AP World History

Course Guidelines and Expectations

2009-2010
Ms. Strobel and Ms. Murphy
kstrobel@sch.ci.lexington.ma.us
kmurphy@sch.ci.lexington.ma.us

Welcome to AP World History. The Advanced Placement Program was developed as an opportunity for high school
students to engage in college level work. For most of you, this is probably the first experience you have had with an
AP course. I am expecting college level reading and work from you throughout the year, which will be quantitatively
and qualitatively different from previous history classes. As you may know, AP World History is a fairly new course
across the nation. We are on the forefront of historical study, research and teaching, and that’s very exciting.

Extra Help: Thursdays 2:35-3:15 pm and by appointment.

Course Texts:
Textbook: Stearns, et al. World Civilizations The Global Experience 3rd ed.
Readers:
Adams, Langer, Hwa, Stearns, Wiesner-Hanks eds. Experiencing World History
Strayer. Ways of the World: A Global History
Pomeranz and Topik, The World That Trade Created Society, Culture and the World Economy,
1400- Present
Reilly, Worlds of History A Comparative Reader 4th ed. v. 1 and v. 2

Course Website: http://apwhstrobel.blogspot.com

CLASS EXPECTATIONS AND GUIDELINES

1. Be Responsible
 You are expected to arrive to class on time. On time means you are in the room and ready to begin when the bell
rings.
 Be an active participant in your learning and your classmates’ learning. You are expected to come willing to stretch
yourself intellectually. Ask questions, draw inferences, make new connections and share those discoveries with the
class.
 Take pride in your work. If you are willing to push yourself to new understandings and better work, you will find
this course both more rewarding and enjoyable.
You are expected to take initiative in preparing and studying. Use your study groups as a resource. Seek extra help during the
assigned times or schedule an appointment.
2. Be Prepared
 You are expected to come to class with a writing utensil, assignment notebook, history binder and completed
homework.
 This course has a lot of reading, much more than you have been used to in previous history classes. You should
expect to have approximately 15-20 pages of reading a night, which takes about an hour to read. I will use class time
to help clarify and enrich what has not been covered in the readings. Thorough and careful reading of the texts in
necessary for you to fully engage in class discussions and activities.
3. Be Respectful
 Respect one another. Listen when others are talking, raise your hand and wait to be recognized before speaking.
 The class website is for school purposes only. All language and comments must be school appropriate. Your
comments and conduct on the site will factor into your overall homework and participation grades.
 Respect our learning environment. Keep our classroom clean, do not write on desks, and ask permission before
handling other people’s property.
 Cell phones, iPods and all other personal electronic devices must be turned off and out of sight during class time.

4. Be Honest
▪ You are expected to follow the LHS Honor Code at all times. The LHS Honor Code is attached.
 GRADING GUIDELINES

Essay/Exams/Projects (45%): I will require a lot of writing from you this year because it’s an important way for me to
gauge what you are thinking and learning. Tests will cover information from the readings, handouts, and lectures. Essays
will reflect the essay formats of the AP World History exam.

Homework/Journal/Quizzes (35%): It is important to keep up with your homework assignments so I can assess your
progress through the year. Some assignments will stand alone; others will be cumulative, meaning that they will build up to
bigger projects or papers. Please prepare assignments legibly, in black/blue ink.

Binder: You should have a binder dedicated solely to history. The binder should be separated into three tabs:
1. Permanent papers: This section includes papers that should not be removed, including the course expectations,
APWH course of study, Habits of Mind, etc.
2. Notes: This section will include class notes. Notes on assigned reading should be put in your journal sections.
3. Essays: This section will include all materials relating to the 3 types of essays on the APWH exam. You should
file in this sections your personal essays as well as directions and resources for writing essays.
4. Homework Journal: This journal will contain weekly homework sheets and nightly homework assignments. I
will collect your journal entries periodically, and grade your responses. I will also check the journals for
completion of an assignment. This means that you will have to bring your journal with you to class every day.
It will be to your benefit to keep your journal well-organized, especially as we get close to the AP exam.
 Begin the journal with a title page that includes your name, your teacher's name, your school address and phone
number so that if you lose your journal, it can be returned to you.

Quizzes: Quizzes may be announced or unannounced.

Class Participation/Classwork (20%): Participation is a crucial part of this class, and it is more than just how many times
you raise your hand to answer a question. It also includes how well you engage in group work, complete tasks, and listen to
your classmates.

Study Groups: At the beginning of the year you will choose study groups of three to four students. You will work with these
groups throughout the year on assignments in class and at home. You are expected to work in your group to review for tests
and quizzes and as a resource when you are absent.

Issues that affect grades:

Attendance/Tardiness: You are expected to adhere to the attendance and tardiness policies outlined in the LHS Handbook.

Make-up Policy/Late work: It is your responsibility to schedule and make-up work within a reasonable amount of time,
which usually means right away. Homework done may count for full credit the day after you are absent. If a homework
assignment is one day late, it will be given half credit. For papers and projects, the grade will drop one full grade for
each school day that it is late, unless prior arrangements have been made.

