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AP United States Government and PoliticsProspect Ridge Academy
Course Syllabus
Overview: Welcome to AP U.S. Government and Politics! This college-level course is an introduction to the United States national government and political system. We study government institutions and political processes and examine policy choices. The institutions and policies of the United States government will be considered in light of historical change, constitutional procedures, and comparative perspectives.
Personal Philosophy: U.S. Government is an essential course for American students to take. My goal at the end of the school year is for students to exit this class as interested and informed citizens. It’s easy to engage and interact with this content, because it is in the news every day and relates closely to our lives as Americans. This is also an ideal first AP class for students to take; since the content is usually very appealing, I find that students are willing to put it the effort necessary to master it at the college level. Most importantly, we need an informed and involved citizenry for democracy to work! My greatest hope is for students to contact me after they have moved on to college and beyond to tell me that they are voting, working on campaigns, and contributing in their communities!
Instructor: Mr. Mark Nuss Phone Number: 720-399-0300Room: High School Room #2-222 Email: [email protected] Hours: Weds. 3:15 – 4:00 pm Course Meetings: Periods 1, 2, and 6
Required Materials: Students should bring the following materials with them to class every day.
- Textbook: Harrison, Brigid, Harris, Jean, and Deardorff, Michelle. American Democracy Now (4th Edition). McGraw-Hill Education, 2014. **Please see attached letter for information on buying textbooks**
- Pens (black or blue please) AND pencils- Personal electronic device (you will use this every day)
**A spiral notebook for note-taking is strongly recommended but not required**
Grading: Grades will be calculated using a point system, broken down into the following categories.
- Assessments: 80%- Learning Activities (homework): 20%
The following grading scale will be used (plus and minus grades will not be given):
A = 90-100% F = below 70% B = 80-89%
C = 70-79%
Classroom Expectations:
1. Complete all homework and assigned readings before coming to class; this is key to being well prepared and able to participate!
2. Be on time! Attendance is taken promptly at the beginning of class. Students who arrive late not only harm their own learning, but also interrupt the learning of their colleagues.
3. Turn in assignments at the beginning of class on the day they are due. Do not turn work in after class has begun. Work turned in after class has begun will be considered one day late. Late work will be accepted one day after the due date for half credit. Beyond one day, late work will not be accepted.
4. No makeup work is available for unexcused absences. Students with excused absences remain responsible for all assignments. All assignments and due dates are posted on the Google Classroom page. It is students’ responsibility to find out what they have missed while absent; check the website every day!
5. No profanity or disrespectful language will be tolerated. This includes, but is not limited to, racist, sexist, and homophobic comments. Students will express their emotions and thoughts through the intelligent and creative use of language.
6. Be civil: Political science is a highly interpretive field of study! All students have valid input to class discussions, and a variety of viewpoints may all be correct in full or in part.
7. Share your ideas! Active participation in class—questions, comments, and constructive debate—is expected. This course provides an ideal forum to challenge or to reinforce one’s opinions. Attendance means much more than simply being physically present in the classroom.
8. BYOD Devices may be used in the classroom at the request of the instructor. We will utilize your devices consistently throughout the school year, but there will also be times when I will request that they be put away / turned off (during quizzes and tests for example). Cell phones are to remain turned off and put away at all times. If I see a cell phone it’s mine for the rest of the day! MP3 players may be used in certain situations; further details will be given in class.
9. No food or drink, other than water, is allowed in the classroom.10. Use office hours wisely! I can almost guarantee that students who attend office hours
regularly will see marked improvements in their understanding of course material and performance on assessments, homework, the AP Exam, etc. And if I request that you come to office hours, which I will do if necessary, attendance is mandatory. As an AP student in a college level course, expect to attend a lot of office hours!
11. Hall passes will not be issued during direct instruction. Students should utilize passing periods to use the restroom and take care of other personal matters.
12. Show respect for your instructor and your colleagues. There should be no talking while the instructor or another student is speaking. Raise your hand in order to be recognized.
Re-Assessment: Students who struggle to reach proficiency on standards and concepts have the opportunity, after taking the appropriate steps to catch up, to re-take assessments in order to show that they have indeed mastered the content. Students may re-take any assessment (unit assessments, FRQ essays, and term papers) during the semester, with the following caveats:
1. Assessments can only be re-taken within one week of that assessment being handed back. For example, if I return an assessment to you on a Monday, you have until the following Monday to re-take it.
