Advanced Placement United States History

Teacher: Ms. Kaitlin Kindred kkindred@houstonsid.org

Tutorials: Monday: Lunch Room North 213

Tuesday: 7:15 - 7:45 AM
Wednesday: Lunch
Thursday 3:15 4:00 PM
Friday: 7:15 - 7:45 AM

Course Overview
After completing this course, you will have the opportunity to test out of 2 college credits (6
hours). Students should learn to assess historical materials, their relevance to a given problem, and
to weigh the evidence and interpretations presented in social studies. An AP U.S. History student
should develop the skills necessary to arrive at conclusions on the basis of an informed judgment
and to present reasons and evidence clearly in essay format. Throughout the year, you will
participate in seminars, work through material and be tested weekly in order to prepare for the
exam. You will also gain a better understanding of American society and our relationship with the
government and economy.

How to be Successful
Because this course covers detailed information from the 1400s to present day, it is crucial for the
class to move on at a rapid pace. In order to be successful, it is necessary for you to make habit of
reading and keeping up with assignments. There will be no surprises in this class and you will
have plenty of notification on all requirements.

Helpful Tips:
1. Reading is crucial! Pay attention to the calendar and have reading assignments completed.
2. Review lecture notes and terms/concepts before quizzes. Must know KEY TERMS!
3. Look forward to participation helping your grade. It is easy if reading assignments are
complete, but requires your effort. DO NOT BE LAZY!
4. Review concepts, terms and categories (E, S, P) before exam days. FORM A STUDY GROUP!
5. Never hesitate to ask for help. Come to tutorials and make me aware of situations.

Course Requirements & Student Evaluation

Grades will be based upon Westside High School's Grading Policy. Students scoring below 75%
on a major grade will be permitted to one retake attempt per assessment. All retakes must be
completed within one week of posted grade. All make-up assignments (quizzes, tests, seminars)
must be completed within one week of the date originally taken. Late grades, major and minor,
will be rewarded no higher than a 70%. Any student caught or suspected of cheating, which
includes copying someone elses work and portraying it as their own, will receive a zero for that
assignment and will not be allowed to make it up. Students may appeal this decision to a Dean.
Major Grades: 70% Minor Grades: 30%
1. Tests will be given every Friday, unless otherwise informed. Test questions reflect the AP
Exam and will emphasize multiple-choice, free-response questions, and document based
questions.
2. Readings will be assigned every marking period and will be discussed in class. You are
expected to complete readings before class.
3. Quizzes will be every Tuesday covering the current chapters and readings.
4. Participation will be measured daily. In order to understand history, we must question it,
discuss it and analyze it. You are expected to have readings completed before class in order to
answer questions, and discuss content.

The A.P. Exam

This exam consists of two sections completed in 3 hours and 15 minutes. This exam not only tests
your knowledge, but also your endurance. Your grade will be an average of the multiple-choice,
short answer, document based and free response questions. All parts of the exam are explained
below:
Multiple Choice Questions will be presented in sets of 2-5 that ask students to respond to
primary or secondary sources.
55 Questions (40% of total grade)
Short Answer The short answer questions will address one or more thematic learning objectives
for the course. These questions will require students to use historical thinking skills to respond to a
primary source, historians argument or secondary source. These questions do not require a thesis,
rather they ask the student to simply answer the question.
4 Questions Mandatory (20% of total grade)
Document Based Question - The DBQ will include charts, graphs, cartoons, and pictures, as well
as written materials. This gives you the chance to showcase your ability to assess the value of a
variety of documents. The DBQ requires that you relate the documents to a historical period or
theme and show your knowledge of major periods and issues. For this reason, outside knowledge
is very important and must be incorporated into the student's essay if the highest scores are to be
earned. To earn a high score it's also very important that you incorporate the information you
learned in your AP U.S. History class. The emphasis of the DBQ will be on analysis and synthesis,
not historical narrative.
1 Question Mandatory (25% of total grade)
Long Essay (Free Response) Question - The standard essay questions require that you relate
developments in different areas (e.g., the political implications of an economic issue); analyze
common themes in different time periods (e.g., the concept of national interest in United States
foreign policy); or compare individual or group experiences that reflect socioeconomic, ethnic,
racial, or gender differences (e.g., social mobility and cultural pluralism). Standard essays will be
judged on the strength of the thesis developed, the quality of the historical argument, and the
evidence offered in support of the argument.
2 Questions 1 Mandatory (15% of total grade)

Resources
Textbooks: (readings will be assigned every marking period and are necessary for quizzes and
exams. The Brinkley textbook must be used primarily. The AMSCO review book will have
specific instructions made by the teacher)
Brinkley, Alan. 1999. American History: A Survey, 10th edition. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Newman, John J. and John M. Schmalbach. 2006. United States History: Preparing for the
Advanced Placement Examination. New York: AMSCO
Supplementary Readings: (excerpts from the following sources will be provided by the teacher
for analysis)
Bailey, Thomas A. and David M. Kennedy. 2002. The American Spirit, Vol. 1 & 2. New York:
Houghton Mifflin.

