INCLUDES
Course framework
Instructional
section
Sample exam
questions
AP
®
World
History: Modern
COURSE AND EXAM DESCRIPTION
Effective
Fall 2019
About College Board
College Board is a mission-driven not-for-prot organization that connects
students to college success and opportunity. Founded in 1900, College Board
was created to expand access to higher education. Today, the membership
association is made up of over 6,000 of the world’s leading educational institutions
and is dedicated to promoting excellence and equity in education. Each year,
College Board helps more than seven million students prepare for a successful
transition to college through programs and services in college readiness and
college success—including the SAT® and the Advanced Placement® Program. The
organization also serves the education community through research and advocacy
on behalf of students, educators, and schools.
For further information, visit collegeboard.org.
AP Equity and Access Policy
College Board strongly encourages educators to make equitable access a guiding
principle for their AP programs by giving all willing and academically prepared
students the opportunity to participate in AP. We encourage the elimination
of barriers that restrict access to AP for students from ethnic, racial, and
socioeconomic groups that have been traditionally underrepresented. Schools
should make every eort to ensure their AP classes reect the diversity of their
student population. College Board also believes that all students should have
access to academically challenging coursework before they enroll in AP classes,
which can prepare them for AP success. It is only through a commitment to
equitable preparation and access that true equity and excellence can be achieved.
Designers: Sonny Mui and Bill Tully
© 2019 College Board. College Board, Advanced Placement, AP, AP Central, and the acorn logo are
registered trademarks of College Board. All other products and services may be trademarks of their
respective owners.
Visit College Board on the web: collegeboard.org.
Contents
v Acknowledgments
1 About AP
4 AP Resources and Supports
6 Instructional Model
7 About the AP World History: Modern Course
7 College Course Equivalent
7 Prerequisites
COURSE FRAMEWORK
11 Course Framework Components
13 Historical Thinking Skills and Reasoning Processes
17 Course Content
22 Course at a Glance
27 Unit Guides
29 Using the Unit Guides
31 Geographical Coverage
33 UNIT 1: The Global Tapestry
49 UNIT 2: Networks of Exchange
65 UNIT 3: Land-Based Empires
73 UNIT 4: Transoceanic Interconnections
93 UNIT 5: Revolutions
111 UNIT 6: Consequences of Industrialization
125 UNIT 7: Global Conict
139 UNIT 8: Cold War and Decolonization
155 UNIT 9: Globalization
INSTRUCTIONAL APPROACHES
173 Selecting and Using Course Materials
175 Instructional Strategies
180 Developing Historical Thinking Skills
190 Developing the Reasoning Processes
EXAM INFORMATION
195 Exam Overview
201 Sample Exam Questions
218 AP History Rubrics
APPENDIX
225 AP World History Concept Outline
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Acknowledgments
College Board would like to acknowledge the following committee
members, for their assistance with the development of this course. All
individuals and their aliations were current at the time of contribution.
Greg Ahlquist, Webster Thomas High School, Webster, NY
Rachel Jean-Baptiste, University of California, Davis, CA
Tim Keirn, California State University, Long Beach, CA
Amie La Porte-Lewis, Holy Innocents' Episcopal School, Atlanta, GA
Christina Shively, Cypress Ranch High School, Cypress, TX
Eren Tasar, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC
Richard Warner, Wabash College, Crawfordsville, IN
Deborah Wing-Leonard, Clear Lake High School, Houston, TX
Kevin Witte, Kearney High School, Kearney, NE
College Board Sta
Cheryl Harmon, Senior Director, AP Instructional Design and
PD Resource Development
Chad Hoge, Director, AP History Content Development
Daniel McDonough, Senior Director, AP Content Integration
Allison Milverton, Director, AP Curricular Publications
Kelly Stromberg, Senior Director, AP History Content Development
Allison Thurber, Executive Director, AP Curriculum and Assessment
SPECIAL THANKS John R. Williamson
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vAP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
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About AP
College Board’s Advanced Placement® Program (AP®)
enables willing and academically prepared students
to pursue college-level studies—with the opportunity
to earn college credit, advanced placement, or
both—while still in high school. Through AP courses
in 38 subjects, each culminating in a challenging
exam, students learn to think critically, construct solid
arguments, and see many sides of an issue—skills
that prepare them for college and beyond. Taking
AP courses demonstrates to college admission ocers
that students have sought the most challenging
curriculum available to them, and research indicates
that students who score a 3 or higher on an AP Exam
typically experience greater academic success in
college and are more likely to earn a college degree
than non-AP students. Each AP teacher’s syllabus
is evaluated and approved by faculty from some of
the nation’s leading colleges and universities, and
AP Exams are developed and scored by college faculty
and experienced AP teachers. Most four-year colleges
and universities in the United States grant credit,
advanced placement, or both on the basis of successful
AP Exam scores; more than 3,300 institutions worldwide
annually receive AP scores.
AP Course Development
In an ongoing eort to maintain alignment with best
practices in college-level learning, AP courses and
exams emphasize challenging, research-based
curricula aligned with higher education expectations.
Individual teachers are responsible for designing their
own curriculum for AP courses, selecting appropriate
college-level readings, assignments, and resources.
This course and exam description presents the content
and skills that are the focus of the corresponding
college course and that appear on the AP Exam. It also
organizes the content and skills into a series of units
that represent a sequence found in widely adopted
college textbooks and that many AP teachers have
told us they follow in order to focus their instruction.
The intention of this publication is to respect teachers’
time and expertise by providing a roadmap that they
can modify and adapt to their local priorities and
preferences. Moreover, by organizing the AP course
content and skills into units, the AP Program is able
to provide teachers and students with formative
assessments—Personal Progress Checks—that
teachers can assign throughout the year to measure
student progress as they acquire content knowledge
and develop skills.
Enrolling Students:
Equity and Access
College Board strongly encourages educators to
make equitable access a guiding principle for their
AP programs by giving all willing and academically
prepared students the opportunity to participate
in AP. We encourage the elimination of barriers
that restrict access to AP for students from ethnic,
racial, and socioeconomic groups that have been
traditionally underserved. College Board also believes
that all students should have access to academically
challenging coursework before they enroll in AP classes,
which can prepare them for AP success. It is only
through a commitment to equitable preparation and
access that true equity and excellence can be achieved.
Oering AP Courses:
The AP Course Audit
The AP Program unequivocally supports the principle
that each school implements its own curriculum that will
enable students to develop the content understandings
and skills described in the course framework.
While the unit sequence represented in this publication
is optional, the AP Program does have a short list of
curricular and resource requirements that must be
fullled before a school can label a course “Advanced
Placement” or “AP.” Schools wishing to oer AP
courses must participate in the AP Course Audit, a
process through which AP teachers’ course materials
are reviewed by college faculty. The AP Course Audit
was created to provide teachers and administrators
with clear guidelines on curricular and resource
requirements for AP courses and to help colleges and
universities validate courses marked “AP” on students’
transcripts. This process ensures that AP teachers’
courses meet or exceed the curricular and resource
expectations that college and secondary school faculty
have established for college-level courses.
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1AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
The AP Course Audit form is submitted by the AP
teacher and the school principal (or designated
administrator) to conrm awareness and understanding
of the curricular and resource requirements. A syllabus
or course outline, detailing how course requirements
are met, is submitted by the AP teacher for review by
college faculty.
Please visit collegeboard.org/apcourseaudit for more
information to support the preparation and submission
of materials for the AP Course Audit.
How the AP Program
Is Developed
The scope of content for an AP course and exam is
derived from an analysis of hundreds of syllabi and
course oerings of colleges and universities. Using
this research and data, a committee of college faculty
and expert AP teachers work within the scope of
the corresponding college course to articulate what
students should know and be able to do upon the
completion of the AP course. The resulting course
framework is the heart of this course and exam
description and serves as a blueprint of the content and
skills that can appear on an AP Exam.
The AP Test Development Committees are responsible
for developing each AP Exam, ensuring the exam
questions are aligned to the course framework. The
AP Exam development process is a multiyear endeavor;
all AP Exams undergo extensive review, revision,
piloting, and analysis to ensure that questions are
accurate, fair, and valid, and that there is an appropriate
spread of diculty across the questions.
Committee members are selected to represent a variety
of perspectives and institutions (public and private,
small and large schools and colleges), and a range of
gender, racial/ethnic, and regional groups. A list of each
subject’s current AP Test Development Committee
members is available on apcentral.collegeboard.org.
Throughout AP course and exam development,
College Board gathers feedback from various
stakeholders in both secondary schools and higher
education institutions. This feedback is carefully
considered to ensure that AP courses and exams are
able to provide students with a college-level learning
experience and the opportunity to demonstrate their
qualications for advanced placement or college credit.
How AP Exams Are Scored
The exam scoring process, like the course and exam
development process, relies on the expertise of both
AP teachers and college faculty. While multiple-choice
questions are scored by machine, the free-response
questions and through-course performance
assessments, as applicable, are scored by thousands
of college faculty and expert AP teachers. Most are
scored at the annual AP Reading, while a small portion
is scored online. All AP Readers are thoroughly trained,
and their work is monitored throughout the Reading
for fairness and consistency. In each subject, a highly
respected college faculty member serves as Chief
Faculty Consultant and, with the help of AP Readers
in leadership positions, maintains the accuracy of
the scoring standards. Scores on the free-response
questions and performance assessments are weighted
and combined with the results of the computer-scored
multiple-choice questions, and this raw score is
converted into a composite AP score on a 1–5 scale.
AP Exams are not norm-referenced or graded on a curve.
Instead, they are criterion-referenced, which means that
every student who meets the criteria for an AP score of
2, 3, 4, or 5 will receive that score, no matter how many
students that is. The criteria for the number of points
students must earn on the AP Exam to receive scores
of 3, 4, or 5—the scores that research consistently
validates for credit and placement purposes—include:
§ The number of points successful college students
earn when their professors administer AP Exam
questions to them.
§ The number of points researchers have found
to be predictive that an AP student will succeed
when placed into a subsequent, higher-level
college course.