2. Assessments can only be re-taken if the student does not have any missing assignments for that unit.
3. Assessments must be re-taken during office hours (Wednesdays 3:15 to 4:00 PM) or by appointment. Unless you have a very valid excuse, I will expect you to re-take the assessment during office hours.
4. An assessment given for a re-take may feature different questions or even a different format than the original assessment, at the instructor’s discretion. This is to ensure that data from re-taken assessments accurately demonstrates the student’s proficiency with the content rather than their skill at memorizing answers.
Academic Honesty: Academic honesty is vital to success in both the course and in life and will be expected at all times. Any form of cheating, plagiarism, or academic dishonesty is strictly prohibited. The consequences for violation of this policy can be severe. Please see the High School Student Handbook for more information.
Teaching Strategies : The primary teaching strategy is a lecture/discussion format, which takes place an average of two class periods per week. In addition to lectures and discussions, students read articles and prepare analytical questions in advance, which are the basis for student-led discussion. Students present current events each week. Students research and debate one political issue per semester in a panel-discussion format. Students are given guided questions prior to difficult readings. In class, they work together in small groups and large teams. Students draw political cartoons. They make charts and graphs using demographic data. Students watch episodes of The West Wing and Law and Order. Students may attend optional movie nights, where we watch feature-length films. In other words, we do a lot of very different and very fun things in AP Government!
Student Evaluation : Students are given 60-question, 45-minute, multiple-choice tests following each unit. These questions have five possible responses, following the College Board format that students will encounter on the AP Exam. Every other week, students write a 25-minute free response essay in class. These are graded according to AP rubrics. Students also write one term paper each semester. They prepare and present a debate as part of a group, which is weighted as a term paper or major test in grade book. Current events reports are also graded. Occasionally, students are given a “pop quiz” worth minimal points, in order to ensure that they are completing readings as assigned. Students who earn an F on a term paper or free response essay have the opportunity to rewrite their papers. Students who earn an F on a multiple-choice test must complete an item-by-item analysis of their errors in order to re-assess. Students whose course grade falls below an 80% B will be required, until their
grade is raised to a B, to complete chapter outlines as they do assigned readings in the textbook.
Dear Parents,
Welcome to Advanced Placement United States Government and Politics! As you know, AP courses are college-level courses, and as such, I would like to invite you to consider purchasing a copy of American Democracy Now (our main textbook for the course) for your student.
We will have a classroom set of textbooks, but they will stay in the classroom at all times. Your student will also receive a license for the electronic version of the textbook, so that they may access it using their personal electronic device. Your student will be able to complete everything we will do in the course using these two copies of the book; they will not be at a disadvantage if they do not have a personal physical copy. However, my experience has consistently been that students, especially AP students, vastly prefer using a physical textbook to an online book, as they 1) can highlight and underline however they wish and 2) find it more convenient than an e-book (they don’t have to worry about their device being charged, it’s easier to find things in the physical book vs. the online interface, etc.). I realize the irony of this, as we expect today’s students to want to use their devices at every possible opportunity, but as we are also well aware teenagers will often surprise us!
Should you choose to purchase a textbook for your student, please keep the following in mind:
1. Books cannot be sold back to PRA at the end of the school year. You may, however, be able to pass along your student’s book to a future AP U.S. Government student!
2. We are using the most recent edition (4th edition) of the textbook. While older editions of the book will work fine 95% of the time (and older editions are much cheaper as you can find them used), there will be a few occasions where we will need to work with the most up-to-date information possible in class. When this is the case, I will make note of it to your student if they’re using a previous edition.
Thank you for taking the time to consider this option. Should you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I look forward to a very fun and very productive year in AP U.S. Government!
Sincerely,
Mr. Nuss
[email protected] Outline (Number of class days listed are approximate and subject to change)
Unit I. Constitutional Underpinnings of United States Government (~10% of the AP Exam). 14 class days.
