The Summer Assignment

2014 Summer Assignment

The AP curriculum is far too broad to be covered effectively in just the class time we have together. Therefore it’s important that you develop a familiarity with the main themes of the course, embrace some of the skills of close reading and analysis that are necessary for the class, familiarize yourself with resources that will be helpful throughout the course, and begin to cover the required content over the summer. Hopefully, this summer assignment will help you do that in a meaningful way. It has two components:

Part One: Reading and Notes

Assignment:
Complete hand-written notes while reading the material below. You should also be able to identify and explain each of the terms listed & answer the specific questions about Zinn (this can be done within your reading notes, please just highlight the questions to differentiate them). Notes should be clearly organized and labeled. Be prepared for a quiz on this material on the first day of class.

Choose one of the following for the general reading. Label your notes with the source you are working from (Hippocampus, Enduring Visions, or Digital History):
  • Use this link for the Hippocampus Lessons. Click on US History for AP and the units/lessons will appear to the right. You will need to read the first three units (everything under Discovery and Settlement, the English Colonies, and American Society Takes Shape). Note that you can follow along with the audio lesson or print the text, but you will still need to turn in hand-written notes. Note: This option will only be available until June 24th. 
  • Alternatively, you can choose to purchase a copy of the textbook, Enduring Visions, 6th Edition, copyright 2008 from Amazon. Used copies are available for about $25. In this case, I would like you to read chapters 2-4. You would turn in hand-written notes for those chapters. We will lend you copies of this textbook at the start of the school year, this is in no way a required purchase.
  • A third option is to use Digital History. You will need to read the textbook readings available for the first two eras (The First Americans and The Colonial Era). Be sure you are reading the textbook section and not just the overview!
Everyone must read the first chapter of A People's History of the United States. Use this link or you may also purchase this book at many stores & online.

Questions for Zinn, Chapter 1:
1)      Note one example of a primary source and one example of a secondary source cited by Zinn.
2)      What are Zinn’s views on history?

Key Terms to Know
1.      “city upon a hill”                                 18. Maryland Toleration Act (1649)
2.      1st Great Awakening                          19. Mayflower Compact
3.      Anne Hutchinson                                20. Mercantilism
4.      Bacon’s Rebellion                              21. Mestizos
5.      Bartolome de las Casas                      22. Middle passage
6.      Capitalism                                          23. Molasses Act
7.      Columbian exchange                           24. Navigation Acts
8.      Dominion of New England                  25. Nomadic lifestyles
9.      Encomienda system                            26. Casta system
10.  Enlightenment                                     27. Pope’s Rebellion aka Pueblo Revolt
11.  Roger Williams                                   28. Puritans
12.  Hunter-gatherers                                29. Salem Witch trials
13.  Indentured servants                            30. Slave codes
14.  John Locke                                        31. Tobacco
15.  Joint-stock companies                        32. Triangular trade
16.  King Phillip’s War                              33. William Penn
17.  Maize

Part 2: Comparison Study
Complete the Comparison Study assignment by choosing one of the pairs listed below and completing some further research. Create a PowerPoint, Prezi, poster, or 500-word essay comparing and contrasting the two groups. Some items to consider might be their location, goals or aims, their views on race, their beliefs about religion, their ideas about property, their language, the types of people that made up these groups, and their interactions with other groups and nations. Please submit a works cited list in MLA format (you may use CitationMaker, but review your results!) including at least 3 sources you referenced in the creation of your final product. There is a lot of freedom in this assignment—note that you will be making a first impression with whatever you turn in. Make it your best!
  • Pueblo & Iroquois Indians
  • Algonquian & Moundbuilder Indians
  • Spanish settlers & Dutch settlers
  • British settlers & French settlers
  • Indentured servants & African slaves
  • Virginia Colonists & New England Puritans
  • Pennsylvania Quakers & Colonists in the Carolinas
  • The Powhatan Indians & the settlers in Virginia



Grading & Study Tips:
This assignment will count as a test grade, composed of points earned for completed notes, your comparison study, and your performance on the first day quiz.  Late work will not be accepted, and this will account for about 10-15% of your first quarter grade, so please take it seriously.

How do I study for the Quiz?
The format of the quiz changes from year to year and will not be revealed until the first day of class.
 -review the key terms using flashcards
-use the practice quizzes (topics 1-3) here to see what you remember and know
-see if you understand and can provide examples to support the following the Key Concepts and Themes. These are the main ideas that you should understand after completing your reading and the Comparison Study.

Key Concepts and Themes
1.      As settlers migrated and settled across the vast expanse of North America over time, they developed quite different and increasingly complex societies by adapting to and transforming their diverse environments.
2.      The arrival of Europeans in the Western Hemisphere in the 15th and 16th centuries triggered extensive demographic (population) and social changes on both sides of the Atlantic.
3.      European expansion into the Western Hemisphere caused intense social/religious, political, and economic competition in Europe as nations raced to build empires.
4.      European contact with Africans and American Indians dramatically altered European views of social, political, and economic relationships among and between white and nonwhite peoples.
5.      Native peoples and Africans in the Americas strove to maintain their political and cultural self-rule (autonomy) in the face of European challenges to their independence and core beliefs.
6.      Seventeenth-century Spanish, French, Dutch, and British colonizers embraced different social and economic goals, cultural assumptions, and folkways, resulting in varied models of colonization.
7.      The British-American system of slavery developed out of the economic, demographic, and geographic characteristics of the British-controlled regions of the New World.
8.      Along with other factors, environmental and geographical variations, including climate and natural resources, contributed to regional differences in what would become the British colonies.
9.      Competition over resources between European rivals led to conflict within and between North American colonial possessions and American Indians.
10.  Clashes between European and American Indian social and economic values caused changes in both cultures.
11.  Britain’s desire to maintain a viable North American empire in the face of growing internal challenges and external competition inspired efforts to strengthen its imperial control, stimulating increasing resistance from colonists who had grown accustomed to a large measure of autonomy.
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