ADVANCED PLACEMENT UNITED STATES HISTORY SYLLABUS
MR. GODFREY - SCGSAH
2012-2013
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TEACHER CONTACT INFORMATION:
Office: D112
Office Hours/Extra Help: 1:30-3:30 PM Mondays-Thursdays, 12:30-1:30 PM Fridays, and by appointment
Office Phone: (864) 282-3750
Email: rgodfrey@scgsah.state.sc.us
Web Site URL: http://teacherweb.com/SC/SCGSAH/Godfrey (the above has day-to-day assignments, outlines, etc.)
Course Due Dates and Reading Assignments: click link at website above
Online Accessible Gradebook through Power Schools (parents and students will be provided with passwords by the school)
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COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Advanced Placement U.S. History is a rigorous, college-level course designed to prepare students well for the A.P. Exam given nationally each year in May. A premium will be placed in this course on reading, writing, and discussing themes in history. The major goal of the course is have students pass the A.P. exam and receive college credit for the survey freshman history course. As required by state law, this course terminates with a state "end-of-course" (EOC) exam that counts as twenty percent of the overall course grade. This course satisfies the SC diploma requirements for one unit of United States History.
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TEXTBOOKS:
Dollar, Charles M., and Gary W. Reichard, eds. American issues a documentary reader. New York: Glencoe McGraw-Hill, 2002. Print.
Hartshorne, Thomas L., Robert A. Wheeler, John H. Cary, and Julius Weinberg. The Social Fabric, Volume I & II (9th Edition). New York: Longman, 2002. Print.
Kennedy, David M. American pageant a history of the Republic. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002. Print.
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MATERIALS NEEDED:
2" Three-ring binder, Computer with Printer, Internet Access, Computer paper
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ATTENDANCE/TARDIES:
Attendance and punctuality are expected for all students as they increase your chance of success in the classroom. We will strictly comply with both the state law and school rules in these areas. Students who miss more than five unexcused absences will fail the course. Graded work missed for an unexcused absence (including projects and tests that are due) will be counted as a zero and can not be "made up." In addition, three unexcused tardies will equal an absence. If a student comes in with an unexcused tardy during a quiz or test, then he/she will only have the time that remains to complete the test.
Be aware than an unexcused tardy of more than fifteen minutes to class will be counted as an unexcused absence. Students are strongly encouraged to come to class anyway (even with just a few minutes left) in order to talk with the instructor about what they missed.
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ACADEMIC PROCEDURES
I. Daily Quizzes
A five-question quiz based on the reading assigned for that day will be given everyday. Sometimes the quizzes will be at the beginning of class, and sometimes at the end. Half of the points for all incorrect quiz items may be earned back by utilizing the "quiz correction form" provided to you. The rules for correcting the quizzes must be strictly followed. Furthermore, the single lowest quiz score is dropped each nine weeks.
II. Unit Tests
Unit tests will be taken every six chapters of Pageant. The test will be proctored in class in segments (see APUSH Reading Assignments link on home page of my teacher website). Each unit test has 3 parts: you will do a Free Response Question essay one day (35 minutes), take the multiple choice over two class periods (27.5 minutes each portion), and do a Document Based Question essay on your own outside of class for homework. Utilizing the honor system, students will be given one week to write the DBQ essay and be expected to strictly adhere to the 15 minute pre-writing and 45 minute actual writing time limits. The overall unit test score will be scaled (both the multiple choice part and the essay part) on an AP-like scale the teacher has developed. The unit tests in this class mimic the real A.P. exam given nationally on Wednesday, May 15, 2013.
III. Lecture Days (American Pageant)
On days in which the main text is used in class, the teacher will lecture on the chapter using a teacher-created outline available to students on-line. Students are required go to the teacher website to PRINT the chapter outline BEFORE class starts!!! Actually, outlines are bundled together at my teacher website so you can print off many at one time. I also recommend that you use the outlines as a study/review tool before and after you read the main text. (See Tips to be Successful in Godfrey's Class link on my website.)
IV. Circle Discussion Days (American Issues/Social Fabric)
On days in which the supplementary texts are used in class, students will construct an "ESSENTIAL QUESTION" for each chapter that they read. These questions will be broad discussion-type questions (often beginning with "Why" and "How"), and they should be on some aspect on the chapter that the student would like to discuss. In addition to writing the question, the students will compose a one-paragraph succinct answer to their question. These compositions called "essential questions" should be word-processed and labeled at the header name, date, book initials, and chapter number. These essential questions will be used in class for discussion. We will sit in a "circle group" to discuss. At the end of the class, the questions and paragraphs are collected, and each is graded on a point system.