A. Considerations that influenced the formulation and adoption of the Constitution
B. Separation of powersC. Checks and balancesD. FederalismE. Theories of democratic government
Unit II. Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (~10% of the AP Exam). 14 class days. A. The development of civil rights and civil liberties by judicial interpretationB. Knowledge of substantive rights and libertiesC. Impact of the 14th Amendment on the constitutional development of rights and
liberties
Unit III. Political Beliefs and Behaviors (~15% of the AP Exam). 22 class days. A. Beliefs that citizens hold about their government and its leadersB. Processes by which citizens learn about politicsC. The nature, sources, and consequences of public opinionD. The ways in which citizens vote and otherwise participate in political lifeE. Factors that influence citizens to differ from one another in terms of political
beliefs and behaviors
Unit IV. “Linkage Institutions”: Political Parties, Interest Groups, and Mass Media (~15% of the AP Exam). 22 class days.
A. Political parties and electionsa. Functionsb. Organizationc. Developmentd. Effects on the political processe. Electoral laws and systems
B. Interest groups, including political action committees (PACs)a. The range of interests representedb. The activities of interest groupsc. The effects of interest groups on the political processd. The unique characteristics and roles of PACs in the political process
C. The mass mediaa. The functions and structures of the news mediab. The impacts of the news media on politicsc. The news media industry and its consequences
Unit V. Institutions of National Government (~40% of the AP Exam). 59 class days. Unit V Part I: Congress and the Presidency. 35 class days. Unit V Part II: The Bureaucracy and the Federal Courts. 24 class days.
A. The major formal and informal institutional arrangements of powerB. Relationships among these four institutions and varying balances of powerC. Linkages between institutions and the following:
a. Public opinion and votersb. Interest groupsc. Political partiesd. The mediae. State and local governments
Unit VI. Public Policy (~10% of the AP Exam). 14 class days.A. Policymaking in a federal systemB. The formation of policy agendasC. The role of institutions in the enactment of policyD. The role of the bureaucracy and the courts in policy implementation and
interpretationE. Linkages between policy processes and the following:
a. Political institutions and federalismb. Political partiesc. Interest groupsd. Public opinione. Electionsf. Policy networks
Approximately 10 Review Days
The AP U.S. Government and Politics Exam is scheduled for Thursday, May 4th 2017 at 8:00 AM. The exam is 2 hours and 25 minutes long. It includes a 45-minute multiple-choice section consisting of 60 questions and a 100-minute free-response section consisting of 4 questions.
Summative Assessments
Constitutional Underpinnings
- Unit Exam (60 multiple-choice questions)- Two in-class FRQs- Federalist #10 debate
Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
- Unit Exam (60 multiple-choice questions)- Two in-class FRQs- Incorporation SCOTUS Cases project
Political Beliefs and Behaviors
- Unit Exam (60 multiple-choice questions)- One in-class FRQ- Party Platform Paper- Panel Discussion
Linkage Institutions
- Unit Exam (60 multiple-choice questions)- One in-class FRQ- Term Paper #1 – Media, Interest Groups, Parties
Institutions of National Government
- Two Unit Exams (60 multiple-choice questions apiece)- Three in-class FRQs- Mock Congress- Panel Discussion
Public Policy
- Unit Exam (60 multiple-choice questions)- Two in-class FRQs- Term Paper #2 – Policy Making Process, Domestic Policy, Foreign Policy
Unit Learning Activities
Constitutional Underpinnings
Lectures Chapters 1, 2, 3_____No Child Left Behind reading_____Amendment activity_____Current events presentations_____Roche and Beard Founding Fathers theories_____
Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
Lectures Chapters 4, 5_____Civil Rights debate_____Warren Court debate_____Current events presentations_____
Political Beliefs and Behaviors
Lectures Chapters 6, 8, 9_____Gender Gap reading_____Excerpt from Bowling Alone_____Excerpt from The Responsible Electorate____Current events presentations_____
Linkage Institutions
Lectures Chapters 7, 9, 10, 11_____Excerpt from It’s the Media, Stupid_____Voter Turnout debate_____Key, A Theory of Critical Elections_____Current events presentations_____
Institutions of National Government
Lectures Chapters 12, 13, 14, 15_____Presidential approval ratings analysis_____Excerpt from The Presidential Character_____Single Issue Groups debate_____Presidential power discussion_____Iron Triangles examples_____Affirmative Action debate_____Current events presentations_____
Public Policy
Lectures Chapters 16, 17, 18_____Budget debate_____Current events presentations_____Reading / Discussion of Kagan, Dangerous Nation____Reading / Discussion of Mettler, How Invisible Government Policies Undermine American Democracy_____
Current Events Categories: Constitution/Federalism, Political Beliefs and Behaviors, Civil Rights/Liberties, Domestic Policy, Foreign Policy, International News, Local NewsTeacher Resources
Barber, James David. The Presidential Character, 2nd ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, c. 1972, 1977, 1985.
