TVS Initiative

AP U.S. History
(Two Semesters or Block)

Course Description:
This course covers all of the material outlined by the College Board as necessary tprepare you tpass the AP U.S. History exam. Students will:

Demonstrate comprehension of a broad body of historical knowledge.
Express ideas clearly in writing.
Work with classmates tresearch an historical issue.
Interpret and apply data from original documents.
Identify underrepresented historical viewpoints.
Write tpersuade with evidence.
Compare and contrast alternate interpretations of an historical figure, event, or trend.
Explain how an historical event connects tor causes a larger trend or theme.
Develop essay responses that include a clear, defensible thesis statement and supporting evidence.
Effectively argue a position on an historical issue.
Critique and respond targuments made by others.
Raise and explore questions about policies, institutions, beliefs, and actions in an historical context.
Evaluate primary materials, such as historical documents, political cartoons, and first-person narratives.
Evaluate secondary materials, such as scholarly works or statistical analyses.
Assess the historical significance and cultural impact of key literary works (e.g. Common Sense, Uncle Tom's Cabin).

This course meets College Board guidelines for AP U.S. History.

Prerequisites: None

Required Texts: The American Pageant ISBN: 061810349X

Course cost: $350 / student / semester + required textbook

Course Outline:

Semester I
Unit 1: Exploration and Colonial America
Unit 2: Colonial Society
Unit 3: The Shot Heard Round the World
Unit 4: The New Nation Forms
Unit 5: America's Growing Pains
Unit 6: The Concurrent Rise of Nationalism and Sectionalism
Unit 7: The Era of Andrew Jackson
Unit 8: Emergence of America's Literary, Philosophic, and Religious Movements
Unit 9: The Coming of the Civil War
Unit 10: The Only Recourse: War
Unit 11: Picking up the Pieces

Semester IIUnit 12: The New South and the New West
Unit 13: Industrial Ascendancy
Unit 14: Urbanization: A Changing America
Unit 15: Agrarian Discontent and Progressivism
Unit 16: Isolationist tWorld Power
Unit 17: Wilson and the World
Unit 18: Boom tBust
Unit 19: The U.S. at War
Unit 20: The Cold War
Unit 21: Turbulent Decades
Unit 22: Toward a New Century