Advanced Placement U. S. History
Syllabus
Mr. Kreifels, 2018-2019
Course Description:
Advanced Placement United States History is a chronological survey course covering the period from Pre-Columbus (1400s) to contemporary America (2000s). The AP program in US History is designed to provide you with the analytical skills and factual knowledge to deal critically with the problems and issues in US History. This course will prepare you for intermediate and advanced college courses by making demands on you equivalent to those made by full year introductory college courses. Students will learn to assess historical materials by evaluating their relevance, reliability and importance as well as interpreting these materials. Students will also be prepared to take the AP US History exam offered by the College Board and possibly earn college credit.
Required Course Materials:
America's History, 8th Ed, Henretta/Hinderaker/Edwards/Self.
Optional: Any AP US History Exam review book such as those put out by Pearson or Princeton Review
Class Requirements:
· Regularly, you will be turning in chapter homework--usually "sub-headings" and/or vocabulary
· There will likely be a 3 or more tests each quarter. The test format will vary, but as a general rule students may expect both multiple choice and essay questions on each exam.
· Quizzes will be given periodically.
Grading:
Tests will be worth 40% of the grade; essays 35%; homework 25%. Other than the summer movie option, I rarely give extra credit work. Students will be given plenty of assignments throughout the quarter to work on improving a grade. On each chapter/topic test that students take, the student scoring the highest will receive (at least) 95% and the lowest test score given for students who clearly make an effort on a test will be 55%. Please note—if a student receives the minimum score on 2 consecutive exams but does not make up those exams, the min. score will NOT exist for future tests until & unless the student makes up/retakes an exam.
The grading scale is
100-93 A 76-73 C
92-90 A- 72-70 C-
89-87 B+ 69-67 D+
86-83 B 66-63 D
82-80 B- 62-60 D-
79-77 C+ 59-0 F
End of the Year Exam—students will be expected to take the AP Exam in May 2018. For all students who take this exam, it will count as the Final—scored at 100%. If students don’t take the AP Exam, they will take a cumulative Final in class that will be scored based on percentage correct (not automatically granted 100% as above). Students who score a 3 on the AP exam will be guaranteed at least a C for both semesters. Students who earn a 4 or 5 will be guaranteed an A for both semesters.
Late Assignments:
Late assignments will NOT be accepted. AP US, by its very title, is identified as a college level class. Working at that level, you must turn all work in on-time.
Attendance and Makeup Work/Tests:
Attendance is closely related to student success in this class. Therefore, being in class every day is important. When you miss class, you often miss discussion that cannot be “made up.” Only work missed due to an excused absence can be made up. Work missed because of an unexcused absence may not be made up. If you miss a test because of an excused absence, you will need to take the test on your time (before/after school, Academy or lunch). You may not make up the test if you have an unexcused absence on test day. All missed tests, quizzes, and essays must be made up within one week of the original date.
Retakes of tests/Essay rewrites:
You may retake tests and rewrite essays within the following guidelines. 1) must be done within 1 week of having the test/paper returned 2) average of the two scores will be recorded.
Classroom Expectations:
Be Responsible by:
* being in your seat, prepared for class and quiet before the bell rings.
* adhering to KSS rules regarding pop and food in the classroom.
* taking care of all materials used in class.
Be Respectful by:
* being courteous to all people.
* waiting for the teacher to dismiss the class.
* this is basically an introductory college course & you are expected to behave at that level.
Academic Integrity:
All work produced in this class must be your own. If you violate this policy, you will receive a 0 on the assignment in question. Additionally, allowing anyone else to copy your work will result in a 0 on your test, project or assignment. If you wish to receive credit for the assignment in question, you will need to complete an alternative assignment to be determined by the teacher. In addition to the consequences discussed above, any instances of cheating may also result in parental notification and a referral to the office.
If you have any concerns or questions please call or email.
Jeff Kreifels
KLAHOWYA SECONDARY SCHOOL
EMAIL—[email protected]
WEBPAGE--KLSS site under "Teachers"--click on globe
PHONE # 662-4055
AP US 2018-2019
Dear Parents/Guardians,
My hope is that we will all be working together so that your son/daughter has the greatest opportunities for success.
Please sign and return this portion of the class syllabus as an indication that you have seen these expectations and have had a chance to talk about them with your son/daughter. This syllabus and much of the work that students do for AP US will be on my webpage
Thank you.
Date ______________________________________
Student Name (print) ______________________________________
Signature ______________________________________
Parent/Guardian Name (print)______________________________________
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(Note: if you email me at [email protected], I will respond quickly. Please put your son/daughter’s name in the subject line. Thank you)