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Sepulveda- APWH Room 210

PALM SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL

CLASS POLICIES AND EXPECTATIONS
2016-17
SUBJECT: AP World History
TEACHER: LAURIE SEPULVEDA
EMAIL: lsepulveda@psusd.us

TELEPHONE: (760) 778-0400

Website: APWH210.weebly.com
APWH EXAM Date: May 11, 2017 at 8:00 am

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
World History AP is a broad focus on world cultures from approximately 8000 BCE to the present. Students will
develop a greater understanding of global processes and interactions among societies through a study of historical
patterns and comparisons among major societies.
World History AP is about skills, not just content, and will encourage all students in attaining their highest achievement level
through skill acquisition and personal growth. Students will read and organize data based on themes, write analytical and
document-based essays, and analyze primary and secondary sources.

World History AP Themes ~ SPICE

Development and transformation of social systems
State-building, expansion, and conflict (politics)
Interactions between humans and the environment
Development and interaction of cultures
Creation, expansion, and interaction of economic
systems

AP Historical Thinking Skills

Crafting Historical Arguments from Historical Evidence
Argumentation and Appropriate use of Evidence
Chronological Reasoning
Causation, Patterns, Periodization
Comparison and Contextualization
Historical Interpretation and Synthesis

Course Purpose
The course will address the following topics:
time as an aspect of humanity
geography as a component of historical development
culture and civilization and their relationships
relationship of change and continuity across time and space
causes and processes that lead to either a change or continuity
impact of trade, war, diplomacy, and international organizations upon societies
effects of technology, economics, and demography on people and the environment
effects of social and gender structures on different societies
interactions among societies and the subsequent developments
changing attitudes toward state and political culture

Course Objectives
At the completion of the course all students will be able to perform the following at a higher personal level:
think, read, listen, write, and communicate with understanding
analyze evidence and interpretations presented in a variety of historical texts, both primary and secondary and
use the information to plan a meaningful discussion, written or oral
prepare and execute a well-constructed, multi-paragraph essay, including Document-based, Continuity and
Change-Over-Time, and Comparison
utilize a variety of resources in planning and directing research for a mixture of projects, essays, and activities
flesh out a series of questions that challenges a text's meaning and shows an understanding of the document

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Sepulveda- APWH Room 210

School -Wide Mission Statement

Palm Springs High School is committed to preparing all students to be productive responsible citizens, and
lifelong learners, by providing for their intellectual, personal and career development. With the implementation
of the national common core (cross-curricular) philosophy, educators will collectively focus on the following
three -pronged vision in order to achieve our mission statement:
Teach students to reason and think
Teach students to sort through information and data,
Guide students to evaluate the validity of primary and secondary sources
enabling them to hypothesize and draw connections between sources and
support their constructed theories with various forms of evidence
This school-wide vision directly correlates with my classroom philosophy concerning the implementation of
higher order thinking skills that are cross-curricular in nature that will help aid in a students future career
development.

AP Periodization, Themes, and Key Concepts

The AP World History course is organized into six time periods, five themes and nineteen key concepts. The time
periods give the chronological focus of the course, which is then supported by a thematic and conceptual
framework. These three make up the content of the entire world history course and are our focus throughout
the year. Activities, essays, group projects, and review sessions will focus on these three elements.

Regional Groups/Review
An important aspect of the course will center on the themes and key concepts that are part of the AP Course
Description. Students will be part of Regional Groups that will plot the changes and continuities that occurred in
world history, across time and space, using the themes and key concepts as their guides. These Regional Groups will
form the basis of class discussions, unit reviews, as well as the final review for the AP Exam. A handout will explain
the form and substance of each activity.

Texts

All students will be required to read, analyze, interpret, and take notes from a variety of sources throughout the
course including textbooks, novels, short stories, poetry, primary and secondary sources, maps, charts, graphs,
and artwork.
The following text is required and makes up the core of the curriculum, although additional texts may be
assigned throughout the year. The required text may be picked up in the library
Strayer, Robert W. Ways of the World: A Global History with Sources for AP. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's,
2013. Print.

Additional Resources
All students will interpret and analyze primary and secondary evidence from a variety of sources.
Strategies and techniques will be used in class in order to strengthen a students ability to interpret and analyze the
reading, and relate its component parts: speaker, subject, purpose, audience, tone, and point-of-view.

Online Resources
Grades will be posted on Synergy
The syllabus, assignments and other documents will be posted on my website: APWH210.weebly.com or in Google
Classroom

Academic Grading System

All coursework will be assigned to a category with a percentage value.
Categories

Percent of Grade

1.

Writing

20%

2.

Homework/Classwork

40%

3.

Thematic Groups/Review

15%

4.

Tests/Quizzes/Final Exam

25%

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Classroom Behavior

To be successful in World History AP, students need to be in class on time, prepared to learn, and be
cooperative class participants, working actively with others as a team.
Continued negative participation, including being tardy or absent, being off-task, defiant, or displaying a lack of
cooperation, will result in one or more of a series of mediations.
All electronic equipment should be put away before entering the classroom. Unauthorized classroom use of
electronic devices will be confiscated and surrendered to discipline for parents to pick up.
Refer to the Behavior Code for additional information.

Discipline Policy
1.
2.
3.

First classroom disruption = verbal warning, call home to parent, and possible teacher assigned detention.
Second classroom disruption = call home to parent, and possible teacher assigned detention.
Third classroom disruption = referral to Assistant Principals office and possible removal from class.