§ Achievement-level descriptions formulated by
college faculty who review each AP Exam question.
Using and Interpreting AP Scores
The extensive work done by college faculty and
AP teachers in the development of the course and
exam and throughout the scoring process ensures
that AP Exam scores accurately represent students’
achievement in the equivalent college course. Frequent
and regular research studies establish the validity of
AP scores as follows:
AP Score
Credit
Recommendation
College Grade
Equivalent
5
Extremely well qualied A
4
Well qualied A-, B+, B
3
Qualied B-, C+, C
2
Possibly qualied n/a
1
No recommendation n/a
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2AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
While colleges and universities are responsible for
setting their own credit and placement policies, most
private colleges and universities award credit and/
or advanced placement for AP scores of 3 or higher.
Additionally, most states in the U.S. have adopted
statewide credit policies that ensure college credit
for scores of 3 or higher at public colleges and
universities. To conrm a specic college’s AP credit/
placement policy, a search engine is available at
apstudent.org/creditpolicies.
BECOMING AN AP READER
Each June, thousands of AP teachers and college
faculty members from around the world gather for
seven days in multiple locations to evaluate and
score the free-response sections of the AP Exams.
Ninety-eight percent of surveyed educators who took
part in the AP Reading say it was a positive experience.
There are many reasons to consider becoming an
AP Reader, including opportunities to:
§ Bring positive changes to the classroom:
Surveys show that the vast majority of returning
AP Readers—both high school and college
educators—make improvements to the way they
teach or score because of their experience at the
AP Reading.
§ Gain in-depth understanding of AP Exam and
AP scoring standards: AP Readers gain exposure
to the quality and depth of the responses from
the entire pool of AP Exam takers, and thus are
better able to assess their students’ work in
the classroom.
§ Receive compensation: AP Readers are
compensated for their work during the Reading.
Expenses, lodging, and meals are covered for
Readers who travel.
§ Score from home: AP Readers have online
distributed scoring opportunities for certain
subjects. Check collegeboard.org/apreading
for details.
§ Earn Continuing Education Units (CEUs):
AP Readers earn professional development hours
and CEUs that can be applied to PD requirements
by states, districts, and schools.
How to Apply
Visit collegeboard.org/apreading for eligibility
requirements and to start the application process.
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3AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
AP Resources
and Supports
By completing a simple activation process at the start of the school year, teachers and
students receive access to a robust set of classroom resources.
AP Classroom
AP Classroom is a dedicated online platform designed to support teachers and students
throughout their AP experience. The platform provides a variety of powerful resources and
tools to provide yearlong support to teachers and enable students to receive meaningful
feedback on their progress.
UNIT GUIDES
Appearing in this publication and on AP Classroom, these planning guides outline all required
course content and skills, organized into commonly taught units. Each unit guide suggests
a sequence and pacing of content, scaolds skill instruction across units, and organizes
content into topics.
PERSONAL PROGRESS CHECKS
Formative AP questions for every unit provide feedback to students on the areas where they
need to focus. Available online, Personal Progress Checks measure knowledge and skills
through multiple-choice questions with rationales to explain correct and incorrect answers,
and free-response questions with scoring information. Because the Personal Progress
Checks are formative, the results of these assessments cannot be used to evaluate teacher
eectiveness or assign letter grades to students, and any such misuses are grounds for losing
school authorization to oer AP courses.*
PROGRESS DASHBOARD
This dashboard allows teachers to review class and individual student progress throughout
the year. Teachers can view class trends and see where students struggle with content and
skills that will be assessed on the AP Exam. Students can view their own progress over time to
improve their performance before the AP Exam.
AP QUESTION BANK
This online library of real AP Exam questions provides teachers with secure questions to use
in their classrooms. Teachers can nd questions indexed by course topics and skills, create
customized tests, and assign them online or on paper. These tests enable students to practice
and get feedback on each question.
*To report misuses, please call, 877-274-6474 (International: +1-212-632-1781).
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4AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Digital Activation
In order to teach an AP class and make sure students are registered to take the AP Exam,
teachers must rst complete the digital activation process. Digital activation gives students
and teachers access to resources and gathers students’ exam registration information online,
eliminating most of the answer sheet bubbling that has added to testing time and fatigue.
AP teachers and students begin by signing in to My AP and completing a simple activation
process at the start of the school year, which provides access to all AP resources, including
AP Classroom.
To complete digital activation:
§ Teachers and students sign in to, or create, their College Board accounts.
§ Teachers conrm that they have added the course they teach to their AP Course Audit
account and have had it approved by their school’s administrator.
§ Teachers or AP Coordinators, depending on who the school has decided is responsible,
set up class sections so students can access AP resources and have exams ordered on
their behalf.
§ Students join class sections with a join code provided by their teacher or AP Coordinator.
§ Students will be asked for additional registration information upon joining their rst class
section, which eliminates the need for extensive answer sheet bubbling on exam day.
While the digital activation process takes a short time for teachers, students, and
AP Coordinators to complete, overall it helps save time and provides the following
additional benets:
§ Access to AP resources and supports: Teachers have access to resources specically
designed to support instruction and provide feedback to students throughout the school
year as soon as activation is complete.
§ Streamlined exam ordering: AP Coordinators can create exam orders from the same
online class rosters that enable students to access resources. The coordinator reviews,
updates, and submits this information as the school’s exam order in the fall.
§ Student registration labels: For each student included in an exam order, schools will
receive a set of personalized AP ID registration labels, which replaces the AP student pack.
The AP ID connects a student’s exam materials with the registration information they
provided during digital activation, eliminating the need for pre-administration sessions and
reducing time spent bubbling on exam day.
§ Targeted Instructional Planning Reports: AP teachers will get Instructional Planning
Reports (IPRs) that include data on each of their class sections automatically rather than
relying on special codes optionally bubbled in on exam day.
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5AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Instructional
Model
Integrating AP resources throughout the course can help students develop skills and
conceptual understandings. The instructional model outlined below shows possible ways to
incorporate AP resources into the classroom.
Plan
Teachers may consider the following approaches as they plan their instruction before
teaching each unit.
§ Use the Unit at a Glance table to identify related topics that build toward a common
understanding, and then plan appropriate pacing for students.
§ Identify useful strategies in the Instructional Approaches section to help teach the
concepts and skills.
Teach
When teaching, supporting resources can be used to build students’ conceptual
understanding and their mastery of skills.
§ Use the topic pages in the unit guides to identify the required content.
§ Integrate the content with a skill, considering any appropriate scaolding.
§ Employ any of the instructional strategies previously identied.
§ Use the available resources on the topic pages to bring a variety of assets into the
classroom.
Assess
Teachers can measure student understanding of the content and skills covered in the unit and
provide actionable feedback to students.
§ At the end of each unit, use AP Classroom to assign students the online Personal Progress
Checks, as homework or as an in-class task.
§ Provide question-level feedback to students through answer rationales; provide unit- and
skill-level feedback using the progress dashboard.
§ Create additional practice opportunities using the AP Question Bank and assign them
through AP Classroom.
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6AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
About the AP
World History:
Modern Course
In AP World History: Modern, students investigate signicant events, individuals,
developments, and processes from 1200 to the present. Students develop and use
the same skills, practices, and methods employed by historians: analyzing primary and
secondary sources; developing historical arguments; making historical connections; and
utilizing reasoning about comparison, causation, and continuity and change over time. The
course provides six themes that students explore throughout the course in order to make
connections among historical developments in dierent times and places: humans and the
environment, cultural developments and interactions, governance, economic systems, social
interactions and organization, and technology and innovation.
College Course Equivalent
AP World History: Modern is designed to be the equivalent of an introductory college or
university survey of modern world history.
Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites for AP World History: Modern. Students should be able to read a
college-level textbook and write grammatically correct, complete sentences.
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7AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
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COURSE FRAMEWORK
AP WORLD HISTORY
Course
Framework
Course Framework
Components
Overview
This course framework provides a description of what students should know and be
able to do to qualify for college credit or placement.
The course framework includes
two essential components:
1
HISTORICAL THINKING SKILLS AND
REASONING PROCESSES
The historical thinking skills and reasoning processes are central to the
study and practice of world history. Students should practice and develop
these skills and processes on a regular basis over the span of the course.
2
COURSE CONTENT
The course content is organized into commonly taught units of study
that provide a suggested sequence for the course. These units comprise
the content and conceptual understandings that colleges and universities
typically expect students to master to qualify for college credit and/or
placement. This content is grounded in themes, which are cross-cutting
concepts that build conceptual understanding and spiral throughout
the course.
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1
AP WORLD HISTORY
Historical
Thinking Skills
and Reasoning
Processes
This section presents the historical thinking skills and reasoning processes that
students should develop during the AP history courses that form the basis of the
tasks on the AP history exams.
Historical Thinking Skills
The AP historical thinking skills describe what students should be able to do
while exploring course concepts. The table that follows presents these skills,
which students should develop during the AP World History course.
The unit guides later in this publication embed and spiral these skills throughout
the course, providing teachers with one way to integrate the skills into the course
content with sucient repetition to prepare students to transfer those skills when
taking the AP Exam.
More detailed information about teaching the historical thinking skills can be found
in the Instructional Approaches section of this publication.
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13AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
AP Historical Thinking Skills
Skill 1 Skill 2 Skill 3 Skill 4 Skill 5 Skill 6
Developments and
Processes
1
Sourcing and
Situation
2
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14AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Claims and Evidence
in Sources
3
Contextualization
4
Making
Connections
5
Argumentation
6
Identify and explain historical
developments and processes.
Analyze sourcing and situation of
primary and secondary sources.
Analyze arguments in primary and
secondary sources.
Analyze the context of historical
events, developments, or processes.
Using historical reasoning processes
(comparison, causation, continuity
and change), analyze patterns and
connections between and among
historical developments and processes.
Develop an argument.
SKILLS
1.A
Identify a historical
concept, development,
or process.
1.B
Explain a historical concept,
development, or process.
2.A
Identify a source’s point
of view, purpose, historical
situation, and/or audience.
