APUSH Extension Policy

It has come to my attention that many of you are unclear as to the policy for extensions on APUSH assignments.  It is never my intent to stress or overload you with work for APUSH.  As such, if you ever need an extension for an out-of-class assignment please ask me.  I will do my very best to accommodate you, and I will very rarely say no to reasonable requests for extensions on assignments like terms lists (and usually only because it's the end of the six weeks).

If you need an extension on an out-of-class assignment, please email me at historytime@gmail.com.  You don't need to provide a reason or explanation, or any other supporting details.  Just let me know that you need an extension, and provide me a reasonable time (preferably 24-48 hours from the due date) at which you plan to turn your assignment in.  I will send you a confirmation email back, usually within an hour or so (unless it's late at night or something).

That's all.  It's that simple.  Hope this helps.

Calendar Updates and Long Essay 1

Please note a couple of minor updates to the calendar (particularly on the days before Thanksgiving break).  Also, please note the 'special project' on those days in class.  Don't stress!  It's not only an optional project, but it's meant to be fun - just the continuation of a tradition we established in LASA APUSH last year.

Also, remember, 1920s society and culture for your first long essay, plus a 'wild card' topic from the period for each class.  You get to choose, and you only have to write one.  Make sure you're studying!

Calendar Update

The calendar has been updated with essay and exam dates for the third six weeks.

Essay topics

A Day students - you will have three essay prompts to choose from, ALL of which will deal in some way with industrialization and organized labor in the late nineteenth century.

B Day students - you will also have three prompts from which to choose, with at least one focused on organized labor and industrialization.  The other prompt(s) will be comprehensive in nature, and may be focused on either industrialization or urbanization (including immigration) or some mixture of those topics.

Hope that helps.

Changes to grade distribution

As I mentioned to the B day classes (and will to the A day classes tomorrow), we will be slightly changing the grade distribution for the course for the remainder of the year.  The new formula will be as follows -

Daily (terms lists, etc.) - 20%
Essays - 40%
Examination - 40%

If you have any questions about this change, please feel free to speak to me before or after school, or send me an email.

Second Six Weeks Calendar

The Second Six Weeks calendar is now online.  Please take note of the following dates -

Friday, Oct. 17 - Long Essay 1 (A day)
Tuesday, Oct. 21 - Long Essay 1 (B day)
Tuesday, Oct. 28 - Second Six Weeks Examination / Short Answer Questions (B day)
Wednesday, Oct. 29 - Second Six Weeks Examination / Short Answer Questions (A day)
Wednesday, Nov. 5 - Long Essay 2 (A day)
Thursday, Nov. 6 - Long Essay 2 (B day)

Changes to the calendar, essay grading progress, update on essay topics for second long essay

Hope everyone is having a pleasant weekend.  Three things of note as we head into the penultimate week of the first six weeks - 

1. As of this writing, I'm about 55% done grading the first set of essays.  I'll be grading until I finish today, so please look for your graded essay either Monday or Tuesday in class.  Or, if you have access to Teams, you will find your grade there as soon as it's entered.

2. The calendar has changed slightly, particularly for B-day students.  Essay 2 has been moved back one block - to Thursday, September 25.  This is a late-start day, so this means you'll have less time to study in class before you write, but I figured you all would be OK with that given the extra 48 hours you'll have to prepare otherwise.  Also, this means that pretty much everything for B days has moved back one block for the rest of the six weeks (including your exam, now on Thursday, October 1).  

3. I am adding the element of choice to this long essay - just like on the AP exam, there will be two essay topics of the same type (CCoT, Comparative, etc.) on two different time periods, and you will choose ONE to write.  For each class, the topics will be industrialization and imperialism.  This isn't really a huge change from what I talked about in class last week, it's just that now there will be an extra essay prompt that you may choose to write on if you wish.

So, that's pretty much all.  On Monday and Tuesday, each class will have a little bit of instruction on essay writing, and will do a partner exercise on thesis writing and evidence.  Then, once that's done, we'll have our oil company simulation (B-day students, this is something we'd planned to do later in the week, but we're moving it up to Tuesday).  Remember, the inducement for winning the simulation is one extra point (on the six-point scale) on Essay 1, along with snacks of some sort, so it should be a lively competition!

Please let me know via email if you have any questions.  

Slight change to the calendar...

I made one slight change to the activity / assignment calendar today - we're going to push our first 'Mystery Document' activity to next week so we can focus next class on essay writing.  All due dates currently in the calendar remain the same.

Teacher Contact Information

Jason Flowers

Room 274

Email - historytime@gmail.com

Phone - 512.841.3070

Conference - A3 and B7

Ronny Risinger

Room 256

Email - ronny.risinger@austinisd.org

Phone - 512.841.3090

Conference - A4 and B5

Welcome to APUSH!

Students -

Welcome to the LASA APUSH web site.  You will find our course calendar at the top of this page, and below you will find links to our syllabus and late work / makeup policies.  You will receive copies of these handouts on the first day of class, but these electronic copies are available in case you need them.

