AP US HISTORY

How you are graded in this class: Assignments, tests and quizzes are 90% of your grade, if it is assigned it is

graded and in Skyward. Written and Verbal Participation is 10% of your grade.

YOU ARE EXPECTED TO MAINTAIN A 70% AVERAGE TO STAY IN THE CLASS EACH TRIMESTER. FALLING BELOW THAT THRESHOLD WILL RESULT IN BEING DROPPED FROM CLASS.

How to connect with Ms. McD: Cher.McDonald@ canyons

district. org

http://msmcdushistory.

pbworks.com

Reply to a class text from

Remind.com

801-826-5946

Class Description:

AP US History is a challenging course that is designed to be the equivalent of a freshman college

course in a high school setting. You will expand your knowledge of how Americans lived in the

past and how that impacts the nation today.

Throughout this course you will learn or improve your ability to:

(1) Plan and organize regular study habits

(2) Understand and synthesize a broad knowledge of the history of the United States, so you are prepared to take the Advanced Placement exam on the morning of Friday May 10th

(3) Understand, through a study of contemporary and historical events, the role of the United States in the world today.

How we learn in this class: Classroom discussions

Textbook, primary, and secondary source readings

Class debates, projects, and interpretative works

Writing– essays, journals, homework

Ms. Cher McDonald AP US History Exam

Friday May 10th, AM test

“There were so

many breathtak-

ing lessons and

facts, and you

made it all mem-

orable. You truly

care for your

students. Your

passion and

love for history

is contagious,

and the amount

of time you put

into US is un-

matched.” 2017

student

Attendance:

Students must be in class on time and prepared to learn. A student is prepared to learn when they come with homework completed, neces-sary books and supplies ready, and a willing and cooperative attitude.

I adhere to the Brighton High School Attendance Policy.

Make-up Work: Doing make-up assignments can never compensate for the classroom experiences and discussions that students miss while absent. This sec-tion is designed to explain the process by which a student may make-up work missed while absent.

No make-up work will be accepted for truancy.

Class participation activities cannot be made up, but will not com-prise more than 10% of the total grade.

All assignments will be posted on http://msmcdushistory.pbworks.com

All assignments missed due to an approved absence must be com-pleted within five school days of the student returning to class. After five school days it will be considered late and 50% of the cred-it will be deducted.

If you are absent on the day of a test or quiz, you must take the make-up test or quiz within FIVE SCHOOL DAYS after the regular test or quiz was given. After five school days you will NOT be able to make it up and will receive a ZERO.

It is the student’s responsibility to monitor his/ her attendance and required make up work. Attendance is posted daily.

Late Work:

Work is late if it is handed in after the START of the class in which is due. All late work, other than assignments turned in within 5 days of an excused absence, will receive a 50% deduction.

NO INCOMPLETE LATE WORK WILL BE ACCEPTED.

Late work can be turned in up to 3 days before the midterm and 3 days before the end of the trimester. Work due before midterm cannot be made up after midterm. No late work will be accepted after the three days before midterm and the last three days before the end of the tri-mester.

Class Expectations Respect everyone Be prepared, on time, & on task Academic honesty always No phones in class

Film and the Media: The appropriate academic use of film can help students synthesize multiple compo-nents of study into a more unified coherent understanding of a complex concept. A list of films is happily provided if you contact me at my school email.

Films or clips from films with a “G”, “PG”, and “PG-13” rating that have SPECIFIC ACA-DEMIC MERIT may be used.

***Your signature on this disclosure signi-fies your acceptance of this policy. Please note any concerns on the last page when you sign.***

Students will be expected to adhere to the Canyons School District Internet Use Policy whenever online.

Materials: A 3-ring binder --> KEEP EVERY-

THING !!!!! College-lined loose-leaf paper Black or Blue pens, they are the

only acceptable colors for sub-mitted work.

4 pack of highlighters. Post it notes. Jumbo STRETCH Book Cover–

you must have the book cover BEFORE YOU CAN CHECK OUT A TEXTBOOK!

Student work is often recorded or graded by

peers and teacher aides. Scores of individual

assignments or quizzes might be seen by others,

but never a cumulative grade.

