AP World History Summer Reading 2011-2012

Welcome to AP World History.  Over the summer you are to do the following:

1) Read the first six chapters in the textbook. That's chapters 1-6 of Bentley and Ziegler's Traditions and Encounters Third Edition published by McGraw Hill Higher Education.  I strongly encourage you to take written notes as you read, but I will not be checking those notes, nor will you be graded on them.  These chapters will cover the Foundational period of time, and establish the origins of the major civilizations we will explore this year.  There will be a 70 question multiple choice test on these chapters on the second day of class.  There will also be a Compare and Contrast essay on these chapters on the third day of class. The scoring guide for the essay is linked to a Google Document HERE

2) Read the Prologue and Parts One, Two and Three (chapters 1-14) of Guns, Germs and Steel, by Jared Diamond.  You can find the book at the local library and on-line through numerous booksellers and through iBooks.  There is an audio book that is fine to use, but be aware that the film version of the book differs significantly from the text and will not be acceptable to use for this assignment.  You can use it to supplement your understanding, but not for the project. (I have seen it, and I do know what is used in the film that isn't in the book--some pretty easy give-aways...) I encourage you to own your own copy if the book, so you can mark it up.  You have a choice of what you do next:

        OPTION A) Join Edmodo.com.  Enter the code lb40pi, and you will be made a member of the Guns, Germs and Steel group I have created.  There are prompts for each of the chapters you will read.  Your task is to respond to the prompt I posted, and then to at least one other posting made by classmates for each of the prompts. (So you are posting at least twice for each chapter.) These will each count as a homework assignment, and must be completed by August 26th at midnight in order to count.

        OPTION B) Compose summaries (typed and double spaced) for each chapter you read.  The summaries may be no longer than 250 words each, and they must be done in a Google Document that you share with me.  Each summary will count as a homework assignment, and they must be completed and shared with me by August 26th at midnight. To share a Google Document with me, please use the following email: twhittenburlington@gmail.com.  You can also use that email to communicate with me during the summer, but be aware that I go for long stretches of time without checking email while on vacation.  So if you do email me, be patient, and I'll respond eventually.

During the year, over each vacation you will be required to complete a book report.  If you want to get a jump on that, the list of books from which to choose is linked up HERE as a Google Document.  Note that you will be required to read both fiction and non-fiction, so don't read only one type of book!
 
Enjoy your summer and rest up for the fall!  We will hit the ground running in September.

Books Books Books

Bring in your books!  I need them to pass them along to next year's victims, I mean, Students!  Please bring them to class by Weds, June 15th.  Thanks!

AP World History May Madness Round 4

Round 4 May Madness

This round of the debate will feature a Lincoln-Douglas style of interaction.  The two leaders will face off and address questions from a moderator (me).  They can tag a lackey into the debate, but may only do so once.  They may also phone a friend once, which means they may ask a specific lackey to help them answer a question, but the leader him/herself has to answer it, and they may ask for a hint once from the lackeys they have chosen. (So that’s one tag-in, one phone-a-friend and one hint. These do not have to be used!)

Questions will be asked by the moderator, and from the audience through the moderator.  The audience may ask a question via sticky note, which means that they may write and submit a question to the moderator who will then screen the questions to determine which will be asked. 

There will be a total of 5 questions asked, for a total of 5 rounds.

After each question, first one, then the other leader will have the chance to provide an answer.  After both have answered, there is a period of rebuttal, where the leader may address his/her counterpart, challenging the answer or the leader’s position.

The audience will score the debate.  Lackeys who answer in place of the leader are to be considered the leader for the duration of that answer. Once the answer/rebuttal period is up, the leader resumes his or her place in the debate. For the leader to return prior to that, he or she must be tagged by the lackey to resume the debate.

Scoring will follow boxing’s 10 Point Must System, whereby the winner of each round must have 10 points.  The loser may get up to 9 points in the estimation of the judges. Usually the loser scores between 7-9 points, unless something egregious happens.  For instance, the McSweeny rule would be akin to a knock out, where no points are awarded.

For this round, a visual and a prop are required.  To be clear: a visual can be any two-dimensional representation of something relevant to the ruler, a prop is a three-dimensional representation of something relevant to the ruler. These will be scored under the 10 Point Must System as well.  Costumes are optional, and are not scored.

May Madness Round Three

Welcome to the Third Round of May Madness!

In this round, the leaders will face a panel of lackeys.  Their lackeys will ask them one question each (friendly questions to affirm that their leader is the greatest leader in world history). Then the lackeys will ask one question apiece from the other leader (hostile lackey questions to undermine the leader as the greatest leader in world history.)  There is no specific topic for the questions; they may touch on any aspect of leadership or the actions of the leader, public or private.

For this round, a visual image is required.  This may be hand drawn or computer generated, and you will be awarded points for the quality of the image.  Costumes and props are optional, but you can gain extra points for having them (you don't lose points if you don't have them, though.)

The score card for this round is located here.

We will begin this round on June 6th for periods 1 and 2, and June 3rd for period 5