2.B
Explain the point of view,
purpose, historical situation, and/
or audience of a source.
2.C
Explain the signicance
of a source’s point of view,
purpose, historical situation, and/
or audience, including how these
might limit the use(s) of a source.
3.A
Identify and describe a
claim and/or argument in a text-
based or non-text-based source.
3.B
Identify the evidence
used in a source to support
an argument.
3.C
Compare the arguments or
main ideas of two sources.
3.D
Explain how claims or
evidence support, modify, or
refute a source’s argument.
4.A
Identify and describe
a historical context for a
specic historical development
or process.
4.B
Explain how a specic
historical development or
process is situated within a
broader historical context.
5.A
Identify patterns among or
connections between historical
developments and processes.
5.B
Explain how a historical
development or process
relates to another historical
development or process.
6.A
Make a historically
defensible claim.
6.B
Support an argument using
specic and relevant evidence.
§ Describe specic examples of
historically relevant evidence.
§ Explain how specic examples
of historically relevant evidence
support an argument.
6.C
Use historical reasoning
to explain relationships among
pieces of historical evidence.
6.D
Corroborate, qualify, or
modify an argument using diverse
and alternative evidence in order
to develop a complex argument.
This argument might:
§ Explain nuance of an issue by
analyzing multiple variables.
§ Explain relevant and
insightful connections
within and across periods.
§ Explain the relative historical
signicance of a source’s
credibility and limitations.
§ Explain how or why a historical
claim or argument is or is not
eective.
AP HISTORY
Reasoning Processes
Reasoning processes describe the cognitive operations that students will be required to apply when engaging with the
historical thinking skills on the AP Exam. The reasoning processes ultimately represent the way practitioners think in the
discipline. Specic aspects of the cognitive process are dened under each reasoning process.
Reasoning Process 1 Reasoning Process 2 Reasoning Process 3
Comparison Causation Continuity and Change
§ 1.i: Describe similarities and/or
dierences between dierent
historical developments
or processes.
§ 1.ii: Explain relevant similarities and/
or dierences between specic
historical developments and
processes.
§ 1.iii: Explain the relative historical
signicance of similarities
and/or dierences between
dierent historical developments
or processes.
§ 2.i: Describe causes and/or eects
of a specic historical development
or process.
§ 2.ii: Explain the relationship between
causes and eects of a specic
historical development or process.
§ 2.iii: Explain the dierence between
primary and secondary causes and
between short- and long-term eects.
§ 2.iv: Explain how a relevant context
inuenced a specic historical
development or process.
§ 2.v: Explain the relative historical
signicance of dierent causes and/
or eects.
§ 3.i: Describe patterns of continuity
and/or change over time.
§ 3.ii: Explain patterns of continuity
and/or change over time.
§ 3.iii: Explain the relative historical
signicance of specic historical
developments in relation to a larger
pattern of continuity and/or change.
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2
AP WORLD HISTORY
Course
Content
Inuenced by the Understanding by Design® (Wiggins and McTighe) model, this
course framework provides a description of the course requirements necessary for
student success.
The course content is organized into commonly taught units. The units have been
arranged in a logical sequence frequently found in many college courses and
textbooks.
The nine units in AP World History, and their approximate weighting on the
AP Exam, are listed on the following page.
Pacing recommendations at the unit level and on the Course at a Glance provide
suggestions for how to teach the required course content and administer the
Personal Progress Checks. The suggested class periods are based on a schedule
in which the class meets ve days a week for 45 minutes each day. While these
recommendations have been made to aid planning, teachers should of course
adjust the pacing based on the needs of their students, alternate schedules
(e.g., block scheduling), or their school’s academic calendar.
TOPICS
Each unit is broken down into teachable segments called topics. The topic pages
(starting on page 38) contain all required content for each topic. Although most
topics can be taught in one or two class periods, teachers are again encouraged to
pace the course to suit the needs of their students and school.
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17AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Units Chronological Period* Exam Weighting
Unit 1: The Global Tapestry
Unit 2: Networks of Exchange
c. 1200 to
c. 1450
8–10%
8–10%
Unit 3: Land-Based Empires
Unit 4: Transoceanic Interconnections
c. 1450 to
c. 1750
12–15%
12–15%
Unit 5: Revolutions
Unit 6: Consequences of Industrialization
c. 1750 to
c. 1900
12–15%
12–15%
Unit 7: Global Conict
8–10%
Unit 8: Cold War and Decolonization
c. 1900 to
the present
8–10%
Unit 9: Globalization
8–10%
*Events, processes, and developments are not constrained by the given dates and may begin before, or continue after, the
approximate dates assigned to each unit.
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18AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Themes
The themes serve as the connective tissue of the course and enable students to
create meaningful connections across units. They are often broader ideas that
become threads that run throughout the course. Revisiting them and applying
them in a variety of contexts helps students to develop deeper conceptual
understanding. Below are the themes of the course and a brief description of each.
THEME 1: HUMANS AND THE ENVIRONMENT (ENV)
The environment shapes human societies, and as populations grow and
change, these populations in turn shape their environments.
THEME 2: CULTURAL DEVELOPMENTS AND INTERACTIONS (CDI)
The development of ideas, beliefs, and religions illustrates how groups in
society view themselves, and the interactions of societies and their beliefs
often have political, social, and cultural implications.
THEME 3: GOVERNANCE (GOV)
A variety of internal and external factors contribute to state formation,
expansion, and decline. Governments maintain order through a variety of
administrative institutions, policies, and procedures, and governments obtain,
retain, and exercise power in dierent ways and for dierent purposes.
THEME 4: ECONOMIC SYSTEMS (ECN)
As societies develop, they aect and are aected by the ways that they
produce, exchange, and consume goods and services.
THEME 5: SOCIAL INTERACTIONS AND ORGANIZATION (SIO)
The process by which societies group their members and the norms that
govern the interactions between these groups and between individuals
inuence political, economic, and cultural institutions and organization.
THEME 6: TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION (TEC)
Human adaptation and innovation have resulted in increased eciency, comfort,
and security, and technological advances have shaped human development
and interactions with both intended and unintended consequences.
Return to Table of Contents
© 2019 College Board
Course Framework V.1
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19AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
THIS PAGE IS INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK.
Spiraling the Themes
The following table shows how the themes spiral across units.
Big Ideas Unit 1 Unit 2 Unit 3 Unit 4 Unit 5 Unit 6 Unit 7 Unit 8 Unit 9
The Global
Tapestry
Networks of
Exchange
Land-Based
Empires
Transoceanic
Interconnections
Revolutions Consequences of
Industrialization
Global Conict Cold War and
Decolonization
Globalization
Humans and the
Environment
ENV
Cultural
Developments
and Interactions
CDI
Governance
GOV
Economic
Systems
ECN
Social
Interactions and
Organization
SIO
Technology and
Innovation
TEC
Return to Table of Contents
© 2019 College Board
Course Framework V.1
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21AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Course at
a Glance
Plan
The Course at a Glance provides
a useful visual organization of
the AP World History curricular
components, including:
§ Sequence of units, along
with approximate weighting
and suggested pacing.
Please note, pacing is based
on 45-minute class periods,
meeting ve days each week
for a full academic year.
§ Progression of topics within
each unit.
§ Spiraling of the themes
and historical thinking skills
across units.
Teach
HISTORICAL THINKING SKILLS
Historical thinking skills spiral across units.
© 2019 College Board
V.1
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22
1
Developments
and Processes
2
Sourcing and
Situation
3
Claims and
Evidence in
Sources
4
Contextualization
5
Making
Connections
6
Argumentation
THEMES
Themes spiral across units.
ENV
Humans and the
Environment
CDI
Cultural
Developments and
Interactions
GOV
Governance
ECN
Economic Systems
SIO
Social Interactions
and Organization
TEC
Technology and
Innovation
Assess
Assign the Personal Progress
Checks—either as homework
or in class—for each unit.
Each Personal Progress Check
contains formative multiple-
choice and free-response
questions. The feedback from
the Personal Progress Checks
shows students the areas where
they need to focus.
UNI
1
T
The Global
Tapestry
c. 1200 to c. 1450
~10–13
Class
Periods
8–10
%
AP Exam
Weighting
GOV
CDI
ECN
4
1.1 Developments in
East Asia from
c. 1200 to c. 1450
CDI
GOV
TEC
1
1.2 Developments in
Dar al-Islam from
c. 1200 to c. 1450
CDI
GOV
3
1.3 Developments in South
and Southeast Asia
from c. 1200 to c. 1450
GOV
3
1.4 State Building in
the Americas
GOV
1
1.5 State Building
in Africa
CDI
GOV
SIO
1
1.6 Developments
in Europe from
c. 1200 to c. 1450
6
1.7 Comparison in
the Period from
c. 1200 to c. 1450
UNI
2
T
Networks of
Exchange
c. 1200 to c. 1450
~10–13
Class
Periods
8–10
%
AP Exam
Weighting
ECN
4
2.1 The Silk Roads
GOV
ECN
CDI
5
2.2 The Mongol Empire
and the Making of the
Modern World
ECN
CDI
ENV
5
2.3 Exchange in the
Indian Ocean
TEC
GOV
1
2.4 Trans-Saharan
Trade Routes
CDI
2
2.5 Cultural Consequences
of Connectivity
ENV
5
2.6 Environmental
Consequences
of Connectivity
6
2.7 Comparison of
Economic Exchange
Personal Progress Check 1
Multiple-choice: ~15 questions
Short-answer: 2 questions
§ Primary source (partial)
§ Primary source (partial)
Free-response: 1 question
§ Long essay (partial)
Personal Progress Check 2
Multiple-choice: ~15 questions
Short-answer: 2 questions
§ Primary source
§ Primary source
Free-response: 1 question
§ Long essay (partial)
NOTE: Partial versions of the free-response questions are provided to prepare students for more
complex, full questions that they will encounter on the AP Exam.
