AP American Government

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course is designed for high achieving, college-bound students that have a serious approach to their educational career. Unlike all other High School courses where the curriculum and objectives are set by the school, district, or state, this content of this course is determined by the College Board. Therefore, the course may seem more rigorous than your average honors class. There are several purposes of this course. The first is to prepare the student for AP® exam. The second is to expose the student to college level instruction, thinking, textbooks, and tests.

TEXTBOOKS: Wilson, John Q. American Government

Woll, Peter American Government Readings and Cases

SUMMARY OUTLINE: Below is a summary of the major content areas covered by the AP exam. The multiple choice portion of the exam is devoted to each content area in the approximate percentages indicated.

I. Constitutional Underpinnings of US Government 5-15%

II. Political Beliefs and Behaviors 10-20%

III. Political Parties, Interest Groups, and Mass Media 10-20%

IV. Institutions of National Government: The Congress

Presidency, Courts 35-45%

V. Public Policy 5-15%

VI. Civil Rights and Civil Liberties 5-15%

THE EXAMINATION:

Sixty (60) Multiple Choice Questions 45 minutes 50%

Four (4) Free Response Questions 100 minutes 50%

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

1. Reading - Students are responsible for all of the content in the assigned chapters. Students will see questions on tests that were not discussed in class but found only in the readings. Students will be required to read other texts and essays that are not found in the book. These materials will be distributed by the instructor. Students will be given time in class to read the text. There will points awarded to students who participate in these readings.

2- Weekly Current Events - Each student will be required to find 5 current event articles based on specific topics supplied by the instructor. Students must respond to the articles and discuss how they relate to the specific topic.

Current Event Article Schedule:

August 24 Direct Democracy / Representative Democracy

August 31 Framers’ Mentality

September 7 Federalism

September 14 Pork

September 21 Campaign Finance

September 28 Voting Trends / Data

October 5 Presidential Character / Cabinet

October 12 Civil Liberties / Supreme Court Cases

October 19 Environmental Politics

3.- Chapter Presentations - Students will be required to work in small groups and provide the class with a presentation on an assigned chapter.

4. Analyzing Data – The study of politics is a study of data and trends. Students will be trained extensively on data analysis and reading charts and graphs to fully understand the political tends of the past and projections of the future. Supplemental materials will be used to train the students on how to interpret data and make conclusions from this data. Students will also be trained to evaluate questioning used in surveys and how this might effect the statistical analysis of such data.

5. Free Response Writing - There will be a significant amount of time devoted to the free response portion of the examination. Students will write free response questions in class and they will be timed. The students will review previous exam questions and sample responses and be able to formulate a grade for each of the responses.

6. Tests and Quizzes – Tests will include several chapters. Due to the time restraints, tests will occur weekly. Tests will mirror the actual AP® examination and will include multiple choice as well as free response questions. In addition to the free response questions, there will also be a chart, graph, table, or political cartoon that will have to be analyzed.

AP American Government Vocabulary

1. Power 2. Authority 3. Direct democracy 4. Representative democracy 5. Pluralist 6. Unalienable 7. Shays’s rebellion 8. Great compromise 9. Judicial review 10. Checks and balances 11. Federalism 12. Separation of powers 13. Federalist papers 14. Writ of habeas corpus 15. Bill of attainder 16. Amendment 17. Line item veto 18. Devolution 19. Block grants 20. Sovereignty 21. Nullification 22. Initiative 23. Referendum 24. Recall 25. Mandate 26. Civic duty 27. Orthodox 28. Progressive 29. Political efficacy 30. John Q. Public 31. Middle America 32. Gender gap 33. Grandfather clause 34. Split ticket 35. Superdelegate 36. Caucus 37. Populist 38. Incumbent 39. Coattails 40. PAC 41. Gerrymandering 42. Sophomore surge 43. Soft money 44. Lobby 45. Muckraker 46. Filibuster 47. Whip 48. Rider 49. Christmas tree bill 50. Quorum 51. Cloture rule 52. Pork barrel legislation 53. Franking privilege 54. Divided government 55. Unified government 56. Perks 57. Cabinet 58. Pocket veto 59. Lame duck 60. Line item veto 61. impeachment 62. Laissez faire 63. Red tape 64. Judicial review 65. Strict constructionist approach 66. Activist approach 67. Litmus test 68. Class action suit 69. Logrolling 70. Fiscal policy 71. Monetary policy 72. Reaganomics 73. Means test 74. Libel 75. Slander 76. Prior restraint 77. Symbolic speech 78. Free exercise clause 79. Establishment clause 80. Clear and present danger test 81. Lemon test 82. Exclusionary rule 83. Separate but equal doctrine 84. De jure segregation 85. De facto segregation 86. Affirmative action 87. Iron curtain 88. Cold war 89. Isolationism 90. Offsets