Download ap world history 2015-2016 - Hackettstown School District

AP WORLD HISTORY 2015-2016
MISS GORSKI
HACKETTSTOWN HIGH SCHOOL
[email protected]
Course Overview
AP World History is a vigorous one-year course structured around five themes studied in six chronological periods
designed to prepare students for the AP World History exam in May. The purpose of the course is to prepare students
for college-level history courses, develop historical thinking skills, and make learning about history enjoyable.
Each of the six chronological periods will be considered a unit of study in the class. The College Board has prepared
nineteen Key Concepts across these periods that students are expected to master. At the beginning of each unit,
students will receive a unit overview with detailed information on each Key Concept to study. The Key Concepts are
interwoven with the course themes: interaction between humans and the environment, development and interaction of
cultures, state-building, economic systems, and social structures.
A brief overview of the units is provided here:
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Unit 1: 8000BCE – 600BCE – Neolithic Revolution, Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, Shang China, Indus Valley, Olmec, Chavin,
Minoan, & Mycenaean Civilizations
Unit 2: 600BCE – 600CE – Ancient Greece, Persia, Hellenistic Era, Rome, Han China, Maurya, Gupta, Teotihuacan, Maya, Moche,
Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Judaism, Christianity
Unit 3: 600 – 1450 – Islam, Caliphates, Tang, Song, Ming China, European Middle Ages, Mongols, Indian Ocean Trade
Unit 4: 1450-1750 – Absolutism, Protestant Reformation, Renaissance, Age of Exploration, Maritime Revolution, Mughal India,
Ottoman Empire, Tokugawa Shogunate, Ming China, Columbian Exchange, Slave Trade, Encomienda System, Mercantilism
Unit 5: 1750-1900 – American Revolution, French Revolution, Haitian Revolution, Latin American Revolutions, Industrial
Revolution, Imperialism, Scramble for Africa, Open Door Policy, Meiji Restoration
Unit 6: 1900-Present – World Wars I & II, Great Depression, Communist Revolutions, Cold War, Decolonization, Globalization,
Cultural Imperialism, Information Age
Course Expectations
Students must meet high expectations to succeed in this course. They are required to participate in class discussions and
prepare themselves for class by completing all reading assignments by their due dates. As this course is designed to
resemble a college-level course, please expect heavy reading outside of class and numerous complex writing assignments
that although are not long (usually 2-3 pages) require advanced analysis and synthesis skills.
All APWH students must ensure their work is completed on time. With each unit, students will receive a Unit Planner
that serves as a calendar with all class activities, homework assignments, and due dates listed. My website is also updated
at least weekly with current assignments, PowerPoints, guided reading assignments, etc. Please see the back of this page
for information regarding unit assignments, grading, and the APWH Exam.
Academic Honesty
It is expected that students will use genuine and fair means for accomplishing tests, tasks, and projects of this course.
Students found plagiarizing, copying, or cheating in any way will receive automatic zeros and have phone calls home to
their parents. For information on avoiding plagiarism, please see www.plagiarism.org
I have read the syllabus and agree to meet or help my child meet the expectations of AP World History in the 2015-2016 school
year.
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Unit Activities
The following activities and assignment types will be administered in each of the six units to develop the historical thinking and
analysis skills. Additional projects and assignments will also be given throughout the year; more substantial assessments are listed in
the Course Planner that follows.
 Writing Assignments: Each unit requires multiple writing assignments to demonstrate skills in conveying knowledge learned
clearly and precisely. We will specifically practice the 3 types of essays assessed on the AP Exam: DBQ, CCOT, and
Comparative. Individual prompts are listed in the following pages of the syllabus for each unit.
o Short Document Analysis or Mini-Q – Students analyze primary source documents for point of view, intended purpose,
audience, and historical context of the source in a written essay with a clear thesis supported by historical evidence. Mini-Q
prompts are from The DBQ Project: Mini-Qs in World History.
 Example - Unit 1: Was Hammurabi’s Code just?
o Document Based Questions (DBQs) – Students analyze evidence from a variety of sources, including maps, artwork, and
quantitative data, to develop a written argument with a thesis supported by relevant historical evidence. Students will apply
multiple historical thinking skills as they examine a particular historical problem or question.
 Example – Unit 2: Analyze the relationship between technology and the development of large Eurasian Empires up to the
year 600CE.
o Change and Continuity Over Time – Students identify and analyze patterns of continuity and change over time and across
geographic regions. They will connect historical developments to specific circumstances of time and place and to broader
regional, national, or global processes and analyze periodization.
 Example – Unit 3: Analyze changes and continuities in societies that adopted Islam in the period 600-1450.
o Comparative Essay – Students compare historical developments across or within societies in various chronological or
geographical contexts, and on a global scale. Students will synthesize information by connecting insights from one historical
context to another, including the present in a written essay with a thesis supported by evidence.
 Example – Unit 5: Evaluate the success of two of these revolutions: French, American, or Haitian.
 Thematic Web Projects: Students will create posters (or other visual representations) showing social, political,
environmental, cultural, and economic characteristics of given time periods, using images rather than extensive text.
 Example – Create a poster showing the social, political, environmental, cultural, and economic characteristics of the Soviet
Union in the period 1922-1991. Include 3 pictures per category.
 Map Analysis: Students will create maps showing developments in different course themes, including religion, agriculture,
technology, empire, and interaction of peoples.
 Example – Unit 4: Create a map showing the flow of plants, animals, diseases, and human groups in the Columbian
Exchange. How did the Columbian Exchange positively affect people? How did it negatively affect people?
 Vocabulary Quizzes: Students will identify key people, places, events, and documents for each unit, as given by the teacher,
and answer multiple choice, short answer, and fill-in-the-blank questions in a quiz.
 Guided Reading: Students will use the online companion to their textbook The Earth and Its Peoples to answer multiple choice
questions with each chapter and explore one concept more in-depth with additional questions and online resources.
 Final Project: After the AP test, students will engage in a research project to create their own published DBQ prompts,
similar to The DBQ Project
Grading & Late Work
Grades will be calculated as follows each marking period:
 15% 21st Century Skills
 25% Tests & Quizzes
 25% Writing Assignments
 35% Class Assignments
All late work will be eligible for a maximum of 70% after the due date has passed. Students who are absent will have the number of
days missed to make up work without penalty; for example, if a student is absent one day, s/he has one day to make up the work
missed.
APWH Exam
The AP World History Exam consists of 70 multiple choice questions and three free response questions: a DBQ Essay, a
Comparative Essay, and a Change and Continuity Over Time Essay. Therefore, all unit exams will include multiple choice and free
response questions and students will write each type of essay within each unit to develop their analytical skills.