UNI
3
T
Land-Based
Empires
V.1
|
23
© 2019 College Board
c. 1450 to c. 1750
~8–11
Class
Periods 12–15
%
AP Exam
Weighting
GOV
1
3.1 Empires Expand
GOV
4
3.2 Empires: Administration
CDI
2
3.3 Empires: Belief Systems
6
3.4 Comparison in
Land-Based Empires
UNI
4
T
Transoceanic
Interconnections
c. 1450 to c. 1750
~22–25
Class
Periods 12–15
%
AP Exam
Weighting
TEC
4
4.1 Technological
Innovations from 1450
to 1750
GOV
ECN
5
4.2 Exploration: Causes
and Events from 1450
to 1750
ENV
3
4.3 Columbian Exchange
GOV
ECN
SIO
2
4.4 Maritime Empires
Established
ECN
GOV
SIO
CDI
3
4.5 Maritime Empires
Maintained
and Developed
GOV
4
4.6 Internal and External
Challenges to
State Power from
1450 to 1750
SIO
3
4.7 Changing Social
Hierarchies from 1450
to 1750
6
4.8 Continuity and Change
from 1450 to 1750
UNI
5
T
Revolutions
c. 1750 to c. 1900
~20–23
Class
Periods 12–15
%
AP Exam
Weighting
CDI
SIO
3
5.1 The Enlightenment
GOV
3
5.2 Nationalism and
Revolutions in
the Period from
1750 to 1900
ENV
1
5.3 Industrial
Revolution Begins
TEC
5
5.4 Industrialization
Spreads in the Period
from 1750 to 1900
TEC
1
5.5 Technology of the
Industrial Age
GOV
5
5.6 Industrialization:
Government’s Role
from 1750 to 1900
ECN
5
5.7 Economic
Developments and
Innovations in the
Industrial Age
SIO
2
5.8 Reactions to the
Industrial Economy
from 1750 to 1900
SIO
4
5.9 Society and the
Industrial Age
6
5.10 Continuity and Change
in the Industrial Age
Personal Progress Check 3
Multiple-choice: ~10 questions
Short-answer: 2 questions
§ Primary source
§ Primary source
Free-response: 1 question
§ Long essay (partial)
Personal Progress Check 4
Multiple-choice: ~15 questions
Short-answer: 2 questions
§ Primary source
§ Secondary source
Free-response: 1 question
§ Long essay (partial)
Personal Progress Check 5
Multiple-choice: ~25 questions
Short-answer: 2 questions
§ Secondary source
§ No source
Free-response: 2 questions
§ Long essay (partial)
§ Document-based (partial)
UNI
6
T
Consequences of
Industrialization
c. 1750 to c. 1900
~12–15
Class
Periods 12–15
%
AP Exam
Weighting
CDI
4
6.1 Rationales for
Imperialism from 1750
to 1900
GOV
4
6.2 State Expansion from
1750 to 1900
GOV
2
6.3 Indigenous Responses
to State Expansion
from 1750 to 1900
ENV
2
6.4 Global Economic
Development from
1750 to 1900
ECN
4
6.5 Economic Imperialism
from 1750 to 1900
ENV
ECN
5
6.6 Causes of Migration in
an Interconnected World
SIO
5
6.7 Eects of Migration
6
6.8 Causation in the
Imperial Age
UNI
7
T
Global Conict
c. 1900 to the present
~9–12
Class
Periods 8–10
%
AP Exam
Weighting
GOV
4
7.1 Shifting Power
After 1900
GOV
1
7.2 Causes of World War I
TEC
3
7.3 Conducting World War I
ECN
2
7.4 The Economy in the
Interwar Period
GOV
2
7.5 Unresolved Tensions
After World War I
GOV
2
7.6 Causes of World War II
GOV
3
7.7 Conducting World War II
SIO
5
7.8 Mass Atrocities
After 1900
6
7.9 Causation in
Global Conict
UNI
8
T
Cold War and
Decolonization
c. 1900 to the present
~14–17
Class
Periods 8–10
%
AP Exam
Weighting
© 2019 College Board
V.1
|
24
GOV
4
8.1 Setting the Stage
for the Cold War
and Decolonization
CDI
2
8.2 The Cold War
GOV
5
8.3 Eects of the Cold War
ECN
SIO
2
8.4 Spread of Communism
After 1900
GOV
5
8.5 Decolonization
After 1900
GOV
ECN
3
8.6 Newly Independent
States
CDI
2
8.7 Global Resistance to
Established Order
After 1900
GOV
1
8.8 End of the Cold War
6
8.9 Causation in the
Age of the Cold War
and Decolonization
Personal Progress Check 6
Multiple-choice: ~20 questions
Short-answer: 2 questions
§ No source
§ Primary source
Free-response: 1 question
§ Document-based (partial)
Personal Progress Check 7
Multiple-choice: ~25 questions
Short-answer: 2 questions
§ Secondary source
§ No source
Free-response: 1 question
§ Document-based
Personal Progress Check 8
Multiple-choice: ~25 questions
Short-answer: 2 questions
§ No source
§ Primary source
Free-response: 1 question
§ Document-based
UNI
9
T
Globalization
c. 1900 to the present
~8–11
Class
Periods
8–10
%
AP Exam
Weighting
V.1
|
25
© 2019 College Board
TEC
5
9.1 Advances in
Technology and
Exchange After 1900
ENV
5
9.2 Technological
Advances and
Limitations
After 1900: Disease
ENV
4
9.3 Technological
Advances: Debates
About the Environment
After 1900
ECN
2
9.4 Economics in the
Global Age
SIO
4
9.5 Calls for Reform and
Responses After 1900
CDI
4
9.6 Globalized Culture
After 1900
CDI
2
9.7 Resistance to
Globalization
After 1900
GOV
3
9.8 Institutions Developing
in a Globalized World
6
9.9 Continuity and Change
in a Globalized World
Personal Progress Check 9
Multiple-choice: ~25 questions
Short-answer: 2 questions
§ Secondary source
§ No source
Free-response: 1 question
§ Long essay
THIS PAGE IS INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK.
AP WORLD HISTORY
Unit
Guides
Introduction
The structure of the unit guides respects new AP teachers’ time by
providing one possible sequence they can adopt or modify rather than
having to build from scratch. An additional benet is that these units
enable the AP Program to provide interested teachers with formative
assessments—the Personal Progress Checks—that they can assign their
students at the end of each unit to gauge progress toward success on the
AP Exam. However, experienced AP teachers who are satised with their
current course organization and exam results should feel no pressure to
adopt these units, which comprise an optional sequence for this course.
Return to Table of Contents
© 2019 College Board
Course Framework V.1
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27AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
THIS PAGE IS INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK.
Using the Unit Guides
The Unit at a Glance table shows the topics, related thematic
focus, suggested skills, and reasoning processes for each topic.
The Class Periods column has been left blank so that teachers
can customize the time they spend on each topic.
The suggested skill for each topic shows one way teachers
can link the content in that topic to a specic AP historical
thinking skill. The individual skill has been thoughtfully chosen
in a way that helps spiral those skills throughout the course. The
questions on the Personal Progress Checks are based on this
pairing. However, AP Exam questions may pair the content with
any of the skills.
The Sample Instructional Activities page includes optional
activities that can help tie together the content and skill of a
particular topic. Additionally, this page oers space for teachers
to make notes on their approach to the individual topics and the
unit as a whole.
The Global Tapestry
SAMPLE INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES
The sample activities on this page are optional and are oered to provide possible ways to
incorporate instructional approaches into the classroom. Teachers do not need to use these
activities and are free to alter or edit them. The examples below were developed in partnership
with teachers from the AP community to share ways that they approach teaching some of the
topics in this unit. Please refer to the Instructional Approaches section beginning on p. 171 for
more examples of activities and strategies.
Activity Topic Sample Activity
1
1.2 Questioning a Text
Using a section of the textbook, have students brainstorm words or phrases that they
associate with the title, subheadings, pictures, graphics, and bold words in the section. Then
have them complete the following steps: Predict four questions about cause and eect that the
text might answer. Read the section and answer the questions. Cross out questions that cannot
be answered and replace with new ones. Skim the text again and answer the new questions.
2
1.3 Graphic Organizer
Assign an excerpt from a secondary source like Southeast Asia in World History by
Craig A. Lockard (available on World History Connected). Ask students to read the
document silently. Then have them complete the following steps: With a partner, choose
a graphic organizer that represents the structure of the author’s argument. Reread the
document and organize the information learned on the graphic organizer. Individually,
write a summary of the graphic organizer. Start with “According to the author . . . .”
3
1.4 Close Reading
Assign a short excerpt of Bernal Diaz del Castillo’s description of Tenochtitlan. As students
read, ask them to highlight evidence that supports the author’s claim that Tenochtitlan was
a large, well-organized metropolis.
4
1.7 Think-Pair-Share and Debrieng
In pairs, assign students two of the regions addressed in this unit. Ask them to individually
complete a Venn diagram comparing how the governments of each region developed
and maintained power. Have students share their diagrams with their partner and work
together to write a claim about similarities in the process of state formation. Ask a few
students to volunteer to share their claims. Debrief by discussing the strengths and areas
for improvement for each claim with the class.
Unit Planning Notes
Use the space below to plan your approach to the unit. Consider how you want to pace your course and
methods of instruction and assessment.
The Global Tapestry
UNIT
1
Course Framework V.1
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37AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
UNIT AT A GLANCE
Thematic
Focus
Topic
Reasoning
Process Suggested Skill
Class Periods
~8–11 CLASS PERIODS
GOV
3.1 Empires Expand
Causation
1.B
Explain a historical concept,
development, or process.
3.2 Empires: Administration
Comparison
4.A
Identify and describe a historical
context for a specic historical
development or process.
CDI
3.3 Empires: Belief Systems
Continuity and
Change
2.B
Explain the point of view,
purpose, historical situation, and/or
audience of a source.
3.4 Comparison in
Land-Based Empires
Comparison
6.B
Support an argument using
specic and relevant evidence.
§ Describe specic examples of
historically relevant evidence.
§ Explain how specic examples
of historically relevant evidence
support an argument.
Go to AP Classroom to assign the Personal Progress Check for Unit 3.
