AP United States History (APUSH)

Class Sample of Ms. Heffner's APUSH class

Class Description

AP U.S. History is an introductory college-level U.S. history course. Students cultivate their understanding of U.S. history from c. 1491 CE to the present through analyzing historical sources and learning to make connections and craft historical arguments as they explore concepts like American and national identity; work, exchange, and technology; geography and the environment; migration and settlement; politics and power; America in the world; American and regional culture; and social structures. 

This AP Preview class will expose students to a faster pace to that of the year-long AP course offered during the tradition school year while equipping students with test taking skills to be successful with the APUSH exam.

 

 

Historical Thinking Skills

SKILL Description
Developments and Processes Identify and explain historical developments and processes
Sourcing and Situation Analyze sourcing and historical situation of primary and secondary sources 
Claims and Evidence in Sources Analyze arguments in primary and secondary sources
Contextualization Analyze the contest of historical events, developments, or processes
Making Connections Using historical reasoning processes (comparison, causation, continuity and change) analyze patterns and connections between and among historical developments and processes.
Argumentation Develop an argument

AP United States History Preview Class Syllabus 

Goals: Be familiar with: 

  • Course Content
  • Course Pace
  • Exam Structure
  • Test-Taking Skills
  • Writing Skills
  • Exam-Level Grading

Schedule: 

Class 1&2: , Introduction and Unit 1: 1491-1754 

Topics for this week: 

• Introduction to Native Populations and Migration 

• Columbian Exchange and Development of Spanish Empire 

• Discovery of North America 

• Colonization by Europeans 

• Transatlantic Trade and British Colonies 

Documents: Triangle Trade Map, Map of Native Populations in North America 

No FRQ Assessment – Introduction to Exam Essay Styles, Tips for Success 

 

Class 3&4: Unit 2: 1754-1800 

Topics for this week: 

• Seven Years’ War 

• Resistance to British control and War for Independence 

• Establishment of new forms of government 

• Migration further West 

Documents: Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, United States Constitution 

 

Class 5&6:  Unit 3: 1800-1848 

Topics for this week: 

• Democracy, the Right to Vote, and Political Parties 

• Growth of Nationalism 

• Social Movements: Abolitionism, Women’s Rights 

• Industrial Revolution and Technological Innovation 

• Expanding U.S. Borders and Economic Growth 

 

Class 7&8: Unit 4: 1844-1877 

Topics for this week: 

• Manifest Destiny 

• Civil War (North vs. South Economics) 

• Reconstruction 

• Segregation 

Documents: Compromise of 1850, Kansas-Nebraska Act, Dred Scott Decision, Gettysburg Address, Emancipation Proclamation, 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments 

 

Class 9&10:  Unit 5: 1865-1898 

Topics for this week: 

• Rise of Industrial Capitalism and Immigration 

• Transcontinental Railroad 

• New South – Sharecropping, Jim Crow 

• Growth of Urban Centers and Migration 

• Gilded Age 

Documents: Plessy v Ferguson Supreme Court Act 

 

Class 11&12:  Unit 6: 1890-1945 

Topics for this week: 

• Urbanization and Rise of Consumerism 

• Progressive Era 

• World War I and Immigration 

• Great Migration 

• Great Depression 

• Roosevelt’s New Deal 

• Social Developments 

 

Class 13&14:  Unit 7: 1945-Present 

Topics for this week: 

• World War II, the Holocaust, Japanese Internment 

• Red Scare, Communism, and the Space Race 

• Vietnam War and Imperialism 

• Middle East and the United States 

• Civil Rights Movement 

• Shifts in American culture – Social Movements, 9/11 and War on Terrorism 

Documents: Martin Luther King, Jr. Speech “I Have a Dream,” Presidential Speeches 

 

Class 15&16: Review, Final Exam Tips/Prep, 1:1 Tutoring Appointments 

Topics for this week: 

• Study Tips 

• Exam Structure Review 

• Final Questions/Tutoring Sessions 

• What did you learn? 

Ordering the Video APUSH Class

To order the online video class, please fill out the form http://tiny.cc/APUSHistory

Online courses are non-refundable. Once the course is purchased/accessed, no refund will be granted regardless of the reason.

We accept the following payments: Make a note of student name and class/date(important!) on the payment.

  1. Online banking pay through Zelle to: Spring.Light.Edu@gmail.com. Payee's Business name: SpringLight Education. For most online bank it's free, ask your bank for details about your online sending money with Zelle.
  2. Check payable to SpringLight Education, you can email the front and back pictures of the check to us. Or send the paper check to us by mail, or drop off it at our office.

If you have any questions, please send email to spring.light.edu@gmail.com, or call 408-480-2505.