Welcome to A.P. World History
Course Description
• In A.P. World History we will explore key themes of world history, including interaction with the
environment, cultures, state-building, economic systems, and social structures, from
approximately 8000 B.C.E. to the present.
The A.P. Exam
• Exam is Thursday, May 14th
• Graded on scale 1 to 5
• 3, 4, or 5 = college credit
• 1,2 = no college credit
The A.P. Exam FormatQuestion Type Number of
QuestionsTiming
Multiple-choice 70 questions 55 minutes
Document-based question
1 question 50 minutes
Continuity and change-over time
essay
1 question 40 minutes
Comparative essay 1 question 40 minutes
THE DBQ• 10 Documents
• Must use all 10
• Must suggest a document that is not in the DBQ you feel would help
• You must group the documents into 3 groups, based on their point of view or some similarity
Continuity and Change Over Time Essay (CCOT)
• No documents, this is a free response essay
• Must analyze a change that occurs in a society over time
• Example: Analyze continuities and changes in trade networks between Africa and Eurasia from circa 300 C.E. to 1450 C.E.
Comparative Essay• No documents, this is a free response essay
• Must compare 2 regions with each other at a specific point in time
• Important you don’t summarize one, then the other. Need to constantly go back and forth
• Example: Compare demographic and environmental effects of the Columbian Exchange on the Americas with the Columbian Exchange’s demographic and environmental effects on ONE of the following regions between 1492 and 1750. (Africa, Asia, or Europe)
Periodization
• If you were to write an autobiography at this point in your life, you may very well go chronologically
How would you break up the chapters?
• A.P. World History breaks history into 6 chapters, called periods
Period Number
Title Time Frame
Period Weights
Textbook Chapters
Period 1 Technological and Environmental Transformations
8000 B.C.E – 600 B.C.E.
5% 1-6
Period 2 Organization and Reorganization of Human Societies
600 B.C.E. – 600 C.E.
15% 7-12
Period 3 Regional and Transregional Interactions
600 C.E. – 1450
20% 13-21
Period 4 Global Interactions 1450-1750 20% 22-28
Period 5 Industrialization and Global Integration
1750-1914 20% 29-33
Period 6 Accelerating Global Change and Realignments
1914-Present
20% 34-40
Course Themes
• As we study history, we must focus on 5 major themes for each unit we study
• These themes are…
Theme 1 - Environment
Interactions between humans and the environment
• Demography (population) and disease
• Migration
• Patterns of Settlement
• Technology
Theme 2 - Culture
Development and interactions of cultures
•Religions
•Belief systems, philosophies, ideologies
•Science and technology
•Arts and architecture
Theme 3 - PoliticsState building, expansion, and conflict
• Forms of government
• Empires
• Nations and nationalism
• Revolts and revolutions
• Regional, transregional, and global structures and organizations
Theme 4 – Economics
Creation, expansion, and interaction of economic systems
• Agriculture and pastoral production
• Trade and commerce
• Labor systems
• Industrialization
• Capitalism and socialism
Theme 5 – SociologyDevelopment and transformations of social structures
• Gender roles and relations
• Family and kinship
• Racial and ethnic constructions
• Social and economic classes
P.E.C.E.SWe’ll use term P.E.C.E.S. to remember the 5 themes
• Politics
• Environment
• Culture
• Economics
• Sociology
Important Info/Tips
• Use my website• Keep up with course work and do
reading/assignments
• Read slow, take notes
• Don’t be absent and actively participate in class