Review the results in class to identify and address any student misunderstandings.
Land-Based Empires
c. 1450 to c. 1750
12–15
%
AP EX AM WEIGHTING ~8–11 CLASS PERIODS
UNIT
3
Course Framework V.1
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67AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Return to Table of Contents
© 2019 College Board
Course Framework V.1
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29AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Using the Unit Guides
TOPIC PAGES
The suggested skill oers a possible skill to pair with the topic.
The thematic focus of the topic is the long-term takeaway that
leaves a lasting impression on students.
Where possible, available resources are listed that might help
teachers address a particular topic in their classroom.
Learning objectives dene what a student should be able
to do with content knowledge in order to progress toward an
enduring understanding.
Illustrative examples: Where relevant, illustrative examples are
provided as additional resources, should teachers choose to use
them. These include possible examples of content that might
be used to teach the historical development, process, or event.
These are intended as examples and do not in any way constitute
additional, preferred, or required information.
Historical development statements comprise the knowledge
required to demonstrate mastery of the learning objective.
UNIT
4
Required Course Content
Transoceanic Interconnections
TOPIC 4.5
Maritime Empires
Maintained and
Developed
SUGGESTED SKILL
Claims and
Evidence in Sources
3.A
Identify and describe a
claim and/or argument
in a text-based or
non-text-based source.
AVAILABLE RESOURCE
§ Professional
Development >
Teaching and
Assessing Module—
Contextualization in
Period 4
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
Competition over trade
routes:
§ Muslim–European rivalry
in the Indian Ocean
§ Moroccan conict with
the Songhai Empire
THEMATIC FOCUS
Governance
GOV
A variety of internal and external factors contribute to state formation, expansion,
and decline. Governments maintain order through a variety of administrative
institutions, policies, and procedures, and governments obtain, retain, and exercise
power in dierent ways and for dierent purposes.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE
Unit 4: Learning Objective H
Explain how rulers employed
economic strategies to
consolidate and maintain
power throughout the period
from 1450 to 1750.
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
KC-4.1.IV.C
Mercantilist policies and practices were used
by European rulers to expand and control their
economies and claim overseas territories.
Joint-stock companies, inuenced by these
mercantilist principles, were used by rulers and
merchants to nance exploration and were
used by rulers to compete against one another
in global trade.
KC-4.3.III.ii
Economic disputes led to rivalries and conict
between states.
continued on next page
Course Framework V.1
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85AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
The Global Tapestry
UNIT
1
Required Course Content
TOPIC 1.7
Comparison in
the Period from
c. 1200 to c. 1450
SUGGESTED SKILL
Argumentation
6.A
Make a historically
defensible claim.
The nal topic in this unit focuses on the skill of argumentation and so provides an
opportunity for your students to draw upon the key concepts and historical developments
they have studied in this unit. Using evidence relevant to this unit’s key concepts, students
should practice the suggested skill for this topic.
Required Course Content
continued on next page
LEARNING OBJECTIVE
Unit 1: Learning Objective N
Explain the similarities and
dierences in the processes
of state formation from
c. 1200 to c. 1450.
REVIEW: UNIT 1 KEY CONCEPTS
KC-3.2
State formation and development
demonstrated continuity, innovation, and
diversity in various regions.
KC-3.2.I
As the Abbasid Caliphate fragmented, new
Islamic political entities emerged, most of
which were dominated by Turkic peoples.
These states demonstrated continuity,
innovation, and diversity.
KC-3.2.I.A
Empires and states in Afro-Eurasia
and the Americas demonstrated
continuity, innovation, and diversity in
the 13th century. This included the Song
Dynasty of China, which utilized traditional
methods of Confucianism and an imperial
bureaucracy to maintain and justify its rule.
KC-3.2.I.B.i
State formation and development
demonstrated continuity, innovation, and
diversity, including the new Hindu and
Buddhist states that emerged in South and
Southeast Asia.
Course Framework V.1
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47AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
FINAL TOPIC PAGE IN EACH UNIT
Each unit’s nal topic includes key concepts, which summarize
the historical developments in the unit.
These topics encourage the use of the key concepts and learning
objectives in the unit to develop the skill of argumentation.
Return to Table of Contents
© 2019 College Board
Course Framework V.1
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30AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Geographical Coverage
The AP World History: Modern course requires that students learn world history from a global
perspective. Balanced coverage of the regions within the course ensures that a single region
is not situated at the center of the historical narrative.
Students need basic geographical knowledge in order to understand world history.
Geospatial awareness is also essential for students to build an understanding of the
cross-cultural contacts, trade routes, migrations, etc., which are important concepts in
the AP World History course.
The two maps that follow give students a starting point for identifying regions and their
locations relative to other regions and landforms. These maps are a reference point for teachers
and students alike. Because geographic naming conventions are not universal, these maps
dene regions and show the locations and commonly used names of regions that students are
likely to encounter on the AP World History Exam.
§ Map 1. AP World History: World Regions—A Big Picture View identies ve major
geographical regions: Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania.
AP WORLD HISTORY: WORLD REGIONS—A BIG PICTURE VIEW
§ Map 2. AP World History: World Regions—A Closer Look identies various subregions
within the ve major geographical regions.
AP WORLD HISTORY: WORLD REGIONS—A CLOSER LOOK
Return to Table of Contents
© 2019 College Board
Course Framework V.1
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31AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
THIS PAGE IS INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK.
Remember to go to AP Classroom
to assign students the online
Personal Progress Check for
this unit.
Whether assigned as homework or
completed in class, the Personal
Progress Check provides each
student with immediate feedback
related to this unit’s topics and skills.
Personal Progress Check 1
Multiple-choice: ~15 questions
Short-answer: 2 questions
§ Primary source (partial)
§ Primary source (partial)
Free-response: 1 question
§ Long essay (partial)
Return to Table of Contents
© 2019 College Board
Course Framework V.1
|
34AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
continued on next page
Return to Table of Contents
© 2019 College Board
Course Framework V.1
|
35AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
UNI
1
T
8–10
%
AP EXAM WEIGHTING ~10–13 CLASS PERIODS
The Global Tapestry
c. 1200 to c. 1450
UNIT AT A GLANCE
c tiamThe
Focus
Topic
Reasoning
Process Suggested Skill
Class Periods
~10–13 CLASS PERIODS
, , CDIV
ECN
GO
1.1 Developments in
East Asia from
c. 1200 to c. 1450
Continuity and
Change
4.A
Identify and describe a historical
context for a specic historical
development or process.
, V, GOCDI
TEC
1.2 Developments in
Dar al-Islam from
c. 1200 to c. 1450
Causation
1.A
Identify and describe a historical
concept, development, or process.
, CDI
OVG
1.3 Developments in South
and Southeast Asia
from c. 1200 to c. 1450
Comparison
3.A
Identify and describe a claim
and/or argument in a text-based or
non-text-based source.
OVG
1.4 State Building in the
Americas
Continuity and
Change
3.B
Identify the evidence used in a
source to support an argument.
1.5 State Building in Africa
Continuity and
Change
1.B
Explain a historical concept,
development, or process.
The Global Tapestry
UNIT
1
The Global Tapestry
Thematic
Focus
Topic
Reasoning
Process Suggested Skill
Class Periods
~10–13 CLASS PERIODS
, V, GO
IO
CDI
S
1.6 Developments
in Europe from
c. 1200 to c. 1450
Causation
1.A
Identify a historical concept,
development, or process.
1.7 Comparison in the
Period from
c. 1200 to c. 1450
Comparison
6.A
Make a historically
defensible claim.
UNIT AT A GLANCE
(cont’d)
Return to Table of Contents
© 2019 College Board
Course Framework V.1
|
36AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Go to AP Classroom to assign the Personal Progress Check for Unit 1.
Review the results in class to identify and address any student misunderstandings.
The Global Tapestry
SAMPLE INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES
The sample activities on this page are optional and are oered to provide possible ways to
incorporate instructional approaches into the classroom. Teachers do not need to use these
activities and are free to alter or edit them. The examples below were developed in partnership
with teachers from the AP community to share ways that they approach teaching some of the
topics in this unit. Please refer to the Instructional Approaches section beginning on p. 171 for
more examples of activities and strategies.
Activity Topic Sample Activity
1
1.2 Questioning a Text
Using a section of the textbook, have students brainstorm words or phrases that they
associate with the title, subheadings, pictures, graphics, and bold words in the section. Then
have them complete the following steps: Predict four questions about cause and eect that the
text might answer. Read the section and answer the questions. Cross out questions that cannot
be answered and replace with new ones. Skim the text again and answer the new questions.
2
1.3 Graphic Organizer
Assign an excerpt from a secondary source like Southeast Asia in World History by
Craig A. Lockard (available on World History Connected). Ask students to read the
document silently. Then have them complete the following steps: With a partner, choose
a graphic organizer that represents the structure of the author’s argument. Reread the
document and organize the information learned on the graphic organizer. Individually,
write a summary of the graphic organizer. Start with “According to the author . . . .”
3
1.4 Close Reading
Assign a short excerpt of Bernal Diaz del Castillo’s description of Tenochtitlan. As students
read, ask them to highlight evidence that supports the author’s claim that Tenochtitlan was
a large, well-organized metropolis.
4
1.7 Think-Pair-Share and Debrieng
In pairs, assign students two of the regions addressed in this unit. Ask them to individually
complete a Venn diagram comparing how the governments of each region developed
and maintained power. Have students share their diagrams with their partner and work
together to write a claim about similarities in the process of state formation. Ask a few
students to volunteer to share their claims. Debrief by discussing the strengths and areas
for improvement for each claim with the class.
Unit Planning Notes
Use the space below to plan your approach to the unit. Consider how you want to pace your course and
methods of instruction and assessment.
The Global Tapestry
UNIT
1
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© 2019 College Board
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37AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
UNIT
1
TOPIC 1.1
Developments in
East Asia from
c. 1200 to c. 1450
Required Course Content
The Global Tapestry
continued on next page
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38AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
THEMATIC FOCUS
Governance
GOV
A variety of internal and external factors contribute to state formation, expansion,
and decline. Governments maintain order through a variety of administrative
institutions, policies, and procedures, and governments obtain, retain, and exercise
power in dierent ways and for dierent purposes.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 1: Learning Objective A
Explain the systems of
government employed by
Chinese dynasties and how
they developed over time.
