Course Syllabus

AP World History

2024-25 Course Disclosure

Contact Info

Instructor: Mr. Alex Jeppson

Email: aljeppson@dsdmail.net         Phone: 801-402-4200 EXT. 54376           Room: 264       SRC: Except for rare circumstances, I am available during SRC/Lunch every school day.  

Course Description: This course fulfills one credit towards a necessary three credits in Social Studies needed to graduate from high school. To earn that credit, students will need to demonstrate skills connected to the Utah State Core Standards. In addition, this course is designed to prepare students to take the College Board’s Advanced Placement World History Test at the end of the year. Students who pass this test will receive university credit for their efforts. Students will study the cultural, economic, political, and social developments that have shaped the world from 1200 CE to the present. You will analyze texts, visual sources, and other historical evidence and write essays expressing historical arguments.  You will learn how to analyze primary and secondary sources, analyze claims and evidence, put historical events in context, make connections throughout history, and develop a claim/thesis that you can defend with evidence and reasoning. To accomplish these goals, this course will be extremely reading and writing intensive. 

Classroom Expectations:  This year, the College Board will require students to sign up for the AP exam by the end of October.  Since the purpose of this class compared to a regular world history course is to prepare students to take the exam and earn college credit, I expect every student to take the exam.  (If you are worried about this and still want to take the course, please talk to me). Students will be expected to work hard both inside and outside of the classroom to prepare to pass the exam.  I want every student who is willing to put in the work to take this class, and I will do everything in my power to help those that are motivated be successful.  However, if the course load is too demanding or the content is too complex, I would encourage students to take a regular world history course.  In short, I am going to treat my students like young adults and try to create a college-like atmosphere for this class.  If a student is not ready for a college-like atmosphere either behaviorally or academically, this may not be the course for them. (Do not let this paragraph scare you away.  If you are not sure whether this class is for you or not, take it and see—if you need to make an adjustment in the first few weeks, that is fine). 

Even though this is a college level class, my goal is to maximize the limited in-person class time we will have and not overload students with homework.  I will try to make anything and everything we do essential to doing well in this class essential to learning and preparing for the AP exam, but students and parents should feel free to contact me if they feel my expectations are too rigorous, or conversely, not rigorous enough.

Topics and Rough Schedule:  The College Board recently changed this course so that it will only cover world history from the year 1200 CE to the present.  To accomplish this goal, the course is divided into these topics/periods.  The time frame provided is meant to give a general scope of the class, but it is subject to change based on need. 

Introduction Unit (Course Overview and Pre 1200)- August 15th through August 22nd

Unit 1: The Global Tapestry (1200-1450)- August 23rd through September 12th 

Unit 2: Networks of Exchange: (1200-1450)- September 13th through October 4th

Unit 3L Land Based Empires (1450-1750)- October 7th through October 25th

Unit 4: Trans-Oceanic Interconnections (1450-1750)- October 28th through December 2nd

Mid-Year Review: December 3^rd through 20th

Unit 5: Revolutions (1750-1900)- January 7th-Februrary 6th

Unit 6: Consequences of Industrialization (1750-1900)- February 7^th through February 27^th

Unit 7: Global Conflict (1900 to Present)- February 28^th through March 18^th

Unit 8: Cold War and Decolonization (1900 to Present)- March 19th through March 31^st

Unit 9:  Globalization (1900 to Present)- April 7^th through April 11th 

Review for Exam- April 14th through May 7^th

AP World History Exam: May 8th

Content Note: I know there has been a lot of discussion in the past few years about what should and should not be taught in history.  Please know that the College Board provides the curriculum I need to cover to help students be prepared for the AP exam, and everything I teach will be connected to the Davis Desk Standards.  (For a link to the College Board Curriculum, click here.     For a link to the Davis DESK Standards, click here).  We will be addressing issues related to slavery, racism, prejudice, etc. on an international scale since those have been seminal issues in world history.  However, critical race theory (the study of history through a lens centered around race relations) will NOT be utilized in his course.  While we will address many complex and difficult issues related to world, and at times, US history, please know that my teaching philosophy is to teach students HOW to think critically not WHAT they should think about a given topic.  We will be looking at different perspectives on a variety of issues, ALL students will always have a voice in my classroom, and I will never attempt to brainwash students into seeing the world the way I do.  If you ever have any questions or concerns about what students are learning in class or the way I am teaching it, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.  Parents/guardians are even welcome to sit in on lessons if they would like (which would be fun simply because of how much it would mortify students), and I always encourage parents/guardians to discuss with students what they are learning in class.  A good way for parents/guardians to be aware of what their students are learning and doing in class is to become an observer of the course on Canvas.  (See note on Canvas).  The more parents/guardians are partners with teachers, the more likely quality learning will take place.  