2014-2015 APUSH Syllabus

2014-2015 APUSH Policies

Please feel free to email me if you have any questions about policies and procedures, materials, review books or anything relating to the course as we begin the school year.

Turnitin.com Login Information

Here is the login information for turnitin.com for those of you doing the paper -

Class ID - 8092821
Password - lasaapush

Terms List 9 - Due Wednesday at 3.40

I have received over 20 emails for extensions on Terms List 9.  I know all of you are very busy this week.  So am I, and so is Mr. Risinger.  As I've been saying in class over the past couple of weeks, Terms List 9 is absolutely due by Wednesday at 3.40pm.  If it isn't in my hand by then it's late.  I simply can't extend the deadline past that (which I've also said multiple times to all of the classes).  I hope this helps at least some of you.

Review for Native Americans (colonial period to 19th C)

Here is Ms. Pettigrew's review for Native Americans.

Native Americans

Review for projected Part B essays

I made half-page charts for four of the five projected Part B essays.  Ms. Pettigrew is working on the chart for Native Americans, and I'll work on the Part C topics tonight and tomorrow.  Hope you all find this useful, and let me know if you'd like to see changes in the format for Part C.

Review for projected Part B essays

Projected essay topics

Ms. Pettigrew and I have looked over the essay topics from the last few years, and we've made some projections for this year.  Here is our 2014 APUSH top-ten list in (roughly) chronological order -

1. English colonization (17th and 18th centuries)
2. Native Americans (colonial period / early 19th century / late 19th century)
3. Causes of the American Revolution
4. The 'Critical Period' (1776-1795)
5. Reform movements of the Second Great Awakening
6. Imperialism and the New Manifest Destiny
7. Populism and Progressivism
8. Economic development (early 20th century / mid-20th century)
9. The Great Depression
10. Domestic politics (1950s - 1960s)

This is our best guess as to likely topics for this year.  Obviously, this isn't a comprehensive list, and anything can (and does) pop up in a given year.  These things seem likely because they are either common essay topics that weren't on the exam last year, OR because they are topics that haven't appeared in awhile on the exam.  Hopefully these will help to guide your study over the weekend and early next week.

Lecture 9a - Jacksonian Democracy

Ha!  You all didn't think I was ever going to do these!

Lecture 9a - Jacksonian Democracy

Remember, the password is apushlasa.

APUSH Final Assignments!

Here is some information about the final assignments for APUSH.  You MUST choose one of these two assignments - one is the Epic Rap Battles of History project, and the other is a 750- to 1,000-word paper, based upon three related reading and research assignments.

If you are choosing Epic Rap Battles, please download the assignment sheet below (hard copies will be available Monday in 274), and read the directions carefully.  You might also want to watch some of the ERBs on YouTube (warning: there is explicit language in several of them!) to get an idea what's happening.  Once you're ready, you should fill out the Google form linked below to verify your group (three to five people in the SAME period of APUSH as you) and pick your subjects.

ERB Assignment Sheet

ERB Sign-up Sheet (Google Form)


If you are choosing the paper, you will find your assignment and the relevant links and articles below.

Presidency Paper Assignment Sheet

Linz Article

Linz Interview

The Federalist

The Constitution (web link)

Whichever of these assignments you choose, it will count as 2/3 of the 'Essay' category for the sixth six weeks (about 26% of your sixth six weeks grade), AND 1/2 of your Final Examination grade for those not claiming the AP exemption.  Each assignment will be due on Wednesday, May 28.  I will post the login information for turnitin.com for those doing the paper in the next few days.

Political Cartoons Review

Thanks to Ms. Pettigrew for compiling this PowerPoint of political cartoons and other visuals that have appeared on the exam over the years.  You should be able to view this file in either PowerPoint or Google Docs.

Political Cartoons PowerPoint

Makeup DBQ information

If you are missing your DBQ on Friday or Monday, you will write a different essay than your class.  The time period for the makeup essay will be 1790 - 1830.  There will be different prompts for the Tuesday and Thursday makeup periods, but both will be from this time period.

Terms List 8...

The Easter Bunny says turn it in by the end of the day Thursday.  If I don't have it in my hand by 3.40pm on Thursday it's late.  Please spread the word.  No need to email - I'm grading essays and don't have time to respond to emails right now (nor does the Easter Bunny).

In-class Essays for April 25 and 28

As previously discussed, you will be writing in class on Friday, April 25 (B) and Monday, April 28 (A).  This is your last essay of the year (except for the ones you will write on the AP exam of course), and it will be a Document-Based Question.  You will not know the prompt beforehand, but you will find below a time period from which your essay will be drawn.  Every class will have a different essay prompt, even if some classes have the same (or roughly the same) time period.

Second - 1890 to 1930
Fourth - 1900 to 1945
Sixth - 1760 to 1810
Third - 1910 to 1950
Fifth - 1880 to 1930
Seventh - 1945 to 1975

Please note, these essays will be drawn from various sources, and not necessarily from the prompts posted on the College Board web site.

