AP US History Course Syllabus
Marking Period: 1-4 (A/B day) 2015/2016
Teacher: Mr. Kendle 449-3840 ext. 2127 email- Wesley.Kendle@appo.k12.de.us
Department: Social Studies
Credit: 1
Room: B127
Text: American Pageant 12th or 13th edition
Homework website: appohigh.org – click staff – click Wesley Kendle
Curriculum Overview
AP US History is for the exceptionally studious high school student who wishes to earn college
credit in high school through a rigorous academic program. This class approaches the vast scope of US
history by studying major themes or trends that have occurred throughout our nation’s history. Critical
reading and writing skills are a necessity as students will use primary and secondary source materials
along with the American Pageant textbook and supplemental reading from Howard Zinn’s A People’s
History and the summer reading assignment Lies My Teacher Told Me. The class will be presented in four
major guidelines: Historical Thinking Skills, the seven Thematic Learning Objectives, the nine historical
eras making up the Concept Outline, and lastly the AP U.S. Exam. Specific explanations of these four
areas can be found below.
Historical Thinking Skills:
History is much more than the simple regurgitation of facts, people, and events. Thinking critically about
history means that we are forming habits and skills as to how we will read and analyze historical
documents, people, and events. There are four basic historical thinking skills that we will be developing
during the course. They are listed and described below:
I.
Crafting Historical Arguments from Historical Evidence
a.
b.
II.
Historical Argumentation
i. In this class, we will work on being able to create an original question and then
clearly form an argument or answer to that question. In order to do that, one
needs a clear thesis and historical evidence to support our claim.
Appropriate Use of Relevant Historical Data
i. In previous classes, you may have relied on textbook reading that spoon fed you
information. In this class, you will need to be able to pull relevant information
from multiple authors and text to successfully make inferences about historical
events, people, etc.
Chronological Reasoning
a.
Historical Causation
i. You will need to be able to identify cause and effect but also compare cause and
effect in both the short and long term.
ii. History is interactive. You will also have to identify and analyze the interaction
of multiple causes and effects.
b.
Patterns of Continuity and Change Over Time
i. We will analyze continuity and/or changes that occur, both in short and long
term, in respect to historical themes being discussed.
c.
Periodization
i. This skill allows us to be able to categorize historical people, events, etc.
ii. We can also begin to analyze how these periods or categorizations have
impacted the way this history has been presented/taught and study the narrative
of our history.
III.
IV.
Comparison and Contextualization
a.
Comparison
i. History does not occur in a vacuum. We must be able to compare people and
events to other historical events or themes that are occurring congruently with
our topic.
ii. Comparing other’s opinions or interpretations of history is also important to
gather a full understanding of the past.
b.
Contextualization
i. How does a specific historical event connect with a larger theme on a national or
even international level? (ie How does Jacob Riis tie to the overall Progressive
movement?)
Historical Interpretation and Synthesis
a.
Interpretation
i. Analyze how an historian’s interpretation or bias has impacted historical
perspectives.
ii. Analyzing multiple and diverse resources
b.
Synthesis
i. This is our ability to take multiple interpretations and in some cases even
contradictory evidence from primary and secondary source material to develop
our own understanding of the past.
Learning Objectives by Themes:
Although we will be looking at US History in chronological order, there are also several major themes that
will be presented in this course.
I.
Identity
 How has the American national identity changed over time?
II.
III.
Work, exchange, and technology
 How have changes in markets, transportation, and technology affected American society?
Peopling
 How have changes in migration and population patterns affected American life?
IV.
Politics and Power
 How have various groups sought to change the federal government’s role in American
political, social, and economic life?
V.
America and the world
 How has U.S. involvement in global conflicts set the stage for domestic social changes?
VI.
Environment and geography-physical and human
 How did the institutions and values between the environment and Americans shape
various groups in North America?
VII.
Ideas, beliefs, and culture
 How have changes in moral, philosophical, and cultural values affected U.S. history?
