The Ursuline School
Social Studies
Summer Reading - 10th Grade
GLOBAL HISTORY 2
Read: A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah
Assignment: Select five events from Ishmael’s experiences that impacted you. Prepare a
PowerPoint presentation for class
1) Identifying each event
2) Describing why each event impacted you
GLOBAL HISTORY 2 HONORS
Read: A Long Way Gone, Ishmael Beah
Directions: While reading, prepare the following discussion questions for the first week of class. Use
examples and details from the book…
1) Ishmael’s culture and values are very different from Western culture and values.
Identify the word “Western”
*Identify three cultural practices and the meaning of each *Can these
practices be compared to any Western practice?
2) Violence is a major theme of the story as Ishmael experienced different types of violence.
*What did Ishmael and the other boys do when they were not on missions?
*What movies did they like to watch? Why?
*What does this tell us about their childhood, what and how they were taught, and their
personalities?
*What did Ishmael’s experiences teach you about the consequences of war and violence?
*Give two examples each of physical violence and psychological violence found in the book.
3) Ishmael reflected on how a rebel soldier had interrogated an old man, “Before the war a young
man wouldn’t have dared to talk to anyone older in such a rude manner. We grew up in a culture
that demanded good behavior from everyone, and especially from the young” (p. 33).
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*How has war changed Ishmael’s culture?
*How has war affected the childhood of many children, both boys and girls, from Ishmael’s village
and around the world?
4) Ishmael’s time at the Benin Home was a time of rehabilitation and redemption. *Why was music
such an important part of Ishmael’s rehabilitation? *What kinds of music did Ishmael like? Why did
he connect with these types of music? What is it about music that mattered to him? *How did Esther
guide Ishmael and help him rehabilitate?
5) Ishmael writes “This was one of the consequences of the civil war. People stopped trusting each
other, and every stranger became an enemy” (p. 36)
*How does civil war not only change places but people?
*How has civil war changed Ishmael and his friends?
6) Ishmael’s experiences in New York City differed drastically from both his experiences at home
and his images of New York.
*How did Ishmael’s experiences in NYC differ from what he had pictured?
*What did Ishmael like most about New York? What didn’t he like? *Why was Ishmael visiting New
York in the first place?
*what is Ishmael doing now to help child soldiers?
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ADVANCED PLACEMENT EUROPEAN HISTORY
(Mr. Bratt: [email protected])
Preface: Welcome to college...sort of. Advanced Placement courses are college-level
courses, or at least they should be. As such, they are more challenging than standard
secondary school courses, and not just because there is more content to cover; in fact,
the amount of content is not what distinguishes an AP course as a college level
course. Not by a long shot.
What makes an AP course college level is how it makes you think; think critically,
think creatively, think historically...basically, to think at all, and to think for yourself.
Anybody can cram facts and figures, but not everyone can understand what they
mean, how they work and why they matter. It’s about making connections and
achieving mastery of the material.
Instructions: This summer you will read two essays and one book; the two essays
are about the idea of Europe, and the book is about why “the West” is a special,
dominant civilization. When you read, read deeply, thoughtfully and critically. Think
about what you are reading, reflect. You will write a response to each of the three
readings. When you write, write clearly, concisely, and creatively. Think about what
you are writing; reflect.
The readings are challenging. Don’t let that intimidate you! It takes time and practice
to get used to it, but you will get used to it, I assure you. Moreover, your writings
must mirror the advanced level of the readings,
but NOT the advanced length of the
readings. Therefore, each response to the two essays may be no more than 500
words. The response to the book may be no more than 1,000 words. Choose the
words carefully; make each thought count.
Below are the prompts which you will respond to. The prompts are meant to gently
guide your response, but feel free to take your reflections in a number of directions.
Don’t just give a dull recap of the readings; analyze, connect, question, reflect. Make
sure you tell me what YOU think about the readings.
Europe: Conceptualizing a Continent
Catdir.loc.gov/catdir/samples/cam031/2001025960.pdf
(cut and paste the above into a Google
search; then click on the first result that pops up; then open the Adobe file; then read pages 5-26
only)
ACCORDING TO THE AUTHOR, WHAT IS EUROPE? WHAT DO YOU THINK? (500)
What is a European?
