AP U.S. History Course Information and Summer Assignment
Mrs. Danielle Jackson
B.A. History, California State University, Fresno
Social Science Credential, California State University, Fresno
Overview
Advanced Placement U.S. History is a rigorous, college-level introductory course which examines the nations’
political, diplomatic, intellectual, cultural, social, and economic history from 1491 to present. A variety of
instructional approaches are employed and a college level textbook is supplemented by primary and
secondary sources.
Themes
Activities within each unit of study are organized around the course’s seven major themes, and are designed
to develop the student’s historical thinking skills.
Themes
Identity
Work, Exchange,
and Technology
Peopling
Politics and Power
America in the
World
Environment and
Geography
Ideas, Beliefs, and
Cultures
Concept Questions
How has the American national identity changed over time?
How have changes in markets, transportation, and technology affected
American society?
How have changes in migration and population patterns affected
American life?
How have various groups sought to change the federal government’s role
in American political, social, and economic life?
How has U.S. involvement in global conflicts set the stage for domestic
social issues?
How did the institutions and values between the environment and
Americans shape various groups in North America?
How have changes in moral, philosophical, and cultural values affected
U.S. history?
Examples of Activities (not a complete list)
Lecture and Discussion of Topics: Students will participate in discussions based on course topics. Reading quiz
content is embedded in class discussions.
Primary Source Analysis: Students analyze primary sources including identifying, analyzing, and evaluating
each of the sources. Students will analyze sources for the following features: Historical Context, Intended
Audience, Point of View, Purpose, and use the source as the evidence for written responses.
Socratic Seminars: Students will be asked to prepare questions and responses to teacher-made discussion
questions and share out in a seminar/discussion format.
Chapter Reading Guides: Students will be provided a chapter reading guide for each chapter, focusing the
student on important terms and Free Response Questions. Students will be expected to state the significance
of each of the important terms and construct answers to each of the Short Answer Questions in a wellconstructed paragraph response including specific historical detail to support their argument.
Reading Comprehension Quizzes: Students will be expected to read approximately one to two chapters per
week, complete a chapter reading guide, and take a multiple choice quiz on the content from the chapter
(These will be unannounced and take place intermittently during the year).
DBQ Deconstruction: Students, working in groups, will read the sources from and debate the question posed
by the DBQ. (As the year progresses, students will work more independently on writing DBQs in preparation
for the AP test.)
Unit Exams: Each exam will have three components: analytical multiple choice questions, analytical short
answer questions, and either a Long Essay Question or a document based question (DBQ). Each component of
the exam will emphasize the application of historical thinking skills to answer the question. Information from
prior units is often a critical component of the response.
Grading Criteria
Grades will be determined by the student’s through their efforts on: Exams and Quizzes, Written Responses,
Class Assignments, Projects, etc. Grades will be determined based upon a weighted point scale. For example:
Exams are worth 30% of the final grade, Timed Writes 20%, Class Assignments 20%, etc.
INCOMPLETE ASSIGNMENTS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED
Late Work:
Late assignments will only be accepted at the beginning of the class period after the due date for HALF
CREDIT. No credit will be given for assignments turned in more than one day late.
Significance of Letter Grades:
A (90-100%) = Outstanding: Student has clearly mastered all concepts, work is consistently exemplary
B (80-89%) = Excellent: Student has mastered most concepts, work is complete and correct
C (70-79%) = Average: Student has mastered some concepts, some missing assignments
D (60-69%) = Below Average: Student has mastered few concepts, many missing assignments
F (59% and below) = Failing: Student shows no mastery of concepts, most assignments missing
Primary Textbook:
The American Pageant, David M. Kennedy, Lizabeth Cohen, and Thomas A. Bailey, 13th ed., Houghton Mifflin, 2006.
Suggested Study Aid:
United States History: Preparing for the Advanced Placement Examination. Newman, John & Schmalback,
John. AMSCO, 2015 Edition.
I will have a class set of the 2015 Edition which we will be utilizing throughout the school year. I would
suggest purchasing your own copy of the 2015 Edition for use on your own time. (If only the 2016 Edition is
available that’s ok to purchase, however, the answer key is sold only to Educators.) AMSCO Study Aid ONLY
sold at: http://www.amscopub.com/us-history-preparing-for-ap-exam
Summer Assignment
In order to get started quickly upon returning from break, it will be imperative that you complete the following
assignments, including the first Chapter Reading Guide. The Summer Assignment will be due at the
beginning of class during the FIRST BLOCK period of the 2015-2016 school year. NO LATE or INCOMPLETE
ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED.
