AP World History Syllabus
Instructor: Katherine Booth, [email protected]
Course Description: Advanced Placement World History (WHAP) is a chance to study the story of how our world came
to be the way it is today. The course will cover events that have shaped our world from 8000 BCE to the present and is
truly global in scope with Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceana each represented. WHAP is for motivated
students and is taught on the college level – it therefore requires much more homework and more extensive writing
assignments than the average high school course (it take the time and dedication you would expect to put into a
sports team or band.) All students are encouraged to take the WHAP test in May and those who score well can
receive college credit (saving parents lots of money.) One purpose of this course is to prepare students to do well on
the exam; the broader purpose is to develop a variety of analytical skills and the chance to “do history” rather than
just read about it. This requires a great deal of critical thinking, interpretation of written material, logical
argumentation, and analysis. These skills are beneficial regardless of future plans.
Required Materials:
Sturdy 1 ½ -2 inch 3-ring binder (just for this class)
Paper hole reinforcers – otherwise your work could be lost
Filler paper
Notebook tabs to divide every two chapters – total of 16 tabs.
Blue or black AND green pen
Colored pens or pencils at home for maps
Princeton Review’s AP World History Review book, available online and at bookstores
Daily Homework:
You will have homework on the majority of days in this class. This will never be busy work; rather, it is work that will
prepare you to pass the College Board’s Advanced Placement exam in May. Homework usually takes the form of
reading and/or questions. It is imperative, therefore, that you keep up with the reading and questions!
Plagiarism and Copying:
Plagiarism and copying are defined as taking someone else’s work as your own and not citing it – and also taking a
classmate’s work and using it as your own when, in fact, it was your own work that needed to be evaluated. It is a
serious matter to cheat or copy using the internet, friends, or other sources. When I take up your work, I grade it
carefully. If you are caught having used someone else’s work to supplement your own, I will consider it a violation of
your academic integrity and my trust. You will be given a zero for the assignment. If it is a paper, I will ask you to
rewrite it. This redone work will be evaluated to see what your progress is in terms of writing for the AP exam, but it
will not be given points.
Class Rules:
1. You must be in your seat when the bell stops ringing to avoid a tardy. We will work from bell to bell and require all of the time allotted in the year to prepare to pass the AP exam.
2. Raise your hand to speak. 3. Three Strikes, You’re Out Rule: Assignments are to be turned in on the day they are due, UNLESS you pre-
arrange with me. I understand that your lives are busy – be responsible enough to extend your deadline with my pre-approval if needed. If you turn in an assignment the day it is due, it is eligible for full credit. If you turn it in the next school day, it is eligible for ½ credit. After that, I will not take late work. Period. If you miss a
test or quiz, please make it up within two weeks of the missed date, otherwise it will remain a zero in the grade book.
4. Always do your own work, to the best of your abilities!
Snow Days and Other Emergencies:
Unfortunately, the date of the AP test (May 15, 2009) does not change just because Scott County has a snow day.
Because of this, students should continue to do assignments, especially reading, in the event of a snow day or other
emergency. The class calendar won’t change. Students should check their class calendar and my website to see what
they should be doing, and when. In the absence of any other information (for example, if I have not yet distributed
the next month’s calendar) students should read the next section of their text for every class day missed. Days after
snow days are perfect times for quizzes to check your personal effort level in the class.
Textbook: Bulliet, Richard W., Pamela Crossley, Daniel Headrick, et.al. The Earth and Its Peoples: A Global History.
Advanced Placement 3rd AP Ed., 2005.
Supplemental Reader: Overfield, Andrea. The Human Record: Sources of Global History. 5th Ed. Vol. 1 and 2. 2005.
Summer Reading: Christian, David. This Fleeting World: A Brief History of Humanity
Web Resources: To take practice tests, study with online flash cards, examine maps from each chapter, review correct
pronunciation, etc. look at: http://college.hmco.com/history/world/bulliet/earth_peoples/3e/students/index.html
Historical Themes*
Advanced Placement World History highlights six overarching themes that form the cornerstone of the teaching and
learning experience. The teaching plans for each of the units will utilize the six themes detailed below. These six
themes will be stressed daily as well as reviewed collectively at the end of each unit.
