APUSH

Remember, Ms. Q is concerned with improvement, not immediate perfection.

Also, remember, we have 9 weeks to continue growing and learning together until Winter Break.

So, here’s a quick run down of the upcoming unit:

• The Unit 4 Exam will be November 14 & 15.
• We will cover approximately 133 pages of the textbook.
• We will cover chapters 13-17 from American Pageant.
• We will cover the growing of America westward, Jacksonian Democracy, the Mexican War, societal reform, and the reasons we eventually end up in a Civil War.

We now have a class set of the AMSCO book that will make understanding the units a whole lot simpler–if you would like to check one out–see Ms. Q ASAP before they are all gone!

We will be changing how we do the daily review of each night’s homework AND how we do ID Notes. Each day, I will give you something that looks like this:

Tonight’s Homework (read pgs. 272-280)
CORRUPT BARGAIN
1. What was the corrupt bargain?
2. Why was it referred to as being corrupt?
3. Was the bargain corrupt? Why or why not?
4. Who was involved and how?

“OLD HICKORY”
1. Who is this term referring to? Why?
2. What were this person’s political beliefs?

As you can see, I am guiding your reading a bit more. You will go home, answer the questions (again, keeping in mind that the more RELEVANT information you have the better), and come to class the next day, take the quiz, using the notes (answers to the questions), and then I will ask if anyone has questions about any of the answers.

We will test this out for Unit 4 and see where we go from there.

P.S. Another 5 extra credit points to anyone who posts a comment here by Friday, October 19th. (BTW, you must sign up to comment here, so you need a valid email address)

I am glad you are taking part in the Advanced Placement journey. The word advance means to go forward. Moving forward is life. You are born and you grow up. You learn to recognize faces, words, and emotions. You begin to roll over, crawl, and walk. You make friends, start school, and learn new things. Each of these milestones takes many, many steps and a tremendous amount of practice to get it all right.

You are all in this class (AP US History) because someone, somewhere thought you could do it. It will be a challenge. There will be days you wonder why you decided to stick it out. But, I promise you, at the end of the year, no matter how you do in the class or on the exam, you will have made incredible progress as a student and as a person. As a student, you will know which learning and studying strategies work best for you and how to manage time and commitments. As a person, you will have committed to an extraordinary challenge and you will have completed it.

It’s easy to give up. It’s easy to say, this is too hard and I can’t do it. It is a rare person who admits when something is challenging. It is even more rare to find someone who is willing to undertake such a challenge and try. In the end, that’s all I am asking you to do–T R Y. I am here to help you. I am here to guide you. I am here to see you reach the end of the journey.

You will survive. I promise!

For reading assignments & IDs, please click on the page Reading Assignments & IDs.

These will be available all year long. Keep up. If you happen to fall behind–catch up!

As noted in the post on Classroom Expectations, some work is not graded.

This is not because it is unimportant work. It is because logistically it is not possible and it is not necessary. Things like taking notes from the reading or completing the key terms are important because they will help you learn the information and study for the exams. Also, I give reading quizzes to grade your reading/notetaking. I give exams to grade your overall knowledge. I give notebook quizzes to check for completion of assignments and homework.

So, even though I may not grade it, does not mean it is not important.

1. Take Responsibility for Your Education

This is the absolute expectation. If you put forth your best effort you can expect to gain the best outcome. This course requires a large amount of in class and out of class effort. If readings are assigned. Do it. Lectures will be on new/different material. If homework is assigned. Do it. You will never be given time in class to do what was expected to be completed out of class. Lessons are structured to use the information you gained from the readings/homework, whether it be for discussions or activities. Particpate in class. Class discussions do not work if no one participates. Discussion is used to expand your knowledge AND your thinking. Have you ever been engaged in a discussion and it caused you to think about something even more than you had? This is why class discussions are used. I am willing to help those who are willing to help themselves. If you have a question-ask. If you need further help-see me after class/school or before class/school. If you need extra support or resources-see me! I cannot help those who simply give up.

2. Respect

Respect yourself. Respect me. Respect your fellow classmates. Respect the learning process. This involves following all of these expectations, but also respecting others by not using derogatory language, being considerate, being prepared, and participating. Disruptive or hurtful behavior will not be tolerated.

3. No Electronic Devices-unless requested for a special reason by the teacher

This includes cell phones, I-Pods, Zunes, or any other MP3 players. No handheld games. No calculators (this isn’t math class). They are disruptive and attention diverting. If you have one out-I will confiscate it and give to the office.

