Download World History AP - Changes, Comparisons, Connections

WHAP/Napp
World History AP: Changes, Comparisons, Connections
Date: ____________
“Can you make connections
between different societies
over different periods of
time?” ~Princeton Review
The journey of a thousand
miles begins with one step.
~ Lao Tzu
World History AP is a college-level world history course. It examines the history of the
world, culminating in the present day and in the Advanced Placement examination. But
rather than emphasizing the ten thousand years of history that students will be expected to
navigate, it might be more helpful to remember the words of the Daoist sage, Lao Tzu. For
in every period of history, we will begin at the beginning and follow the river of history
through its moments of continuity and change, attempts at centralization and collapse,
revival and regeneration. By being present for each moment of the journey, students will
gain an understanding of the “narrative of world history” while arriving at the Advanced
Placement examination prepared. So, the journey begins but like all journeys, it requires
certain tools for success.
I. Reading
“Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and
digested: that is, some books are to be read only in parts, others to be read, but not
curiously, and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention.”
~Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
It is expected that students will thoroughly
read all assigned pages of the text: “Ways of
the World” by Robert W. Strayer. The
companion online site:
http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/strayer1e/
Reading reinforces the historical information presented in class and required on the World
History AP examination.
While readings will often be accompanied by guiding questions, students are encouraged
to use the Cornell System of note taking to support their understanding.
II. Format for Homework Assignments


