2016 Summer Assignment for AP European History.
Congratulations! You’ve elected to take one of UAHS’s most challenging and most rewarding courses. This
course is designed for students who love history and want the challenge of a college level class while in high
school. The purpose of the summer assignment is to provide you with some background knowledge of
European history before you begin the course and to prepare you for the caliber of learning that you will
experience during the upcoming school year. This assignment is worth 10% of your Quarter One grade.
There are two parts to the project, which is to be submitted on Friday August 19, 2016:
1. Read and evaluate a selected work of historical fiction (50%)
2. Make two maps of Europe, a political map and a physical map (50%)
————————————————————————————————————————————
Part 1. Read and evaluate a selected work of historical fiction
Pick one of the selected works of historical fiction listed below. Read the entire book. Once completed, you
are to do research on at least three parts of the book. Evaluate how historically accurate or inaccurate the
book is. You must present and support a thesis in a 1,000 - 1,500 word paper. Attach an annotated
bibliography to your paper. At least two of the sources that you use for historical research must be print
sources. Please note that some of the books on this list are deemed by your teacher to be ‘Rated R’ and will
require parent permission. Scoring criteria is provided below to help guide you in composing the paper.
Choose One Of The Following Books:
The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant (*Requires parent permission*)
The story of a teenage girl coming of age in Renaissance-era Florence
The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare
The story of Shylock, a Jewish money-lender, in Renaissance-era Venice
Henry V by William Shakespeare
The story of the English king who led his men into battle at Agincourt, France during the 100 Years War
The Family by Mario Puzo (*Requires parent permission*)
The story Rodrigo Borgia, the 15th century Spaniard who used political cunning to become Pope
Alexander VI—perhaps the most immoral Pope in history. His kids weren’t much better.
Incantation by Alice Hoffman
The story of a Jewish family trying to survive the Spanish Inquisition
The Relic Master by Christopher Buckley (*Requires parent permission*)
The story of a scam-gone-wrong in the early days of the Reformation
*Requires Parent Permission*: You will NOT receive a grade if you evaluate a restricted book without parent
permission. For permission, simply have your parent or legal guardian email me, stating that they have reviewed
the book and are allowing you to read it. If they would like to know more about the book before they approve it,
they can email me about that as well. [email protected]
To earn a possible A grade, the paper must…
contain a title, the student’s name, be double-spaced and between 1,000 and 1,500 words (10%)
be clearly written (20%)
demonstrate knowledge of the entire story (20%)
thoroughly evaluate the historical accuracy of at least three elements of the story by comparing
the fictional story against what non-fictional sources report. There should be a meaningful
introduction which includes a clear argument—the thesis statement. The body paragraphs
support the thesis with logical reasoning and multiple pieces of historical evidence with internal
citations. A concluding paragraph meaningfully summarizes and applies the central ideas of
the paper. An annotated bibliography is attached to the end of the paper. (50%)
Part 2. Make two maps of Europe, a political map and a physical map
Make your own hand-drawn maps of Europe on a 8½ by 14
inch piece of legal paper. The first will be a political map, the
second a physical map. Your maps must include all of the
features identified below. You will submit both maps in a
three-ring folder. You will need to fold the maps to fit. (See
image.) It should be hole punched on the left and bound in the
binder. It should be creased down the middle and folded in,
so that it is contained within the binder. The map will be
evaluated for completeness and clarity. The scale should be
generally approximate but it need not perfect.
Map One: Outline, label and lightly color the political
boundaries.
Luxembourg
Portugal
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Germany
Spain
Belarus
Austria
Iceland
Russia
Poland
Ireland
Kaliningrad (Russia)
United Kingdom Switzerland
Greece
Italy
France
Macedonia
Slovenia
Belgium
Montenegro
Albania
Netherlands
Kosovo
Croatia
Turkey
Romania
Ukraine
Moldova
Bulgaria
Czech Republic
Slovakia
Hungary
Denmark
Norway
Sweden
Finland
Estonia
Latvia
Lithuania
Malta
Map One: Label these principal cities
Kiev
Volgograd
Moscow
St. Petersburg
Istanbul
Minsk
Prague
Warsaw
Gdansk
Vienna
Budapest
Rome
Venice
Milan
Florence
Paris
Bilbao
Lisbon
Sarajevo
Athens
Belgrade
Berlin
Munich
Dresden
Brussels
Amsterdam
The Hague
Map Two: Draw and label these physical features
Bodies of Water
Rivers
Mountains
Atlantic
Thames
Alps
Mediterranean
Meuse
Carpathian
North Sea
Seine
Pyrenees
English Channel
Volga
Caucasus
Gulf of Finland
Don
Ural
Baltic Sea
Danube
Balkans
Aegean Sea
Rhine
Adriatic Sea
Vistula
Lake Ladoga
Arno
Black Sea
Tiber
Sea of Azov
Caspian
London
Liverpool
Edinburgh
Dublin
Belfast
Reykjavik
Geneva
Madrid
Barcelona
Stockholm
Helsinki
Oslo
Copenhagen
Sofia
Bucharest
Innsbruck
Islands
Corsica
Sardinia
Crete
Cyprus
Elba
Straits
Gibraltar
Dardanelles
Note: Feel free to draw the political
boundaries on the physical map, if
that is helpful. Just don’t label the
countries on the physical map.