Grading: My teaching philosophy dictates that a student should be graded based on their ability to demonstrate they have learned the necessary content and skills for them to be successful on the AP Exam.  This is aligned with Viewmont’s move towards standards-based grading.  Therefore, most of a student’s grade (70%) will be based on assessments (unit tests, reading check quizzes, essays, projects, etc.)  In order to encourage students to do necessary work to learn a given concept, 30% of their grade will be based on day-to-day practice assignments (journals, reading responses, discussion questions, homework, etc.)  The following is the grading scale I will be adhering to:

A: 93%-100%

A-: 90-92%

B+: 87-89% 

B: 83-86%   

B-: 80-82%

C+: 77-79%   

C: 73-76%

C-: 70-72%

D+: 67-69%

D: 63-66%  

D-: 60-62%

F: 59% or Below

Learning Materials: Since we are lucky enough to provide laptops for all students, much of our work will be completed electronically.  However, students need to come prepared, daily, with the following items: 

• *Writing Utensils
• *A laptop/cloudbook (charged the night before so it can be utilized during class)
• *A three-ring binder (1-2 inches should be plenty big enough) to keep important course documents, reading notes, work that is currently being completed, or work that has been passed back.  (I cannot emphasize how important this is.  Students who bring a binder for this course to class and keep it organized will do better grade wise and on the AP test than those who do not.  It will also become a useful resource for review as the AP test gets closer.  If you cannot get a binder for whatever reason, please talk to me, and I can figure out a way to get you/your student one.
• *The reading material necessary to participate in class.  We utilize the AMSCO Advanced Placement World History : Modern textbook published by Perfection Learning.) (A copy will be loaned out to students that they will need to return at the end of the year).  Students can keep their textbooks at home to complete their reading assignments, and I will have a classroom set available in case we need to use the textbook in class. 
• Heimler History Videos (Covers essential curriculum and will be utilized throughout the year).
• *Headphones for listening to educational content on electronic devices (I also have headphones in my classroom, but students are welcome to bring there own).
• *Any other materials the teacher requests throughout the year
• *Some parents and students may wish to purchase an exam review book for their child as the exam gets closer, but I believe families should not have to purchase anything for this course besides paying for the AP test at the end of the year.    I will add a review course on Canvas for students as the test gets closer, our textbook also functions as a review book, and if I am doing my job, students will be more than prepared for the test without having to buy their own review book. With that said, more resources to review would not ever hurt, so if you would like suggestions about the best review books, I would be happy to help. 

Homework: While I believe that most challenging work should be completed in the classroom where I am available to help students, the nature of this college level course necessitates students completing a significant amount of content work outside of class (content meaning the “what happened in history” part of the course).  While, for the most part, I will not grade their reading notes that they complete outside of class, they will be able to use those notes on assessments as an incentive to complete them (at least at the beginning of the year).  However, I realize that students have other classes they have work to complete for, as well as lives outside of school.  Therefore, my goal is to create a schedule that allows students to complete any homework assignments within a 40–60-minute time frame each week.  (Students will have 20-30 minutes of homework between the times they see me in class).  If that is too much to handle, please refer to the class expectations section.  With that said, if you find your student is consistently spending more than an hour completing work outside of class each week, please have them talk to me--I am serious about not wanting to overwhelm them.  

Late Work and Retakes: Since my grading is heavily weighted towards assessments and students demonstrating what they have learned, I will give students every opportunity to demonstrate mastery of a standard even if it occurs later than others.  Because of this, I will accept late work with no penalty up to the date a given unit of study ends (I will keep students and parents aware of when this would occur).  In addition, students can retake any assessment or resubmit any essay/project without penalty as long as they complete any necessary remedial work.  For example, if a student wanted to retake a quiz or end of unit assessment, they would first need to show me the notes they took on outside reading and complete any assignments related to the assessment before I would allow them to do a retake.  Depending on how students did on the initial assessment, a retake might be taking the whole assessment over again, completing only the parts they struggled with, or even reviewing assessments one on one with me so that we can use them as a learning experience. 

Extra Credit: Since students will have opportunities to turn in late work and retake assessments without penalty and because I want their grade based on what they have learned, I usually do not give extra credit opportunities.  This is in alignment with Viewmont High School’s move towards standards-based grading. However, I will give students ways to earn back points on assessments through viewing films or gamified competitions.

