** SCHOOL CLOSURE ASSIGNMENT UPDATE **
I hope this update finds you and your families well during this crazy time! I want to pass on the most recent information from College Board and let you all know what is happening with AP testing. So, as you may have heard, AP is going to do all tests as 45-minute online assessments. Here is what they have passed on to teachers so far:
We just started covering the Great Depression prior to the break and in the time we are out on this extended break we would have finished the Great Depression and World War II. Luckily, the AP exam is not covering information past the end of World War II (1945).
You already have your study guide and reading material for the Great Depression (if not, go to Unit 6 Assignments and look for Unit 6 Study Guide Part 2) so continue to work on that. In addition, you need to complete the World War II part of Unit 7. Under the Unit 7 Notes and Assignments tab you will find both the study guide and the AMSCO Review reading for Chapter 25. Both Unit 6 Part 2 and Unit 7 study guides should be completed and emailed to me no later than April 3.
These grades will count as assignments for 4th 9 weeks and both cover essential information for the AP exam so you should work diligently to complete them on time. If circumstances prevent completion then email me to see about an extension. Be sure to check this website often for updates!!
While I know that next week is Spring Break, and I hope that you are getting a chance to relax, it is essential (for real!!) that you make time to learn and review this material prior to returning to school on the 15th. These are unique circumstances and an opportunity to make the best of of challenging situation by preparing as much as possible for this exam. You all have a VERY REAL chance of passing so take advantage of all of the resources that are available for APUSH prep!!
As always, you are welcome to email me with any questions or concerns you may have. I will check my email daily and get back to you as quickly as possible.
Stay safe, healthy and enjoy your time off! I miss y'all already...
Mrs. Zara-Smith
- The online AP assessments can be done from home on two different testing dates (AP will release those dates no later than April 3)
- The exam will only cover information through in Periods 1 - 7 (up to 1945)
- You will be able to take the exam on any device you have access to - computer, table or smartphone - and taking a picture of handwritten work is also acceptable
- The exam questions are written in a way that prevents cheating and digital plagiarism software will be used to ensure that no one gets an unfair advantage. They will be free-response questions with no DBQ or multiple choice and AP will release the format no later than April 3. I'll let you know as soon as I hear anything from College Board
- AP is offering daily online, live review sessions for multiple subjects starting Wednesday, March 25 covering information from the first 75% of the course. Go to AP Central to access the live review session links and schedule. Right now the ones starting this week (March 25-27) for APUSH are an overview of Periods 8 and 9, which WILL NOT be covered on the exam, but are designed to provide you with continuing context for material you have already learned. The review sessions after these 3 will cover material that WILL be on the exam.
We just started covering the Great Depression prior to the break and in the time we are out on this extended break we would have finished the Great Depression and World War II. Luckily, the AP exam is not covering information past the end of World War II (1945).
You already have your study guide and reading material for the Great Depression (if not, go to Unit 6 Assignments and look for Unit 6 Study Guide Part 2) so continue to work on that. In addition, you need to complete the World War II part of Unit 7. Under the Unit 7 Notes and Assignments tab you will find both the study guide and the AMSCO Review reading for Chapter 25. Both Unit 6 Part 2 and Unit 7 study guides should be completed and emailed to me no later than April 3.
These grades will count as assignments for 4th 9 weeks and both cover essential information for the AP exam so you should work diligently to complete them on time. If circumstances prevent completion then email me to see about an extension. Be sure to check this website often for updates!!
While I know that next week is Spring Break, and I hope that you are getting a chance to relax, it is essential (for real!!) that you make time to learn and review this material prior to returning to school on the 15th. These are unique circumstances and an opportunity to make the best of of challenging situation by preparing as much as possible for this exam. You all have a VERY REAL chance of passing so take advantage of all of the resources that are available for APUSH prep!!
As always, you are welcome to email me with any questions or concerns you may have. I will check my email daily and get back to you as quickly as possible.
Stay safe, healthy and enjoy your time off! I miss y'all already...
Mrs. Zara-Smith
The goal of this Advanced Placement US History course is twofold: first, to prepare students to take the AP US History Exam by presenting the essential skills that students should be able to demonstrate at the end of a college-level survey course in American History; second, to encourage students to see the value in the ability to use historical facts and evidence in order to foster a deeper understanding of critical developments in American history.
"We don't know where the world is going. Technology is going to disrupt so many traditional assumptions, employment options, and economic foundations that we don't know what kind of jobs students are going to have a decade from now. People need to have skills and adaptability that will make them flexible enough to be successful in a world we can't predict. |
Overview of Advanced Placement US History
There are four components that make up the AP US History curriculum:
- Historical Thinking Skills - these are the skills necessary to study and practice history. There are four main types of skills that will be emphasized in this course: chronological reasoning, comparison and contextualization, creating historical arguments from historical evidence, and historical interpretation and synthesis.
- Thematic Learning Objectives - there are seven main themes that are used to tie the study of the history of the United States together. These themes will be heavily emphasized on the AP Exam and all AP exam questions will be rooted in this thematic information. The themes are as follows: Identity; Work, Exchange and Technology; Peopling; Politics and Power; America in the World; Environment and Geography; Ideas, Beliefs and Cultures.
- Concept Outline - The required content for each of the nine historical periods of US history is presented in the concept outline. The key concepts, supporting concepts, and historical developments that are required knowledge for each period will be presented and no AP US History exam questions will require students to know historical content that falls outside this concept outline.
- AP US History Exam - The AP US History Exam is 3 hours and 15 minutes long and includes a 100-minute multiple choice/short answer section and a 95-minute free response section. Each section is divided into 2 parts: Section 1 includes 55 multiple choice questions (55 minutes) and 4 short-answer questions (45 minutes); Section II includes one Document-Based Question (60 minutes) and one long essay question (35 minutes).
Student learning will be assessed in numerous ways on the AP US History exam:
- achievement of the thematic learning objectives will be assessed throughout the entire exam
- use of the historical thinking skills will be assessed throughout the entire exam
- understanding of all nine historical periods will be assessed throughout the entire exam
- no document-based question or long essay question will focus only on events prior to 1607 (Period 1) or after 1980 (Period 9)
"I know of no time in human history where ignorance was better than knowledge."
- Neil deGrasse Tyson