Home ~ Biographies ~ Comparative Essays ~ Change Over Time Essays ~ FAQs ~ Classroom
1 ~ 2 ~ 3 ~ 4 ~ 5 ~ 6 ~ 7 ~ 8 ~ 9 ~ 10 ~ 11 ~ 12 ~ 13 ~ 14 ~ 15 ~ 16 ~ 17 ~ 18 ~ 19 ~ 20 ~ 21 ~ 22 ~ 23 ~ 24 ~ 25 ~ 26 ~ 27 ~ 28 ~ 29 ~ 30 ~ 31 ~ 32 ~ 33 ~ 34 ~ 35
What is the official course description from The Potter's School?
This course is specifically designed to assist students preparing to take the Advanced Placement (AP) World History exam in May. Although this is not an officially-recognized AP class, the course content is based on the recommendations of College Board and has been used for many years to help students learn the material needed to do well on the exam. Students will be taught to write the three types of rubric-scored essays that are required on the AP exam, as well as reviewing and discussing the material assessed on the exam through multiple-choice questions. In accordance with College Board guidelines, one-half of the course focuses on Asia and Africa with an overall emphasis on the most recent 1,000 years of history. World religions, events, and persons are presented from a biblical perspective as major trends seen over time, and significant turning points are compared within and between cultures. This advanced course is for students who are prepared to deal with source documents and ideologies, such as those encountered in a college freshmen class. An AP World History study guide is required for this course, along with other materials available online. Although students may apply for enrollment up to the registration cut-off date in September, all students should be aware that the readings for this course begin in August in order to adequately prepare students by the May examination date.
Is my teenager ready for World History AP Prep?
A love for learning history will be sufficient for success
in this online course. Lacking love, a student will need dedication, perseverance, self-initiative, accuracy, and organization. A basic knowledge of world geography and the history of at least one nation, e.g., US History, will be helpful. In a recent informal survey of school districts, the requirements
to take Advanced Placement World History ranged widely. On one end were juniors
and seniors who carry at least a 3.5 gpa and have successfully completed a honors
level World History course or other AP class. On the other end are districts
that have no requirements and allow freshmen to take the course. Many are open
enrollment. Do you have the time and aptitude to spend at least two hours a day in pursuit of the AP
credit? If in doubt, please complete this survey application.
What is the cost?
Weigh the $80 (est.) cost of the College Board AP
exam, plus the tuition for this year long course ($466), against the potential benefits of saving
college tuition and time. Cost of semester credit varies greatly from community
to private colleges. And remember, there is no guarantee that a student completing
this course will pass the rigorous AP exam. Nationally, test
results showed only about 60% of those who attempted the AP exam scored 3 or
higher. (3 = minimum college acceptance score, some credit standards are higher)
When are the weekly 90 minute live lecture/discussions?
Section 1 is Tuesday, 8:15 pm - 9:45 pm
Section 2 is Wednesday, 9:45 am - 11:15 am
All times are U.S. Eastern Standard Time
How do I register?
http://registration.pottersschool.org/register
Where can I learn more about the Advanced Placement World History Exam?
Here is the official APWH
course description pdf from AP central. This document is a must have if you
plan to take the AP exam
Will the students take an actual practice exam? Will they practice DBQs such as will be given on the exam?
There are practice exams available in AP review books and questions are also available at the College Board web site. These sources will all be utilized, including DBQ essay questions.
How much writing will there be?
The AP exam requires three essay types: Change over Time, Comparative, and Document Based Question. After a ten minute reading period, students are given 120 minutes to write all 3 essays. In preparation for the exam, this class will have students hand write weekly essays under the same 40 minute time constraint, to be rubric scored. Although there are no research papers, students must do extensive research in preparation for writing the timed essays without notes. Although this WHAP Prep class requires about 600 written words a week, the mechanics are not important in specifically preparing for the AP exam where spelling and grammar don't count. THINKING about cause and effect, and supporting a thesis are the most difficult parts of the writing.
Will the class finish before the test date?
The material needed for the exam will be covered before the exam date but class will continue for about three more sessions to solidify a biblical view regarding world history. Performance on the AP exam does not influence the transcript grade recommended at the end of the year. Indeed, any student can try and prep for the AP exam with or without a class. In order to finish in time there are readings that must be completed by the end of August. Most AP World History teachers in public schools assign their students readings over the summer.