1. The relationship of change and continuity from 8000 BCE to the present and the causes and processes involved in
major changes of this relationship
2. Impacts of interaction among and within major societies (trade, international exchange, war, diplomacy, etc.)
3. The effects of technology, economics, and demography on people and the environment
4. Systems of social structure and gender structure
5. Cultural, religious, and intellectual developments
6. Changes in functions and structures of states and in attitudes toward states and political identities (political culture),
including the emergence of the nation state (types of political organization)
*Taken from apcentral.collegeboard.com
Habits of Mind*
Your work in this course will develop seven habits of mind, or skills, that any good student of history acquires in the
course of examining, analyzing, and explaining history. These habits fall into two categories: those used in all historical
analysis and those specific to world history.
Category One
1. Constructing and evaluating arguments (using evidence to make plausible arguments)
2. Using documents and primary source data to analyze point of view, context, and bias, and to understand and
interpret data
3. Assessing change and continuity over time (examining change as a process and questions of causation)
4. Understanding diversity of interpretations (analyzing context, point of view, and frame of reference)
Category Two
5. Seeing global patterns and processes over time and space; connecting local events to global ones; moving through
levels of generalizations from local to global
6. Comparing within and among societies
7. Being aware of human commonalities and differences and understanding ideas and values within historical context
*Taken from apcentral.collegeboard.com
Course Requirements:
· Prepare to take the AP Exam in early May.
· Actively participate in class and complete all assignments thoroughly and promptly.
· Attend class daily, arriving on time. The course moves very quickly. Missing class is very detrimental to your progress.
· Make up work when absent—contact me and send assignments due electronically if possible; make prior
arrangements for planned absences; one day is allotted by school policy for each day absent to turn in work. If you
miss a quiz, you must set up a time to make it up outside of class. Daily missed assignments should be checked on the
note cards placed each day on the “While You Were Out” board. Any handouts can be picked up in the folders next to
the assignment calendar.
· Keep a well-organized and complete notebook for the entire year; bring to class every day. Use the charts, lecture
and reading notes in your notebook to study for tests. Keep up with the notebook all year! This will usually be a 100
point grade given with each Unit test.
· Form a study group for tests and other large assignments.
· Ask instructor for help if needed—I am very committed to supporting your efforts!
· Challenge yourself to work hard and maintain high standards. I will do so as well.
Grading:
Grades will be based on points that are added up and averaged with total points possible. Grades are available daily
through IC at your home. You must check your grades and take personal responsibility for both your grade and for
turning in missing assignments. Final grades will be computed in December and again in May.
Assessments:
Quizzes: On readings from each chapter in the text book
Homework: Assigned readings, Essay writing practice, The Human Record primary source activities
Tests: Following the completion of each unit, usually about 7 chapters.
Essays: Assigned in class and out of class writing in preparation of the AP exam . We will write about 10 essays during
this year and writing constitutes 50% of your AP test grade, so it is important to work hard to improve.
Final Exam: Students will take a 3-hour, 5 minute AP Released Exam in preparation for the AP World History exam.
Periodization: This course will divide the scope of World History into six time periods based on significant watershed
events or trends in history. This class will follow the periodization guides set forth by the College Board. The following
Unit guidelines are based on the periodization set forth by College Board.
UNIT 1: FOUNDATIONS (8000 BCE – 600 CE) [7 Weeks]
Focus Questions: What is “ civilization” ? Who is “ civilized” ? How does change occur: individually or by diffusion?
