American Studies

American Studies is an innovative course that combines Advanced Placement US History and AP English Language and Composition. Ms. Plafker teaches the social studies portion, and Mr. Francis teaches the English portion. The primary aim of the American Studies course is to explore the concept of an American Identity. Mr. Francis's class occupies Room ___, while Ms. Plafker's class occupies Room ___. In between the two classrooms is a collapsible wall that allows the two rooms to merge into one. Students usually attend one class and then the other, but by virtue of the collapsible wall the two classes sometimes merge and a double-period American Studies course takes place. The distinctiveness of the class helps to foster a sense of community among all American Studies students.

=AP US History - American Studies=

Curriculum
AP US History - American Studies is like a typical AP United States History survey course. However, as stated before, the American Studies course explores the theme of an American identity, thus the Ms. Plafker's class has a tendency to emphasize social and cultural history. For example, pop culture is a topic that Ms. Plafker's American Studies class may explore more than Mr. Sandler's or Mr. Stern's AP US History class.

The first semester covers American history roughly up to 1900, while the second semester covers from 1900 to present-day. Ms. Plafker does a good job of finishing the curriculum on time.

Ms. Plafker is very innovative in her class lessons. She avoids lectures when possible, and emphasizes small-group discussion. A typical class period usually involves small-group discussion about a reading or a series of primary document, followed by a sharing of ideas amongst the entire class. Her classroom lessons are intended to enhance the material studied at home, not to repeat it. Having been said, homework is an important part of her class. Like many AP US History classes across the country, topics are moved through quickly and lots of material has to be digested nightly.

Grading Policy
Ms. Plafker intentionally de-emphasizes tests in her grading policy. She argues that she puts more emphasis on aspects of the grade that are more in the student's control, such as completing homework and participating in class.
 * Homework: 30%
 * Exams/Quizzes: 35%
 * Participation: 15%
 * Term Project: 20%

=AP English Language and Composition - American Studies Curriculum=

Curriculum
Mr. Francis offers a good survey of American literature, starting from a unit on Puritan literature up to a unit on the Transcendentalists in the fall, and continuing with a survey of 20th century American novels in the spring semester. These spring semester novels include E. L. Doctorow's Ragtime, Francis Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, and Tony Kushner's ''Angels in America. Like most English classes, Mr. Francis's class is largely discussion-based. However, it is still an AP class so it is more difficult than your typical English class. Nearly all class sessions are discussions on the previous night's reading. About three to four essays are assigned per semester, and rarely is class time given to peer edit. Mr. Francis's essay topics are creative and push you to think outside of the box, thus many times they are very difficult as well.

Grading Policy
The class work portion of the grade for Mr. Francis's class includes attentiveness and participation in class discussions. The homework portion includes completing assigned reading and bringing in essays on time. According to Mr. Francis's syllabus, "In order to receive full credit for class participation, you should participate about once per class period. A student will not receive a final grade above 88 if he or she never contributes to discussion." Students also tend to find Mr. Francis to be a harsh essay grader.
 * Class work: ~35%
 * Homework: ~15%
 * Grades on essays: ~50%