4. Tardies

Because of what we need to cover in the little amount of time we have to cover it–every second of classtime counts. BEING TARDY IS NOT ACCEPTABLE! If you are tardy–whether 30 seconds or 10 minutes–you will enter my room silently, put the pass in the basket by the door, and will take your seat. You will owe me the amount of time tardy either before or after school the next day. Causing a disruption as you come in will result in a detention. Also, do not ask to be LATE to class because you need to use the restroom or get a drink. I will not give you permission to be late to class!

5. Absences

Unexcused–not accepted and will follow the school policy. You cannot make up classwork due to unexcused absences. You are responsible for getting your make up assignments and turning them in according to the policy.

Excused–Check the “What You May Have Missed” basket. If it is not up to date–see me AFTER CLASS. You are responsible for making up your work–I will NOT seek you out to get it made up, even for quizzes or tests. If you know you will be gone (sports, clubs, field trips, doctors, etc) you must see me before you will be gone to get all work made up BEFORE the absence. This will keep you from being behind when you get back!

6. Make-Up Work

You are responsible for making up your own work. You must check the What You May Have Missed basket. If not up to date-see me AFTER class. All homework assignments must be turned in within two days of returning from any unknown absence. If you know you will be gone, all work must be completed BEFORE leaving. Tests, quizzes, or essays–must be made up within one week. Tests/quizzes must be made up during your TA period, before school, or after school.

7. Late Work

Not accepted. I would be setting you up for failure in an AP course if I allowed late work. We will go over all homework in class. If you need an extension on a major project or paper, you must submit your request in writing and have a convincing reason. Technical issues are NOT convincing reasons. If you run out of ink-email it to me. No Internet-do not do it on the computer unless you know you can print it OR save it to a flash drive (no floppy disks!).

8. Homework

Nightly. You will be asked to read several chapters per week. You will be asked to identify key terms weekly. You will be asked to create outlines/notes from your readings. You can expect to spend 6-10 hours per week working on APUSH work. Most writing assignments are done in class, with only a few major essays or projects done outside of class (about 1 per quarter). Note–not all homework/classwork will be graded, but it is vital you do all the work. I will explain this idea in another post.

9. Academic Integrity

You are taking this course. I need to review YOUR work to assess YOUR learning. You will be the one taking the APUHS exam in May. You need to know the material. Copying someone else’s work, whether it is outline notes or key terms, is never allowed and will result in 0 credit for the assignment. Plagiarism is also not allowed. We will cover how to avoid plagiarism within the first 3 weeks.

(1) 2 1/2 inch or larger Binder (you don’t need one of each, just choose one) This will become your APUSH bible!

Index Cards-lots and lots of them! These will be used for flashcards for review.

Pens and pencils. Buy many  of them. Keep buying them. You will use lots of them.

Paper-if you have a binder or folder (from above) you will need to purchase loose leaf paper. Lots of it. Again, you are going to use lots of paper. (NO NOTEBOOKS!!!)

(2-3) Hilighters

Post-It Notes. These will come in handy often.

A Collegiate Dictionary

Welcome to a new year at San Luis High School!

You have been enrolled in my dual course–AP US History and English III.

The AP stands for Advanced Placement. Hmmm, what does advanced mean? Advanced Placement courses are structured much like a freshman college course. You are expected to do lots of reading, writing, analyzing, synthesizing, and studying. BUT, before you run away screaming–keep in mind, I am an instructor of an AP course and am here to help you succeed.

So, first–let’s look at why it’s a good idea to take an AP course…
1. You get to tell all your friends you are smarter than they are (unless they too, are in AP!),
2. You get to experience a college course without paying all the money for it,
3. You get to take the AP Exam (May 9, 2008),
4. Colleges and universities like students who have taken AP courses (even if you don’t score well on the exam!),
5. Scholarship monies may be more available to you,
6. Ms. Q is so cool and she teaches it!

Now, let’s cover what is expected of you in an AP course…
1. Reading. Lots and lots of reading independently. If reading is assigned as homework-you must do it. Or you will be behind.
2. Writing. One of the parts of the APUSH exam is writing a FRQ and DBQ, which I will cover in a bit, but simply they are writings about history (shocking, I know!).
3. Analysis of Information. Many students think history is just there. It’s in the textbook, so that’s all there is to it. Not so fast. Who writes history? Man. Is man (meaning men and women who write!) completely objective? Hmm..? We will discuss this very issue in the first few days of school…be ready to discuss!
4. Synthesis of Information. You get all the infomation from your history book, now what???? Use it. Just because it has already happened, does not mean there wasn’t another way of doing it, or that there was information not considered. It is fun to play the what if game. This is where synthesis comes into play!
5. Studying. You must study. The APUSH exam is not until May, BUT we will spend all year getting ready for it. If you study continuously throughout the year, your chances of scoring well on the exam and getting a good grade in my class is higher!

more coming soon