Download World History - Shawn L. Weber

World History
2007 - 2008
Brief Description of Course
The AP program was started in 1955 by the College Board to construct standard achievement exams
that would allow highly motivated high school students the opportunity to be awarded advanced
placement as freshmen in colleges and universities across the United States. In AP World History
students will develop a greater understanding of the global perspective and processes which have
shaped human contact and interaction over time. Included in the AP World History course is the
analysis of common threads in humanity over time, such as trade, religion, politics, society, and
technology. For many students, this will be their first AP related course. As such, there will be heavy
emphasis on developing the needed skills in order to not only pass the AP World History exam in
May, but also to hone the skills students need to take with them through high school and onto college
namely through effective reading, writing, and critical thinking. There are several AP World History
themes which will be covered throughout the course that analyze the broad patterns of human
interaction and processes, explaining change and continuity over time. The Six AP World History
Themes: 1. The relationship of change and continuity from 8,000 BCE to the present. 2. Impact of
interaction among and within major societies. 3. Impact of technology, economics, and demography
on people and the environment. 4. Systems of social structure and gender structure. 5. Cultural,
religious, and intellectual developments. 6. Changes in functions and structures of states in attitudes
toward states and political identities, including the emergence of the nation-state. The AP World
History Exam is given in May of each year.
Unit Information
Unit Name or Timeframe:
Unit I: Foundations and Classical Era - 8000 B.C.E. to 600 C.E. (6 weeks)
Content and/or Skills Taught:
Topics:
- Human Prehistory to Early Civilizations
- Classical Civilizations: China
- Classical Civilizations: India
- Classical Civilizations in the Mediterranean: Greece and Rome
- The Classical Period: Directions, Diversities, and Declines by 500 B.C.E.
Sub-Topics:
* The Neolithic Revolution
* River Valley Civilizations
* Interaction of geography and climate with development of human society
* Major population changes from human interaction and environment
* Major belief systems in place by 600 C.E. (Polytheism, Hinduism, Judaism, Confucianism, Daoism,
Buddhism, Christianity)
* Collapse of major empires (Rome,
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Major Assignments and/or Assessments:
- Collection of Summer Assignment (Chapters 1-5 reading and notes, PERSIAN Charts on four
civilizations, World Map)
- Code of Hammurabi Poster Project
- Chapters Exams, 1 through 5
- Classical Period Unit Exam
Unit Name or Timeframe:
Unit II: The Postclassical Era - 600 to 1450 (9 weeks)
Content and/or Skills Taught:
Topics:
- The Rise and Spread of Islam
- Abbasid Deline and the Spread of Islam to South and Southeast Asia
- African Civilizations and the Spread of Islam
- Byzantium and Orthodox Europe
- New Civilization in Western Europe
- The Americas on the Eve on Invasion
- Chinese Civilization: Tang and Song Dynasties
- Spread of Chinese Civilzation in Japan, Korea, and Vietnam
- Nomadic Challenges: Mongols, Chinggis Khan, Timur
- The West and Changing World Balance
Sub-Topics:
* The rise and spread of Islam in Eurasia and Africa
* Islamic political structures, arts, sciences, and technologies
* Mayan, Aztec, Incan cultures
* Causes and effects of nomadic migrations on Africa and Eurasia
* Effects of the plague in the fourteenth century
* Impact of the Mongol empire
* Growth of cities and their role
* Medieval Europe
* The Italian Renaissance
Major Assignments and/or Assessments:
- Chapter Exams, 6 through 15
- Compare and Contrast Essay Assignment
- Postclassical Period Unit Exam
Unit Name or Timeframe:
Unit III: 1450 to 1750 (7 weeks)
Content and/or Skills Taught:
Topics:
- The World Economy
- Transformation of the West
- The Rise of Russia
- Early Latin America
- African Empires and the Age of the Atlantic Slave Trade
- The Muslim Empires
- Asian Transitions
Sub-topics:
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* The Scientific Revolution
* The Enlightenment
* Culture and commerce in the West
* Comparative global causes and effects of cultural change
* Changes and continuities in Confucianism
* Destruction and transformation of the American Indian societies
* Slave systems
* The Ottoman and Mughal Empires
Major Assignments and/or Assessments:
- Chapter Exams, 16 through 21
- Change-Over-Time Essay Assignment
- 1450-1750 Unit Exam
Unit Name or Timeframe:
Unit IV: 1750 to 1914 (5 weeks)
Content and/or Skills Taught:
Topics:
- Emergence of Industrial Society in the West
- Industrialization and Imperialism
- Consolidation in Latin America
- Civilizations in Crisis: Ottoman Empire, Islamic heartlands, Qing China
- Industrialization in Russia and Japan
Sub-Topics:
* Changes in patterns of world trade
* Causes and effects of the Industrial Revolution
* End of the Atlantic Slave Trade
* Revolutions in the United States, France, Haiti, Mexico, China, and Latin America
* Rise of nationalism and democracy
* Rise of western dominance and Imperialism
Major Assignments and/or Assessments:
- Chapter Exams, 16 through 21
- DBQ Essay Assignment
- 1750-1914 Unit Exam
Unit Name or Timeframe:
Unit V: The 20th Century in World History - 1914 to Present (8 weeks)
Content and/or Skills Taught:
Topics:
- World War I
- The World in the 1920s
- The Great Depression
- World War II
- The Cold War
- Latin American Revolution
- Eras of Independence in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia
- East Asia and the Pacific Rim
- Globalization
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Sub-Topics:
* Decolonization, its political, economic, and social effects
* Genocide and the Holocaust
* Changing of gender roles and the rise of feminism
* League of Nations, United Nations, European Union, non-aligned nations
Major Assignments and/or Assessments:
- Chapter Exams, 28 through 36
- DBQ Essay Assignment (in-class writing essay)
- World History in the 20th Century PowerPoint Project
- 1914 to Present Unit Exam
Textbooks
Title:World Civilizations: The Global Experience. 4th ed
Publisher: Pearson Longman
Published Date: 2005
Author: Peter N. Stearns
Second Author: et al.