I have read this disclosure and understand the policies and rules of this course.

As an extension of classroom studies, examples of student work will occasionally be published on the Internet. School and teacher names, grade levels, and the first name and last initials of students may be used to identify the work.

Date _______________

Student Signature _____________________________________________________________________

Name Printed_________________________________________________________________________

Parent/Guardian Signature _____________________________________________________________

Name Printed_________________________________________________________________________

The Best Parent/Guardian Contact Information

Father: Home Phone: Cell:

Mother: Home Phone: Cell:

Guardian: Home Phone: Cell:

Parent/Guardian Email: _______________________________________________________________

Concerns or Information Ms. McDonald should know_________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Please detach and return

AP US HISTORY Ms. Cher McDonald

AP US History Exam Friday May 10th, AM test

T

AP United States History Exam Structure

AP U.S. HISTORY EXAM: 3 HOURS 15 MINUTES

Assessment Overview

The AP Exam questions measure students’ knowledge of U.S. history and their ability to think historically. Questions are based on learning

objectives, key concepts, course themes, and AP history disciplinary practices and reasoning skills.

Format of Assessment

Section I, Part A: Multiple Choice | 55 Questions | 55 Minutes |

40% of Exam Score

Section II, Part A: Document Based | 1 Question | 60 Minutes |

25% of Exam Score

• Questions appear in sets of 2–5.

• Students analyze primary and secondary texts, images, graphs,

and maps.

• Questions cover all course periods.

• Students assess written, visual, and quantitative sources as

historical evidence.

• Students develop an argument supported by an analysis of

historical evidence.

• Question covers periods 3–8 of the course.

Section I, Part B: Short Answer | 3 Questions | 40 Minutes |

20% of Exam Score

Section II, Part B: Long Essay | 1 Question | 40 Minutes |

15% of Exam Score

• Students respond to 2 required questions and choose between

2 options for a third question.

• Questions 1 and 2 cover periods 3–8 of the course; students

choose between answering either question 3 (covering

periods 1–5) or question 4 (periods 6–9).

• Students analyze historians’ interpretations, historical sources, and propositions about history.

• Students select one question among three different periods

(1–3, 4–6, 7–9) of the course.

• Students explain and analyze significant issues in U.S.

history.

• Students develop an argument supported by an analysis of historical evidence.

AP U.S. HISTORY SAMPLE EXAM QUESTIONS

Sample Multiple-Choice Question

“Our … destiny [is] to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions. . . . The Anglo-Saxon foot is already on [California’s] borders. Already the advance guard of the irresistible army of Anglo-Saxon emigration

has begun to pour down upon it, armed with the [plow] and the rifle, and marking its trail with schools and colleges, courts and

representative halls, mills and meetinghouses. A population will soon be in actual occupation of California. . . . Their right to independence

will be the natural right of self-government belonging to any community strong enough to maintain it.” — John L. O’Sullivan, 1845

The process described in the passage above most directly led to political controversies in the 1840s and 1850s over the

(A) expansion of slavery into newly acquired territories

(B) authority of the Supreme Court to overturn federal laws

(C) role of the federal government in economic development

(D) use of natural resources in newly acquired territories

Sample Short-Answer Question Focused on Causation

Use the image and your knowledge of United States history to answer parts A, B, and C.

John Gast, American Progress, 1872

Courtesy of Library of Congress

A) Describe the point of view reflected in the image regarding ONE of the following:

Migration

Technology

American Indians

B) Explain ONE historical cause for the rise of the point of view you identified in Part A.

C) Explain how the point of view you identified in Part A helped to shape ONE specific United States government action between 1845 and 1900.

Sample Free-Response Question: Document-Based Question

Analyze major changes and continuities in the social and economic experiences of African Americans who migrated from the rural South to urban areas in the North in the period 1910–1930. Students examine seven primary source documents, including a map, newspaper

articles, a letter, song lyrics, and a folk saying.

Sample Free-Response Question: Long Essay Question Focused on Continuity and Change over Time

Evaluate the extent to which increasing integration of the United States into the world economy changed in United States society from

1945 to the present.