KC-3.2.I.A
Empires and states in Afro-Eurasia and the
Americas demonstrated continuity, innovation,
and diversity in the 13th century. This included
the Song Dynasty of China, which utilized
traditional methods of Confucianism and
an imperial bureaucracy to maintain and
justify its rule.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Contextualization
4.A
Identify and describe
a historical context for
a specific historical
development or process.
The Global Tapestry
UNIT
1
THEMATIC FOCUS
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39AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Cultural Developments and Interactions
CDI
The development of ideas, beliefs, and religions illustrates how groups in society
view themselves, and the interactions of societies and their beliefs often have
political, social, and cultural implications.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 1: Learning Objective B
Explain the eects of
Chinese cultural traditions on
East Asia over time.
KC-3.1.III.D.i
Chinese cultural traditions continued, and they
inuenced neighboring regions.
KC-3.1.III.D.ii
Buddhism and its core beliefs continued to
shape societies in Asia and included a variety
of branches, schools, and practices.
THEMATIC FOCUS
Economics Systems
ECN
As societies develop, they aect and are aected by the ways that they produce,
exchange, and consume goods and services.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 1: Learning Objective C
Explain the eects of
innovation on the Chinese
economy over time.
KC-3.3.III.A.i
The economy of Song China became
increasingly commercialized while continuing
to depend on free peasant and artisanal labor.
KC-3.1.I.D
The economy of Song China ourished as
a result of increased productive capacity,
expanding trade networks, and innovations in
agriculture and manufacturing.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
Cultural traditions:
§ Filial piety in East Asia
§ Inuence of
Neo-Confucianism and
Buddhism in East Asia
§ Confucian traditions of
both respect for and
expected deference
from women
§ Chinese literary and
scholarly traditions and
their spread to Heian
Japan and Korea
Branches of Buddhism:
§ Theravada
§ Mahayana
§ Tibetan
Technological innovations:
§ Champa rice
§ Transportation
innovations, like the
Grand Canal expansion
§ Steel and iron
production
§ Textiles and porcelains
for export
UNIT
1
The Global Tapestry
TOPIC 1.2
Developments in
Dar al-Islam from
c. 1200 to c. 1450
Required Course Content
continued on next page
THEMATIC FOCUS
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40AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Cultural Developments and Interactions
CDI
The development of ideas, beliefs, and religions illustrates how groups in society
view themselves, and the interactions of societies and their beliefs often have
political, social, and cultural implications.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 1: Learning Objective D
Explain how systems of belief
and their practices aected
society in the period from
c. 1200 to c. 1450.
KC-3.1.III.D.iii
Islam, Judaism, Christianity, and the core
beliefs and practices of these religions
continued to shape societies in Africa and Asia.
THEMATIC FOCUS
Governance
GOV
A variety of internal and external factors contribute to state formation, expansion,
and decline. Governments maintain order through a variety of administrative
institutions, policies, and procedures, and governments obtain, retain, and exercise
power in dierent ways and for dierent purposes.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 1: Learning Objective E
Explain the causes and
eects of the rise of Islamic
states over time.
KC-3.2.I
As the Abbasid Caliphate fragmented, new
Islamic political entities emerged, most of
which were dominated by Turkic peoples.
These states demonstrated continuity,
innovation, and diversity.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Developments and
Processes
1.A
Identify and describe
a historical concept,
development, or process.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
New Islamic political entities:
§ Seljuk Empire
§ Mamluk sultanate
of Egypt
§ Delhi sultanates
The Global Tapestry
UNIT
1
LEARNING OBJECTIVE
Unit 1: Learning Objective E
Explain the causes and
eects of the rise of Islamic
states over time.
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
KC-3.1.III.A
Muslim rule continued to expand to many parts
of Afro-Eurasia due to military expansion, and
Islam subsequently expanded through the
activities of merchants, missionaries, and Sus.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
(CONT’D)
THEMATIC FOCUS
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41AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Technology and Innovation
TEC
Human adaptation and innovation have resulted in increased eciency, comfort,
and security, and technological advances have shaped human development and
interactions with both intended and unintended consequences.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 1: Learning Objective F
Explain the eects of
intellectual innovation in
Dar al-Islam.
KC-3.2.II.A.i
Muslim states and empires encouraged
signicant intellectual innovations and transfers.
Innovations:
§ Advances in
mathematics (Nasir
al-Din al-Tusi)
§ Advances in literature
('A'ishah al-Ba'uniyyah)
§ Advances in medicine
Transfers:
§ Preservation and
commentaries on
Greek moral and
natural philosophy
§ House of Wisdom in
Abbasid Bagdad
§ Scholarly and cultural
transfers in Muslim and
Christian Spain
UNIT
1
The Global Tapestry
TOPIC 1.3
Developments in South
and Southeast Asia
from c. 1200 to c. 1450
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
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42AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Cultural Developments and Interactions
CDI
The development of ideas, beliefs, and religions illustrates how groups in society
view themselves, and the interactions of societies and their beliefs often have
political, social, and cultural implications.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 1: Learning Objective G
Explain how the various belief
systems and practices of
South and Southeast Asia
aected society over time.
KC-3.1.III.D.iv
Hinduism, Islam, and Buddhism, and their core
beliefs and practices, continued to shape
societies in South and Southeast Asia.
THEMATIC FOCUS
Governance
GOV
A variety of internal and external factors contribute to state formation, expansion,
and decline. Governments maintain order through a variety of administrative
institutions, policies, and procedures, and governments obtain, retain, and exercise
power in dierent ways and for dierent purposes.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 1: Learning Objective H
Explain how and why
various states of South and
Southeast Asia developed and
maintained power over time.
KC-3.2.I.B.i
State formation and development
demonstrated continuity, innovation, and
diversity, including the new Hindu and
Buddhist states that emerged in South
and Southeast Asia.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Claims and
Evidence in Sources
3.A
Identify and describe a
claim and/or argument
in a text-based or
non-text-based source.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
Beliefs and practices:
§ Bhakti movement
§ Susm
§ Buddhist monasticism
Hindu/Buddhist states:
§ Vijayanagara Empire
§ Srivijaya Empire
§ Rajput kingdoms
§ Khmer Empire
§ Majapahit
§ Sukhothai kingdom
§ Sinhala dynasties
The Global Tapestry
UNIT
1
TOPIC 1.4
State Building in
the Americas
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
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43AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Governance
GOV
A variety of internal and external factors contribute to state formation, expansion,
and decline. Governments maintain order through a variety of administrative
institutions, policies, and procedures, and governments obtain, retain, and exercise
power in dierent ways and for dierent purposes.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 1: Learning Objective I
Explain how and why states in
the Americas developed and
changed over time.
KC-3.2.I.D.i
In the Americas, as in Afro-Eurasia, state
systems demonstrated continuity, innovation,
and diversity, and expanded in scope and reach.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Claims and
Evidence in Sources
3.B
Identify the evidence used
in a source to support
an argument.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
State systems in
the Americas:
§ Maya city-states
§ Mexica
§ Inca
§ Chaco
§ Mesa Verde
§ Cahokia
UNIT
1
The Global Tapestry
TOPIC 1.5
State Building
in Africa
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
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44AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Governance
GOV
A variety of internal and external factors contribute to state formation, expansion,
and decline. Governments maintain order through a variety of administrative
institutions, policies, and procedures, and governments obtain, retain, and exercise
power in dierent ways and for dierent purposes.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 1: Learning Objective J
Explain how and why states
in Africa developed and
changed over time.
KC-3.2.I.D.ii
In Africa, as in Eurasia and the Americas, state
systems demonstrated continuity, innovation,
and diversity and expanded in scope and reach.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Developments and
Processes
1.B
Explain a historical concept,
development, or process.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
State systems in Africa:
§ Great Zimbabwe
§ Ethiopia
§ Hausa kingdoms
The Global Tapestry
UNIT
1
TOPIC 1.6
Developments in
Europe from
c. 1200 to c. 1450
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
continued on next page
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45AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Cultural Developments and Interactions
CDI
The development of ideas, beliefs, and religions illustrates how groups in society
view themselves, and the interactions of societies and their beliefs often have
political, social, and cultural implications.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 1: Learning Objective K
Explain how the beliefs and
practices of the predominant
religions in Europe aected
European society.
KC-3.1.III.D.v
Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and the core
beliefs and practices of these religions
continued to shape societies in Europe.
THEMATIC FOCUS
Governance
GOV
A variety of internal and external factors contribute to state formation, expansion,
and decline. Governments maintain order through a variety of administrative
institutions, policies, and procedures, and governments obtain, retain, and exercise
power in dierent ways and for dierent purposes.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 1: Learning Objective L
Explain the causes and
consequences of political
decentralization in Europe
from c. 1200 to c. 1450.
KC-3.2.I.B.ii
Europe was politically fragmented and
characterized by decentralized monarchies,
feudalism, and the manorial system.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Developments and
Processes
1.A
Identify a historical
concept, development,
or process.
UNIT
1
The Global Tapestry
THEMATIC FOCUS
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46AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Social Interactions and Organization
SIO
The process by which societies group their members and the norms that govern
the interactions between these groups and between individuals inuence political,
economic, and cultural institutions and organization.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 1: Learning Objective M
Explain the eects of
agriculture on social
organization in Europe from
c. 1200 to c. 1450.
KC-3.3.III.C
Europe was largely an agricultural society
dependent on free and coerced labor,
including serfdom.
The Global Tapestry
UNI
1
T
TOPIC 1.7
Comparison in
the Period from
c. 1200 to c. 1450
The nal topic in this unit focuses on the skill of argumentation and so provides an
opportunity for your students to draw upon the key concepts and historical developments
they have studied in this unit. Using evidence relevant to this unit’s key concepts, students
should practice the suggested skill for this topic.