Academic Honesty
Cheating or Plagiarism is not tolerated and is taken seriously.
A student using another's work for any part of an assignment, with or without his permission, will be considered
academically dishonest, lose credit, and be given a referral. This includes unauthorized collaboration.
Any homework, in class assignments, essays, tests, quizzes or other assignments that is similar to another students
will result in both students receiving a zero. The same goes for internet sources. This also includes copying an
assignment from another class in my class.
If you are uncertain about what constitutes plagiarism, then please feel free contact the teacher.

Tutoring

Students must seek the instructor's assistance whenever an assignment, grade, or activity is not understood, or
receives a grade lower than expected.
Tutoring is available most mornings, and most Monday and Tuesday afternoons at 3pm.
There will be specific tutoring sessions geared to Fridays test on Wednesday and Thursday during lunch or
afternoons at 3pm.

Materials
Time management and organizational skills are essential for high achievement and should begin with adequate
supplies. Materials should be brought to class every day. Suggested materials include:
Notebooks, spiral or loose-leaf, for taking notes; 8 x 11 lined notebook paper, college ruled
Black or blue ink pens all work must be completed in ink or typed(when permitted)
Pencils for scanned tests
Colored Markers, 8 or 10 pack
Colored Pencils, 8 or 10 pack
Notecards, 3x5, approximately 500
Earbuds/headphones
Glue sticks

Attendance

Individual and group participation is a centerpiece of the course and therefore attendance is mandatory. It is
understood that illness or family situations may necessitate an absence. It is the students responsibility to discuss
make-up work with the teacher.
Students planning on being absent from class on a long-term basis must make prior arrangements with the
instructor and counseling or attendance.
Attendance is crucial to the educational process and students can not participate in class if they are absent.
Attendance will be taken daily.
You will be considered absent if you miss the entire period, or are tardy for more than 15 minutes.
If a student is absent more than 7 times in any semester, the students will be required to make-up 55 minute
period after school or during Saturday school for every absence over seven.
Time will be spent with instruction, tutoring, studying and completing work.
Failing to make up class time after the seventh absence will result in a significant reduction in grade and or
repeating the course.

Assignment Information

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Following is an outline of the types of assignments.

Readings
Students will be assigned a variety of readings each week, which need to be completed prior to attending class.
Readings will come primarily from the main texts, but may be assigned from additional sources.
Written Work
Outside written work, unless otherwise noted, must be typed double-spaced on 8 x 11 paper with 1-inch
margins, and follow standard MLA format in 12-point Times New Roman.
In-class written work must be hand written on 8 x 11 paper in black ink. Identifying information must be
included on the first page (assignment title, name, period, date, teachers name).
Tests
Tests may consist of multiple-choice, identification, short answer, thesis development, document analysis,
and/or essays; see Reading Calendar for further details.
Quizzes
A chapter quiz will be given at the beginning of each week. Students who receive an 80% or better will not
have to take the multiple-choice section of the chapter test from Tuesday. They will have to take the
additional questions that were not on Tuesdays quiz. Students receiving less than 80% will have the
opportunity to study the questions during Thursdays tutorial and re-take the section on the chapter test.
Quizzes are considered pre-tests and do not effect a students overall grade.
Participation
Participation is an integral part of the class and will consist of everyday class participation, individual and group
activities, presentations, formal and impromptu speeches, and other activities.

Late Work
All assignments are due on the scheduled date at the beginning of the class period. Assignments turned into the
teacher on a timely manner may be rewritten for credit.
Assignments turned into the teacher after the scheduled date or class period will be considered late and will
be accepted for half credit until the end of the grading period, without benefit of revision.
No assignments will be accepted if a student has been in lockout or has been truant.

Make-up Work
Many assignments may be made up and the student has one week from the original date to make up the
assignment, this includes in-class tests and essays.
All make-up work is at the discretion of the teacher and may include different questions and formats.
No credit will be earned if the student has been in lockout or has been truant.

Course Grading Explanations

20%
Writing
Short essays and other compositions will be assigned throughout the course. Students will work on these
main types of writing: Document-Based, Expository, Comparison, and Change-Over-Time. Many types of
practice will be assigned to ready students to write well and in a timed manner. Some group assignments will
revolve around essay writing.
40%
Homework/Classwork
Notes will be required on each chapter of the text. In addition, document analysis, pre-writing activities,
and other assigned work will be required of all students. Students may be required to keep conceptual
notecards and a thematic notebook. All students will also keep an ongoing document journal.
15%
Thematic Groups/Review
Students in small groups work will prepare information on themes associated with the AP World History Course
Description and present information on these themes approximately every six weeks. A handout will describe all
activities and work associated with the Thematic Groups.
25%
Tests
A variety of exams will be used and may include multiple-choice, identification, short answer, essay outlines,
and essays. Exams may be oral or written, and may require the use of a computer. Ina addition to any exams
and quizzes, a departmental final will be given at the end of each semester.

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Sepulveda- APWH Room 210

0%
Quizzes
Quiz grades will be posted but do not affect the grade. Quizzes are a considered a pre-test.

AP Exam
It is the course expectation that all students will prepare for and take the AP Exam in May.

Student Name (print)

Parent/Guardian Name

Parent/guardian Phone #

Student signature (sign)

Parent/Guardian signature

Date

Parent/guardian email

Internet access granted?

___________YES

____________NO

Please check YES or NO

I HAVE READ AND UNDERSTAND THE COURSE SYLLABUS AND AGREE

TO FOLLOW ALL PROCEDURES AND RULES.
Please sign and return the portion below to Mrs. Sepulveda (room 210)
on ____________________________________

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