Educators: apcentral.collegeboard.org/apushistory

Students: apstudent.collegeboard.org/apushistory © 2017 The College Board. 00678-0009 (Updated June 2017)

AP® UNITED STATES HISTORY About the Advanced Placement Program® (AP®)

The Advanced Placement Program® has enabled millions of students to take college-level courses and earn college credit, advanced

placement, or both, while still in high school. AP Exams are given each year in May. Students who earn a qualifying score on an AP Exam are

typically eligible, in college, to receive credit, placement into advanced courses, or both. Every aspect of AP course and exam development

is the result of collaboration between AP teachers and college faculty. They work together to develop AP courses and exams, set scoring

standards, and score the exams. College faculty review every AP teacher’s course syllabus.

AP History Program

The AP Program offers three history courses: AP European History,

AP United States History, and AP World History. All three history

courses focus on the development of historical thinking while

learning required course content. Course themes foster deep analysis

by making connections and comparisons across different topics.

AP United States History Course Overview

AP U.S. History is designed to be the equivalent of a two-semester

introductory college or university U.S. history course. In AP

U.S. History students investigate significant events, individuals,

developments, and processes in nine historical periods from

approximately 1491 to the present. Students develop and use

the same skills, practices, and methods employed by historians:

analyzing primary and secondary sources; developing historical

arguments; making historical comparisons; and utilizing reasoning

about contextualization, causation, and continuity and change

over time. The course also provides seven themes that students

explore throughout the course in order to make connections among

historical developments in different times and places: American

and national identity; migration and settlement; politics and power;

work, exchange, and technology; America in the world; geography

and the environment; and culture and society.

AP History Disciplinary Practices and Reasoning Skills

The AP history courses seek to apprentice students to the practice

of history by emphasizing the development of disciplinary practices

and reasoning skills while learning historical content. The practices

and skills that students should develop in all AP history courses are

listed below, along with a condensed description of what students

should be able to do with each. Every AP Exam question will assess

one or more of these practices and skills.

AP HISTORY DISCIPLINARY PRACTICES

Practice 1: Analyzing Historical Evidence

Primary Sources

• Explain the relative historical significance of a source’s point of

view, purpose, historical situation, and/or audience.

• Evaluate a source’s credibility and/or limitations.

Secondary Sources

• Explain how a historian’s claim or argument is supported with

evidence.

• Analyze patterns and trends in quantitative data in non-text

based sources.

• Evaluate the effectiveness of a historical claim or argument.

Practice 2: Argument Development

• Make a historically defensible claim in the form of an

PREREQUISITES

There are no prerequisites for AP U.S. History. Students should

be able to read a college-level textbook and write grammatically

correct, complete sentences.

evaluative thesis.

• Support an argument using specific and relevant evidence.

• Use historical reasoning to explain relationships among pieces

of historical evidence.

• Consider ways that diverse or alternative evidence could be

used to qualify or modify an argument.

AP United States History Course Content

The AP U.S. History course is structured around themes and

AP HISTORY REASONING SKILLS

Skill 1: Contextualization

concepts in nine different chronological periods from approximately

1491 to the present:

• Use context to explain the relative historical significance of a

specific historical development or process.

• Period 1: 1491–1607 • Period 2: 1607–1754 • Period 3: 1754–1800 • Period 4: 1800–1848 • Period 5: 1844–1877 • Period 6: 1865–1898 • Period 7: 1890–1945 • Period 8: 1945–1980 • Period 9: 1980–Present

Skill 2: Comparison

• Explain the relative historical significance of similarities and/

or differences between different historical developments or

processes.

Skill 3: Causation

• Explain the difference between primary and secondary causes

and between short- and long-term effects.

• Explain the relative historical significance of different causes

and/or effects.

Skill 4: Continuity and Change Over Time

Within each period, key concepts organize and prioritize historical

developments. Themes allow students to make connections and

identify patterns and trends over time.

• Explain the relative historical significance of specific historical

developments in relation to a larger pattern of continuity and/

or change.