Required Course Content
continued on next page
LEARNING OBJECTIVE REVIEW: UNIT 1 KEY CONCEPTS
Unit 1: Learning Objective N
Explain the similarities and
dierences in the processes
of state formation from
c. 1200 to c. 1450.
KC-3.2
State formation and development
demonstrated continuity, innovation, and
diversity in various regions.
KC-3.2.I
As the Abbasid Caliphate fragmented, new
Islamic political entities emerged, most of
which were dominated by Turkic peoples.
These states demonstrated continuity,
innovation, and diversity.
KC-3.2.I.A
Empires and states in Afro-Eurasia
and the Americas demonstrated
continuity, innovation, and diversity in
the 13th century. This included the Song
Dynasty of China, which utilized traditional
methods of Confucianism and an imperial
bureaucracy to maintain and justify its rule.
KC-3.2.I.B.i
State formation and development
demonstrated continuity, innovation, and
diversity, including the new Hindu and
Buddhist states that emerged in South and
Southeast Asia.
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47AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
SUGGESTED SKILL
Argumentation
6.A
Make a historically
defensible claim.
UNIT
1
The Global Tapestry
LEARNING OBJECTIVE
Unit 1: Learning Objective N
Explain the similarities and
dierences in the processes
of state formation from
c. 1200 to c. 1450.
REVIEW: UNIT 1 KEY CONCEPTS
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48AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
KC-3.2.I.D.i
In the Americas, as in Afro-Eurasia,
state systems demonstrated continuity,
innovation, and diversity, and expanded in
scope and reach.
KC-3.2.I.D.ii
In Africa, as in Eurasia and the Americas,
state systems demonstrated continuity,
innovation, and diversity, and expanded in
scope and reach.
Remember to go to AP Classroom
to assign students the online
Personal Progress Check for
this unit.
Whether assigned as homework or
completed in class, the Personal
Progress Check provides each
student with immediate feedback
related to this unit’s topics and skills.
Personal Progress Check 2
Multiple-choice: ~15 questions
Short-answer: 2 questions
§ Primary source
§ Primary source
Free-response: 1 question
§ Long essay (partial)
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50AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
continued on next page
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51AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
UNI
2
T
8–10
%
AP EXAM WEIGHTING ~10–13 CLASS PERIODS
Networks of Exchange
c. 1200 to c. 1450
UNIT AT A GLANCE
c tiamThe
Focus
Topic
Reasoning
Process Suggested Skill
Class Periods
~10–13 CLASS PERIODS
ECN
2.1 The Silk Roads
Causation
4.A
Identify and describe a historical
context for a specic historical
development or process.
, V, ECN
DIC
GO
2.2 The Mongol Empire
and the Making of
the Modern World
Continuity and
Change
5.A
Identify patterns among or
connections between historical
developments and processes.
, , CDI
NV
ECN
E
2.3 Exchange in the
Indian Ocean
Causation
5.A
Identify patterns among or
connections between historical
developments and processes.
, TEC
OVG
2.4 Trans-Saharan
Trade Routes
Causation
1.B
Explain a historical concept,
development, or process.
DIC
2.5 Cultural Consequences
of Connectivity
Causation
2.A
Identify a source’s point of view,
purpose, historical situation, and/or
audience.
Networks of Exchange
UNIT
2
Thematic
Focus
Topic
Reasoning
Process Suggested Skill
Class Periods
~10–13 CLASS PERIODS
NVE
2.6 Environmental
Consequences
of Connectivity
Causation
5.A
Identify patterns among or
connections between historical
developments and processes.
2.7 Comparison of
Economic Exchange
Comparison
6.B
Support an argument using
specic and relevant evidence.
§ Describe specic examples of
historically relevant evidence.
§ Explain how specic examples
of historically relevant evidence
support an argument.
Go to AP Classroom to assign the Personal Progress Check for Unit 2.
Review the results in class to identify and address any student misunderstandings.
UNIT AT A GLANCE
(cont’d)
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52AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
UNIT
2
Networks of Exchange
SAMPLE INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES
The sample activities on this page are optional and are oered to provide possible ways to
incorporate instructional approaches into the classroom. Teachers do not need to use these
activities and are free to alter or edit them. The examples below were developed in partnership
with teachers from the AP community to share ways that they approach teaching some of the
topics in this unit. Please refer to the Instructional Approaches section beginning on p. 171 for
more examples of activities and strategies.
Activity Topic Sample Activity
1
2.1 Match Claims and Evidence
Explain to students that context is like the set for a play; it does not tell the story, but it
does make the story easier to understand. Provide students with the following claim and
list of developments. The developments could serve as either evidence or context related
to the given claim.
§ Claim: Improved commercial practices and technology led to an increased volume of
trade on the Silk Road.
§ List: Caravanserai, Song Dynasty, credit, money, porcelain, Islam, Abbasid Caliphate,
textiles
Ask students to discuss which of the ve items in the list best serve as evidence to support
the given claim and which three items provide helpful context for understanding the claim.
2
2.2 Graphic Organizer
Ask students to use their textbooks to create a ow chart that identies and describes
the political, economic, and cultural changes that occurred in Eurasia as a result of
the Mongol Empire.
3
2.5 Shared Inquiry
Assign a short excerpt, edited to be appropriate for the classroom, from On the Tatars by
the Arab historian Ibn al-Athir (1220–1221 CE). Ask students to answer and discuss the
following questions:
§ What was the historical situation when this was written?
§ What do you think was the author’s point of view? Was he an ally of the Tatars, a neutral
observer, or something else?
§ What do you think was the author’s purpose? Was he promoting the Tatars,
condemning them, giving them advice, or something else?
§ Who do you think was the author’s audience? His neighbors, the Tatar ruler, or
someone else?
4
2.7 Think-Pair-Share
Ask students to list evidence that supports the claim made by the essential knowledge
statement in Topic 2.7. Have students share and rene their list with a partner. Ask several
students to share their evidence with the class. Model how this evidence can be used to
support the claim.
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53AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
UNIT
2
Networks of Exchange
TOPIC 2.1
The Silk Roads
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
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54AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Economics Systems
ECN
As societies develop, they aect and are aected by the ways that they produce,
exchange, and consume goods and services.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 2: Learning Objective A
Explain the causes and
eects of growth of networks
of exchange after 1200.
KC-3.1.I.A.i
Improved commercial practices led to an
increased volume of trade and expanded the
geographical range of existing trade routes—
including the Silk Roads—promoting the
growth of powerful new trading cities.
KC-3.1.I.C.i
The growth of interregional trade in luxury
goods was encouraged by innovations
in previously existing transportation and
commercial technologies, including the
caravanserai, forms of credit, and the
development of money economies.
KC-3.3.I.B
Demand for luxury goods increased in Afro-
Eurasia. Chinese, Persian, and Indian artisans
and merchants expanded their production of
textiles and porcelains for export; manufacture
of iron and steel expanded in China.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Contextualization
4.A
Identify and describe
a historical context for
a specific historical
development or process.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
Trading cities:
§ Kashgar
§ Samarkand
New forms of credit and
money economies:
§ Bills of exchange
§ Banking houses
§ Use of paper money
Networks of Exchange
UNIT
2
TOPIC 2.2
The Mongol Empire
and the Making
of the Modern World
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
continued on next page
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55AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Governance
GOV
A variety of internal and external factors contribute to state formation, expansion,
and decline. Governments maintain order through a variety of administrative
institutions, policies, and procedures, and governments obtain, retain, and exercise
power in dierent ways and for dierent purposes.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 2: Learning Objective B
Explain the process of state
building and decline in
Eurasia over time.
KC-3.2.I.B.iii
Empires collapsed in dierent regions of the
world and in some areas were replaced by new
imperial states, including the Mongol khanates.
THEMATIC FOCUS
Economics Systems
ECN
As societies develop, they aect and are aected by the ways that they produce,
exchange, and consume goods and services.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 2: Learning Objective C
Explain how the expansion of
empires inuenced trade and
communication over time.
KC-3.1.I.E.i
The expansion of empires—including the
Mongols—facilitated Afro-Eurasian trade
and communication as new people were
drawn into their conquerors’ economies
and trade networks.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Making Connections
5.A
Identify patterns among
or connections between
historical developments
and processes.
UNIT
2
Networks of Exchange
(CONT’D)
THEMATIC FOCUS
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56AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Cultural Developments and Interactions
CDI
The development of ideas, beliefs, and religions illustrates how groups in society
view themselves, and the interactions of societies and their beliefs often have
political, social, and cultural implications.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 2: Learning Objective D
Explain the signicance
of the Mongol Empire in
larger patterns of continuity
and change.
KC-3.2.II.A.ii
Interregional contacts and conicts between
states and empires, including the Mongols,
encouraged signicant technological and
cultural transfers.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
Technological and
cultural transfers:
§ Transfer of Greco–
Islamic medical
knowledge to
western Europe
§ Transfer of numbering
systems to Europe
§ Adoption of
Uyghur script
Networks of Exchange
UNIT
2
TOPIC 2.3
Exchange in the
Indian Ocean
Required Course Content
continued on next page
THEMATIC FOCUS
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57AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Economics Systems
ECN
As societies develop, they aect and are aected by the ways that they produce,
exchange, and consume goods and services.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 2: Learning Objective E
Explain the causes of the
growth of networks of
exchange after 1200.
KC-3.1.I.A.ii
Improved transportation technologies and
commercial practices led to an increased
volume of trade and expanded the
geographical range of existing trade routes,
including the Indian Ocean, promoting the
growth of powerful new trading cities.
KC-3.1.I.C.ii
The growth of interregional trade in luxury
goods was encouraged by signicant
innovations in previously existing
transportation and commercial technologies,
including the use of the compass, the
astrolabe, and larger ship designs.