Beard, Charles A. The Economic Basis of Political and Related Writings, c. 1957.
Berelson, Bernard R., Paul E. Lazerfeld, and William N. McPhee. Voting. Chicago: University of Chicago, c. 1954, pp. 305-333.
Brigid, Harris, Jean, and Deardorff, Michelle. American Democracy Now (4th Edition). McGraw-Hill Education, 2014.
Grover, William F. and Joseph G. Peschek. Voices of Dissent: Critical Readings in American Politics. 4th ed. New York: Longman, 2002.
Key. V.O., Jr. “A Theory of Critical Elections.” The Journal of Politics 17, February 1955.
Key, V.O., Jr. The Responsible Electorate: Responsibility in Presidential Voting 1930-1960. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, c. 1991.
McChesney, Robert W. and John Nichols,. It’s the Media, Stupid. New York: Seven Stories Press, 2000, pp 21-25, 110-115, and 119-120.
Putnam, Robert. Bowling Alone. New York: Simon and Schuster, c. 2000, pp. 15-28.
Roche, John P. “The Founding Fathers.” American Political Science Review, December 1961.
Sklar, Holly, Betsy Leondar-Wright, and Chuck Collins. Shifting Fortunes: The Perils of the Growing American Wealth Gap. Boston: United for a Fair Economy, 1999, pp. 5-10, 15-22, and 61-68.
Woll, Peter, et al. American Government: Readings and Cases, 15th ed. New York: Longman Publishing, 2004.
Woll, Peter and Stephen J. Rockwell. American Political Ideals and Realities. New York: Longman, 2000.
Woolley, Peter J. and Albert R. Papas. American Politics: Core Argument/Current Controversy. 2nd ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2002.
21 Debated Issues in World Politics. Gregory M. Scott, Louis Furmanski, and Randall J. Jones, Jr., eds. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2000. “Nuclear Proliferation, pp. 81-86.
Kollman, Ken. Readings in American Politics: Analysis and Perspectives, 3rd ed. W.W. Norton and Co., 2014.
Internet Resources
The Anti-Federalist Papers. http://www.wepin.com/articles/afb
Center for Responsive Politics. http://www.opensecrets.org/index.asp
Cornell Law School Supreme Court Case Collection. http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/cases/name.htm.
The Federalist Papers. http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/federal/fed.htm
Gallup Polling Organization. http://www.gallup.com
Larson, Krista. American Voting Process Influenced Turnout Levels. Medill News Service. http://www.yvoteonline.org/noshows2000_st_foreign.shtml
League of Women Voters. http://lwv.org
No Child Left Behind. http://www.ed.gov/nclb/landing.jhtml?src=pb
Women’s Election Watch 2000. The Feminist Majority Foundation, c. 2000. http://www.feminist.org/Election2000/gendergap_president.asp
Resources on Video
The American President. Castle Rock Entertainment, 1995.
Law and Order: Gun Show: Episode 1106, Season 10. National Broadcasting Corporation.
Primary Colors. Universal Studios, 1998.
Traffic. USA Films, 2000.
The West Wing: Stackhouse Filibuster: Episode 217. Warner Brothers Home Video, 2004.
Parents and Students,
Please sign below indicating that you have read and agree to the policies and procedures outlined in this syllabus.
Students, please return this signature sheet only (keep the rest of the syllabus with you at all times) no later than Tuesday, August 23rd for an easy 10 points.
Parents
I have read and agree to the policies and procedures for AP U.S. Government outlined in this syllabus.
X______________________________________________________________________
Printed Name:____________________________________________________________
Students
I have read and agree to the policies and procedures for AP U.S. Government outlined in this syllabus.
X______________________________________________________________________
Printed Name:____________________________________________________________
