Download World History I

Woodlands High School
WHAP
Mrs. Butler
2015-2016
World History I - AP Syllabus
WHAT IS AP WORLD HISTORY? This is part II of a two year Advanced Placement World History
college-level survey course that introduces students to world civilizations and cultures. The course
guide for this class follows the College Board’s AP World History course description. A student’s
performance on the AP World History exam determines a student’s eligibility to earn up to six hours of
college credit. Students will take the AP World exam in May after completing the two year course.
Course curriculum, materials, and expectations are designed to prepare students for the rigorous
three-hour exam. (In addition, students are expected to pass the NY State Regents examination in
Global History taken in June after completing the two year course)
World History AP (WHAP) is an opportunity to develop greater understanding of the evolution of
global processes and contacts, in interaction with different types of human societies. In other words,
how did the world get where it is today. To affect this understanding, students need a combination of
factual knowledge and analytical skills. The course highlights the nature of changes in the global
framework and their causes and consequences, as well as comparisons among major societies.
Special attention will be given to the WHAP Themes. This course is truly global in its scope, with
Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe represented. Within each chapter of the textbook, the
following themes will be emphasized:
THE FIVE THEMES OF WORLD HISTORY
1. Interaction between humans and the environment
a. Demography and disease
b. Migration
c. Patterns of settlement
d. Technology
2. Development and interaction of cultures
a. Religions
b. Belief systems, philosophies, and ideologies
c. Science and technology
d. The arts 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
SKILLS TAUGHT:
1. Crafting historical arguments from historical evidence
 Historical argumentation
 Appropriate use of historical Evidence

2. Chronological Reasoning
 Historical Causation
 Patterns of continuity and change over time
 Periodization

3. Comparison and Contextualization
 Comparison
 Contextualization

4. Historical Interpretation and Synthesis
 Interpretation
 Synthesis
TEXTBOOKS:
1. Strayer, Robert, Ways of the World, 2th Edition, Cengage Learning, 2014
2. Primary Source Documents and supplementary readings
3. AMSCO, World History Preparing for the Advanced Placement Examination, 2015 edition
GRADING POLICY:
1. Homework:
35% of total grade
2. Participation:
25% of total grade
3. Examinations, Projects, Essays and Quizzes:
40% of total grade
CLASS RULES:
1. You must be in your seat when the bell stops ringing to avoid lateness. We will work from bell to
bell and require all of the time allotted in the year to prepare.
2. Raise your hand to speak.
3. Three Strikes, You’re Out Rule: Assignments are to be turned in on the day they are due, UNLESS
you prearrange with me. I understand that your lives are busy – be responsible enough to extend
your deadline with my pre-approval if needed. If you turn in an assignment the day it is due, it is
eligible for full credit. If you turn it in the next school day, it is eligible for ½ credits. After that, I will not
take late work. Period. If you miss a test or quiz, please make it up within two weeks of the missed
date, otherwise it will remain a zero in the grade book.
4. Always do your own work, to the best of your abilities!
Plagiarism—Always make sure the work you turn in is your own. Please DO NOT copy another’s
work, nor “borrow” their work. Plagiarism is basically the things listed below: • to steal and pass off
(the ideas or words of another) as one's own • to use (another's production) without crediting the
source • to commit literary theft • to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an
existing source. In other words, plagiarism is an act of fraud. It involves both stealing someone else's
work and lying about it afterward. Those caught plagiarizing will receive an automatic zero on the
assignment. *For the purposes of this course, Wikipedia is not considered an academic source.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Please feel free to contact me at the following e-mail address with any questions or concerns:
[email protected]