Review Packet - Part 1

Here is the first part of the APUSH Exam Review packet, in both .pdf and .docx formats.  If you would like to print your copy, come by my room and I'll take care of it for you.

We will be adding more content to the packet (a 21-page detailed timeline, a page on test-taking strategies, presidential domestic policy programs, political speeches, and Constitutional amendments thus far) over the next few days.  Look for these additions to be posted here as they become available.

.docx file

.pdf file

Updates!

The calendar has been updated to reflect due dates for Terms List 8 and several upcoming in-class assignments.  Here is the status of other outstanding issues -

Essays - Grading is proceeding.  I'm still in Louisiana (until mid-day tomorrow) to celebrate my mom's birthday, so I haven't gotten much done this weekend.  I will be back to essay grading once I get back to Austin tomorrow afternoon.  Ms. Pettigrew is also grading as well (6th and 7th period's essays this time), and we should have all essay grades in GradeSpeed by the end of the week.

Recorded lectures - I've gotten about half of Lecture 9a recorded.  I'll be recording the rest early this week.  Links will be posted on this site to the lectures on Vimeo as they are posted.  Terms List 9 will be due just before AP exams begin.

Study Guide - I'm putting the finishing touches on the study guide.  It will be posted early this week, perhaps minus some of the add-ons people have requested in the last few days.  If you want your study guide printed, you can come to my room before or after school to request a copy - I will print them on-demand on my printer.

AP Reviews - They're on the calendar, and will be in my room every Tuesday until the AP Exam.  Come prepared to take some notes and ask some questions.

We'll be finishing up Lecture 8 and doing the slavery lecture (Lecture 9c) in class on Wednesday and Thursday.  Good luck preparing for your exam!

Take-home essay

Even though we didn't end up with a snow day on Tuesday, we've decided to make Essay 1 for this six weeks a take-home essay.  This essay will be due by the end of the day on Friday, March 7 for ALL CLASSES.  B-day students, if you would like to get the prompt early, you may come to my room (274) on Wednesday between classes or after school.  Please don't come at lunch.

Also, your map quiz is still happening in class on Wednesday and Thursday, and the offer I made in class still applies - if you get a 100 on the map quiz, you will receive an extra point (on the 9-point grading scale) on your essay.

B-day calendar change

Due to my absence 6th period on Friday, the essay for Tuesday has been moved to Thursday.  The calendar has been adjusted to reflect this change.

Official APUSH extension policy

It has come to my attention that many of you are unclear as to the policy for extensions on APUSH assignments.  It is never my intent to stress or overload you with work for APUSH.  As such, if you ever need an extension for an out-of-class assignment please ask me.  I will do my very best to accommodate you, and I will very rarely say no to reasonable requests for extensions on assignments like terms lists or take-home essays (unless the end of the six weeks is approaching or some other grading deadline is imminent).  

I thought I had clearly articulated this policy at the beginning of the year and subsequently, but apparently that was not the case.  For the balance of the year, please feel free to ask me, via email or in person, if you ever need an extension on an assignment.

Video lecture is up!

Sorry for the delay, but after myriad technical difficulties, Lecture 6a is finally up and running on Vimeo.  Here is the link to the video -

https://vimeo.com/87576723

This lecture is password protected, but the password for this (and all) of our Vimeo lectures will be the same, so please don't forget it.  The password will be -

apushlasa

Anyway, I hope you find this useful in completing your terms list.  We'll end up having one of these every so often until we catch up to where we should be in the scope and sequence.  Also, remember, Terms List 6 will be due on March 3 (A) and March 4 (B).

Snowpocalypse 2014 strikes again!

So, with our third snow day in as many weeks, we're changing the calendar again.  Essay 3 will be a DBQ, and it will be take-home essay.  We will talk specifics next week, but tentative due dates for the essay will be Monday, Feb. 17 (A) and Tuesday, Feb. 18 (B).

Dates for the fourth six weeks exam will stay the same for now, but please be aware that EVERYTHING is subject to change at this point because there is always the possibility of changes to the A/B rotation (and of more snow days).  Please be flexible, and check the course calendar and blog for updates.  I will keep you guys informed of changes in class as well.

Also, we will start having some recorded lectures (just like what the World History kids are doing this year) to make up for the lost class time.  You will be given access to the lectures online and (whether you listen to the lectures or not) you will be responsible for the material on terms lists and exams.  I will post information here and talk about it in class as soon as it happens - possibly as soon as next week.

Enjoy your day off!

Snow Day (Part 2)

So, another snow day and another change to the calendar.  Essay 2 has been pushed back to Monday, Feb. 3 (A) and Tuesday, Feb. 4 (B).  We're not sure what the schedule will look like for the rest of the week and / or the beginning of next week, so these dates are still subject to change, but neither class will write BEFORE those dates.  Sorry for all the delays and confusion.  Enjoy the rest of your day off!

Snow Day!

Due to our snow day today (Friday, Jan. 24), essay writing for next week will be pushed back by one block.  That means B day will write on Thursday, Jan. 30 and A day will write on Friday, Jan. 31.  The calendar will be updated to reflect this change.