Week One – Introduction to the Course, AP Themes and Habits of Mind, AP Writing, Developing Agriculture and
Technology
Objectives: For students to begin thinking historically and with a global perspective
To become familiar with the Habits of Mind and AP World History Themes
To gain a basic understanding of AP reading and writing expectations
To gain knowledge regarding world geography
Ancient art from prehistoric to civilization
Readings: Summer Reading Assignment
Bulliet, p. 1-14
The Human Record, “ Analyzing Two Sample Sources”
Major Activities and Assessments*:
Summer Reading Quiz
Primary Source Analysis
Map and Geography Terms
Art of the prehistoric and ancient world power point
Week Two - Early River Valley Civilizations (Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus Valley, Shang & Zhou, Olemc & Chavin, Nubia)
Objectives: Understand the characteristics of city-states
Know basic characteristics of the major civilizations
Understand the dynamics between Confucian and Daoist beliefs and Legalism
Readings: Bulliet, Ch. 1-2
The Human Record, “ The Judgments of Hammurabi,” “ The Book of Documents”
Excerpts from Gilgamesh and creation myths
Major Activities and Assessments:
City-state comparison chart
Fishbowl – Early Civilizations
Yin-Yang diagram
Week Three – Early Mediterranean and the Middle East
Objectives: Understand early commercial empires of Pheonicia and Carthage
Analyze the status and role of women post-civilization
The foundations of Judaism
Readings: Bulliet, Ch. 3
The Human Record, “ The Odyssey,” “Genesis”
Major Activities and Assessments:
Lecture – Status of Women in early societies
Judaism Learning Stations
Mind Map: Commercial Exchanges
Week Four – Conflict Between Persia and Greece
Objectives: Understand differences between imperial organization of territory and views of authority
Understand the spread and impact of the Hellenistic Synthesis
Readings: Bulliet, Ch. 4
The Human Record, “ Three Hellenic Works of Art,” “ Apologia,” “ History of the Peloponnesian War”
Major Activities and Assessments:
Archaic and Classical Greek Art Power Point
Change and Continuity Over Time essay – early civilizations
Week Five – Age of Empires (Rome and Han China)
Objectives: Understand the nature of empire (rise, apex, fall)
The rise of Christianity
Readings: Bulliet, Ch. 5
The Human Record, “ Lessons for Women,” “ Agricola and Annals,” “Gathas”
Major Activities and Assessments:
Conrad Demarest Model of Empires
Lecture: Comparison of Rome and Han Empires
Fishbowl: Rome v. Han
Power Point: Christianity
Week Six – India and Southeast Asia
Objectives: Understand the characteristics of Indian and Southeast Asian cultures
Compare and Contrast World Belief Systems (Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism, Confucianism, Christianity)
Readings: India reading downloadable from my online classroom
The Human Record, “ The Classic of the Way and Virtue,” “ The Analects,” “ The Bhagavad Gita,”
Major Activities and Assessments:
Smart Board: Hinduism whole-class webquest
Compare and Contrast Essay: Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism
Week Seven – Networks of Communication and Trade between Early Civilizations
Objectives: Understand Silk Road, Indian Ocean, and Saharan Trade Routes
Readings: Bulliet, Ch. 7 & Southernization journal article downloadable from my online classroom
Major Activities and Assessments:
Trade Route Simulation
Mind Map: Trade Routes
UNIT TEST – Chapters 1-7
UNIT 2: (600 CE – 1450 CE) [8 Weeks]
Focus Questions: Did changes in this period occur from the effects of nomadic migrations or urban growth? Was there
a world economic network during this period?
Week One – The Birth and Spread of Islam
Objectives: Understand the rise and spread of Islam
Understand the Shi’a/Sunni split within Islam
Readings: Bulliet, Ch. 8
The Human Record, Excerpts from the Quran, “Creed Concerning the Imamas”
Major Activities and Assessments:
DBQ Practice on Women in Islam
Excerpts from The Muslim Discovery of Europe
DVD: Islam, Empire of Faith
Week Two – Christian Europe Emerges
Objectives: Compare and Contrast Feudal Europe and Japan
Understand the economics of feudal Europe
Understand the fracturing of the Christian world and long term cultural consequences
Readings: Bulliet, Ch. 9
The Human Record, “ The Gospel of Thomas,” “Manichaeism,” “ Travels”
Major Activities and Assessments:
DBQ Released Essay: Christian and Muslim Attitudes Toward Trade
Crusades Jigsaw group work
Week Three – Inner and East Asia
Objectives: Understand the revival of classical China under the Tang dynasty
Compare and contrast the uses of Buddhism and Confucianism and justifications for rule and obedience and state-
building mechanisms
Readings: Bulliet, Ch. 10
The Human Record, “ Lives of the Nuns,” “ Poems”
Major Activities and Assessments:
Song dynasty activity using Asia for Educators Web site (www.afe.columbia.edu)
Jigsaw: Tang Dynasty
Week Four – People and Civilization of the Americas
Objectives: Examination of Andean and Mesoamerican cultures
Readings: Bulliet, Ch. 11
The Human Record, “ Three Mayan Ceramic Sculptures”
Major Activities and Assessments:
Excerpts from Guns, Germs, and Steel
Lecture: Patterns of Interactions between the Americas
Jigsaw: Mayan, Toltec, Aztecs, Inca, Southwest cultures, and mound-builders
Week Five – Mongol Eurasia and Its Aftermath
Objectives: Understand the impact of Mongol conquest and rule on various societies
Readings: Bulliet, Ch. 12
The Human Record, “Marco Polo,” “ The Practice of Commerce” “ Embassy to Tamerlane”
Major Activities and Assessments:
Fishbowl: Mongols and interactions (Reilly, Worlds of History)
Mind Map: Interactions
Week Six – Tropical Africa and Asia
Objectives: Review change and continuity over time as a function of new Islamic empires in Delhi and Mali
Readings: Bulliet, Ch. 13
Major Activities and Assessments:
Lecture: Indian Ocean trade (PowerPoint)
Simulation: Indian Ocean trade
COT practice: Islamic Empires
Week Seven – The Latin West
Objectives: Understand changes in Europe’s economics, government, and intellectual life
See patterns of reemergence in art
Readings: Bulliet, Ch. 14
The Human Record, “ The Book of John Mandeville”
Major Activities and Assessments:
Art Analysis: changes from Medieval to Renaissance
Black Death primary source readings
Lecture: Stimuli of Changes
Week Eight – The Maritime Revolution
Objectives: Comprehend motivations for Exploration
Compare and contrast reactions to European Encounters
Readings: Bulliet, Ch. 15
The Human Record, “General History of the Things of New Spain, “ Compendium and Description of the West Indies”
Major Activities and Assessments:
Fishbowl: Beginning of globalization/world systems theory
World Trade Mental Mapping
UNIT TEST Chapters 8-15
UNIT 3: (1450 CE – 1750 CE) [5 Weeks]
Focus Questions: To what extent did Europe come predominate in the world economy?