V. Team Debates
Once per semester each student will be assigned to a debate team (either the "affirmative" or "negative" side) on an historical issue. Each debate will have a three-minute opening speaker, a three-minute rebuttal, and a three-minute concluding speaker. Students will be given a list at the beginning of the semester with the debates as well as guidelines and tips on how to properly prepare. Students may use any scholarly material to prepare their oral arguments, but the teacher will provide the main sourcebook, Taking Sides: American History by Madaras and SoRelle. Students will receive a individual score from the teacher based on the degree of preparation and overall effective communication of ideas. This counts as a test grade for that nine weeks. Peers in the class will determine who won the debate, and each student on the winning team will receive a bonus of two points added to his/her individual score.
VI. In-Class Writing Humanities Activities
Periodically during the nine weeks, we will have an in-class humanities writing activity that attempts to pull the academic content of our class together with artistic vibes of the period of history we are studying. After discussing and/or analyzing a piece of art (music, painting, poem, etc.), I will ask you individually to write a succinct answer to a prompt and collect these in class. They will be graded on a check-plus, check, check-minus or zero system and these will comprise 5% of the nine weeks grade.
VII. Make-up Work
Make sure that you make up all missed quizzes within 5 days of the absence. (Of course I am speaking about excused absences and missed work only. Academic work missed during an unexcused absence will result in a zero.) I will place a zero in the grade "hole" until a make-up score is posted (ditto for essential questions). Make-up quizzes are eligible for the "corrections process" ONLY IF made up in time to be graded by teacher and returned to student in order for them to be turn in the following week using the quiz corrections form. Therefore, it is a good idea to get me to grade the make-up quiz after you take it and record the score so I can give this to you to correct. Thank you are attending to these matters promptly.
VII. Word-Processed Papers Requirements
As to word-processing preferences, I prefer 12-point, double-space, and a standard font like "Times New Roman" or "Courier." I also like each assignment to be labeled with your name, date, book title (initials will do), and chapter number. All essential questions and DBQs must be word-processed accordingly. The "quiz correction form" does NOT have to be word-processed.
VIII. Extra Credit
Each nine weeks I will show a history film on the weekend on a Friday evening. Students who attend will receive humanities credit, and those who write a film review will receive an extra quiz score.
Attending any International Relations Club meeting or IRC sponsored event (like the Fall World Religions Symposium) will earn students extra points on quizzes.
IX. Independent Study for AP Exam
As a veteran instructor of the A.P. course for many years, I stress the importance of studying on your own (or with a study partner) independent of any organized class review activity by me. There are several excellent prep books on the market with practice tests. Consider buying one of these on your own and using it, especially second semester. However, do not make the mistake of thinking that prep books can replace assigned course readings! I will also provide the students with study materials they may study in the library such as Kaplan's APUSH in a Box.
X. Honor Code: Personal and Academic Integrity
Our handbook defines plagiarism as “passing off the words or ideas of others as your own; it is lying cheating, and stealing all at once, and it is therefore a violation of the Honor Code.” It is also a violation of the most fundamental standards of integrity. All work not your own (ideas, facts, opinions, as well as exact language) must be cited using MLA style. Any work that isn’t cited this way is plagiarism, and at the first instance, it will earn a grade of “zero” and the case will be referred to the Honor Council for further review and possible additional consequences.
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NINE WEEKS GRADING CATEGORIES (WITH WEIGHTS):
Daily Quizzes 40%
Unit Tests 40%
Essential Q's 10%
Participation 5% [based on student self-survey with teacher input]
Humanities 5%
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FINAL GRADE CALCULATION:
1st Semester (S1) = 40%
2nd Semester (S2) = 40%
Final Exam (F1) = 20% [US History End-of-Course Exam/State Law]
Course Grade (Y1)
Note: The semester grades are determined by averaging the two nine weeks' grades.
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SOUTH CAROLINA END OF COURSE (EOC) EXAM:
The SC Legislature passed the Education Accountability Act of 1998 that included a mandatory EOC exam in four "gateway" courses for all South Carolina students: English 1, physical science, biology, and the last one to be phased in, United States History. By law, this EOC exam must be counted as twenty percent of the overall course grade. The EOC in U.S. History is fifty-five multiple choice questions that cover all ten standards in the SC State Department of Education's curriculum for U.S. History. Students will be provided with necessary tools to review the course content by Mr. Godfrey; however, they will be expected to study effectively using the tools provided, thus indicating that they are taking the EOC exam seriously.
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UNITS OF STUDY
This class is divided into seven units, each covering six chapters of the main textbook The American Pageant. We test after each unit. Here are the units of study:
Unit 1: American Beginnings and Growing Pains (33,000 BCE – 1763 CE)
Unit 2: New American Republic is Launched & Tested (1763 – 1824)
Unit 3: Mass Democracy, Expansion, & Sectionalism (1824 – 1854)
Unit 4: Civil War, Reconstruction, & Industrialism (1854 – 1900)
Unit 5: Urban Growth, Imperialism, & Taming Capitalism (1865 – 1916)
Unit 6: Great War, Boom & Bust, New Deal and WWII (1917 – 1945)
Unit 7: Modern America from Cold War to Present (1945 – 2000)
[For a detailed list of required readings for the entire year, go to the teacher website.]