AP UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS JULY, 2011

ARCHBISHOP RYAN HIGH SCHOOL MR. JAMES MEREDITH

Welcome to Advanced Placement United States Government and Politics. Although you just completed your Junior year, it is time to start thinking about and planning for your Senior year. Your Senior year will be both exciting and challenging as you close out your distinguished career at Archbishop Ryan and prepare to start a new chapter in your lives.

This wiki is designed to begin the process of the AP Government course for the 2011-2012 year. It includes, along with this welcome letter, a schedule for your summer assignments. Throughout the year, we will build this wiki together and it is an essential part of our course.

AP U.S. Government and Politics is a year-long course designed to prepare students to take the Advanced Placement examination administered by the College Board and Educational Testing Service. The test will be administered on Tuesday, May 8, 2012. For students who achieve a score of 3, 4, or 5 (depending on the college), colleges grant credit for taking this course.

The course itself is designed to teach students something about how people behave politically and about the design of the American political system. The course is designed for the highly motivated student. It is designed for the student who plans to be a daily and active participant in each class. It is designed for the student who shows passion for the subject matter and plans to work hard during the course. There will be a great deal of independent reading and writing, research, analytical evaluation, critical thinking and advanced writing skills will be emphasized. Class discussions, seminars, simulations, and debates will be used to supplement assigned reading, critical writing, and lecture.

On this page, you will find your summer assignments and a schedule for when the assignments are due. SUCCESSFUL AND TIMELY COMPLETION OF THESE ASSIGNMENTS IS A PREREQUISITE FOR ADMISSION TO THIS COURSE.

I am very excited about this class and the opportunity to work with all of you. We will embark on this journey together.

My e-mail address is jmeredith@archbishopryan.com. Please feel free to email me or to speak with me directly if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Mr. James Meredith

SUMMER ASSIGNMENTS

These assignments are designed to keep your mind in tune with the happenings of our government over the summer. We must start on an even-playing field in September and it is integral to the course that everyone in it has an understanding about what is going on with the United States government. All assignments must be typed. They must have one-inch margins and be double-spaced. Use a standard 12-point font.

Assignments must be either e-mailed to me as a WORD attachment, dropped off at school in the Office of Academic Affairs, directed to my attention, or mailed there by the due date. If you email it to me, expect an email confirmation within 24 hours.

Attention: Mr. Jim Meredith

Archbishop Ryan High School

11201 Academy Road

Philadelphia PA 19154

CITATIONS

ALL written work must include appropriate citations. Use MLA parenthetical citations. Remember that websites must be cited!