ADVANCED PLACEMENT WORLD HISTORY COURSE SYLLABUS (2013-2014)

Teacher: Bonnie McLaughlin

Keller High School

Room 1301

E-mail: bonnie.mclaughlin@kellerisd.net

Classroom phone: 817-744-1618

 

Text:

World Civilizations: The Global Experience.

7^th Edition, Advanced Placement Edition (By Peter N. Stearns)

Textbook website: https://portal.mypearson.com/login

 

Class website:

On Canvas, I will post PowerPoints, homework assignments, and review resources.  It is important that students regularly check the website for updates as this will ensure they do not get behind in class.  Keeping a day planner is also recommended as a way to help stay organized throughout the year.  Students will receive calendars each grading period to keep them updated on assignment due dates as well as tests, quizzes and activities.

 

Suggested Guidelines prior to taking AP World History (according to KISD High School Course Guide for 2010-2011):

• Successful completion of Pre-AP World Geography with an average of 85 or above
• …or Successful completion of regular World Geography with an average of 90 or above

 

About the course:

AP World History is equivalent to an introductory college course in world history and is taught with a college-level text. The purpose of this course is to develop a greater understanding of the development of world societies as they develop and interact through the ages. Emphasis will be placed on a combination of selective factual knowledge and appropriate analytical skills. There will be a focus on a variety of themes that collectively describe the human experience and issues of social structure and conditions of men and women. Studies will include routes of exchange and basic economic, political and social systems.  The curriculum is prescribed by the College Board for AP classes. AP students prepare to take the Advanced Placement examination in May for possible college credit.  Taking this exam is encouraged, but not required.

 

1. The purpose and potential impact of the Course

Keller High School’s Advanced Placement World History is a college-level survey course whose purpose is to develop greater understanding of the historical development of global processes and the interaction among different types of human societies. It is part of a cooperative endeavor by high schools, colleges and the College Board that provides highly motivated students the challenge and opportunity to earn college credit during their high school years. If a student does not choose to take the AP exam in May, the course still fulfills the graduation requirement for World History in Texas and provides ten (10) points addition to the grade earned because of the higher difficulty level.

Historical understanding is advanced through factual knowledge and appropriate analytical skills. The course highlights the nature of changes in international frameworks and their causes and consequences, as well as comparisons among major societies. The focus is primarily on the last thousand years of the global experience. The periods or major units of the course include a “Foundations” or background period from 8000 BCE (BC) to 600 BCE,  600 BCE – 600 CE, 600 – 1450, 1450 – 1750, 1750 – 1900, and 1900 – present.

Last year more than 750,000 high school students benefited from the opportunity of taking AP courses and taking the AP Exams. The purpose of this course however, extends beyond the possibility of earning college credit.  It provides students the opportunity to develop skills and knowledge that will form a useful foundation for their continuing college preparation in high school and improved performance on future advanced placement exams in other subjects.

A recent national study of the impact of the Advanced Placement program on college performance reports the following:

Students who have taken AP courses are:

1. Better prepared academically for college
2. More likely to specialize in majors with tougher grading standards
3. More likely to complete more college course work
4. Likely to perform significantly better over four years of college course work
5. More likely to excel in terms of leadership
6. Twice as likely to do graduate level study
7. Course Description

For each time period, knowledge of major developments is required, which links the six thematic areas.  Major civilizations covered in the course include Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe.  AP World History highlights five overarching themes that receive approximately equal attention throughout the course, reflecting the College Board Course Description, which leads to the AP exam:

1. The impact of interaction among major societies (trade, systems of international exchange, war and diplomacy);
2. The relationship of change and continuity across the world history periods covered in this course;
3. The systems of social structure and gender structure (comparing major features within and among societies and assessing change);
4. Cultural and intellectual developments and interactions among and within societies;
5. Changes in functions and structures of states and in attitudes toward states and political identities, including the emergence of the nation-state.