Assignment title from the reading on the left side
of the paper
On the right side of the paper:
Your name
AP World History
Today's Date
III. Protocol for Notebook
 Three-ring binder with pocket folders solely for WHAP
 After each unit - Foundations (c. 8000 BCE – 600 CE), Post-Classical (600-1460),
Early Modern (1450 -1750), Modern Era (1750 – 1914), Contemporary (1914 –
Present) – file papers at home
IV. A Word About Taking Notes in Class
 Date all notes
 Distinguish between critical points and other points…Only take notes on
important points
 Use abbreviations and symbols whenever possible
 Use phrases as opposed to sentences
V. Effective Habits of Successful Students
 Attend class regularly
 Complete assignments on time
 Record all important due dates in a planner
 Practice regularly (quizzes are a regular feature of any given week)
An Excerpt from the http://www.collegeboard.com
“The purpose of the AP World History course is to develop greater understanding of the
evolution of global processes and contacts, in interaction with different types of human
societies. This understanding is advanced through a combination of selective 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 course emphasizes relevant factual knowledge deployed in
conjunction with leading interpretive issues and types of historical evidence. The course
builds on an understanding of cultural, institutional, and technological precedents that,
along with geography, set the human stage. Periodization, explicitly discussed, forms an
organizing principle for dealing with change and continuity throughout the course. Specific
themes provide further organization to the course, along with the consistent attention to
contacts among societies that form the core of world history as a field of study.”
1. How does the World History AP differ from other history courses?
2. What is of particular importance in the World History AP course?
3. How can students benefit from taking the World History AP course?
Grading Policy:
1. Homework 2. Participation 3. Examinations/Projects/Essays/Quizzes-
35% of total grade
15% of total grade
50% of total grade
Participation: “Being an Active Participant in Learning”
 Arrives to class on time
 Brings necessary materials to class daily
 Asks for help when needed
 Participates in activities and discussions
 Listens while teacher and peers are talking
 Completes assignments on time
Course Requirements:
 All students are expected to take the WHAP exam in May as well as the Global
History and Geography Regents in June
 Completes all assignments, including textbook assignments, written assignments
and projects
 Attend class regularly
 Maintain neat and well-organized notes
 Maintain a composite average of 85 to continue in the Social Studies Honors
Program
 Adheres to honor code (Cheating is defined as giving or receiving assistance on
any assignment and will result in a grade of zero for that assignment, quiz or
test.)
The 5 R’s of note-taking:
 Record
-Record meaningful facts and ideas while writing legibly
 Reduce
-As soon as possible, summarize ideas and facts concisely
 Recite
-Recite facts and ideas as fully as possible
 Reflect
-Analyze facts and ideas
-Interact with information
 Review
-Spend at least ten minutes every week reviewing notes
Tips for Reading:
 There is no substitute for reading
 Reading must be supplemented by note taking
Textbook Reading Systems - SQ3R
The SQ3R is a systematic method designed for studying a textbook. Developed by
Francis P. Robinson, a psychologist from Ohio State University, the SQ3R is an
effective reading system which has been successfully used by many students.
SURVEY:
Glance over the headings in the chapter to see the few big points that will be
developed. Also read the final summary paragraph if the chapter has one. This
survey should not take more than a minute or two and will show the main ideas
around which the discussion will cluster. This will help you organize the ideas as
you read them later.
QUESTION:
Formulate questions based on preview
READING:
Read the introduction and conclusion for main ideas
READ TEXT:
Read the text from beginning to end
Take notes
REVIEW:
Review notes or skim the text to remind yourself of key ideas
And now, several sample questions from “Ways of the World” – These questions
address concepts addressed last year, therefore, all students can answer the questions.
1. Scholars call people who forage for food instead of producing it ______________
or Paleolithic peoples.
a. pastoralists
b. roving peoples
c. gathering and hunting peoples
d. Neolithic Peoples
e. both b and c
2. Agriculture began about _____________ years ago.
a. 12,000
b. 5,000
c. 60, 000
d. 2,000
e. 30,000
3. Humans first developed in _______________.
a. Asia
b. Europe
c. Australia
d. Africa
e. North America
4. “Big history”
a. is history in the largest possible context from the big bang to the present.
b. is the history of the universe before the emergence of human-like creatures.
c. is the history of the earth from its formation.
d. is the history of humankind from the emergence of human-like creatures.
5. The Agricultural Revolution resulted in
a. the growing power of humans over many other species of plants and animals.
b. greater social distinctions between people than before.
c. an unprecedented increase in the human population.
d. all of the above
6. Domestication
a. refers to the taming and changing of plants and animals by humans.
b. refers to the securing of more food and resources from a smaller area of land
than was possible with a gathering and hunting technology.
c. refers to the slow colonization of new lands by agricultural peoples as growing
populations and pressures to expand pushed them outward.
d. refers to the gradual spread of the techniques of agriculture, and perhaps the
plants and animals themselves, without the extensive movement of agricultural
people
Excerpt from David Christian’s “World History in Context”
“One of the aims of world history is to see the history of human beings as a single, coherent
story, rather than as a collection of the particular stories of different communities. It is as
much concerned with nonliterate communities (whether they lived in the Paleolithic era or
today) as with the literate communities that generated the written documents on which
most historical research has been based. World history tries to describe the historical
trajectory that is shared by all humans, simply because they are humans. Understood in
this sense, world history is about a particular species of animal, a species that is both
strange and immensely influential on this earth. So, to ask about the context of world
history is to ask about the place of our particular type of animal, Homo sapiens, in the
larger scheme of things. This question encourages us to see world history as a natural
bridge between the history discipline and other disciplines that study changes in time, from
biology to cosmology.”
1- According to David Christian, what is one of the aims of world history?
2- What communities are world historians concerned with?
3- What is the context that world historians explore?
4- What disciplines naturally connect to world history?
Excerpt from “Globalization and the Great Convergence: Rethinking World History in the
Long Term” by David Northrup
“World historians confront two huge conceptual tasks. One is horizontal integration: how
to interconnect in each era the broad range of human experiences around the world. The
other is vertical integration: how to identify patterns in the long sweep of past time. Neither
task is easy, though the first seems to attract more attention. Despite the limited
significance of synchrony in earlier historical eras, world historians are rightly concerned
with this "horizontally integrative macrohistory" because it challenges perspectives
arbitrarily based on national, regional, and cultural units. We tend to delight in clever
books that recount the variety of human experiences at a particular moment of time, even
though such comparisons may lead to no larger conclusions.”

What conceptual tasks confront world historians?
The Big Picture
World History AP is not a regional studies course. Instead, it studies human history from
a global perspective analyzing and comparing/contrasting multiple interpretations of
historic events.
The World History AP examination consists of seventy multiple-choice questions in a fiftyfive minute session followed by three essays. Prior to the actual writing of the essays,
students are given ten minutes to read the documents for the DBQ essay. The three essays
are referred to as the free-response questions:
 A Document Based Essay Question
 A Continuity and Change Over Time Essay Question
 A Comparative Essay
A key feature of the “Big Picture” approach to World History is to focus on connections,
comparison, and of course, change over time.
 Foundations period: c. 8000 B.C.E. to 600 C.E.
 600 C.E. to 1450
 1450 to 1750
 1750 to 1914
 1914 to the present