ADVANCED PLACEMENT UNITED STATES HISTORY SYLLABUS

FOR 2009-10 Instructor: James S. Greene Telephone: 573-8700 (office) E-mail: james.greene@harlanind.kyschools.us

Brief Description of the Course: This course is a college-level survey of the history of the United States from the fifteenth through the present and reflects the requirements of the Advanced Placement program operated by the College Board as found in the Board’s current course description. It also addresses the requirements for high school U.S. history as found in the Program of Studies for Kentucky Schools (2006 edition). Students will engage in a variety of activities to learn historical content, to come to understand how historical knowledge is constructed, and to become an active participant in scholarly dialog about the history of their country. Primary Course Goals: This course is first and foremost about learning history and, through learning history, coming to a better understanding of ourselves and our nation. Students will: • Develop an understanding of the interpretive nature of history and of how historical knowledge is

constructed and demonstrate their understanding through creation of original historical works. • Trace the development of the United States from its origins through the present using the tools of the

historian such as narrative, perspective, and causation and in the context of selected themes including freedom, identity, community, globalization, and economic transformations.

• Identify important events and individuals in United States history and explain why they matter to us today.

• Develop an understanding of how their local community (county, state, region) fits into the broader picture of American history and of the interplay between the local and specific and the national and general in writing and interpreting history.

• Grow in their ability to think and read analytically and to communicate the fruits of their thinking and reading effectively in writing and speaking.

• Become equipped to participate in academic discourse at the college level and to advance and support evidence-based interpretations of historical events.

Secondary Course Goals: Students will also have the opportunity to: • Prepare themselves to be successful on the Advanced Placement examination in United States history if

they desire to sit for it. • Prepare themselves, if Juniors, to score proficient or higher on the Kentucky Core Content Test in social

studies. Course Readings: As this is a college-level course, several of these books address sophisticated content at a mature level intended for adults.

Textbook:

Faragher, John Mack, Mari Jo Buhle, Daniel Czitrom, and Susan H. Armitage. Out of Many: A History of the American People, 5h edition (AP edition). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice-Hall, 2007.

Supplemental Readings: (To be used as t ime permits )

Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Reprint of original edition. New York: Dover, 1995. Foner, Eric. The Story of American Freedom. New York: W.W. Norton, 1998. Hoganson, Kristin L. Fighting for American Manhood: How Gender Politics Provoked the Spanish-American and Philippine-American Wars. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998. Gordon, John Steele. An Empire of Wealth: The Epic History of American Economic Power. New York: Harper Collins, 2004.

Mintz, Steven and Susan Kellogg. Domestic Revolutions: A Social History of American Family Life. New York: The Free Press, 1988.

Various journal articles and source materials to be distributed in class or accessed on-line.

Reference Guide:

Rampolla, Mary Lynn. A Pocket Guide to Writing in History, 5th edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2007.

Important responsibilities of students: • To keep up with course readings and not fall behind. We typically have 75 pages of reading per week,

sometimes more, sometimes less. We may occasionally use podcasts in place of or as a supplement to some reading assignments.

• To submit all assignments on time and to take advantage of any opportunities that may be given to rework assignments.

• To take appropriate notes on readings, podcasts, and in-class presentations and to review these notes at regular intervals.

• To be active participants in the APUSH community, conducting themselves as responsible, intelligent human beings who are respectful of their fellows and willing to help each other master the material of the course.

Plagiarism is a serious academic offense. In a nutshell, it means passing off work done by someone else as your own. As we begin doing writing assignments, we will explore in detail what plagiarism is within the academic community and the history profession. Students are reminded that forms of cheating such as using unauthorized materials on tests or copying someone else’s homework are also forms of plagiarism. Technology and Class Communications We will use technology in this class in preparing major assignments (essays and other writing assignments must be word processed) and in communicating.