The Concept Outline
There are nine historical periods that we will be studying throughout this course. They are as follows:
Period
Time frame
% of AP Exam
1
1491-1607
5%
2
1607-1754
45%
3
1754-1800
4
1800-1848
5
1844-1877
6
1865-1898
7
1890-1945
8
1945-1980
9
1980-Present Day
45%
5%
The AP Exam
The AP U.S. History Exam is 3 hours and 15 minutes long. There are two sections of the exam; one will be
a one hour and forty minute test made up of 55 multiple-choice questions accounting for 40% of the final
score and four short answer questions accounting for 20% of the score. The second is one hour and thirtyfive minutes of one document based question and two long essay questions (you can choose one of the two
long essay questions). These will be combined to create your final AP Exam score.
Interpreting AP Scores
AP Score
Qualification
Equivalent College Grade
5
Extremely well qualified
A
4
Well qualified
A-, B+, B
3
Qualified
B-, C+, C
2
Possibly qualified
C-, D+, D, D-
1
No recommendation
F
Course Planning/Pacing Guide
Unit I: 1491-1607
Course introduction
Chapter 1: New World Beginnings
Unit 2: 1607-1754
Chapter 2: The Planting of English America
Chapter 3: Settling the Northern Colonies
Chapter 4: American Life in the Seventeenth Century
Chapter 5: Colonial Society on the Eve of Revolution
Unit 3: 1754-1800
Chapter 6: The Duel for North America
Chapter 7: The Road to Revolution
Chapter 8: America Secedes from the Empire
Chapter 9: The Confederation and Constitution
Chapter 10: Launching the New Ship of State
Unit 4: 1800-1848
Chapter 11: The Triumphs and Travails of the Jeffersonian Republic
Chapter 12: The Second War for Independence and the Upsurge of Nationalism
Chapter 13: The Rise of a Mass Democracy
Chapter 14: Forging the National Economy
Chapter 15: The Ferment of Reform and Culture
Unite 5: 1844-1877
Chapter 16: The South and the Slavery Controversy
Chapter 17: Manifest Destiny and Its Legacy
Chapter 18: Renewing the Sectional Struggle
Chapter 19: Drifting toward Disunion
Chapter 20: Girding for War: The North and the South
Chapter 21: The Furnace of Civil War
Chapter 22: The Ordeal of Reconstruction
Unit 6: 1865-1898
Chapter 23: Political Paralysis in the Gilded Age
Chapter 24: Industry Comes of Age
Chapter 25: America to the City
Chapter 26: The Great West and the Agricultural Revolution
Unit 7: 1890-1945 (Part I)
Chapter 27: Empire and Expansion
Chapter 28: Progressivism and the Republican Roosevelt
Chapter 29: Wilsonian Progressivism at Home and Abroad
Chapter 30: The War to End War
Chapter 31: American Life in the “Roaring Twenties”
Unit 7: 1890-1945 (Part II)
Chapter 32: The Politics of Boom and Bust
Chapter 33: The Great Depression and the New Deal
Chapter 34: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Shadow of War
Chapter 35: America in World War II
Unit 8: 1945-1980
Chapter 36: The Cold War Begins
Chapter 37: The Eisenhower Era
Chapter 38: The Stormy Sixties
Chapter 39: The Stalemated Seventies
Unit 9: 1980-Present Day
Chapter 40: The Resurgence of Conservatism
Chapter 41: America Confronts the Post-Cold War Era
Chapter 42: The American People Face a New Century
Supplies
Class Materials- 3-Ring binder, college rule paper, spiral notebook, No. 2 pencil or blue/black pen, folder
Textbooks will be provided.
Extra practice can be done by purchasing an AP US History Review Book (Kaplan, Princeton Review, etc).
Make sure the version is no older than 2015, as the test has been changed a great deal in the past year.
Grading Policy: (Formative 10% Summative 90%)
Formative assignments are considered class work, homework, participation, notes, and warm ups.
Summative assignments are tests, quizzes, projects, and essays. Refer to agenda book for Appoquinimink
School District grading policy.