Top
To-_______________
From-R. Shields
Room 906
Because
of the special nature of Advanced Place classes, students must make specific
commitments. After reading
the following expectations and responsibilities, your signature
indicates agreement to satisfy
these requirements. Your parent or guardian must also sign,
indicating total family understanding
and support of the requirements of A.P. U.S. History
including commitment to take
the AP Exam in the spring.
Course Content:
Advanced
Placement U.S. History surveys the history of the United States
beginning with the exploration
period, and ends with international affairs and domestic changes
in the post World War II period.
It is the purpose of this course to provide students with a rich,
balanced, and thought provoking
treatment of this fascinating subject.
The course is designed to provide
a comprehensive overview of U.S. History and to provide
students with the analytical
skills and factual knowledge necessary to deal critically with the
problems and materials--their
relevance to a given interpretive problem, their reliability, and their
importance--and to weigh the evidence and interpretations presented in
historic scholarship.
An additional goal is for students
to take the college level exam in the Spring that can earn
college credit depending upon
the score the student might make. Preparation for this exam as well as
course requirements will involve striking a balance between learning factual
knowledge and increasing critical thinking skills, interpretation, synthesis,
and evaluation.
Homework:
AP U.S.
History is a demanding course requiring daily homework. Students planning
to earn a
grade of "A" or "B" will spend
a MINIMUM of five hours per week in outside class preparation.
This time may be reading and writing, viewing a video, or completing a
project.
Besides the textbook, assignments
include supplementary readings varying from a few pages
to book length, group discussion,
quizzes, objective or essay tests, critiques of movies, and other
material as it becomes available
to the teacher. Major assignments will be given in advance with
specific due dates. LATE
WORK WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED ! The Student handbook clearly
reviews all excused reasons
for absences. If you are absent for any reason on the due date for an assignment--it
is due the day you return. Consistent absences on due dates will be reviewed
by the teacher and an administrator.
Grades-
I grade on a percentage basis. You will be given class regulations the
first day of the semester with specific due dates and requirements. The
grading procedure will be outlined on those class requirements.
Conferences:
I am available
everyday during planning if I do not have an assigned duty. Also, you may
make
an appointment
for before or after school.
PLEASE SIGN THE ATTACHED
FORM AND RETURN TO ROOM 906
BY______
Name _____________________
Address____________________
____________________
Phone ______________________
Parent(s) names _______________________
(Please Print)
_______________________
I understand the requirements
and work involved in taking Advance Placement
U.S. History at Campbell
High School. I agree to the requirements and will
work to the best of my
ability.
Also, I will agree to
a Code of Honor not to give or receive help on assignments
in or outside class unless
the teacher has specifically designated that I may do so.
Student Signature _______________
Date __________
I have read the attached information and agree to the requirements and
responsibilities involved in taking AP U.S. History.
I agree that the students will be expected to abide by a Code of Honor
to do their
own work and they will not give nor receive help in assignments unless
the
teacher specifically gives instructions to do so.
Parent Signature_____________
Date ________
PROCEDURES FOR AP U.S. HISTORY
1. Read everything as completely as you can. If your attitude is
to evade responsibility
as some type of challenge to me, then please
rethink this position. You are
attempting a course of study that is designed
to be more complete and thorough
than the norm. It has the major purpose to assist
you in preparation for taking
the AP exam in the spring. You want to do well
on this exam because it earns you
college credit with the additional benefit of
extra quality points for your GPA.
2. Be on time with your assignments. I try to be reasonable with
what I assign and when
it is due. Your responsibility is to get the
work in on time. Do not wait to the last
minute to do the work, it usually results in
poor quality material. I DO NOT
ACCEPT LATE WORK ! Meet the deadline. You will
have to do this in College-
get used to it.
3. When writing for any assignment remember--SUPPLY THE FACT THEN
EXPLAIN
THE FACT.
4. You will not have extra credit available unless I have additional
points on the tests. It
is quality that counts
not quantity. A College professor does not care that you read
10 books, he/she wants
to see you produce a perfect paper on ONE ! It is not a
personal criticism if
you receive a grade that is not what you expected.
Be prepared to accept
the fact that someone cares enough to tell you that something
needs work.
5. We will have tests and quizzes. SOME of the material may come
from material that
you were to have read and studied that I have not mentioned. BE PREPARED.
6.You will be reading additional articles that I will supply and
which will require you to
write a short summary analysis. Please pay close
attention to these articles as they are
for your benefit in preparing for the D.B.Q.