Description:
The primary AP World History textbook used in the course.
Title:Primary Source Reader for World History: Volume I:
Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing
Published Date: 29 July, 2005
Author: Elsa A. Nystrom
Description:
Primary source documents divided by era and organized according to principle themes of religion,
law, government, and everyday life. Volume I.
Title:Primary Source Reader for World History, Volume II
Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing
Published Date: 24 August, 2005
Author: Elsa A. Nystrom
Description:
Primary source documents divided by era and organized according to principle themes of religion,
law, government, and everyday life. Volume II.
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Title:Sources of World History, Volume II: Readings for
Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing
Published Date: 16 September, 1998
Author: Mark A. Kishlansky
Description:
Primary source document reader from 1500 and on.
Title:Worlds of History: A Comparative Reader, Volume On
Publisher: Bedford/St. Martin’s
Published Date: 23 February, 2004
Author: Kevin Reilly
Description:
Primary and secondary sources that provide topical and geographic balance through comparative
readings.
Title:Instructor’s Resources Manual to accompany Stearns
Publisher: Pearson Longman
Published Date: 2006
Author: Jay Harman
Description:
Instructor’s Resources Manual to accompany the primary textbook of the course, which is intended to
help teachers effectively use the World Civilizations in preparing their students for the AP World
History exam. The text contains a correlation that lists the pages in the book that specifically address
the topics listed in the College Board’s Description for AP World History. There is a pacing guide
based on 150 teaching days.
In addition, this text also contains Core Activities, worksheets, and assignments that are meant to be
repeated throughout the course (e.g., key terms, map activities, and short answer questions). The Core
Activities encourage students to analyze world history in ways that are compatible with the AP exam.
Students describe and analyze individual societies, juxtapose socities for comparison, examine change
over time within one society, anazlyze documents, and prepare for discussions.
After the Core Activities and writing section worksheets, is a section for each chapter containing the
following resources:
- Chapter summary and key terms
- Core Activities suggestions / lecture suggestions
- Chapter Quiz containing multiple choice, true/false, and fill in the blank questions
- Timeline activity
- Map activity
Title:AP Student Review Manual to accompany Stearns, Wor
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Publisher: Pearson Longman
Published Date: 2006
Author: Peter Stearns
Second Author: Michael Adas
Description:
The student review manual is meant to accompany the primary textbook. It is divided into six units
and thirty-six chapters according to the themes and periodizations developed by the College Board for
the AP World History course. The manual follows a similar format and prepares students for success
on the AP World History Exam. Each student receives a copy of this manual and uses it throughout
the year as a resource material.
Other Course Materials
Material Type:Software
Description:
Numerous PowerPoint presentations on each unit of study (i.e., Foundations period, Classical period,
World Religions, etc.).
Websites
URL:http://thewha.org
Description:
World History Association
URL:http://apcentral.collegeboard.com
Description:
College Board - AP Central
URL:http://www.collegeboard.com/ap/creditpolicy
Description:
College Board AP Credit Policies
Additional Information
Requirement:Teaching Strategies
How Course Meets Requirement:
The AP themes and habits of mind influence the design of intructional strategies and content selection
throughout the course for the calender school year.
Before the course starts, all students complete a summer assignment that is designed to aquaint them
with some of the course content and expectations. For the summer assignment, students must complete
(1) a world atlas in which they label continents, countries, major rivers, mountain ranges, oceans,
major cities, and world regions, (2) read chapters 1 through 5 (Foundations and Classical Periods, Part
I & Part II, pages 11-111) taking outlines notes on each chapter, and (3) complete four PERSIAN
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charts on each of the civilizations listed from the main textbook - Ancient Civilizations: Mesopotamia,
Egypt, Indus River (Chapter 1), Classical China (Chapter 2), Classical India (Chapter 3), Classical
Greece and Rome (Chapter 4).
Once the course begins, motivating students to become responsible for their own reading, along with
intense focus on skills needed to be successful in AP World History, are the main priorities during the
first two weeks. Included during this initial period is effective reading and note taking strategies.
Lectures are conducted on a unit to unit basis. Nearly all lectures are accompanied with a PowerPoint
presentation. Discussions take place during lectures and before lectures in the form of journal topics,
warm-ups, and questions of the day, which lead into the lecture or discussion.
Writing skills and development is a core focus for my AP World History course and in preparation for
the AP World History exam. Early on, students will focus on developing thesis statements and
introduction paragraphs. Take home essays and in-class essays, in addition to essay responses on
exams, are all fundamental
Requirement:Student Evaluation
How Course Meets Requirement:
Students are evaluated in several ways on various topics and skills, and each assignment or activity is
worth a certain number of points. Types of individual assignments include effective note taking on the
chapter readings and class lectures, key terms, timelines, maps, journal writing, essay writing,
inner-outer circle review sessions, class participation, and chapter tests. There is an exam at the end of
every major unit of study, a first semester final, and an end of the year PowerPoint presentation group
project.
In addition, take home writing essays on each of the three types AP World History exam (Compare
and Contrast, Change-Over-Time, DBQ), in-class essays, and outside readings are also utilized to
develop student writing skills and to further familiarize them with content for a given unit of study.
All chapter tests and unit exams are a combination of multiple choice, short answer, thesis statement
responses, and essay responses.
The grading scale for AP World History is 100-90 percent = A, 89-80 percent = B, 79-70 percent = C,
69-60 percent = D.
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