AP Government & Politics Syllabus
Mrs. Celello
The AP Government course is a year long class covering two semesters. Students enrolled in the class meet everyday for fifty-five minutes.
Teaching Strategies: The course is divided between lecture and Socratic seminar. Students are responsible for keeping up with the news and current events. Each day will begin with a discussion of current events (public policy, the presidency, diplomatic relations, etc.) which will be concrete examples of the day’s lesson.
Course Overview/Description: Course Overview: Course content will provide students with a comprehensive understanding of American national government, including the major institutions of the American political system, their underlying values, and how they operate and interact at the national level. The course will include examination of the Constitution, ideology, mass political behavior and public opinion, political parties, interest groups, Congress, the Presidency, the courts, and the development of national public policy, both foreign and domestic. Students will analyze the development of political consensus and the resolution of conflict in the construction of the political agenda in a pluralist democratic system. Critical analytical perspectives for the interpretation, understanding and explanation of political events in this country will be emphasized. Students will develop a critical understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the American political system, as well as their rights and responsibilities as citizens.
Course Readings
Text:
Edwards, George C., Martin P. Wattenberg, and Robert L. Lineberry. Government in America: People, Politics, and Policy
. 8th ed. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1997.Readers:
Levine, Herbert M. Point-Counterpoint: Readings in American Government. 5th ed. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1995.
Woll, Peter and Stephen J. Rockwell. American Government: Readings and Cases.
13th ed. New York: Addison Wesley Longman, 1999.Other Reading Material:
Serow, Ann, Wayne Shannon, and Everett C. Ladd. The American Polity: The People and Their Government.
2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1993.Parenti, Michael. Democracy for the Few. 6th ed. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1995.
Supplementary Articles: Articles from the Internet Sources listed below such as the New York Times, the Washington Post, and others will be used throughout the course.
Summer Reading Assignment: Hardball by Chris Matthews
Useful Internet Resources
Course Related Websites
AP College Board http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/sub_usgov.html?usgovpo
Government in America http://www.ablongman.com/bridge/0,,0321195043:0321101316:0321101308:0321038169:0321048415:0321195051:0321292545:0321318137,00%2ben-USS_01DBC.html
News Sources
New York Times www.nytimes.com
CNN www.cnn.com
Fox News www.foxnews.com
Kansas City Star www.kcstar.com
Christian Science Monitor www.csmonitor.com/
The Washington Post www.washingtonpost.com
The Economist www.economist.com
BBC News www.bbcnews.com
The Onion www.theonion.com
Christian Science Monitor www.csmonitor.com/
USA Today www.usatoday.com
http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/psusp.html
http://www.library.yale.edu/govdocs/
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/20th.htm
https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/
Election Research
Grading and Course Requirements:
Grades are figured on a cumulative point basis. Each test, quiz, homework assignment, etc. is worth a certain number of points according to the quality and level of completion of the work. At the end of each marking period, a grade average is determined by dividing the total points possible by points earned. Grading is 40% for each nine week period and 20% for the final exam. Format for the final exam will be cumulative multiple choice questions as well as analytical and interpretive free-response questions similar to those found on the AP exam. These interpretive and free-response tests will be graded by a rubric.
Students are expected to take the AP Exam.
Current Events:
Students are responsible for keeping up with daily events of the nation and world. Students will need to skim the front page of the Washington Post or the Washington tines, listen to NPR or another radio news program, watch a TV news station such as CNN, or access a reliable online source. (Suggested resources previously listed.) Current events will be discussed at the beginning of each class meeting and relate to the topic of the day.
Using Graphs, Maps, and Charts:
Students will be tested on their understanding of quantitative and visually presented information (maps, graphs, and data) at regular intervals in quizzes, assignments, tests, and projects. (US Government Public Opinion Poll Project)
Exams
: There will be major tests and a final exam for this course. They will be reflective of material that will be found on the AP Exam with multiple choice and essay components.Format for tests will be multiple choice as well as analytical and interpretive free-response questions similar to those found on the AP exam. These interpretive and free-response tests will be graded by rubric.
Week 1: Introducing Government in America
Edwards, Wattenberg, & Lineberry Chapter 1, pp. 2-17
Woll, pp. 3-10. Locke-“Second Treatise of Civil Government”
Woll, pp. 31-40. Beard-“Framing the Constitution”.
Week 2 & 3: The Constitution
Edwards, Wattenberg, & Lineberry. Chapter 2. pp. 22-50.
Levine- Chapter 1, (“Has the Wisdom of the Framers of the Constitution in Promoting a More
Perfect Union Been Overrated”) pp. 2-15.
Edwards, Wattenberg, & Lineberry “The Federalist #10, pp. 559.
Edwards, Wattenberg, & Lineberry “The Federalist #51, pp. 563
Edwards, Wattenberg, & Lineberry “The Constitution”, p. 566.
Woll, pp. 31-40. Beard- “Framing the Constitution”, pp. 31-40.
Woll, pp. 47-49. Tribe & Dorf- “How Not to Read the Constitution”.
Test
Week 3 & 4: Federalism
Edwards, Wattenberg, & Lineberry Chapter 3, pp. 54-76.
Levine, Chapter 3, pp. 51-68. “Is the Federal System Becoming Obsolete?
in the U.S.?”
