Saugus High School

AP United States History:

Mr. James Klipfel:                Phone (661) 297-3900 (ext. 1605); voice mail (ext. 4162); email jklipfe@hartdistrict.org

Texts:                                    The American Pageant (12th edition): issued by library

The American Spirit Vol. 1 and 2: classroom copies

The Harper Single Volume American Literature: classroom copies        

Assigned works/novels: issued by library or checked out/purchased on own

 

The Course:

“Students should learn to assess historical materials--their relevance to a given interpretive problem, their reliability, and their importance--and to weigh the evidence and interpretations presented in historical scholarship.  An AP US History course should thus develop the skills necessary to arrive at conclusions on the basis of an informed judgment and to present reasons and evidence clearly and persuasively in essay format.   Although there is little to be gained by rote memorization of names and dates in an encyclopedic manner, a student must be able to draw upon a reservoir of systematic factual knowledge in order to exercise analytic skills intelligently.  Striking a balance between teaching factual knowledge and critical analysis is a demanding but crucial task in the design of a successful AP course in history.   In addition to exposing students to the historical content, an AP course should also train students to analyze and interpret primary sources.  Students should learn to take notes from both printed materials and lectures or discussions, write essay examinations, and write analytical and research papers.  They should be able to express themselves with clarity and precision and know how to cite sources and credit the phrases and ideas of others.” ---The College Board

 

This course is a one-year survey of American history from the late 1400s to the present.  Students who dedicate themselves to the course should be prepared to take the AP exam in May.  The volume of material necessitates a pace that will require students to do an extensive amount of work. 

  • Students should expect to read about four chapters (about 100 pages) every three weeks.  See the attached calendar to keep up.
  • Students are expected to generate some form of study tool as they read each chapter.  It is recommended that students choose a tool that works best for their style of learning (e.g. graphic organizers, charts, outlines, etc.).
  • Quick quiz strips on geography, vocabulary, and content from the readings and classes will be given frequently.
  • Essays and other assignments will be given periodically.  A term paper will be assigned during the fall semester.
  • Chapter, unit, and mid-term exams will be given in advance of a comprehensive final exam.
  • Extra credit assignments are available from the teacher until the second progress report of each semester—15 weeks.

                       

Grades:

The semester grade will roughly match the following: 60% exams (one third of this will be the final exam), 20% term paper, and 15% homework, and 5% participation.  Also, extra credit assignments will not exceed 5% of the total points.

 

The Exam:

“The exam is three hours and five minutes in length.  It consists of a 55-minute multiple-choice section and a 130-minute free-response section.  The free-response section begins with a mandatory 15-minute reading period. You are advised to spend most of that time analyzing the documents and planning your answer to the Document-Based essay question (DBQ) in Part A.  Suggested writing time for the DBQ is 45 minutes.  Parts B and C each include two standard essay questions that, taken together, cover the period from the first European explorations of the Americas to the present. You are required to answer one essay question in each part in a total of 70 minutes.  Suggested time to be spent on each of the essay questions you choose to answer in Parts B and C is 5 minutes for planning and 30 minutes for writing your answer.

 

“Scores earned on the multiple-choice and free-response sections each account for half of your examination grade. Within the free-response section, the DBQ counts for 45 percent, the two standard essays for 27.5 percent each.  Both the multiple-choice and free-response sections cover the period from the first European explorations of the Americas to the present, although the majority of questions are on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In the multiple-choice section, approximately one-sixth of the questions deal with the period through 1789, one-half with the period 1790-1914, and one-third with the period of 1915 to the present.  The multiple-choice section may include a few questions on the period since 1975, but neither the DBQ nor the essay questions in Parts B and C deal exclusively with this period.  The free-response section is designed to allow students from widely differing courses to demonstrate their mastery of historical interpretation and their ability to express their views and knowledge in writing.  The standard essay questions may require you to describe a relationship between developments in different areas (e.g. the political implications of an economic issue such as the panic of 1837). They may also ask you to analyze common themes in different time periods (e.g., the concept of isolationism in United States foreign policy), or to compare individual or group experiences that reflect social, economic, ethnic, racial, or gender differences (e.g., the culture that Black slaves developed). You are also expected to have a general understanding of key interpretations of major historical events, and you should be able to relate literary materials, when included in a question, to politics, social and economic life, or related cultural and intellectual movements.  Answers to standard essay questions will be judged on the strength of the thesis developed, the quality of the historical argument, and the relevance of examples, rather than on coverage alone.   The 80 questions in the multiple-choice section of the exam measure your knowledge of the subject matter commonly covered in introductory college courses in United States history. These questions test your factual knowledge, breadth of preparation, and knowledge-based analytical skills. To receive a grade of 3, you must answer about 60 percent of the questions correctly, in addition to doing acceptable work on the broader questions in the free-response section.” ---The College Board

 

The calendar below will be subject to revision as the year progresses, but it should allow students to plan their readings.  The dates listed are the approximate date that a chapter/unit quiz or exam will be given.  Chapters should be read several days prior to that date!

