Advanced Placement United States History

Westbrook High School

Instructor: Chris Conroy
E-mail: conroyc@westbrookschools.org

Summer Assignment Outline

Congratulations on signing up for Advanced Placement (“AP”) United States History. This demanding course
will challenge you to rise to new heights. It is much more intellectually challenging than courses you have taken
in the past. It is essentially a college-level course, therefore the expectations are very high. The course will
require a serious investment of time and effort. Reading and writing are integral components of the course, and
such assignments will be given on frequent occasions. Content knowledge is very important—you will need to
know more content and in greater depth than ever before, and will need to be able to apply deep content
knowledge frequently. The successful AP student is interested in the content, is self-motivated, and truly
understands that hard work is its own reward. You will receive much more information about the AP course
when school resumes. In the meantime, there are some tasks that you will need to complete over the summer in
order to get off to a solid start.

In picking up this assignment, you have signed out a copy of the textbook. Please treat it with care and respect,
as it will be a vital tool for the year. If, over the summer, you decide to drop the course, you will need to return
the textbook either to me or to the main office as soon as possible. You will need the textbook to complete the
assignment in this packet. Also, I am including a copy of the course syllabus from the 2007-2008 school year. I
strongly encourage you to read it carefully, but please know that you will receive an updated version when we
return to school. Though it is being revised, the old syllabus will give you some valuable insight into course
content and expectations.

The following are the tasks you will need to complete for the SECOND class that we meet when school
continues. These will be scored/graded.

1. Compose a clear, well-thought response that addresses your reasons for taking the AP United
States History course. Your response must be word-processed (size 11-12 font, double-spaced,
approximately two pages minimum length). Spelling and grammar will be considered in the final
grade. This is an effort to gauge your interest in the course, as well as to collect a sample of your
writing. It will not be graded as strictly as future essays—future essays will have rubrics for
grading, while this one does not.

2. Read Chapters 1-3 (pages 8-90) in the textbook. Use the text to help you compose
explanations/definitions of all of the terms included on the YELLOW unit planner. Your
explanations/definitions do not necessarily have to be written in complete sentences, but be sure to
explain each term as completely as possible, and in YOUR OWN WORDS as much as possible,
focusing on two areas:

A. Who/what was it? B. What is its importance/significance?

Please complete this task in one of the three formats below:

A. Word-process explanations for each term using the specifications in Task #1 above.

B. Create hand-written or word-processed flashcards (3 X 5 flashcards are perfect for this)

 C. Create a Powerpoint presentation that has a slide for each term (“electronic
flashcards”)

**If you have an idea on a different format, please contact me via e-mail at the address provided
on the front of this handout for approval.

3. Use the text and your vocabulary to respond to the Focus Questions on the BLUE handout. Please
read and follow the directions on the handout.

NOTE: After the first couple of units, I generally do not make vocabulary a mandatory assignment.
However, all students are STRONGLY ENCOURAGED to continue to complete the vocabulary in each
unit as a means of mastering content. These can be passed in for a grade at the student's choice.

Some general comments/notes:

1. If you feel as though you want to drop the course, please e-mail me as soon as possible with some
insight as to why you are considering this change.

2. This assignment is not designed to “scare” students from the course, but is designed to provide the
student with a sense of what the course expectations are. This assignment is the bulk of the first unit—
your completion of the assignment allows us to get started quickly and “hit the ground running” by
giving you a solid background in the time period.

3. This assignment is not something that you should spend your entire summer doing—be sure to get your
rest and relaxation. You should work on this in small parts (maybe on a rainy day). Again, it will be
collected on the SECOND DAY that the class meets. You can e-mail assignments to me as you finish
through the summer if you desire (please send them as attachments—don't just open an e-mail and start
typing your work).

4. As you work, you can e-mail me with any questions, challenges, etc. I check my school e-mail through
the summer, usually every couple of days and will respond to you as soon as I know I have a message.

5. As stated earlier, if you do not complete this assignment, you will not be “thrown out” of the class.
However, you will be starting the year “in a hole” that will be hard to get out of. I would have concern
about your choice to take the course if you are not showing a serious commitment to it in the beginning.
Also, you will have had over two months to complete work that through the school year, you would only
have 1-2 weeks to complete—so again, I would have some concerns about your level of commitment to
the course and the work that is required to be successful.

Have a good summer!! I look forward to our work together this coming school year!!