In addition, the AP World History course addresses skills or habits of mind:

1. Constructing and evaluating arguments; using evidence to make plausible arguments.
2. Using documents and other primary data: developing the skills necessary to analyze point of view, context, and bias, and to understand and interpret information.
3. Developing the ability to assess issues of change and continuity over time.
4. Enhancing the capacity to handle diversity of interpretations through analysis of context, bias, and frame of reference.
5. Seeing global patterns over time and space while also acquiring the ability to connect local development to global ones and to move through levels of generalizations from the global to the particular.
6. Developing the ability to access claims of universal standards yet remaining aware of human commonalties and differences; putting culturally diverse ideas and values in historical context, not suspending judgment but developing Every part of the AP World History examination assesses habits of mind as well as content.

• The AP Exam

The national examination for AP World History will be Thursday, May 11, 2017. Registration information will be provided during the Spring 2011 semester.

Format:  3 hours, 15 minutes in length; 55 multiple choice questions; 55 minutes; 10 minute reading period; 1 Document-based question (DBQ) essay—55 minutes (primary and secondary documents); 1 Long essay Question (LEQ) —35 minutes (different regions of the world); and 4 Short Answer Questions (SAQ) – 50 minutes.

Assessments in class will parallel the tasks required for the AP test. In addition, there will be a variety of learning activities in class and assignments to be completed out of class throughout the term.  Learning to organize the materials, completing homework, learning to take notes, reading and labeling maps, graphics, etc. will be crucial for student success.

Acquiring research (library and internet) skills is part of the training.

In the spring, optional tutorial review sessions will be held to help students learn to review for the AP test. All students will be required to take a comprehensive final at the end of each semester, unless they are exempt under school policy.

Generally, all work done for a grade will be assigned with a view to helping the student develop the knowledge and skills to prepare for college level work.

1. Recommendations for Success in AP World History

• THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR READING. Reading is assigned for virtually every class session. DO THE READING FAITHFULLY. This process prepares students for the demands of college courses in all fields. To aid in comprehension, it is useful to put aside technology during the time reading/studying is taking place.
• WRITING ASSIGNMENTS (which include homework) must be completed regularly. This represents a considerable challenge for students accustomed to being able to sit passively in class and absorb sufficient information to do well on a regular paper and pencil test.
• ORGANIZING A STUDY GROUP, ATTENDING REVIEW OR HELP SESSIONS, AND INDIVIDUAL STUDY are encouraged. There will be two REQUIRED study groups each grading period. These will count as a formative grade.
• PARENTS CAN HELP by encouraging their student to talk about what he or she is learning. The more a student discusses the material, the more likely the student will raise questions and issues in class.
• It will be beneficial for you to purchase an AP World History Exam preparation book to use as a study guide for the AP test. (Barron’s and Kaplan are popular brands and are available at bookstores such as Barnes & Noble and Half Priced Books as well as Amazon.)
• If you plan to take the AP test it is imperative that you follow your teacher’s advice and read, study, take practice tests, write, and attend study sessions that will be provided based on the AP World History teacher’s schedules. Special AP Exam tutorial sessions will be offered during the spring semester.

Grading Policies:

Category weighting of grades for each 6 Weeks period:

                        Major Grades (tests, projects):                                  60 %

                        Minor Grades (class work, homework, quizzes):       40 %

 

Test retakes:  A student who scores below a 70 on a test may retake the exam for a grade of no higher than a 70.  This will be handled in accordance with Keller ISD policies.

Late work and Make Up Work:  Outlined by Keller ISD policies

Materials needed:

3-ring binder with dividers, can be shared with other classes as long as there is a specific, separate section for WHAP

Homework Folder – There will be many papers graded and returned throughout the year.  I will tell you what is important to keep.

Notebook paper - notes will be regularly taken and checked, this may require refills throughout the year.

5 highlighters (pink, blue, yellow, orange and green – not necessary but nice.)

Pens - to be used during class activities

 

Classroom expectations:

1 ) Be respectful.  Follow the rules in the student handbook.  Rules will be enforced according to school policy.

2) Be prepared to learn.  This means regularly attending class, on time, with required materials and assignments.