E-mail: We will use the school e-mail system to communicate directly outside of class. You should check your e-mail regularly. From time to time, I will e-mail useful study materials. I will also be glad to answer questions you may have via e-mail. Occasionally, I may request that you submit an assignment electronically. If you need help using technology, please let me know. Mrs. Doss and Mrs. Lester are also willing to assist you. Course webpage: We will use the course webpage as another means of communication. I will make an effort to post assignments to the website and from time to time may post class documents there as well. We may share some of your work on-line (we will not post your work without your consent). Class blog: We will have an active class blog. Students will be expected to submit blog entries at regular intervals both in response to teacher prompts and on their own initiative. Participation in the blog will figure in course grades. Grading For the purposes of assessment and grading, assignments will be grouped into categories:

• Learning Historical Content (includes tests and quizzes and Document Based Questions to check content knowledge and understanding) and Doing History (includes extended writing and research assignments, multimedia presentations, participation in simulations and role plays requiring detailed preparation)

• Participating in the Learning Community (includes participation in class discussion, role plays not requiring special preparation, class blog entries, and informal assessments including in-class quick writes)

• In addition, there will be either a semester test or semester project each semester which, following School Council policy, will count as 20% of the semester grade.

Grades will be weighted so that Learning Historical Content and the semester test together equal approximately 80% of the final grade and Participating in the Learning Community approximately 20%. Certain assignments will have a rework privilege which will be explained at the time the assignment is made. Deadlines Assignments are due on the day of the assignment deadline; if a student has an excused absence, school make-up policies will apply. Rework must be turned in on the designated date; otherwise, the initial grade stands. When using a computer, be sure to back up the assignment to a disk, CD, or jump drive. Computers do crash, but crashes are usually not an excuse for missing a deadline. If you have printer problems, you can load the assignment on a flash drive and print it out at school or e-mail it to me electronically. Conduct in class: Junior and Seniors who are taking a college-level course undoubtedly know how to conduct themselves as grown-up, civilized human beings. There are just a few niceties of classroom etiquette that I wish to call to mind: • During whole group activities, persons desiring to speak should raise their hand and wait to be

recognized. • During small group activities, group members should use well-modulated voices and keep the overall

noise level down so as not to distract others. • Private conversations and other communications during class are distracting to others and should be

avoided. • Food and drink are not permitted in class as per school rules.

• Individuals who are hapless enough to forget something in their locker will not be allowed to go get it during class except in highly extenuating circumstances (and in that case, they will be tardy to class).

Individual Assistance: Although I will not normally be in the school except during First Block, I will be glad to schedule time to meet with you before or after school or during the school day. Appointments can be made by speaking to me in person, by calling my secretary, Mrs. Darlene Lester, or by e-mailing me. As this is a college-level course, students needing assistance should to take the initiative to contact me for help. If your parents would like to confer with me, they can reach me by phone at 573-8700 Option 6 (if I’m not in, leave a message with the secretary) or by e-mail. AP Exam Students are encouraged to take the AP exam on May 7, 2010, but taking it is not required for credit. I am willing upon request to conduct one or more review sessions in late spring if a majority of the class commit to come to the sessions. Students planning to take the exam need to make careful notes so that they can review prior to the exam. If I were contemplating taking the exam, I would invest in an AP exam study guide and refer to it throughout the course. Three excellent study guides are: Dornbush, Krista. Kaplan A.P. United States History 2010. Kaplan. 2010. List price: $18.00 McDuffie, J.A. AP United States History. Eighth edition. REA Publications, 2009. Available with and without CD/ROM. Armstrong, Stephen. 5 Steps to a 5: A.P. United States History, 2010-11. McGraw-Hill. 2009. List price $18.95 These guides are available for purchase on-line and in area bookstores. Caveat I reserve the right to alter the structure and policies of this course based upon changes in the needs of students and the instructor. You will be clearly advised should this occur. Please share this syllabus with your parents prior to the start of class.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Detach this sheet, sign below, and bring it to class the first day of the term (January 4, 2010). Keep the syllabus proper in your notebook where you can access it. That’s why it has holes punched in it. We have read the syllabus for AP United States History. Student’s signature ___________________________________________________ Parent’s signature ____________________________________________________ Date _____________________________________________