Week One – Transformations in Europe
Objectives: Understanding intellectual, cultural, and economic changes in Europe
Readings: Bulliet, Ch. 16
The Human Record, “ Table Talk,” “ Decrees of the Council of Trent”
Major Activities and Assessments:
COT essay on world trade (2002 exam, but with 1750 as the endpoint) OR change-over-time essay on the Atlantic
world (2005 exam)
Atlantic World Power Point
Activehistory.co.uk “ Analyzing Reformation Woodcuts”
Week Two – The Diversity of American Colonial Societies
Objectives: Understanding the implications of the Columbian Exchange and colonialism in the Americas
Readings: Bulliet, Ch. 17
Spice excerpt available on my online classroom
The Human Record, “ Compendium and Description of the West Indies”
Major Activities and Assessments:
Columbian Exchange Learning Stations
Fishbowl: on Spice reading
Week Three – The Atlantic System and Africa
Objectives: Understanding the system of slavery, colonialism, and mercantilist economics
Readings: Bulliet, Ch. 18
The Human Record, “ A Benin-Portuguese Saltcellar and a Benin Wall Plaque,” “ Letters to the King or Portugual”
Major Activities and Assessments:
Lecture: Plantations and mercantilism
Guns, Germs, and Steel video part 2
Week Four – Southwest Asia and the Indian Ocean
Objectives: Compare and Contrast major Asian empires of the era
Readings: Bulliet, Ch. 19
Major Activities and Assessments:
Empires group work
Week Five – Northern Eurasia
Objectives: Understanding Japanese, Chinese, and Russian expansion
Readings: Bulliet, Ch. 20
Major Activities and Assessments:
Fishbowl: Comparing imperial systems in Asia and Europe
Jigsaw: comparison of women’s roles using Economic Roles of Women in World History
UNIT TEST Chapters 16-20
UNIT 4: (1750 CE – 1914 CE) [7 Weeks]
Focus Questions: Through what processes did the influence of industrialization spread throughout the world? How did
the right of individuals and groups change in this period?
