SUMMER ASSIGNMENT 2014
About the APWH course:
You have chosen to join the fastest growing AP course in America. AP World History is a rigorous yet enriching course of study. This college-level class entails the study of 10,000 years of history in 35 weeks. It will demand more attention and time than any other class you have ever previously encountered because you have the opportunity to earn college credit by passing the College Board’s APWH exam with a score of 3, 4, or 5.
Assignments for the AP World History class are extremely challenging. The text is a college-level textbook and is written at a significantly higher reading level than most history textbooks. AP World History has a significantly large amount of reading assignments and students are expected to read daily in preparation for class. Throughout the school year, we will discuss specifically what to expect from the class and from the AP exam.
You should expect to spend approximately thirty minutes to one hour each night of the week in preparation for class.
The purpose of the summer assignment is to provide you with a foundation for the study of world history and current global issues. It is imperative that you complete this assignment in a thoughtful and analytical fashion. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE. We have provided the College
Board AP World History Themes and the Habits of Mind to help guide you when completing your assignments. These themes are essential to our course and we refer to these throughout the year. They are also the basis for the three essays on the AP exam.
Habits of Mind:
1. Construct and evaluate arguments: use evidence to make plausible arguments;
2. Use primary sources: develop the skills necessary to analyze point of view, context and bias, and to understand and interpret information;
3. Develop the ability to assess issues of change and continuity over time; and
4. Enhance the capacity to handle diversity of interpretation through analysis of context, bias, and fame of reference.
AP World History highlights six over arching themes that should receive equal attention throughout the course:
1. Patterns and impacts of interaction among major societies: (trade, war, diplomacy, and international organizations).
2. The relationship of change and continuity across the world history periods covered in this course.
3. Impact of technology and demography on people and the environment (population growth and decline, manufacturing, migrations, agriculture).
4. Systems of social structure and gender structure (comparing major features within and among societies and assessing change).
5. Cultural and intellectual developments and interactions among and within societies.
6. Change in functions and structures of states and in attitudes toward political identities, including the emergence of the nation-state.
The Summer Reading Book:
This year’s summer reading assignment is A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage. In this book,
Standage tells a popular history of the world and some of the most significant civilizations in history by following the development of 6 influential beverages. The 6 beverages are: beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea, & Coca Cola. These beverages have played a significant role in driving trade and interaction between some of the most significant regions and empires in world history. Our purpose in reading the book is to gain a sense of how civilizations and cultures develop and how they are affected by various forces (social, political, economic, and cultural).
You will need to read the book A History of the World in Six Glasses. Read the instructions carefully.
Publisher: Walker Publishing Company/ISBN-0802715524/Approximately $6-$12
*(DISCLAIMER: The use of this book as a summer reading assignment in NO way represents any endorsement by the teachers of Lamar High School of the consumption of these beverages! The book is simply