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http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/13/magazine/what-is-a- european.html
(click on the above
link; then read pages 1-9 only)
ACCORDING TO THE AUTHOR, WHAT IS A EUROPEAN? WHAT DO YOU THINK? (500)
Civilization: The West and the Rest, Niall Ferguson
ACCORDING TO THE AUTHOR, HOW DID THE WEST ACHIEVE GLOBAL
PREDOMINANCE? WHAT ARE ITS PROSPECTS FOR MAINTAINING THAT
PREDOMINANCE IN THIS AND FUTURE CENTURIES? WHAT DO YOU THINK? (1,000
WORDS OR LESS)
Postscript: Your three, typed and terrific responses (remember, the two essay
responses @ 500 words or less, the book response @ 1,000 words or less) are due in
class the Monday after Labor Day, 2016. If you have any questions, you may email me.
Since it is summertime, I may not get back to you right away, but I will get back to
you. Good luck and, really, have fun!
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The Ursuline School
Social Studies
Summer Reading – 11th Grade
ADVANCED PLACEMENT US HISTORY
Summer Assignment
Welcome to APUSH. Your summer assignment will cover Period 1 as outlined by AP
Collegeboard. Period 1 covers topics from Pre-Columbian to colonial North America.
The information you will need can be found in Chapters 1-4 of your textbook.
Textbook: You will get a number to locate your online copy of the textbook.
The American Pageant, David M. Kennedy, Lizabeth Cohen, and Thomas A Bailey, 14th
ed., Wadsworth/Cengage, 2010
Review Book: 2016 Edition – Strongly suggested (You can wait for the 2017 edition
if you choose)
United States History: Preparing for the Advanced Placement Examination, John J.
Newman & John M. Schmalbach, 3rd Edition, AMSCO School Publications, 2016.
In addition, you will also be asked to get a historiography of American history:
Boyer, Paul, American History, A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press:
New York, NY, 2013.
Assignment:
1. Read Chapters 1-4 and take notes. (You may take notes in any format that you
prefer.)
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2. Read Chapter 1, “Beginnings: Pre-History to 1763” in American History, A Very
Short Introduction
3. Essay:
You must choose one of the following questions and write an essay. The essay must
be typed in Times New Roman in size 12 font. Please double-space the essay and have
a hard copy to hand in on the first day of classes. The maximum page limit is 4 pages.
You must have a hard copy printed to hand in on the first day of class (9/12).
 How did the identities of colonizing and indigenous American societies change
as a result of contact in the Americas?
 How did cultural contact challenge the religious and other values systems of
peoples from the Americas, Africa, and Europe?
 How did the Columbian Exchange—the mutual transfer of material goods,
commodities, animals, and diseases—affect interaction between Europeans
and natives and among indigenous peoples in North America?
Notes:
This class requires a lot of outside work and independent study. The AP US History
exam is set for Friday May 5, 2017, which is the week we return from Easter break.
Plan accordingly!
Looking forward to seeing you all in the fall!
-Ms. Welch
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The Ursuline School
Social Studies
Summer Reading – 12th Grade
ADVANCED PLACEMENT MACROECONOMICS
Read: Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science
by Charles Wheelan
Assignment (Part 1): Economics has been nicknamed “the dismal science because it
often portends gloom and doom in the human condition. However, since economics is
a science, albeit a social science, it can not only be used to explain why people,
businesses, and governments make the decisions they do, but can also be used to
predict how decisions made today impact the future.” Naked Economics will help you
learn to think like an economist by revealing basic principles and terminology that
will be used throughout our AP Macroeconomics course. As you read the book, you
will need to do two tasks for each of the 12 chapters.
1. Summarize each chapter…by writing a brief explanation – in your own words of
the major economic principles that are explained in each chapter; (1/2 page only)
2. Write a reflection of or reaction to each chapter…by expressing what you learned,
what surprised you, what made you laugh, what you don’t fully understand or
believe, or any other response (1-2 paragraphs)
Assignment (Part 2): The second part of your summer assignment will be to begin
collecting at least one article or political cartoon per week on an economic topic in
the news and write a reflection on it. The reflection should not be more than ½ page
in length. It is not very difficult to find an economics article. There is always an
economics story on the front page of major daily newspapers. The articles/political
cartoons can be from:
(1) a newspaper (print or online) such as The New York Times or The Wall Street
Journal;
(2)a magazine (Time, Newsweek, The Economist, etc);
(3) some other reputable source (e.g. blog).