Week One – Revolutionary Changes in the Atlantic World
Objectives: Understanding Political Revolutions and conservative retrenchment
Readings: Bulliet, Ch. 21
The Human Record, “ English Bill of Rights,” “Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen,” “Common Sense”
Major Activities and Assessments:
Brinton’s Model for Analyzing Revolutions
Week Two – The Early Industrial Revolution
Objectives: Industrial Revolution and impacts
Readings: Bulliet, Ch. 22
The Human Record, “ The Wealth of Nations”
Major Activities and Assessments:
Venn Diagram Revolution comparisons
Economic Systems debates: Malthus, Ricardo, and Smith
Week Three – Nation Building and Economic Transformation in the Americas
Objectives: Understanding Latin American liberation movements, economic and social challenges
Readings: Bulliet, Ch. 23
The Human Record, “ The Jamaica Letter”
Major Activities and Assessments:
Jigsaw & Group notes: Latin American independence movements
Week Four – Africa, India, and the New British Empire
Objectives: Understanding European expansion and implications
Readings: Bulliet, Ch. 24
A History of the World in 6 Glasses excerpt available on my online classroom
The Human Record, “ Letter to William Pitt”
Major Activities and Assessments:
British Empire Power Point
Defining activitiy: the rise of nationalism
Week Five – Land Empires in the Age of Imperialism
Objectives: Ottoman, Russian, and Qing Empires comparing and contrasting
Readings: Bulliet, Ch. 25
The Human Record, “ The Communist Manifesto”
Major Activities and Assessments:
Activehistory.co.uk “ Virtual Tour of Tsarist Russia”
Week Six – The New Power Balance
Objectives: Applying ideas about nationalism to nationalist movements
Readings: Bulliet, Ch. 26 and Ch. 27 p. 750-752
The Human Record, “ Letter to Mitsubishi Employees,” “ The Future of the Chinese People”
Major Activities and Assignments:
Lecture: Modernization of Japan
Unification Jigsaw
DBQ: responses to the Western encroachment
Week Seven – The New Imperialism
Objectives: Understanding motives for imperialism and methods of control
Readings: Bulliet, Ch. 27
Major Activities and Assessments:
Imperialist Behavior simulation
History Alive! Imperialism motives groupwork
Imperialism Learning Stations
UNIT TEST Chapters 21-27
UNIT 5: (1914 CE – Present) [6 Weeks]
Focus Questions: How do ideological struggles provide and explanation for many of the conflicts of the 20th century?
To what extent have the rights of the individual and the state replaced the rights of the community? How have conflict
and change influenced migration patterns?
Week One – The Crisis of the Imperial Order
Objectives: Understand why the old order dissolved and what forms took its place
Readings: Bulliet, Ch. 28
The Human Record, “Mud and Khaki, Memoirs of an Incomplete Soldier”
Major Activities and Assessments:
Lecture: The Sick Man of Europe and causes of WWI
Activehistory.co.uk “ Lenin and the USSR: A Decision-Making Adventure”
Examining Propaganda and Modern Art to understand social change
Week Two – The Collapse of the Old Order
Objectives: Understanding economic depression and authoritarian responses
Readings: Bulliet, Ch. 29
The Human Record, “Mein Kamph,” “Results of the First Five Year Plan” “ The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb”
Major Activities and Assessments:
Activehistory.co.uk “Undercover in Nazi Germany”
Fishbowl: Security and Stability v. Freedom and Choice
Power Point: The Second World War
DVD: War in the Pacific
Week Three – Striving for Independence: Africa, India, and Latin America
Objectives: Comparing and contrasting anti-imperialist movements
Readings: Bulliet, Ch. 30
The Human Record, “ Indian Home Rule,” Debate in the House of Commons”
Major Activities and Assessments:
Pair Research and Presentations: British Legacy in India: positive or negative?
Mind-Map: Independence Movements
Choices curriculum Indian Independence Unit
Indian Independence DVD
Week Four – The Cold War and Decolonization
Objectives: Compare and contrast the ideologies behind Cold War tensions, Understand the motivations of
superpowers and the developing world
Readings: Bulliet, Ch. 31
The Human Record, “ The Muslim Brotherhood,” “ The Long Telegram,” “ Telegram, September 27, 1946,” “ A Native
of Yan’an”
Major Activities and Assessments:
Timeliner: Cold War Events
Fishbowl: Cold War Ideologies
Primary Sources and Graphic Organizer: 20th Century China
Timed Writing: Compare and Contrast the USSR and Communist China
Week Five – Crisis, Realignment, and the Dawn of the Post-Cold War World
Objectives: Understand the challenges of the post-Cold War world
Readings: Bulliet, Ch. 32
The Human Record, “ Islamic Government,” “ A Statement on Genital Mutilation”
Major Activities and Assessments:
Google Earth Tours: Biased Interpretations of the Middle East Conflict
Analyzing Political Cartoons: The Middle East
Fishbowl: Development v. Environment
Primary Source Analysis: secularization in the Middle East v. conservative Islam
Week Six – Globalization at the Turn of the Millennium
Objectives: Comprehend the emergence of global culture contrasted with cultural fragmentation (ex: fundamentalist
movements and modern genocides)
Readings: Bulliet, Ch. 33
The Human Record, “ Free Trade and the Decline of Democracy,” “Globaphobia: Confronting Fears about Open Trade,”
“ The Last Night”
Major Activities and Assessments:
TEDS developing world graphs video clips and discussion
Fishbowl: Reactionaries v. Globalizers
PRACTICE AP EXAM: COMPREHENSIVE FINAL EXAM
*Major Activities are examples and not necessarily either exhaustive of the content covered. Changes may be made at
any time.