How much time reading and memorizing do you expect from a student each week?
Students should expect to dedicate approximately ten hours a week to the course. Their peer counterparts in public schools spend about five hours a week in class and five hours a week in homework. The actual reading is about 30 pages per week (12 pt, single spaced, 1" margins). There are key events, dates, and persons to memorize each week in preparation for the timed essays.
How do you assess that students understand the weekly readings?
Weekly multiple choice quizzes (in the format of those on the AP exam) help pinpoint where students need improvement. Questions that are frequently missed are later discussed in the live class. The quizzes over the readings are timed but "open book", and do not need a proctor. Most of the live class uses PowerPoints and outlines to cover new material that reinforces the main topics and skills required by the College Board.
How interactive will the class be? What is the primary method of teaching for this class?
The class is primarily lecture, but encourages an active chat screen of student comments and questions. Live student presentations and summaries are offered in place of some written work. There are weekly written forums for required discussion, and sometimes these are referred to in our live class meetings. Given a WHAP essay prompt in class, students are asked to make oral contributions to form a thesis and the appropriate content to support that thesis.
How have students performed in previous years?
The instructor has taught students at accredited schools over the past eight years to successfully pass the AP World History exam. This instruction has been in both face to face and on line environments. All, but one, of the AP students have passed the exam with a 3, 4, or 5. (The one who did not pass did not attend the free review sessions). Typically students are screened by the end of first semester to individualize material to be studied for their success. Some students are cautioned that they might be wasting the $80 AP exam fee. Sign up for the AP exam is in late February.
What are the required readings that must be completed by the end of August?
The Unquenchable Light by Kenneth Scott Latourette http://www.religion-online.org/showbook.asp?title=543 (bio of Latourette)
and Top 100 Events of the Millennium http://www.tostepharmd.net/hissoc/top100events.html
What materials need to be purchased for this course?
A World History AP study guide such as Princeton or Barrons will help tie everything together. Princeton's "Cracking the AP exam" is a recommended study guide. Or, students could use the SATII Prep Workbook for World History. None need to be the most recent edition. Most of the weekly readings for the weekly quizzes are done on line. There is no required textbook.
What are the recommend supplementary materials?
Although all required materials are on line, there are optional materials
which might greatly help in the understanding of course content and writing
assignments. Most importantly, any sort of World History textbook will generally
suffice for a reference. However, "World history textbooks have two major
drawbacks: they obscure the story of history with mind-numbing detail, and they
eat up the curriculum." (quoted from from Student's
Friend). Your local used bookstore may have a supplemental readers, e.g., Andrea and Overfield's: The Human Record, or textbook that many WHAP teachers have used in the past. Even editions from the late 1990s will be fine.
The course description says: "World religions, events, and persons are presented from a biblical perspective". How do I prepare for that?
Lectures will assume students have familiarity with the Bible, including
| Genesis 11-15 | Judges | 1 Kings | Nehemiah 1-7 | Nahum 2-3 | Matthew 24 |
| Exodus 1-20 | 1 Samuel | 2 Kings | Lamentations | Habbukuk | Acts |
| Joshua | 2 Samuel | Ezra 1-6 | Daniel 7-14 | Zechariah | Romans 1, 9-11 |
What other courses are offered?
Back by popular demand, History of Modern Israel is available during 2nd Semester on Wed 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm (US Eastern Time) for a cost of $233.
This class provides an in-depth look at the connection between the history and the land of Israel. Starting with an introduction to various theological positions concerning Israel, the course provides students with an overview of the past two millennium and an emphasis on national Israel since 1948. The teacher recently spent a school year in Israel and made arrangements for expert enhancements to this class. (more)
Also available is Psychology. Course reviews: http://www.crackedpot.org/4-5/1795, and http://www.crackedpot.org/5-8/2615
How can I learn more about the teacher?
http://historytour.net/faq/potters.htm (scroll down for student and parent opinions )
Articles written about the world history class by a former students:
http://www.crackedpot.org/1-4/118 and http://www.crackedpot.org/4-2/1509
Answers to Less Frequently Asked Questions are also available. Contact us with your question.
 |
||||
| Email: | ||||
| Syllabus for FREE students (contact for update) | ||||
| Syllabus for Live WHAP prep class | ||||
| Assignment Bank Readings (registered students) |