Download AP World History Syllabus

AP World History Syllabus
Course Design: The AP World History course is an academic, yearlong course with an
emphasis on non-western history. The course relies on a college level textbook, primary
source documents, and outside readings. Students will be required to participate in class
discussions, written examinations, and in-group or individual projects. A special
emphasis will be given to historical writing through essay and document-based questions.
Course Themes and Concepts: World history can be best understood if it is organized
by studying key themes and key concepts that reoccur in many times and places. Themes
and concepts are mental images and classifications that will help you:
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Understand patterns and impacts of interaction among major societies: trade,
war, diplomacy, and international organizations.
Understand the relationship of change and continuity across the world history
periods covered in this course.
Understand the impact of technology and demography on people and the
environment (population growth and decline, disease, manufacturing,
migrations, agriculture, weaponry).
Understand the systems of social structure and gender structure (comparing
major features within and among societies and assessing change).
Understand cultural and intellectual developments and interactions among and
within societies.
Understand change in functions and structures of states and in attitudes toward
states and political identities (political culture), including the emergence of the
nation-state (types of political organizations).
Course Outline: The course will have a chronological frame period from approximately
8000 B.C.E. (pre-history) to the present, broken up into four rating periods of eight
weeks. None of the following time periods will exceed more than 20 percent of the
course.
Rating Period 1
Weeks 1-4
Unit I - Pre-history – Early Civilizations 1000 C.E.
Spodek Chapters 1-4
Supplementary Readings (Epic of Gilgamesh, Siddhartha)
DBQ Topic– Early Civilizations
Weeks 5-8
Unit II – Empire and Imperialism 2300 B.C.E. – 1100 C.E.
Spodek Chapters 5-8
Supplementary Readings (The Confucian Analects, Hammurabi’s Code, Roman
Law-Twelve Tables)
Rating Period 2
Weeks 1-5
Unit III – Rise of World Religions 600 B.C.E. – 1500 C.E.
Spodek Chapters 9-11 (Group Projects- Student Presentation of Religions)
Supplementary Text – World Religions (Five Major World Religions)
DBQ Topic- Buddhism
Weeks 6-8
Unit IV – World Trade 1100 C.E. – 1776 C.E.
Spodek Chapters 12-13
Supplementary Reading- The Bubonic Plague (Excerpts from the Decameron,
Pictures from Renaissance Art
DBQ Topic- Christian and Islamic Beliefs on Trade
Rating Period 3
Weeks 1-2
Unit V – Migration: Free People and Slaves 1300 – 1750 C.E.
Spodek Chapter 14
Supplementary Readings- Philip Curtin’s “The Slave Trade: A Census
DBQ Topic- The Middle Ages
Weeks 3-6
Unit VI - Social Change 1688-1914
Spodek Chapters 15-17
Supplementary Readings- Forgotten Fire
DBQ Topic- Political Rights
Weeks 7-8
Unit VII – Technologies of Mass Production 1914-Present
Spodek Chapter 18
Supplementary Readings- Documents on Holocaust
DBQ Topic- Women’s Roles
Rating Period 4
Weeks 1-5
Unit VIII – Exploding Technologies 1914-Present
Spodek Chapters 19-23 (Group Projects- Student Presentations of Chapters)
Supplementary Readings- Red Scarf Girl or Fallen Angels
DBQ Topic- None: Review Essential Elements for DBQ’s
Weeks 6-8
Review For AP World History Exam
Essential Questions
Unit I
1. Explain the various theories of human origin.
2. What is the importance of myth history in our understanding of early civilizations?
3. What changes were brought on by the Neolithic Revolution?
4. What are the characteristics of a civilization?
5. How did the geography and climate impact the development of early civilizations?
6. What were some of the achievements of these early river civilizations?
7. What role did technology play in shaping early river valley civilizations?
8. How did religions and beliefs systems affect early civilizations?
Unit II
1. What types of governments were created to establish city-states and early empires?
2. What role did geography and climate play in shaping early empires and city-states?
3. What is an empire and how did empires rise and fall?
4. What is the relationship between culture and empires?
5. Why were laws necessary and how did they impact early empires?
6. What role did belief systems play in shaping the lives of people?
7. How did technological achievements impact the early empires?
8. What factors contributed to the growth and wealth of empires during this time period?
9. What is cultural diffusion and how was it spread at this time?
Unit III
1. What are the five major world religions, their current populations and percentages?
2. Which religions have the most numbers of followers and why?
3. How did Hinduism begin, expand and survived in India?
4. Explain how Hinduism has affected the Caste System.
5. How did Hinduism affect the growth and spread of Buddhism?
6. Explain why Buddhism lost hold in India but became more popular in countries of the
East.
