AP World History Summer Assignment
2014
Read the book A History of the World in Six Glasses by Tom Standage. You can get the book
at the library, any major bookstore or by shopping online. It is available in paperback. You must
read the whole book.
Assignment
Your entire assignment must be handwritten. It MAY NOT be typed. There are 4 parts to this
assignment. EVERYTHING must be handwritten NEATLY.
A History of the World in 6 GlassesPart I: Summary of Big Ideas
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 A History of the World in 6
Glasses, you will be creating a written summary of the Big Ideas, for each drink that is focused on (each drink has 2
chapters).
There are six drinks discussed in the book so you must have six summaries. Each summary should be about one page.
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.
*The Epilogue may also help you determine main ideas.
Part 2: Themes of AP World History
The AP World History course is designed around major themes that consistently come up in history.
After summarizing the main ideas of each drink you must find at least three examples of that fit different themes for each
big summary. By the end of your assignment you should have at least 18 different examples of the AP Themes. The
themes are listed on page three of this assignment.
Part 3: Current Events
reuters.com
ap.org
foreignpolicy.com
economist.com
jpost.com
nytimes.com
cnn.com
latimes.com
washingtonpost.com
english.aljazeera.net
csmonitor.com
guardian.co.uk
bbc.co.uk
buenosairesherald.com
granma.cu/ingles/index.html
japantimes.co.jp
moscowtimes.ru
indianexpress.com
egypttoday.com
english.peopledaily.com
Additional links may be found at: http://college.holycross.edu/orgs/himalayan_cultures/jladen/source.htm
1. Choose 2 relevant articles – from different locations and about different issues
 Articles should be from at least two different sources.
 At least one source should be international-meaning NOT a U.S. news source.
2 Read each article carefully. Highlight and annotate (write notes in the margins if necessary)
a. Main ideas, supporting ideas, key vocabulary, people, places, events…
3. Write a single paragraph per article analyzing how events or topics in the book are relevant to this particular
current event.
4. Bring a printout of each of these articles and your paragraph to turn in with the other parts.
Part 4: Discussion Questions
In addition to chapter summaries and themes, you must be prepared to answer the following discussion questions.
Remember these questions are designed to stimulate discussion which means they should be detailed and written in full
sentences. One sentence or one word answers will not be accepted.
We will have a discussion utilizing these questions sometime in the first week of school!
1. How might beer have influenced the transition from hunting and gathering to agricultural based societies?
2. What opportunities associated with wine drinking did men have in ancient Greece that women did not?
3. Why was wine adopted as a ritual drink in Christianity, but Islam prohibited the use of alcohol?
4. Read the following quote from the book. Do you agree? Why or why not? Support your argument with specific
examples. It is not enough to say “yes, I agree’ or “no, I do not.”
“Distilled drinks, alongside firearms and infectious diseases, helped to reshape the modern world by helping the
inhabitants of the Old World to establish themselves as rulers of the New World.” Pg. 129
5. Describe coffee’s effect on the balance of power between various regions of the world.
6. Why was tea important to China’s economy and its relationship with other countries?
7. How did tea change history in India?
8. How did coco-cola become the world’s most recognized product? How does Coca-Cola affect, and how is it affected
by, people’s views of the United States?
9. Of the six that the author discusses, which beverage do you think has played the most significant role in history?
Defend your choice. What beverages have been left out of this book that might have had an effect on society?
10. What do you think is the beverage for the next era in history? (Do you agree with the author’s choice in the epilogue?)
Defend your choice.
Time Management Plan
Take your time reading the book. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE END OF THE SUMMER. I would suggest spacing the
reading throughout the summer. Set due dates for yourself for each part of the assignment.
Plagiarism
Make sure that your work is exclusively your own. Any evidence of plagiarism on this assignment or any other
assignment in the course will result in a grade of ZERO and disciplinary action for academic dishonesty.
Due Date
This project in its entirety is due on the first Friday of School, for every day it is turned in early you will get a
bonus point (i.e. Monday = +4 pts., Tuesday = +3 pts., etc.). Please staple all parts together when you hand them in.
This project will be graded and will count toward your first 9 weeks grade.
Questions?
If you have any questions about the project or the course you can email us at kdavis12@houstonisd.org AND
nwendt@houstonisd.org. Please be sure to use both email addresses in the contact line, that way whichever of us is
available can respond first.
Have a great summer and we are looking forward to seeing you in class in August!
Ms. Davis & Mr. Wendt
THEMES OF AP WORLD HISTORY
1. Interaction between humans and the environment
a. Demography and disease
b. Patterns of settlement
c. Technology
2. Development and interaction of cultures
a. Religions
b. Belief systems philosophies and ideologies
c. Science and technology
d. Art and architecture
3. State-building, expansion and conflict
a. Political structures and forms of governance
b. Empires
c. Nations and nationalism
d. Revolts and revolutions
e. Regional, trans-regional and global structures and organizations
4. Creation, expansion and interaction of
economic systems
a. Agricultural and pastoral
production
b. Trade and commerce
c. Labor Systems
d. Industrialization
e. Capitalism and socialism
5. Development and transformation of
social structures
a. Gender roles and relations
b. Family and kinship
c. Racial and ethnic constructions
d. Social and economic classes