SUPPLIES
For Classroom: At Home:
Three-ring binder specifically for this class with four Dictionary
dividers World Atlas/Map
Notebook paper or loose-leaf
Blue or black pens, pencils, highlighter
Assignment notebook
Colored markers or colored pencils for map work
Blogspot login
I. Course Themes
The course covers the history of the world and the development of early civilization to present. Obviously, not everything
can be covered in a year, but we hope to give you an opportunity to gain a solid general understanding of how our world and
its societies have become what they are today.

1. Interaction between humans and the environment

• Demography and disease
• Migration
• Patterns of settlement
• Technology

2. Development and interaction of cultures

• Religions
• Belief systems, philosophies, and ideologies
• Science and technology
• The arts and architecture

3. State-building, expansion, and conflict

• Political structures and forms of governance
• Empires
• Nations and nationalism
• Revolts and revolutions
• Regional, trans-regional, and global structures and organizations

4. Creation, expansion, and interaction of economic systems

• Agricultural and pastoral production
• Trade and commerce
• Labor systems
• Industrialization
• Capitalism and socialism

5. Development and transformation of social structures

• Gender roles and relations
• Family and kinship
• Racial and ethnic constructions
• Social and economic classes

II. Habits of Mind (taken from the AP World History Course Description)
The AP World History course addresses habits of mind or skills in two categories: a) those addressed by any rigorous history
course, and 2) those addressed by a world history course.

Four habits of mind are in the first category:

• Constructing and evaluating arguments: using evidence to make plausible arguments
• Using documents and other primary data: developing the skills necessary to analyze point of view and context, and to
understand and interpret information.
• Assessing continuity and change over time and over different world regions
• Understanding diversity of interpretations through analysis of context, point of view, and frame of reference

Five habits of mind are in the second category:

• Seeing global patterns and processes over time and space while connecting local developments to global ones
• Comparing within and among societies, including comparing societies’ reactions to global processes
• Considering human commonalities and differences
• Exploring claims of universal standards in relation to culturally diverse ideas
• Exploring the persistent relevance of world history to contemporary developments
Course Content:

I. Foundations Unit (c. 8000 B.C.E. – 600 C.E.) 7 weeks

1.1 Big Geography and the Peopling of the Earth
1.2 The Neolithic Revolution and Early Agricultural Society
1.3 The Development and Interactions of Early Agricultural, Pastoral, and Urban Societies and Civilizations
2.1 The Development and Codification of Religious and Cultural Traditions
2.2 The Development of States and Empires
2.3 Emergence of Transregional Networks of Communications and Exchange

II. Post Classical Period/Regional and Trans-regional Interactions (600 C.E. – 1450) 8 weeks
3.1 Expansion and Intensification of Communication and Exchange Network
3.2 Diversification of State Forms
3.3 Increased Economic Productive Capacity and Its Social Consequences

III. Early Modern Period/Global Interactions (1450 – 1750) 7 weeks

4.1 Globalizing Networks of Communication and Exchange
4.2 New Forms of Social Organization and Modes of Production
4.3 Types and Varieties of Colonialism and Empires

IV. Modern Period/Industrialization and Global Integration (1750 – 1914) 7 weeks

5.1 Territorial Expansion and National Identities
5.2 Ideologies, Revolutions, and Reform
5.3 Industrialization and Global Capitalism
5.4 Global Migration

V. Contemporary Period/Global Fragmentations and Realignments (1914 – Present) 7 weeks

6.1 Dissolution of Global Empires
6.2 Global War and Conflict
6.3 New Global Institutions and Processes
 September, 2009

Dear Parents of AP World History students,

We wanted to write a note of welcome to the Advanced Placement World History course. For almost all of the
students, this is their first exposure to an AP level course. The College Board has developed these courses so that motivated
students would have an opportunity to experience a college level course during their high school career.

AP World History is a thematically arranged course, which is a bit different from other history courses. The major
challenge of the course is that it is very broad, and it moves very swiftly. For example, the first unit of the course entitled
“Foundations,” covers about 8500 years of history in about five weeks. Students are expected to take initiative and to keep
up with the work. The pace of the course cannot be slowed, since we are preparing for a nationwide exam, which will be
held this year on Thursday May 13, 2010.

Our personal goal is not only to help students succeed in the AP exam in May, but to inspire a love of history and to
help them develop the habits of mind used by historians. Skills such as constructing and evaluating arguments,
understanding diverse perspectives and evaluating continuity and change over time are invaluable. Students will use these
skills throughout their lifetime in their future education and in their role as global citizens. AP World History certainly lends
itself to all of these ambitious objectives. We are looking forward to partnering with you to achieve these goals for your
child.

Our expectations of the students are that their work will eventually be at college level, which goes hand in hand with
the time, responsibilities and commitment required to refine reading and writing skills. As sophomores, this is quite a lot to
ask of them, and for some, they may not be up to the challenge yet. Please continue to have conversations about the course
with your child in the next few weeks to see if he/she is feeling comfortable. Please also feel free to contact us with any
questions, clarifications or concerns. You may reach us at kstrobel@sch.ci.lexington.ma.us or
kmurphy@sch.ci.lexington.ma.us

Sincerely,

Katherine Murphy
Kristin Strobel
AP World History

We have read and understand the class expectations/ guidelines for the AP World History course.

Student’s signature:_____________________________________________ Date:_______________

Parent’s signature:______________________________________________ Date:_______________

Questions or Comments: