Advanced Placement World History

Teacher: Kendra La Rocca

Course: SSW412U AP World History
Textbook: World Civilizations: The Global Experience 7th Edition, AP Edition, 2015 - Stearns
Building: 216 Room: 169
Phone: DSN 624-4281 CIV 095-56-4281
Class Day: Period 6 B Day
Email: kendra.larocca@eu.dodea.edu
Website: www.MsLaRoccasClasses.weebly.com
About this course:
The AP World History course focuses on developing students understanding of world history from
approximately 8000 B.C.E. to the present. The course has students investigate the content of world
history for significant events, individuals, developments, and processes in six historical periods, and
develop and use the same thinking skills and methods (analyzing primary and secondary sources, making
historical comparisons, chronological reasoning, and argumentation) employed by historians when they
study the past. The course also provides five themes (interaction between humans and the environment;
development and interaction of cultures; state building, expansion, and conflict; creation, expansion, and
interaction of economic systems; development and transformation of social structures) that students
explore throughout the course in order to make connections among historical developments in different
times and places encompassing the five major geographical regions of the globe: Africa, the Americas,
Asia, Europe, and Oceania.1
Though the system has an open enrollment policy, students should understand this is a college-level class
designed to be the equivalent of a two-semester college or university world history course 1 taught in a
high school classroom and is designed to culminate in the AP World History Exam. Students receive the
weighted grade only if they take the AP Exam. Those who are enrolled in AP World History may
expect a more intense workload; the breadth, pace, and depth of material covered exceeds the
standard history class. This course is the equivalent of an introductory college level history class
with college level requirements. It is intended to be both rigorous and challenging.
This is a very rigorous class and in order for the year to be a successful one, there are some things
students need to know. This information is intended to help students to understand what is expected of
them in the class as well as provide a basic idea of the materials covered.
Students are expected to come to class completely prepared. This includes the following points:
Student should have all homework/assignments completed and with them in class. Failure to
bring in homework will result in a zero grade for that assignment. There is no opportunity to turn
in late homework as we will have already reviewed it.
Student should have textbooks, handouts, binder, pencil or pen, paper with them as they will not
be allowed to return to their locker or to another teachers room to retrieve their materials.
The expectation for this course is very high. This means that tests will be more challenging.
Essays will be more frequent with the understanding that student writing should be more in depth.
Please understand that grading will be more rigid than that of a standard class.

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Class work policies:

There are no test or quiz retakes/corrections/error analysis.

Rewrites for essays and short answer responses are only allowed in Semester I. There will be
fewer revisions available as we progress from Quarter I to II. No rewrites/revisions allowed in
Semester II. Please understand that doing a rewrite/revision does not guarantee an improvement
in the grade. There must be marked improvement upon the original work.
Semester I rewrites are only granted if the student takes the initiative to set up a conference
session with me to discuss the necessary revisions.
Late work is accepted with penalties. In Semester I, late assignments lose a letter grade for every
actual day that they are late (not class day). Know that work is due at the beginning of the period.
After class or the end of that day are considered the next day. In Semester II, late assignments
will lose 50% for the first day it is late. No work will be accepted after that.
Plagiarism is unacceptable. Any student plagiarizing will receive a zero on the assignment.
Plagiarism refers to a form of cheating that has been defined as the false assumption of
authorship: the wrongful act of taking the product of another persons mind, and presenting it as
ones own. To use another persons ideas or expressions in your writing without acknowledging
the source is to plagiarize. Plagiarism, then, constitutes intellectual theft (MLA Handbook 30).
All assignments, whether finished in or out of the classroom, are to be completed by the student
alone.
If you are unexpectedly absent on a day that something is due, plan on turning the work in on the
first day back at school (not the day you come back to class). Similarly, if you miss a quiz or
exam due to an unexpected excused absence, schedule a time for a make up on the day you return
(again, not the day you come back to class). You are responsible for the work you miss, and as
such should check the Weebly and Schoology sites regularly. When you return from your
absence, it is expected that you are ready for class that day.

Regarding writing, students should understand that the following expectations apply:
All essays should be in APA format. An APA handbook and sample essay/works cited will be
given at the beginning of the year. Pay attention, keep the sample given, and follow the format
precisely. If students do not follow APA format, the essay will be returned for corrections and late
penalty will be given.
There is no use of 1st person, 2nd person, contractions, fragments or run-ons allowed. If students
do this, the essay will be returned for corrections and late penalty will be given.
All work should be the students original work. Academic integrity is of the utmost importance. A
signed statement of academic honesty and integrity is required for all assignments.
Plagiarism is unacceptable and will result in a zero grade for the assignment.
Assessment / Grading policies:
Students will be evaluated for completion of reading assignments; comprehension of materials as
measured by objective, essay, and/or oral examinations; improvement in written compositions and oral
presentations, with major emphasis on critical thinking, content, organization, specificity and relevance of
detail and evidence of reasoning, and with secondary emphasis on skill growth in spelling, punctuation,
capitalization, grammar, and usage.
More specifically, such assignments include but are not limited to homework, pop quizzes, group
activities, class discussion, unit tests, essays, oral presentations, vocabulary tests and semester/final
exams. Each of these will fall into a total points category.
1

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Students will receive a weighted grade for satisfactory completion of an AP course, and taking the AP
Exam.
Grade
A
B
C
D
F

Percentage
90-100%
80-89%
70-79%
60-69%
59% and below

Grade Point Value

4.0
3.0
2.0
1.0
0.0

Weighted Point Value

5.0
4.0
3.0
2.0
0.0

Elements of the course:

Historical thinking skills
Analyzing historical sources and evidence
o Primary sources analyzing evidence: content and sourcing
o Secondary sources - interpretation
Making historical connections
o Comparison
o Contextualization
o Synthesis
Chronological reasoning
o Causation
o Patterns of continuity and change over time
o Periodization
Creating and supporting a historical argument
o Argumentation
Thematic learning objectives
Interactions between humans and the environment
Development and interaction of cultures
State building, expansion, and conflict
Creation, expansion, and interaction of economic systems
Development and transformation of social structures
Historic Periods
1. Technological and environmental transformations to c. 600 B.C.E.
2. Organization and reorganization of human societies c. 600 B.C.E. to c. 600 C.E.
3. Regional and interregional interactions c. 600 C.E. to c. 1450
4. Global interactions c. 1450 to c. 1750
5. Industrialization and global integration c. 1750 to c. 1900
6. Accelerating global change and realignments c. 1900 to the Present
Historical thinking skills and thematic learning objectives will be practiced and applied throughout the
course during coverage of the historic periods. It is imperative that students take thorough and well
organized notes as most of the themes are recurring throughout history. Students should not only be able
to discuss the themes as they pertain to a given time period, but also in terms of the changes that occurred
over time.
1

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The course plan (tentative):

Quarter 1 (August 29 November 3)
o Introduction to AP, historical thinking skills, thematic learning objectives, historic periods, APA
formatting, and course expectations
o Expectations concerning plagiarism and academic honesty and integrity
o Period 1 to c. 600 B.C.E. (Chapters 1-2)
o Period 2 c. 600 C.E. to c. 600 B.C.E. (Chapters 3-6)
o Period 3 c. 600 B.C.E to c. 1450 (Chapters 7-16)
Quarter 2 (November 7 January 12)
o Period 4 c. 1450 to c. 1750 (Chapters 17-23)
o Period 5 c. 1750 to c. 1900 (Chapters 24-28)
o Semester exam
Quarter 3 (January 23 March 30)
o Period 6 c. 1900 to the Present (Chapters 29-37)
Quarter 4 (April 10 June 15)
o Review
o AP Exam
o Final project in lieu of final semester exam
Why take AP?
A study done in 2008 by the College Board found that students who took AP in high school had better
four-year graduation rates in college than those who did not take an AP course. This is just one of the
many reasons that students may choose to enroll in an AP course.
The benefits of taking AP
Advanced Placement courses often come with a common misconceptionthat they are only available to
high achieving students. The reality is that any student can enroll in an AP course regardless of physical
or mental blocks that the student might feel may be preventing them from taking AP. Since AP is geared
toward preparing students for college, all students interested in attending a college or university should
really consider taking an AP course. However, students must decide on whether or not their schedules can
accommodate the rigorous amount of time and dedication needed to take an AP course.
The successful AP student
Understands that AP World History is a college level class with a large time commitment.

Manages times well, is organized, and is punctual with assignments.

Can work effectively without constant monitoring by a teacher.

Has a strong work ethic, and reads at a high level.

Writes with organization, fluency, and clarity.

Enjoys learning new ideas, thinking about them, and discussing them.

College Board. (n.d.). Retrieved August 27, 2016, from http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/