 

Unit #1: Colonization                         

Wednesday, August 17                                                             Chapter 1: New World Beginnings

Friday, August 19                                                                     Chapter 2: The Planting of English America, 1500-1733

Wednesday, August 24                                                             Chapter 3: Settling the Northern Colonies, 1619-1700

Monday, August 29                                                                  Chapter 4: American Life in the Seventeenth Century, 1607-1692

Friday, September 2……...(30 min. essay exam as well)  Chapter 5: Colonial Society on the Eve of Revolution, 1700-1775

 

Unit #2: New Nation                            

Thursday, September 8                                                             Chapter 6: The Duel for North America, 1608-1763

Tuesday, September 13                                                            Chapter 7: The Road to Revolution, 1763-1775

Friday, September 16                                                               Chapter 8: America Secedes from the Empire, 1775-1783

Friday, September 23……(30 min. essay exam as well)   Chapter 9: The Confederation and the Constitution, 1776-1790

 

Unit #3: The Early Years                     

Thursday, September 29                                                           Chapter 10: Launching the New Ship of State, 1789-1800

Wednesday, October 5                                                             Chapter 11: The Triumph and Travails of the Jeffersonian Republic, 1800-1812

Thurs and Fri., October 13-14(Midterm: DBQ #1 and 80 MC) Chapter 12: The Second War for Independence and Upsurge of Nationalism, 1812-1824

 

Unit #4: Reform                                   

Wednesday, October 19                                                           Chapter 13: The Rise of Mass Democracy, 1824-1840

Monday, October 24                                                                Chapter 14: Forging the National Economy, 1790-1860

Friday, October 28                                                                   Chapter 15: The Ferment of Reform and Culture, 1790-1860

Wednesday, November 2                                                          Chapter 16: The South and the Slavery Controversy, 1793-1860

Thursday, November 3……………………………..………..  Social Protest Rally

 

Unit #5: Growth, Sectionalism, and Civil War                

Wednesday, November 9                                                          Chapter 17: Manifest Destiny and Its Legacy, 1841-1848

Tuesday, November 15                                                            Chapter 18: Renewing the Sectional Struggle, 1848-1854

Friday, November 18                                                               Chapter 19: Drifting Toward Disunion, 1854-1861

Monday, November 21…………..…………………………     DBQ #2: Chapters 13-19                                     

Monday, November 28 (Chapters 20 and 21)                           Chapter 20: Girding for War: The North and South, 1861-1865

                                                                                                Chapter 21: The Furnace of Civil War, 1861-1865

 

Unit #6: Reconstruction and the Early Gilded Age

Monday, December 5               (Chapters 22-23)                     Chapter 22: The Ordeal of Reconstruction, 1865-1877

                                                                                                Chapter 23: Political Paralysis in the Gilded Age, 1869-1896

Friday, December 9                                                                  Chapter 24: Industry comes of Age, 1865-1900

December 13, 14, and 15…………………………………....   Final Exam (250 Questions/Scan-tron: Ch. 1-24)

 

 

WINTER BREAK ASSIGNMENT: Read and outline chapters 25 and 26

 

 

Unit #7: The Gilded Age Part II and Imperialism

Thursday, January 12                                                               Chapter 25: America Moves to the City, 1865-1900

Thursday, January 19               (Chapters 26 and 23b)              Chapter 26: The Great West and the Agricultural Revolution, 1865-1896

Chapter 23b: Political Paralysis in the Gilded Age, 1869-1896 (reread 520-526)

Thursday, January 26               (Chapters 27 and 28)               Chapter 27: The Path of Empire, 1890-1899

                                                                                                Chapter 28: America on the World Stage, 1899-1909

Friday, January 27………………………………………….    DBQ or 30 minute essay: Gilded Age and/or Imperialism (Ch. 23-28)

 

Unit #8: Progressivism, WWI, and the Boom and Bust

Friday, February 3 (Chapters 29 and 30a)                                 Chapter 29: Progressivism and the Republican Roosevelt, 1901-1912

                                                                                                Chapter 30a: Wilsonian Progressivism at Home and Abroad, 1912-1916 (pp. 687-696)

Thursday, February 9 (Chapters 30b and 31)                            Chapter 30b: Wilsonian Progressivism at Home and Abroad, 1912-1916 (pp. 696-703)

                                                                                                Chapter 31: The War to End War, 1917-1918

Wednesday, February 15                                                          Chapter 32: American Life in the Roaring Twenties, 1919-1929

Thursday, February 23                                                             Chapter 33: The Politics of Boom and Bust, 1920-1932

Wednesday, March 1                                                                Chapter 34: The Great Depression and the New Deal, 1933-1938

Thursday, March 2………………………………………….    DBQ or 30 minute essay: Progressivism, 1920’s, Depression, or New Deal

 

Unit #9: Final Stretch                         

Friday, March 10 (Chapters 35 and 36)                                    Chapter 35: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Shadow of War, 1933-1941

                                                                                                Chapter 36: America in WWII, 1941-1945

Thursday, March 16                                                                 Chapter 37: The Cold War Begins, 1945-1952

Thursday, March 23                                                                 Chapter 38: The Eisenhower Era, 1952-1960

TBA……………………………………………………………    DBQ or 30 minute essay: WWII and/or Early Cold War

Friday, March 31                                                                     Chapter 39: The Stormy Sixties, 1960-1968

Friday, 22 April                                                                       Chapter 40: The Stalemated Seventies, 1968-1980

 

 

SPRING BREAK: April 10-April 14   ΰ   Continue intensive 6 week AP review individually and in study groups.

 

                                                               

Friday, 29 April                                                                       Chapter 41: The Resurgence of Conservatism, 1980-2000

TBA……………………………………………………………..  DBQ or 30 minute essay: 1960’s-1980’s

 

 

Saturday, April 22, 2006: PRACTICE AP EXAM IN THE SHS LIBRARY / TBA --- FREE ---

8:00AM to 12:00PM

 

May 5, 2006   AP EXAM

 

 

May 8-26                                                                                 TEAM READING: The Grapes of Wrath; Team New Deal on Trial

May 31, June 1, and June 2………………………………… Final Exams (200 MC: Ch. 22-41)