Woll, pp. 65-68. “McCullock v. Maryland”.
Woll, pp. 68-77. “United States v. Lopez”.
pp. 91-112.Week 5 & 6: Civil Liberties & Public Policy
Edwards, Wattenberg, & Lineberry Chapter 4, pp. 77-109.
Woll, pp. 93-102. “Gideon v. Wainright”.
Woll, pp. 113-122. “Brown v. the Board of Education Topeka”.
Woll, pp. 135-147. “Roe v. Wade”.
Woll, pp. 121-128. “Engel v. Vitale”.
Week 7 & 8: Civil Rights & Public Policy
Edwards, Wattenberg, & Lineberry Chapter 5, pp. 111-138.
Levine, Chapter 7, “Is Affirmative Action a Desirable Policy
to Remedy Discrimination?”,
Woll, pp. 145-151. Affirmative Actions. “Adarand Constructors, Inc. v.
Pena”.
Woll, pp. 151-155. “Shaw v. Reno”.
Woll, pp. 156-161. “Abrams v. Johnson”.
(US Government Public Opinion Poll Project)
Week 9 & 10: Public Opinion & Political Action
Edwards, Wattenberg, & Lineberry Chapter 6, p. 141-163.
Levine, Chapter 5, pp. 81-90, “Is Popular Participation in Political Matters Through the Electronic Media a threat to Democracy?”
Week 11: The Mass Media & The Political Agenda
Edwards, Wattenberg, & Lineberry Chapter 7, pp. 166-186.
Woll, pp. 368-373, “Evolution & Revolution: Leadership Media Strategies”.
Test: Chapters 6 & 7
Week 12 & 13: Political Parties
Edwards, Wattenberg, & Lineberry Chapter 8, pp. 187-211.
Woll, pp. 198-205. “Politics by Other Means”.
Week 13 & 14: Nominations & Campaigns
Edwards, Wattenberg, & Lineberry Chapter 9, pp. 216-234.
Woll, pp. 234-244. “Running with the PAC’s”.
Woll, pp. 360-368. “Media Power & Congressional Power”.
Week 15 & 16: Elections & Voting Behavior
Edwards, Wattenberg, & Lineberry Chapter 10, pp. 238-254.
Woll, pp. 212-216. “The Responsible Electorate”.
Levine, pp. 190-211. “Should the Electoral College be Abolished”.
Week 17 & 18: Interest Groups
Edwards, Wattenberg, & Lineberry Chapter 11, pp. 257-278.
Woll, pp. 229-233. “Pressure Groups”.
Semester I Final Exam
Week 19 & 20: Congress
Edwards, Wattenberg, & Lineberry Chapter 12, pp. 284-312.
Levine, Chp. 13, pp. 208-222, “Should the Number of Congressional
Terms be Limited?”
Woll, pp. 376-382, “If, As Ralph Nader Says, Congress is “The Broken
Branch”,
How Come We Love Our Congressmen So Much?”.Week 21 & 22: The Presidency
Edwards, Wattenberg, & Lineberry Chapter 13, pp. 317-349.
Levine, Chp. 12, pp. 188-206. “Is the Presidency too Powerful in
Foreign Policy?”.
Woll, pp. 291-299, “The Two Presidencies”.
Week 23: The Congress, the President and the Budget: The Politics of Taxing
& Spending.
Edwards, Wattenberg, & Lineberry Chapter 14, pp. 353-375.
Handout.
Week 24 & 25: The Federal Bureaucracy
Edwards, Wattenberg, & Lineberry Chapter 15, pp. 378-403.
Levine, Chp. 14, “Is a Big Government Bureaucracy Inherently
Incompatible with Democracy?”.
Woll, pp. 322-330. “The Rise of the Bureaucratic State”.
Week 26 & 27: The Federal Courts
Edwards, Wattenberg, & Lineberry Chapter 16, pp. 408-433
Levine, Chapter 17, “Should the Court Abide by a Strict Constructionist Philosophy?”, pp. 284-301.
Woll, pp. 414-420, “Judicial Self Restraint”.
Test: Chapter 16
Social Welfare ReformWeek 28: Economic Policy Making
Edwards, Wattenberg, & Lineberry Chapter 17, pp. 440-455.
Handout.
Week 29:
Edwards, Wattenberg, & Lineberry Chapter 18, pp. 458-473.
Week 30: Policy Making for Health, Energy, and the Environment
Edwards, Wattenberg, & Lineberry Chapter 19, pp. 476-494.
Article on “Urban Sprawl”.
Week 31: Foreign Policy Making
Edwards, Wattenberg, & Lineberry Chapter 20, pp. 498-423.
Article handout.
** Two weeks before the AP exam will be dedicated to review.
** All assignments must be turned in on time or the student will receive a “0” for the grade.
** Changes in the schedule may be made at the discretion of the teacher. Because 2004 is an election year, some units focusing on political parties, nominations & campaigns, elections & voting behavior may be moved to the fall of the year instead of when originally scheduled.
** You will need to spend a minimum of five (5) hours per week reading, studying, and preparing for the week. At the college level the rule is that for every hour spent in class, the student should be spending two to three hours studying and reading outside of class.
AP Exam: May 5, 2008 8:00 AM
Notes for the Text