Absences:  Regular attendance will be a key component to success in my class.  Typically, students that struggle in this class are chronically absent or constantly distracted when attending.  Students are encouraged to attend as much as possible, but there will undoubtedly be occasions where they are forced to miss.    I will post anything and everything we do in class on Canvas for students who are not able to attend, and I will be available to communicate with students who are not able to attend class as much as possible.  I also post a week at a glance schedule on my Canvas homepage with a link to the forecasted schedule for the entire term. Wednesday mornings will also become an extremely important day as far as working with students goes.   

I will also be utilizing the Remind App to communicate with students remotely and to remind them of any important information/work they should be completing on remote learning days.  This tool allows me to communicate with students without either party exposing their actual phone number.  I will encourage all of my students to sign up for this the first day of class, and parents are welcome to sign up as well. (A link with instructions to join remind can also be found on my Canvas page).

*While I do my best to respond to student/parent messages and emails in a timely fashion, it is easy for me to become too attached to my work if I do not set boundaries.  If you send me a message before 2:00 PM each day, I promise to respond by the end of the school day.  However, please realize that any messages sent after that time may not receive attention until the next school day. *

Canvas: Canvas is a learning management system that I will utilize as much as possible this year.  I will keep my Canvas page updated with what was completed in class each day, assignments, learning material, etc.  If students or parents are ever wondering what happened in class, or if they need materials to help them succeed, this is an excellent resource to go to. To access Canvas, students and parents can go to dsd.instructure.com.  My home page will contain a welcome message, brief schedule of the unit we are in, and any important links to helpful resources.  Modules will contain a list of all the needed coursework and resources for each unit and is the best place to go if you are absent/engaging in remote learning. Parents can also add themselves as observers to their student's Canvas Course to keep an eye on what they are doing in class and whether or not they are staying caught up on their work.  If you are a parent and would like to learn how to add yourself as an observer to this course, click here.)

 

Citizenship: Since I believe a student’s academic grade should reflect learning and not behavior, I will utilize the citizenship grade to evaluate how students are doing in terms of behavior. 

 

	Honorable	Satisfactory	Needs Improvement	Unsatisfactory
Attendance	Student has one or less tardies and no unexcused absences	Student has two tardies and/or one unexcused absence	Student has three tardies and/or two unexcused absences	Student has four tardies and/or three unexcused absences
Work Habits	Student has one or less late assignment and one or less missing assignments	Student has 2-4 missing and/or late assignments	Student has five late and/or missing assignments	Student has six or more late and/or missing assignments
Engagement	Student has not needed to be reminded to stay focused in class. Student has not demonstrated off task behavior like cell-phone use, improper use of computers, sleeping in class, side-conversations, and other distracting behavior.	Student has rarely needed a reminder to stay focused in class. On occasion, student has demonstrated off task behavior like cell-phone use, improper use of computers, sleeping in class, side-conversations, and other distracting behavior.	Frequently, student has needed a reminder to stay focused in class. Frequently, student has demonstrated off task behavior like cell-phone use, improper use of computers, sleeping in class, side-conversations, and other distracting behavior.	A student's inability to focus has been so consistent despite reminders to improve that it has become disruptive to their learning experience or that of their peers. Despite interventions, they continue to demonstrate off task behavior like cell-phone use, improper use of computers, sleeping in class, side-conversations, and other distracting behavior.
Respect	Student has never engaged in behavior that was disrespectful to peers or the teacher. Student has never attempted to cheat or plagiarize. Student has found times to meaningfully participate in class in a respectful manner.	Student has never engaged in behavior that was disrespectful to peers or the teacher. Student has never attempted to cheat or plagiarize. Student has rarely found time to meaningfully participate in class in a respectful manner.	A. Student has occasionally engaged in behavior that was disrespectful to peers or the teacher. This required a discussion of why that behavior was inappropriate, which led to improvement. B. Student attempted to cheat or plagiarize. It was used as a learning experience and they did not engage in that behavior again	A. Student has occasionally engaged in behavior that was disrespectful to peers or the teacher. This required a discussion of why that behavior was inappropriate, but the negative behavior has continued. B. Student attempted to cheat or plagiarize multiple times, which shows they have not learned from previous mistakes.
Preparation	Student arrives to class prepared to learn. They have completed necessary work and reading to be engaged and have the materials necessary to learn each day.	On occasion, student arrives not prepared to learn. They either did not complete the necessary work or reading to be engaged in class, or they did not have the materials needed to learn that day.	Frequently, student arrives not prepared to learn. They either did not complete the necessary work or reading to be engaged in class, or they did not have the materials needed to learn that day.	Student's consistent inability to arrive to class prepared in terms of work completion/reading or materials necessary to learn has prevented them from being engaged in my class.

