• New for AP U. S. Government & Politics in 2018-2019

     

    Changes from College Board for next year are mostly organizational. There is an increased emphasis on understanding relationships between "enduring understandings" from each of the five units.

     

    Exam Changes

    Next year's exam will change from 60 multiple choice questions with five answer options to 55 multiple choice questions with four answer options. In addition, multiple choice questions will also feature charts, maps, and brief readings from which students will need to answer based on analysis of the materials .

    There will still be four short answer questions in section II of the AP U.S. Government & Politics Exam. Each question, however, will have a different focus. Question #1 will require concept application. Question #2 will require quantitative analysis. Question #3 will be a comparison of Supreme Court decisions. The final question will be an argument essay.

     

    Units

    Foundations of America Democracy

    Interactions Among Branches of Government

    Civil Liberties and Civil Rights

    American Political Ideologies and Beliefs

    Political Participation

     

    Projects

    While students at Jackson have been required to do one or more projects for this class, it is now required. According to the AP College Board all projects must:

    Require students to connect course concepts to real-world issues

    Require students to demonstrate disciplinary practices

    Require students to share/communicate findings in an authentic way (e.g., presentation, article, brochure, multimedia, podcast, political science fair)

     

    Look to class websites for all options and directions. Projects can include attending local government meetings like Mill Creek City Council or Everett Public Schools school board meetings. Students can volunteer for political campaigns for candidates or for issues. Students can also enter government related contests like the CSPAN StudentCam Competition or the Congressional App Challenge.

     

    Required Supreme Court Cases (Oyez.org for full details on each case)

    McCulloch v. Maryland

    United States v. Lopez

    Engel v. Vitale

    Wisconsin v. Yoder

    Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District

    New York Times Company v. United States

    Schenck v. United States

    Gideon v. Wainwright

    Roe v. Wade

    McDonald v. Chicago

    Brown v. Board of Education

    Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (FEC)

    Baker v. Carr

    Shaw v. Reno

    Marbury v. Madison

     

    Nine Required Foundational Documents

    Federalist #10 (Factions)

    Brutus #1

    Declaration of Independence

    Articles of Confederation

    Federalist 51 (Checks & Balances)

    U.S. Constitution

    "Letters from Birmingham Jail"

    Federalist #70 (Executive Branch)

    Federalist #78 (Judiciary Branch)

     

    Summer Recommendations

    Become familiar with the U. S. Constitution. What are the different parts? How are they different? What general categories do the amendments tend to fit into?

    Get started on your choice for the required political participation project.

    Become familiar with the required Supreme Court cases and foundational readings. Write notes and list questions you may have about them.

    Watch the news. What are the issues? What are the different sides to the issues? How do different news organizations cover issues differently?