Advanced Placement United States History

1
Advanced PlacementUnited States History

• James DAmico Kristin Parker
• Staples High School
• Westport, CT

2
Course Goals

• According to the College Board, AP United States
  History should
• Provide students with the analytic skills and
  factual knowledge necessary to deal critically
  with problems and materials in United States
  History
• Prepare students for intermediate and advanced
  college courses by making demands upon them
  equivalent to those made by full-year
  introductory college courses

3
Course Content

• Begin with European discovery of North America,
  ends with the Reagan administration
• 400 years of historical content
• Study of trends in United States History
• Specific historical content
• Political-Constitutional
• Social
• Diplomatic
• Economic
• Cultural-Intellectual

4
Types of Student Assessment

• Multiple-choice examinations
• In-class essays
• Take-home papers
• Open-note tests
• Group Projects
• Oral presentations
• Role-play/simulations
• Socratic seminars

5
Homework Expectations

• 1-2 hours per night average
• Textbook Reading
• Approximately one chapter per week
• 30-40 pages
• Primary document analysis
• Student preparation for class discussion
• Research and independent study
• Online resources
• Library
• Historical novels

6
AP Exam Preparation

• Multiple Choice Section
• 80 questions
• 55 minutes
• Each question has 5 possible answers

• Writing Section
• Document-Based Essay Question
• 15 minutes reading/planning
• 45 minutes writing
• 7-10 documents
• Outside information required
• Two Free-Response Essays
• 5 minutes planning
• 30 minutes writing
• No documents

7
AP Exam Preparation

• All students are expected to take the AP
  Examination in May

8
Keys to Achievement

• INTEREST IN HISTORY!
• Strong reading comprehension skills
• Excellent performance on 10th grade writing
• Self-motivation
• A healthy attitude about learning
• Stick-to-it-ive-ness
• Grades in AP classes, particularly first quarter,
  are generally lower than what students have
  gotten in other social studies classes

9
Support for Success

• Teacher resources
• Conferences
• Websites
• Email
• Learning Centers
• Student resources
• Study Groups
• Review texts

• Other Resources
• APCentral
• Textbook websites
• Other schools websites
• Government/College websites

10
Spring Checklist

• Teacher recommendations
• Qualifying exam
• Tomorrow afternoon!
• Arena Registration
• Summer Assignment
• 2-3 textbook chapters
• Novel reading
• One essay
• Hit the ground running in September