Dudley, William. 1996. Opposing Viewpoints in American History, Vol. 1 & 2. Boston:
Greenhaven Press

Zinn, Howard. 2005. A People's History of the United States. New York: Harper Collins.

Online Resources:(websites must be used for current event assignments and the end-of-semester
project)
www.historyteacher.net
www.mhhe.com/Brinkley10
www.apstudent.com/ushistory/
www.historysage.com
www.digitalhistory.uh.edu
www.gilderlehrman.org
www.studygs.net
www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/avalon.htm
www.hippocampus.org

Primary Documents: (resources from various materials will be provided by the teacher for
evaluation, including from):

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cshome.html
http://www.un.org/
http://www.bbc.com/news/
http://www.globalpost.com/
http://www.state.gov/
https://www.cia.gov/

AP US History Course Content Outline Fall Semester 2014-2015

Texts are Brinkleys American History and AMSCOs United States History
Online titles are from Digital Historys website at www.digitalhistory.uh.edu
Ideally chapters should be read prior to beginning a period in class. Study Guides are due at the end of each Period.

Period 1 - FIRST CONTACT 1491-1607

Aug. 25 Sept. 5
Brinkley Chapter 1: The Meeting of Cultures
AMSCO: Chapter 1: Exploration, Discovery, and Settlement
Digital History: First Americans, Exploration and Discovery

Period 2 - COLONIZATION 1607-1754

Sept. 8 Sept. 16
Brinkley Chapter 2: The English Transplantations
AMSCO: Chapter 2 The Thirteen Colonies and the British Empire
Digital History: Colonization

COLONIAL SOCIETY AND CULTURE

Sept. 17 Sept. 24
Brinkley Chapter 3: Society and Culture in Provincial America
AMSCO: Chapter 3 Colonial Society in the 18th Century
Digital History: The Origins and Nature of New World Slavery

Period 3 - CONFLICTS ESCALATE

Sept. 29 Oct. 2
Brinkley Chapter 4: The Empire under Strain
AMSCO: Chapter 4 Imperial Wars and Colonial Protest
Digital History: Patterns of Change 1700-1775

THE REVOLUTION
Oct. 6 Oct. 10
Brinkley Chapter 5: The American Revolution
AMSCO: Chapter 5 The American Revolution
Digital History: The American Revolution, The Founders

THE NEW REPUBLIC

Oct. 13 Oct. 16
Brinkley Chapter 6: The Constitution and the New Republic
AMSCO: Chapter 6: The Constitution and the New Republic
Digital History: The Critical Period, The Constitution and the Bill of Rights, The First New Nation

Period 4 JEFFERSONIAN ERA

Oct. 20 Oct. 24
Brinkley Chapter 7: The Jeffersonian Era
AMSCO: Chapter 7 The Age of Jefferson 1800-1816
Digital History: Jeffersonian Republicanism, Antislavery

NATIONALISM AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Oct. 27 Oct. 28
Brinkley Chapter 8: Varieties of American Nationalism
AMSCO: Chapter 8: Nationalism and Economic Development 1817 1824
Digital History: The Era of Good Feelings, Antislavery

JACKSONIAN ERA
Oct. 29- Oct.31
Brinkley Chapter 9: Jacksonian America
AMSCO: Chapter 10: The Age of Jackson
Digital History: Jacksonian Democracy
Study Guide: Reform and Expansion

CONTINUING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Nov. 1 Nov. 3
Brinkley Chapter 10: Americas Economic Revolution
AMSCO: Chapter 12: Territorial and Economic Expansion 1830-60
Digital History: The Roots of American Economic Growth, Westward Expansion

Period 5 - ANTEBELLUM SOUTH

Nov. 3 - 7
Brinkley Chapter 11: Cotton, Slavery, and the Old South
AMSCO: Chapter 9: Sectionalism
Digital History: Antislavery, The Pre Civil War South

CULTURE AND REFORM

Nov. 10-14
Brinkley Chapter 12: Antebellum Culture and Reform
AMSCO: Chapter 11: The Ferment of Reform
Digital History: Pre Civil War Reform, Religion and the Early Republic

CONFLICT, EXPANSION, AND COMPROMISE

Nov. 17-21
Brinkley Chapter 13: The Impending Crisis
AMSCO: Chapter 13: The Union in Peril
Digital History: The Impending Crisis

THE CIVIL WAR

Nov. 25 Dec. 2 (Thanksgiving Holiday)

Brinkley Chapter 14: The Civil War
AMSCO: Ch 14: The Civil War
Digital History: The Civil War

Period 6 - RECONSTRUCTION
Dec. 3 Dec. 10
Brinkley Chapter 15: Reconstruction and the New South
AMSCO: Chapter 15: Reconstruction
Digital History: Reconstruction