Course Syllabus

Advanced Placement World History Course Syllabus

 

Richland High School

Mrs. Taryn Suchy

Taryn.Suchy@rsd.edu

509-967-6536 x 1650

Room 2270

 

Course Description

AP World History is a college-level course that analyzes global patterns of historical development and exchange from roughly 8000 B.C.E. to the present. Using primary and secondary sources, AP World History students will track historical change and continuity within and across six periods of study, paying close attention to unifying course themes and accompanying learning objectives. Great emphasis is placed on the honing of historical thinking skills, such as chronological reasoning, comparison, contextualization, argumentation, interpretation, and synthesis. The course culminates with the national AP World History examination, which will be administered in May. Students will earn a weighted grade for this class and, if successful on the national examination, they could receive college credit at their preferred university.

 

Course Resources Textbook:

Duiker. William J, World History. Eighth Edition, Boston: Cengage Learning, 2014.

Primary Source Reader:

Worlds of History:  A Comparative Reader by Kevin Reilly.

Review Guide:

  World History: Preparing for the Advanced Placement Examination ©2017

  The Princeton Review: AP World History Exam. 2019 edition

 

AP World History Geographical Coverage

The five major geographical regions of the AP World History course include Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania. The AP World History course provides balanced geographical coverage with all five of these regions represented.

 

AP World History Course Themes and Corresponding Thematic Learning Objectives

• Theme 1: Interaction Between Humans and the environment (ENV)
• Theme 2: Development and Interaction of Cultures (CUL)
• Theme 3: State Building, Expansion, and Conflict (SB)
• Theme 4: Creation, Expansion, and Interaction of Economic Systems (ECON)
• Theme 5: Development and Transformation of Social Structures (SOC)

 

COURSE OVERVIEW

• Unit Structure

A typical AP World History unit will consist of interactive lectures, structured discussion of the assigned readings, primary source analysis, cooperative group work, class debates, technology-based instruction, essay skill development, short-answer skill development, map exercises, critical thinking activities, modified DBQ, statistical data analysis, and Socratic Seminars.

• Exams

Each unit will close with assessments consisting of stimulus-based multiple-choice questions, short-answer questions, a document-based question, and/or a long essay targeting a specific historical thinking skill. Each of these exams are based on questions you will get on the AP exam in May.

• Quizzes

You will have quizzes over chapters or sections in the book. These will be on Canvas and will be open note.  You will often have two chances at the quiz to improve your score. The quizzes will be multiple choice and mostly a review of the reading. There are designed as a learning tools.

• Partner and group work

You will be working with a partner throughout the course.  I will let you choose your own partners.  Choose well, if your partnership is not working I will reassign you.  You will also work within a larger group.  This should be a cooperative arrangement and not competitive. The focus is on how to help each succeed.

• Binder

You will need a 3 ring binder divided into sections. The first section is for AP exam directions and skill sheets. For the rest of the binder divide it into six sections for the periods of history that we are studying. You can then use this binder as a study guide for the AP exam.

• Canvas

I have set up our class on Instructure Canvas.  I will post assignments and lecture notes on there. Canvas allows you to download the app. You can check assignments, upload documents and join discussions. You will be taking most of your tests and quizzes and uploading your work through canvas.

 

CLASSROOM POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

 

• Absences

It is your responsibility to make up work when you’re absent. If you know you’re going to be gone, get your assignments before you leave. Check Canvas, or the clipboard, the assignments will be posted and the documents are available.

 

• Late work

Late work will be accepted up till five days with a loss of points for each day. Once the unit is finished I will not accepted work related to that unit.

 

• Videos and Films

We will watch various videos and documentaries in this class. I also show lots of clips from movies and documentaries to illustrate a point. I have listed the ones that I use below. 

 

• Engineering an Empire Series
• 300 (movie clip)
• Troy (movie clip)
• History Channel The Plague (Documentary)
• Engineering an empire (Documentary)
• Joan of Arc (clip) Rated pg-13
• Timeline (Clip) Rated pg-13
• Reformation video clips from the History Channel (Documentary)
• Elizabeth (clip) Rated pg-13
• Amistad (clip) (African Slave trade scene)
• America the Story of Us (Documentary)
• Liberty (Documentary)
• The Men who built America (Documentary)
• The Century- America’s time (Documentary)
• Russia Land of the Tsars (Documentary)
• French Revolution (Documentary)
• The Last Samurai (clip) Rated Pg-13
• War Horse Rated Pg-13
• Enemy at the Gates
• 12 Strong
• Dunkirk

 

• Tardy

If you are tardy to class, per RSD policy you will be sent to the office for a tardy slip.

 

• Hall Pass

I have a hall pass hanging by the door. Please ask to use it and take it with you.  One person out at a time.

 

• Cheating / Plagiarism

If you cheat on an assignment it is a zero on that assignment. Plagiarism is copying directly from another person or from a website and trying to pass it off as your own work. If you use materials, you need to cite them to give credit of where it came from. Plagiarism is also a zero.

 

• Electronic Devices and Phones

We have Chrome books that we will use in class. Please be respectful of the chromebooks. I will also let you use your phones to look up information or to listen to music while you are working. Your phone needs to be put away otherwise. I will give you one warning on this and then I will take the phone. If I have to take your phone on the second time I will send it to the office.

 

 GRADING

 

Grades are based on assignments and class participation. I use the standard grading scale

 

A: 93% -100%

A-: 90%-92%

B+: 87%- 89%

B: 83%-86%

B-:80%-82%

C+: 77%-79%

C: 73%-76%

C-: 70%-72%

D: 60%-69%

F: 59% and below

 

Parents please read and sign. Students please read and sign and turn in.

 Parents

AP world history is a very challenging class. The challenge for most students is in the amount of material that we cover. This class covers all of world history starting at 3500 BCE and continuing to present. The AP test is in May and it will test over this entire time period. To make sure the students are ready we move very quickly. The pace is about a chapter a week. There will be homework every night, students need to plan on about 30 to 60 minutes worth for this class alone every night.

 

Please sign up to use PowerSchool, RHS’ online grading and attendance system, where parents can view their students’ progress in realtime.  If you are unsure how to go about this, please contact the school office for login information. Please update your email on powerschool as this is the most efficient way that I will contact you or send out class information.

 

Students will be using canvas and can log in at home or any device at rsd.instructure.com. As a parent you can sign up for canvas as a parent to see what the assignments are and to see due dates. https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-10913-414473163 This link has directions for signing up as a parent.

 

Email is my primary line of direct communication so feel free to email me (taryn.suchy@rsd.edu) at any time with questions or concerns.  Please also read over the entire class syllabus to familiarize yourself with what your student will be doing in my class for the year. Please answer the questions below about your students to help me get to know them.

 

Recommended resources:

 

I would recommend the Princeton review guide for students that are planning on taking the AP exam. You can it order on amazon. Make sure to get the updated 2019 version.

 

 

Parent questions about your student

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AP World History

 “I have read and understand the course syllabus and policies with Mrs. Suchy”

 

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