book? What title would you give to this book? Explain
your answer.
6. Share any other reactions, thoughts, or questions you have.