(document based question) portion of
the AP exam.
7. It is easy to study for my tests…Know Everything !
AP U.S. HISTORY READING LIST
This is only a partial list
to give you some ideas of things to read. You may choose
a book not on the list but
it must be approved by me first. There are some very
good books available that
you may know about. One example is The Greatest Generation
by Tom Brokaw.
You will use a standardized
form to critique the books. All critiques must be typed.
Read 2 Books from this List
other than the required one--a total of 3 .
You will find these books
in libraries, even though I suggest that you purchase them,
if possible, to start building
your own library.
See the following page for the book critique format.
THE CRITIQUES ARE DUE THE
FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL !
Instructions for AP U.S. History
Written Book Review
Book Review
The Books you read must come from the time period that covers the DBQ.
Announced by the teacher.
1. Reviews will vary in length
depending on the nature/content/length of the book. Generally,
students
should aim for 3 typewritten pages (double spaced). At the top of your
page-do
the following-
Your Name
Date
Name of Book
Author
Publication date of book /publisher
Number of pages of book
2. Outside reading in intended
to furnish information not available in standard books. Choose
something
that you are interested in. Choose books from different time periods so
as
to maximize
your knowledge.
3. Reading the book
Take notes
on whatever impresses you-favorably and unfavorably. Make note of important
events/characters
in the book. Sometimes the smallest detail makes the greatest
difference
! Ask yourself the question "What is my reaction to this account?" Why
is this
work different/important
? Why did my teacher think it was important enough to put
on the
summer reading list?
The time period this book was written about or
the
period the book was written in is important.
4. Preparing the Review
Generally
there are 3 functions a review should serve:
1-To describe content
2-To criticize and evaluate the account
3-To offer some subjective reflections on the work reviewed
You are
not just retelling the story or content of the book-you should give information,
and analytical and critical evaluation of the book.
Some things
to keep in mind are:
What was
the author’s purpose in preparing the work? Was it achieved?
Is the
narrative convincing ?Is it comprehensive? Does it neglect important parts
of the topic?
To what
extent does the author seem biased in his point of view?
Are some
parts of the book/story/account better than others ?
Has the
author gone to credible sources for information or simply built on the
work of others ?
Is it chronological
or haphazard in presentation ?
Does the
author demonstrate good style? Is it popular of scholarly ?
What intellectual
questions has the author raised in your mind ?
5. Be fair and impartial in
your criticism. Do not be vague or general in statements. Include
supporting details and specific page numbers where needed.
6. Each review will count
as a Unit Test grade.
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR REPORTING ON
VIDEO ASSIGNMENTS
Watching these videos places you into a time slice of American history
that represents not only
the topic being featured, but also the values of the generation that was
involved in making the film.
The following list of movies have had an impact on the development of the
movie medium itself or
is a reflection of a period of time or a representation of what that time
believed about the time
period of the movie. Movies are images that reflect the mind of the maker
of the movie, the society
at the time, or were used to promote or reflect the mainstream ideas of
a time period.
YOU MUST WATCH 4 OF THE MOVIES ON THE LIST AND WRITE A CRITIQUE ON EACH.
ALL CRITIQUES ARE DUE THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL !
Use the following format to critique each movie. Critiques must be typed.
Name of Movie _________
Producer/Director____________
When was movie made? _____
About what time period was movie made ?______________
Main actor(S) __________ ____________ __________ ____________
Brief description of the storyline of the movie. (This will vary depending
on the movie)
________________________________________________
What is influential about the movie ?_________________________________
What impact did the movie have on its' time ? ___________________________
What appeal does this movie have for the audience ? _____________________
Why did you choose this movie ? _____________________________
CHOOSE A MOVIE THAT YOU HAVE
NOT SEEN BEFORE. CHOOSE MOVIES THAT
YOUR PARENT(S) WILL NOT OBJECT
TO YOU SEEING. Some of these movies are
graphic and disturbing.
These movies have stars (*) by them to alert parents to the type
of material in
the movie.
******Each Video Critique will
count as a Quiz Grade.
******Do not choose all your
movies about the same time period or topic.
Make sure you have a variety. Please watch more than the required
4 movies ! You may do a critique on all the ones you watch. I will discuss
how we will credit these when school starts.
You will choose videos to
watch that are from the time
period that the DBQ is assigned to. This will be
announced in the spring. You can also find it by
going to the website for College Board.