Mrs.

Schneider APUSH NDCL 2014-2015

AP United States History: Polices & Expectations
Email: molly.schneider@ndcl.org Website: http://schneidersocialstudies.weebly.com
Course Description:
The Advanced Placement Program in United States History is designed to provide students with the
analytic skills and factual knowledge necessary to deal critically with the problems and materials in
United States history. The program prepares students for intermediate and advanced college sources by
making demands on them equivalent to those made by full year introductory college courses. Students
should learn to assess historical materials their relevance to a given interpretive problem, their
reliability, and their importance and to weigh evidence and interpretations presented in historic
scholarship. This Advanced Placement course in United States History will attempt to develop the skills
necessary to arrive a conclusions on the basis of an informed judgment and to present reasons and
evidence clearly and persuasively in essay format. Students are responsible for their own learning. Class
assignments include reading, supplementary readings, note-taking, writing assignments, DBQs, FRQs,
simulations, multiple choice exams, and projects.


Required Materials:

A Binder with 5 dividers labeled: class notes, thematic notes, small assignments, writing
assignments, exam preparation
A spiral notebook to take notes while reading the textbook
Highlighters, pens/pencils
Provided Texts:
o The American Pageant, 14
th
edition
o The American Spirit (Readings Book, two volumes/one each semester)
o Fast Track to A 5 (Exam Prep Book)
o Other supplemental documents and exam prep books


Course Expectations:
Readings: Students will be expected to read assigned pages and complete notes weekly from the
required texts as noted prior to class meetings. Students should also be prepared to do a substantial
amount of supplementary readings for assignments and projects.

Assignments: Students are expected to complete all assignments on time. All assignments are due on
their assigned dates as class begins unless otherwise indicated. Although students are expected to see the
teacher about missed or late work, a study buddy is encouraged. Being absent the day before an exam
does not excuse a student from taking that exam except in unusual circumstances.

Assessments: Every chapter from the American Pageant will be assessed with a reading quiz. All items
on quiz are derived from the reading and not just the guided notes or classroom activities. Unit exams
consist of multiple choice questions and DBQ/FRQ questions. All essays will be scored according to the
9-point AP rubric. The exams are designed to mirror concepts and skills and perform exact tasks asked of
students on the AP exam. Please treat these exams as practice for the real AP exam; study accordingly.
Mrs. Schneider APUSH NDCL 2014-2015

Homework: Homework will be assigned daily and will consist of both reading and note taking. Notes
will be taken in a specific format of your choosing (explained separately.) Part of your notes will involve
the AP themes required throughout this course. You may be able to use your textbooks notes on the
reading quizzes occasionally. If you fall behind in the reading, you may well be unable to catch up. A
reading schedule will be given a couple of weeks ahead of time so that you can plan accordingly.

Note-Taking: Taking notes is a required independent activity for this course. Notes should be
maintained and organized in a separate spiral notebook. Notes for each chapter will be checked on days
scheduled according to the day-to-day calendar for each grading period. Note-taking strategies are varied
and each individual student should determine the best way of taking note for him/herself. Examples of
common note-taking strategies:
Cornell Notes: a form of two column notes that transform note-taking process to note-making.
This is accomplished by students summarizing the information noted.
Content Frames: are visual representations of information. Frames work well with material that
has main topics and similar subtopics where showing the inter-relationship of ideas is important.
Magnet Summaries: a form of two column notes where students write the central concept on one
side with key words related to the concept underneath. In the other column, students write a
summary sentence about the main concept.
Power Notes: similar to outlining. Students differentiate between main ideas and details. Main
ideas are power 1 while details are power 2, 3, 4, etc.
Chapter Outlines: focus on the main ideas of the chapter and summarize the information
contained in the chapter.
Note-taking strategies/formats are not limited to the examples above. These are just a few common
methods used for taking notes. Note-taking should be used as a way of processing and categorizing the
information you encounter in this class. Note-taking is a highly individualized activity. It is important
that you incorporate the method that is most effective for you.

Late-Assignments, Grade Categories, Grading Scale: Please refer to your student handbook for detailed
information on the school wide grading and late assignment policies.

Absences: Any student that has missed a class for whatever reason should check the class website for
missed assignments, notes, handouts, etc. If a student is absent the class before a test, he or she is still
responsible for taking the test on the scheduled day.

Academic Help: Please see me when you need extra help. Do not wait until the last minutesee me as
soon as you can see that you are having trouble. Be sure to keep in mind that this is an Advanced
Placement course, a certain level of expectation/demand is in place and is expected to be achieved.








Mrs. Schneider APUSH NDCL 2014-2015
AP U.S. History Course Outline:

AP Themes: The content learning objectives for the AP U.S. History course and exam are
organized under seven themes, which are topics of historical inquiry to explore throughout the
AP U.S. History course.

1. Identity
2. Work, exchange, and technology
3. Peopling
4. Politics and power
5. America in the world
6. Environment and geography physical and human
7. Ideas, beliefs, and culture

Course Content: In preparation for the Advanced Placement exam, students will study the
following topics each quarter:

Quarter One: (American Pageant Chapters 1-15)
Founding the New Nation c. 33,000 B.C.E.-1783 C.E.
Building the New Nation 1776-1860

Quarter Two: (American Pageant Chapters 16-27)
Testing the New Nation 1820-1877
Forging an Industrial Society 1869-1909

Quarter Three: (American Pageant Chapters 28-35)
Struggling for Justice at Home and Abroad 1900-1945

Quarter Four: (American Pageant Chapters 36-42)
Making Modern America 1945 to the Present


AP U.S. History Exam: Friday, May 8, 2015, AM Session