3) Have fun.  If everyone comes to class each day with a good attitude, this will be an enjoyable class.  I want everyone to be able to have fun in my class, but this can’t happen unless everyone follows the first two classroom expectations.

Plagiarism Policy and Procedure:

Keller ISD students should model their highest standards of integrity and honesty.  Plagiarism, as a form of academic dishonesty and ultimately cheating, is unacceptable.  Students in KISD will be held accountable for any intentional or unintentional act of plagiarism.

Definition of Plagiarism – “to plagiarize” (defined by Merriam Webster Online)

1. to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one’s own
2. use (another’s production) without crediting the source
3. to commit literary theft
4. present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source

 

Plagiarism is prohibited under the Keller ISD Student Code of Conduct, which allows for grade reductions as among the consequences for violating this policy.

 

It is also considered plagiarism when a student intentionally contributes to another student’s plagiarism, such as a student allowing another student to copy answers directly off their assignment.  Assignments are to be independently completed unless students are instructed otherwise.

 

Tutorials:

Schedule will be posted on the class website and students can also make an appointment.  Morning tutorials are available every day.

AP World History Course Outline:                             

                                                        

First Semester

Weeks 1-5             

 Part 1: The Rise of Agriculture and Agricultural Civilizations
Chapters 1 & 2: From Human Prehistory to the Early Civilizations
Part 2: The Classical Period in World History
Chapter 3: Classical Civilization: China
Chapter 4: Classical Civilization: India

Chapter 5: Civilization on the Mediterranean

Chapter 6: The Classical Period: Directions, Diversities, and Declines by 500 C.E.
Weeks 6-12

Part 3: The Post Classical Era

Chapter 7:  The First Global Civilization: The Rise and Spread of Islam
Chapter 8:  Abbasid Decline and the Spread of Islam to South and Southeast Asia

Chapter 9:  African Civilizations and the Spread of Islam
Chapter 10: Civilization in Eastern Europe: Byzantium and Orthodox Europe

Chapter 11: A New Civilization Emerges in Western Europe
Chapter 12: The Americas on the Eve of Invasion
Chapter 113: Reunification and Renaissance in Chinese Civilization: The Era of the Tang and Song Dynasties
Chapter 114: The Spread of Chinese Civilizations: Korea, Japan and Vietnam
Chapter 15: The Last Great Nomadic Challenges: From Chinggis Khan to Timur
Chapter 16: The West and the Changing World Balance

Weeks 13-18

Part 4: The World Shrinks: 1450 C.E. to 1750 C.E.
Chapter 17: The World Economy
Chapter 18: The Transformation of the West, 1450 - 1750
Chapter 19: Early Latin America
Chapter 20: Africa and the Africans in the Age of the Atlantic Slave Trade
Chapter 21: The Rise of Russia
Chapter 22: The Muslim Empires

Chapter 23: Asian Transitions in an Age of Global Change

Second Semester
Weeks 19-24
Part 5: Industrialization and Western Global Hegemony, 1750-1914
Chapter 24: The Industrialization of the West, 1760-1914
Chapter 25: Industrialization and Imperialism: The Making of the European Global Order
Chapter 26: The Consolidation of Latin America, 1830-1920
Chapter 27: Civilizations in Crisis: The Ottoman Empire, the Islamic Heartlands and Qing China
Chapter 28: Russia and Japan: Industrialization Outside the West

Weeks 25-34
Part 6: The Twentieth Century in World History
Chapter 29: Descent into the Abyss: WWI and the Crisis of the European Global Order

Chapter 30: The World between the Wars
Chapter 31: A Second Global Conflict
Chapter 32: Western Society and Eastern Europe in the Decades of the Cold War
Chapter 33: Latin America: Revolution and Reaction in the Twentieth Century
Chapter 34: Africa and Asia in the Era of Independence
Chapter 35: Rebirth and Revolution: Nation-Building in East Asia and the Pacific Rim
Chapter 36: Power, Politics, and Conflict in World History

Chapter 37: Globalization and Resistance

Week 35-36: AP exam, explore special topics, review for the semester final exam