AP US History Semester 1

Enrollment Message

Indiana Online cannot administer the AP Exam. Students need to register with their school of record to take the AP Exam. See Required Textbook

Course Description

AP US History is a college-level survey course which examines United States History from the pre-Columbian period to the present, focusing on the nation's political, economic, intellectual, cultural and social history. The first semester will focus on the pre-Columbian period through the Reconstruction of the United States after the Civil War. Some of the major topics included are the foundations in the New World, Colonial America, the American Revolution, Building America, Reform Movements, Westward Movement, Sectionalism, and the Civil War. The class is taught using themes of history and historical thinking skills to prepare students for the AP US History Exam and Educational experiences beyond high school. 

• Fulfills the US History requirement for all diplomas

Required Textbook

• The American Pageant, A History of the Republic, 15th Edition by Kennedy, Cohen, and Thomas. (ISBN-13 978-1111349530 / ISBN-10 1111349533) Purchase or rental available on Chegg or Amazon

Course Goals

Upon completion of the course, students will…

• develop and practice college-level strategies in critical thinking, historical thinking, using the historical themes, and periodization. Below you will find a greater description of historical themes and historical thinking.

Themes

• Identity
• Work, Exchange, and Technology
• Peopling
• Politics and Power
• America in the World
• Environment and Geography
• Ideas, Beliefs, and Culture

Historical Thinking Skills

Chronological Reasoning

• Historical Causation
• Patterns of Continuity and Change Over Time

Periodization

• Comparison and Contextualization
• Comparison

Contextualization

• Crafting Historical Arguments from Historical Evidence
• Historical Argumentation
• Appropriate Use of Historical Evidence

Historical Interpretation and Synthesis

• Interpretation
• Synthesis

College Board and Exam Description

• AP US History

Units of Instruction

• AP Keys to Learning
• Unit 1 Founding the New Nation,
• Unit 2 Building the New Nation, 1776-1860
• Unit 3 Testing the New Nation, 1820-1877

Grading/Evaluation

Indiana Online does not assign letter grades, grant credit for courses, nor issue transcripts or diplomas. A final score reported as a percentage of total points earned will be sent to students upon completion of a course. Your school of record can also access this score within the Student Information System, Genius. The final score will be shown as a percentage in Canvas and Genius. The student’s school of record will determine the letter grade based on their specific grading scale.

Students must complete at least 70% of the course and take all parts of the final exam(s) to have a score reported to their school of record. Failure to meet these requirements will result in a score of 0 reported to the school of record.

Assessments

Online assessments consist of formative and summative assessments represented by computer-graded multiple choice, teacher-graded writing assignments including hands-on projects, model building and other forms of authentic assessments. The course includes the following assessments

• 4 Discussions
• 13 Assignments
• 30 Quizzes

The assessments for this asynchronous course are weighted as follows

Teacher Contact Response Time

Students can use email or the private message system within Genius or Canvas to access highly qualified teachers when they need teacher assistance. Students will also receive feedback on their work inside Canvas. The Teacher Information page of their course may describe additional communication options.

The teacher will respond to student inquiries (email, text, call) within one business day. Assignments will be graded and posted within two business days.

Expectations for Academic Conduct 

Student Handbook 

It is your responsibility to read the student handbook to understand all aspects of taking an online course including expectations for academic conduct. Contact your teacher if you have any questions. 

Assistance for Students with Accommodations

Indiana Online supports an inclusive learning environment for all students. If there are aspects of the instruction or design of this course that hinder your full participation, such as inaccessible web content, or the use of non-captioned videos and podcasts, reasonable accommodations can be arranged.

Technology

Technology Requirements 

Students will require a computer device with headphones, a microphone, webcam, up-to-date Chrome Web Browser, and access to YouTube. Please review the Indiana Online’s Technology Requirements.

Technical Skills Needed 

Basic technology skills necessary to locate and share information and files as well as interact with others in a Learning Management System (LMS), include the ability to

• download, edit, save, convert, and upload files
• download and install software
• use a messaging service similar to email
• communicate with others in online discussion or message boards, following basic rules of netiquette
• open attachments shared in messages
• create, save, and submit files in commonly used word processing program formats and as a PDF
• save a file as a .pdf
• copy and paste and format text using your mouse, keyboard, or an html editor’s toolbar menu
• insert images or links into a file
• search for information within a document using Ctrl+F or Command+F keyboard shortcuts
• work in multiple browser windows and tabs simultaneously
• activate a microphone or webcam on your device, and record and upload or link audio and/or video files
• use presentation and graphics programs
• follow an online pacing guide or calendar of due dates
• use spell-check, citation editors, and tools commonly provided in word processing tool menus
• create and maintain usernames and passwords

Technical Questions?  Please contact the Indiana Online Helpdesk.