▪Be sure to check out the textbook from the bookroom before Summer Break—listed above.
Complete the attached Reading Guide, write in pen or pencil neatly. The Reading Guide does not align with
a specific chapter, as the American Pageant does not specifically follow the new Curriculum Framework for
APUSH. DO NOT TYPE. READ your textbook or the AMSCO Study Aid, do not just google the answers.
Time Period 1 Study Guide
Identify and state the historical significance of the following terms.
1. Clovis people
2. Pueblo
3. Chinook
4. Hunter-gatherer economy
5. Agricultural practices (maize cultivation)
6. Iroquois
7. Algonquian
8. Smallpox
9. Mestizo
10. Encomienda system
11. Effects of new crops introduced by Spanish
12. Marco Polo
13. Batolome de Las Casas
14. Spanish mission system
15. Christopher Columbus
16. The Columbian Exchange
17. Spanish Conquistadores
18. Hernan Cortes
19. Moctezuma
20. Treaty of Tordesillas
21. Aztecs
22. Joint-Stock Company
23. African Slave Trade
24. Mercantilism
25. Fur Trading
26. Roanoke
27. Sextant
28. Samuel de Champlain
29. Magellan
30. John Cabot
31. Francisco Pizarro
32. Juan de Onate
Short Answer
Write a paragraph response to each of the study questions, including significant, specific
historical fact to prove your answer.
1. Work, Exchange and Technology: Identify the products and consequences of the Columbian Exchange.
2. Peopling: Identify patterns of movement of American Indians prior to and after European contact.
Analyze the impact of migration, disease, and warfare on the American Indian population.
3. America in the World: Explain how the exchange of commodities influenced the origin and
development of British North American Colonies.
4. Environment and Geography: Explain how the introduction of plants, technology, and animals altered
the environment of North America and its impact on American Indians. Discuss how the environment
led to distinct regional groups prior to and after European contact.
5. Ideas, Beliefs, and Culture: Explain intergroup relationships between Europeans, Africans, and Native
Americans.
The next question is based on the following two passages. For this question, answer in
approximately 2-3 sentences for EACH part.
“The organization of the Caribbean Indians as a labor pool was a matter of immediate and urgent concern for
the Spanish colonists. The extremely hard labor necessary for the tasks of construction and subsistence, the
unfamiliar and uncomfortable tropical environment, and Spaniards’ abhorrence of physical labor virtually
ensured the exploitation of the local population.…Encomienda was an arrangement by which the inhabitants
of a designated region or town were assigned to individual Spaniards as vassals. In exchange for protection
and Christian instruction, the Indians were obligated to provide labor and services to their
overlord.…Relocation of Indians for labor in mines, ranches and farms disrupted and recombined settlements.
This probably led also to a general disintegration and breakdown in Hispaniola Arawak society.”
Deagan, Kathleen A. “Spanish-Indian Interaction in Sixteenth-Century Florida and Hispaniola.” In William W.
Fitzhugh, ed., Cultures in Contact: The Impact of European Contacts on Native Cultural Institutions in Eastern
North America, A.D. 1000–1800 (Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1985).
“Spaniards who actually went to the new lands, though, had little interest in evangelization. Although often
personally pious, they were more concerned with Indian labor than Indian souls.…In 1503 the monarchs
provided…the encomienda system. Individual Spaniards became trustees of indigenous groups, promising to
ensure their safety, freedom and religious instruction. In fine protection-racket style, Indians paid for Spanish
“security” with their labor. The encomienda can be thought of as an attempt to answer the objections to
slavery….By restricting the demands on Indians, the monarchs sought to reduce the incentive to revolt. It
didn’t work. Both the Indians and the conquistadores disliked the encomienda system….Trustees loathed
negotiating with the Taino leaders….The Taino came to view the system as…legal justification for slavery.”
Charles C. Mann, 1493
Charles C. Mann, 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created (New York: Vintage Books, 2011), 384–
385.
6. Based on the two interpretations above regarding the encomienda system, complete the following three
tasks:
a. Briefly explain the main point made by Passage 1.
b. Briefly explain the main point made by Passage 2.
c. Provide ONE piece of evidence from 15th- through 16th-century Spanish colonization that is not
included in the passages and explain how it supports the interpretation in either passage.