You need to have a total of eight articles/political cartoons by the end of the summer.
*The Economics Notebook that you start maintaining over the summer will also be
used during the school year for gathering weekly articles. I recommend that you use a
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binder (1” – 2”) with five dividers (one for summer and one for each quarter) so that
you can keep your assignments together and turn them in for a homework grade
during each quarter. *Initially, your reflections will simply be summaries of the
articles or cartoons that you read along with your personal thoughts about each
article/cartoon.
As the year progresses, you will begin to respond to articles from an economist’s
perspective using the terminology and graphs that you will learn in AP Macro.
However, you will also learn some economic terms and principles while reading
Naked Economics, and you may wish to start responding to the articles like an
economist after learning from the book. *Both assignments are due the first day of
class in September.
Summer Reading – 12th Grade
AP Government and Politics
Choose ONE of the books listed below and follow the directions:
1. Your summary should be typed (double spaced, 1 inch margins, 12 point font),
length varies just be sure to answer all parts of the assignment. Spelling,
grammar, etc count.
2. Page 1 should include: your name, mod, title and author of the book
3. You may label each section as follows:
a. Reflection
i. Choose 5 quotes from the book that you would like to respond to
ii. Interpret each quote including an interpretation of what the author is
saying
iii. Your personal feelings/reaction to the quote
NOTE: you may simply number the quotes, write the quote and be sure to
include page number
b. Critical Evaluation (summary)
i. Provide a brief summary of the book
ii. What did the book teach you about politics? (Be sure to use detailed
examples including page numbers)
iii. Was the author balanced or objective? Who were they or how do
you prove this?
iv. Would you recommend this book, why or why not?
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DUE: This is due the first day that we return to school and will be worth more points
than a simple homework or quiz.
QUESTIONS:
Email me: [email protected]
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
BOOK CHOICES:
Original Meanings: Politics and Ideas in the Making of the Constitution, Jack
Rakove
The 15 Biggest Lies about Politics, Major Garret
Front Row at the White House , Helen Thomas
Hill Rat: Blowing the Lid off Congress, John Jackley
Spin This, Bill Press
Why Americans Hates Politics, F.J. Dionne
Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America, John Avlon and Tina
Brown
Closed Chambers, Edward Lazarus
AP GOV SUMMER ASSIGNMENT: CURRENT EVENTS
Since this is an election year and there are units on the AP exam about the election
process, the financing of campaigns, the media influence and coverage and the role of
outside interest groups, we are going to get a jump start on these topics by following
the process from the National Conventions up through, and including, Election Day.
To prepare for these topics so that we can start immediately in September, I have
prepared a guide for you to use to help you to understand this exciting time. Please be
sure that this is HANDWRITTEN and is handed in on the day that we return to school.
Any questions, email me: [email protected]
ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS IN YOUR OWN WORDS ON LOOSELEAF (NOT
SPIRAL) PAPER.
1. What is the difference between the primaries and the general election?
2. When and where was the Republican National Convention held?
3. When and where was the Democratic National Convention held?
4. What is the purpose of the Convention?
5. Who was named the Republican nominee?
6. Who was named as the Vice Presidential candidate?
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7. What was named as the Democratic nominee?
8. Who was named as the Vice Presidential candidate?
9. Where are the Republican candidates from?
10.What were their previous occupations/jobs?
11.Where are the Democratic candidates from?
12.What were their previous jobs?
13.Are there any third parties running? If so, name the candidate and the running mate?
14.Who formally nominates the candidates?
15.How are they chosen?
16.What is the Republican party platform? (This can be summarized or listed in bullets)
17.What is the Democratic party platform? (This can be summarized or listed in
bullets)
18.How is the President actually elected?
19.What do the following amendments have to do with this process?
a. 12th
b. 15th
c. 19th
d. 22nd
e. 24th
f. 26th
20. Who do YOU think will win and why?
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