 Academic Honesty and Plagiarism:   As previously mentioned, I will allow students to use notes they have taken on assessments at the beginning of the year, but some students may be tempted to not complete their weekly readings/course work by thinking they could simply look up answers to the test online.  Assessments will be completed in class where students will be monitored, and I will try to design my assessments like this past year’s AP test where students would not be able to simply look up answers to the test. Also, students and parents should be aware that Davis School District has invested in plagiarism detection software that can alert teachers as to when written material may not be a student’s own work.  However, there may be times this year that students are tempted to cheat on an assignment or assessment.    I want students to realize that if they are not using their own knowledge and abilities to complete assignments and assessments, they will only be sabotaging themselves as the year goes on and we get closer to the AP test.   I have found that students who take "shortcuts" throughout the year may find a way to get a decent grade in the class, but they are also the ones who typically score low on the AP exam.  Furthermore, since students can retake assessments, there should be little incentive for students to try to “take an easy way out.” Plagiarism of any kind will not be tolerated and will result in a 0 for the assignment and a U citizenship grade!  Any essay or project that is plagiarized cannot be resubmitted. 

I should also mention here that I recognize the advent of AI into education and society in general will change things quite a bit.  This is especially true as the AP history exams go digital this year. My philosophy when it comes to this controversial resource is that if it is helping students learn, they should take advantage of it.  For example, if students utilized a reputable/accurate AI chat as another textbook option to ask questions they are struggling with, that is fine.  However, I do not want students to use AI to avoid learning or to replace showing me what they have learned.  Since students will need to complete the AP test on their own, it is important that all their summative assessments (tests/assignments that show me what they have learned) are their own work and not produced by an AI program.  I will be using AI detection software on all summative assessments to ensure that students are using the tool responsibly. Students caught using AI on a summative assessment or to replace what should be their own work may receive a 0 on the assignment and a U for citizenship. 

Cell Phones and Computer Use: Since I want to treat this like a college class, I expect students to be self-disciplined with their use of their cell phone during my class.  They need to learn to use this tool rather than let it use them to be successful in the next phase of their life.  I do not want to have to babysit how they use their phones, but I do expect them to keep them put away when they should be engaged with what is happening in class.   Usually, students who are on their cell phone during class suffer the natural consequences of not learning what they should and getting the grade they desire.  I will typically try to remind students to put their phone away, but if it continues to be an issue after a few reminders, then I will get parents involved.  If it continues to be an issue after that, then we may have to come up with a plan for students to monitor cell phone use or for them to place their phone on my desk at the beginning of the period, but I am hopeful it will never get to that point.  

My policy is the same for computers. I want students to learn to be self-disciplined with their computers, but if I notice they are getting distracted, I will have a conversation with them in private.  If it continues after that, the consequences will escalate. 

Dress Code: Viewmont High School's dress code policy will be enforced in this classroom. For questions concerning what is appropriate and what is not, please refer to viewmont.org and to the "policies" section.  

Food/Drink: It would be ridiculous for me to expect students to go an hour and a half without a drink. Students need energy to concentrate and learn. Considering this, I have no problem with students bringing drinks with lids and small snacks into my classroom. I expect students to be mature about cleaning up after themselves and to not make this a distraction. If we struggle with either of those things, this policy could change.

Credit Recovery: Please note that if a student fails a given term, I will work with that student until mid-term of the subsequent term to recover credit. If credit is not successfully recovered by that time, the student will need to pursue other options for credit recovery.  To be frank, if a student is failing this class and getting behind in the current term trying to make up credit from a previous term, they may be better off in a general world history class. 

Civil Rights Disclosure: Davis School District is committed to providing educational and employment opportunities to students without regard to race, color, sex, religion, age, national origin or disability in accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title XI of the Educational Amendment of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Syllabus is Subject to Change Based on Student Needs: I would like to create a college level, professional atmosphere in my classroom in which I can treat students like responsible young adults.  In doing so, I will place a lot of trust and responsibility on students to behave maturely.  If I notice that individual classes or students are struggling to honor that trust, I will put in additional disciplinary measures as I see fit.  In short, I prefer to have a laid back and low-pressure atmosphere in my classroom, but if I need to become a strict classroom manager to place my students in a better position to learn, I will do so.  

Message from the Instructor: As a former Viking myself, I cannot wait to help students be successful at Viewmont.  This is my 11^th year teaching and my 6^th year teaching this course, and I feel like I get a little bit better at it each year.  I am always available during school hours to help students and parents and address any questions or concerns.  If you would like to set up a specific time to meet with me, please contact me via email.  Also, Canvas and/or Remind are great ways to get in contact with me electronically.  Alfred Mercier said, “What we learn with pleasure, we never forget.”  I truly hope that this school year is both a pleasure and an unforgettable experience.