7. Compare and contrast the religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
8. What are the essential elements of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam?
9. How and why did Christianity emerge during the Roman Empire?
10. How has Christianity become the world’s largest religion?
11. How has the world’s youngest religion (Islam) become the second largest religion, so
quickly?
Unit IV
1. What types of trading networks were developed during this time?
2. What was the Renaissance?
3. What was the Reformation?
4. What effects did the Renaissance and Reformation have on the world?
5. How did exploration change the world?
6. What similarities and differences took place in the Middle East and the Far East?
7. How did the plague affect the world politically, socially, and economically?
Unit V
1. How did the institution of slavery and the slave trade affect the world socially,
economically, culturally, and politically?
2. Where did the majority of the African slaves go to and why those specific countries?
3. How did nomadic groups conquer lands as they migrated?
4. Why did natives die off as invaders and settlers arrived in their land?
Unit VI
1. How did monarchs establish and maintain absolute rule?
2. How did the enlightenment affect society globally?
3. What is a revolution?
4. How have these revolutions affected future generations?
5. How did technological advancements fuel revolutions?
6. What factors led to the Industrial Revolution?
7. How did scientific and technological developments impact this time period?
8. How did Imperialism affect global politics and interactions?
9. What role did democracies and monarchies play in creating nationalism?
10. How did women’s roles change throughout the world?
11. How did urbanization change societies, culture, and the economy?
Unit VII
1. What are the causes and effects of WWI and WWII?
2. What political figures rose during this time period of world crisis?
3. What does the term genocide mean and how has it affected our existence?
4. Does genocide still exist today? Where and for what reasons?
5. What are the pros and cons of an alliance system?
6. What is a depression and how does it occur?
Unit VIII
1. How did political boundaries of nations change after WWII?
2. What regional issues are taking place in the world today?
3. What factors led to the creation of our globally interdependent world?
4. How did competing ideologies lead to the Cold War?
5. What impact did the Cold War have on the world?
Text: Spodek, Howard, The World’s History Combined Volume, Prentice Hall, 2001
Supporting Materials:
World Religions. Teacher Created Material Inc.,
William Williams. DBQ Practice Guide,
Nystrom Desk Atlas,
Nystrom Atlas of World History,
Schraff, Anne E. Choosing Your Way Through the World’s Ancient Past
Primary Source Documents: To be used for analysis.
The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio (For the Bubonic Plague)
The Confucian Analects
Hammurabi’s Code
The Twelve Tables (Roman Law)
Slave Trade by Phillip Curtain
One Survivor Remembers-Documents on the Holocaust
Confucius Quotes
The Holy Bible
The Koran
Mahabharata
Bhagavad-Gita
Torah
Puranas
The Book of the Dead
Epic of Gilgamesh
Communist Manifesto
Mein Kampf
Supplementary Readings: To be used throughout the year for supplementary reading –
approximately one book per rating period. Not all of the books will be used throughout
the year, but may be used for Silent Sustained Reading.
Cry, the Beloved Country – Paton, Alan
Fallen Angels – Myers, Walter D.
Forgotten Fire – Bagdasarian, Adam
Journey to Jo’burg – Naidoo, Beverly
Red Scarf Girl – Jiang, Ji Li
Salt, A World History – Kurlansky, Mark
Siddhartha – Hesse, Herman
The Adventures of Ibn Battuta – Dunn, Rose E.
AP World History Exam Contents:
Multiple Choice (70 Questions) 55 minutes
Document Based Question- (DBQ) Write a clear, persuasive thesis demonstrating your
insightful analysis of source documents with reference to historical context and author
bias. Analyze by comparing and contrasting the documents to form various groupings.
1 Question – 50 minutes and a 10-minute reading period.
Change Over Time Essay- Explain how the large global issue has changed over time in
one cultural area or several. Provide ample historical evidence to support your clear and
comprehensive thesis.
1 Question – 40 minutes
Comparative Essay- Discusses the main similarities and differences between regional
societies including chronology, causation, and connections as relevant to the content.
1 Question – 40 minutes
Grading Policy:
Students will be graded on a midterm and final examination along with quarterly tests,
quizzes, essays, and in-class discussions. Students may also be graded on individual or
group projects and will have the opportunity to create historical items for extra credit.
The focus of the course will be the AP World History Examination given in May, but the
grading of this course will also follow district guidelines.
A= 100 – 90%
B = 89 – 80%
C = 79 – 70%
D = 69 – 60%
F = 59% and below