KC-3.1.I.A.iii
The Indian Ocean trading network fostered the
growth of states.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Making Connections
5.A
Identify patterns among
or connections between
historical developments
and processes.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
Growth of states:
§ City-states of the
Swahili Coast
§ Gujarat
§ Sultanate of Malacca
UNIT
2
Networks of Exchange
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
(CONT’D)
THEMATIC FOCUS
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58AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Cultural Developments and Interactions
CDI
The development of ideas, beliefs, and religions illustrates how groups in society
view themselves, and the interactions of societies and their beliefs often have
political, social, and cultural implications.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 2: Learning Objective F
Explain the eects of the
growth of networks of
exchange after 1200.
KC-3.1.III.B
In key places along important trade routes,
merchants set up diasporic communities
where they introduced their own cultural
traditions into the indigenous cultures and,
in turn, indigenous cultures inuenced
merchant cultures.
KC-3.2.II.A.iii
Interregional contacts and conicts between
states and empires encouraged signicant
technological and cultural transfers, including
during Chinese maritime activity led by Ming
Admiral Zheng He.
THEMATIC FOCUS
Humans and the Environments
ENV
The environment shapes human societies, and as populations grow and change,
these populations in turn shape their environments.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 2: Learning Objective G
Explain the role of
environmental factors in the
development of networks of
exchange in the period from
c. 1200 to c. 1450.
KC-3.1.II.A.i
The expansion and intensication of long-
distance trade routes often depended on
environmental knowledge, including advanced
knowledge of the monsoon winds.
Diasporic communities:
§ Arab and Persian
communities
in East Africa
§ Chinese merchant
communities in
Southeast Asia
§ Malay communities in
the Indian Ocean basin
Networks of Exchange
UNIT
2
TOPIC 2.4
Trans-Saharan
Trade Routes
Required Course Content
continued on next page
THEMATIC FOCUS
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59AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Technology and Innovation
TEC
Human adaptation and innovation have resulted in increased eciency, comfort,
and security, and technological advances have shaped human development and
interactions with both intended and unintended consequences.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DIFFERENCES
Unit 2: Learning Objective H
Explain the causes and
eects of the growth of
trans-Saharan trade.
KC-3.1.II.A.ii
The growth of interregional trade was
encouraged by innovations in existing
transportation technologies.
KC-3.1.I.A.iv
Improved transportation technologies and
commercial practices led to an increased
volume of trade and expanded the
geographical range of existing trade routes,
including the trans-Saharan trade network.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Developments
and Processes
1.B
Explain a historical concept,
development, or process.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
Technologies encouraging
interregional trade:
§ Camel saddle
§ Caravans
UNIT
2
Networks of Exchange
THEMATIC FOCUS
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Course Framework V.1
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60AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Governance
GOV
A variety of internal and external factors contribute to state formation, expansion,
and decline. Governments maintain order through a variety of administrative
institutions, policies, and procedures, and governments obtain, retain, and exercise
power in dierent ways and for dierent purposes.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 2: Learning Objective I
Explain how the expansion of
empires inuenced trade and
communication over time.
KC-3.1.I.E.ii
The expansion of empires—including Mali in
West Africa–facilitated Afro-Eurasian trade and
communication as new people were drawn into
the economies and trade networks.
Networks of Exchange
UNIT
2
TOPIC 2.5
Cultural Consequences
of Connectivity
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
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Course Framework V.1
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61AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Cultural Developments and Interactions
CDI
The development of ideas, beliefs, and religions illustrates how groups in society
view themselves, and the interactions of societies and their beliefs often have
political, social, and cultural implications.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 2: Learning Objective J
Explain the intellectual and
cultural eects of the various
networks of exchange in
Afro-Eurasia from c. 1200 to
c. 1450.
KC-3.1.III.D
Increased cross-cultural interactions resulted
in the diusion of literary, artistic, and
cultural traditions, as well as scientic and
technological innovations.
KC-3.3.II
The fate of cities varied greatly, with periods
of signicant decline and periods of increased
urbanization, buoyed by rising productivity and
expanding trade networks.
KC-3.1.III.C
As exchange networks intensied, an
increasing number of travelers within Afro-
Eurasia wrote about their travels.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Sourcing and
Situation
2.A
Identify a source’s point
of view, purpose, historical
situation, and/or audience.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
Diffusion of cultural
traditions:
§ The inuence of
Buddhism in East Asia
§ The spread of Hinduism
and Buddhism into
Southeast Asia
§ The spread of Islam
in sub-Saharan Africa
and Asia
Diffusion of scientific or
technological innovations:
§ Gunpowder from China
§ Paper from China
Travelers:
§ Ibn Battuta
§ Margery Kempe
§ Marco Polo
UNIT
2
Networks of Exchange
TOPIC 2.6
Environmental
Consequences of
Connectivity
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
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Course Framework V.1
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62AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Humans and the Environments
ENV
The environment shapes human societies, and as populations grow and change,
these populations in turn shape their environments.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 2: Learning Objective K
Explain the environmental
eects of the various
networks of exchange in
Afro-Eurasia from c. 1200 to
c. 1450.
KC-3.1.IV
There was continued diusion of crops and
pathogens, with epidemic diseases, including
the bubonic plague, along trade routes.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Making Connections
5.A
Identify patterns among
or connections between
historical developments
and processes.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
Diffusion of crops:
§ Bananas in Africa
§ New rice varieties in
East Asia
§ Spread of citrus in the
Mediterranean
Networks of Exchange
UNIT
2
TOPIC 2.7
Comparison of
Economic Exchange
The nal topic in this unit focuses on the skill of argumentation and so provides an
opportunity for your students to draw upon the key concepts and historical developments
they have studied in this unit. Using evidence relevant to this unit’s key concepts, students
should practice the suggested skill for this topic.
Required Course Content
LEARNING OBJECTIVE REVIEW: UNIT 2 KEY CONCEPTS
Unit 2: Learning Objective L
Explain the similarities
and dierences among
the various networks of
exchange in the period from
c. 1200 to c. 1450.
KC-3.1
A deepening and widening of networks of human
interaction within and across regions contributed
to cultural, technological, and biological diusion
within and between various societies.
KC-3.1.I.A.i
Improved commercial practices led to an
increased volume of trade and expanded
the geographical range of existing trade
routes—including the Silk Roads—promoting
the growth of powerful new trading cities.
KC-3.1.I.C.i
The growth of interregional trade in luxury
goods was encouraged by innovations
in previously existing transportation and
commercial technologies, including the
caravanserai, forms of credit, and the
development of money economies.
KC-3.3
Changes in trade networks resulted from and
stimulated increasing productive capacity, with
important implications for social and gender
structures and environmental processes.
KC-3.3.I.B
Demand for luxury goods increased in
Afro-Eurasia. Chinese, Persian, and Indian
artisans and merchants expanded their
production of textiles and porcelains for
export; manufacture of iron and steel
expanded in China.
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Course Framework V.1
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63AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
SUGGESTED SKILL
Argumentation
6.B
Support an argument
using specific and
relevant evidence.
§ Describe specic
examples of historically
relevant evidence.
§ Explain how specic
examples of historically
relevant evidence
support an argument.
THIS PAGE IS INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK.
Remember to go to AP Classroom
to assign students the online
Personal Progress Check for
this unit.
Whether assigned as homework or
completed in class, the Personal
Progress Check provides each
student with immediate feedback
related to this unit’s topics and skills.
Personal Progress Check 3
Multiple-choice: ~10 questions
Short-answer: 2 questions
§
Primary source
§ Primary source
Free-response: 1 question
§ Long essay (partial)
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Course Framework V.1
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66AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
UNI
3
T
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Course Framework V.1
|
67AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
12–15
%
AP EXAM WEIGHTING ~8–11 CLASS PERIODS
Land-Based Empires
c. 1450 to c. 1750
UNIT AT A GLANCE
c tiamThe
Focus
Topic
Reasoning
Process Suggested Skill
Class Periods
~8–11 CLASS PERIODS
OVG
3.1 Empires Expand
Causation
1.B
Explain a historical concept,
development, or process.
3.2 Empires: Administration
Comparison
4.A
Identify and describe a historical
context for a specic historical
development or process.
DIC
3.3 Empires: Belief Systems
Continuity and
Change
2.B
Explain the point of view,
purpose, historical situation, and/or
audience of a source.
3.4 Comparison in
Land-Based Empires
Comparison
6.B
Support an argument using
specic and relevant evidence.
§ Describe specic examples of
historically relevant evidence.
§ Explain how specic examples
of historically relevant evidence
support an argument.
Go to AP Classroom to assign the Personal Progress Check for Unit 3.
Review the results in class to identify and address any student misunderstandings.
Land-Based Empires
UNIT
3
SAMPLE INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES
The sample activities on this page are optional and are oered to provide possible ways to
incorporate instructional approaches into the classroom. Teachers do not need to use these
activities and are free to alter or edit them. The examples below were developed in partnership
with teachers from the AP community to share ways that they approach teaching some of the
topics in this unit. Please refer to the Instructional Approaches section beginning on p. 171 for
more examples of activities and strategies.
Activity Topic Sample Activity
1
3.1 Create Representation
Provide students with the description of the Battle of Panipat in the Baburnama (a primary
source on the Mughal conquest of India). Ask students to use the description from the
Baburnama to draw a diagram of the Battle of Panipat. Then have them write a paragraph
responding to the following prompt: Explain the technological factors that contributed to
the growth of the Mughal Empire.
2
3.2 Close Reading
Select short excerpts describing the rulers of the Ottoman and Songhay empires from the
Description of Timbuktu by Leo Africanus (1526) and The Turkish Letters by Ogier Ghiselin
de Busbecq (1555–1562). Ask students to read the sources and identify and describe the
historical context for the developments described. Have students reread each text and
highlight similarities in methods the rulers used to legitimize and consolidate power.
3
3.3 Think-Pair-Share and Debrieng
After a lesson on the Protestant Reformation, assign a short excerpt from Martin Luther’s
95 Theses. Ask students to read the excerpt individually and then paraphrase it to a partner.
Assign each pair of students one of the elements of document sourcing (point of view,
purpose, situation, or audience). Have students individually identify and describe the
assigned element, and then work with their partners to explain how it might aect Luther’s
interpretation of the Catholic Church. Ask several students to share and debrief with the class.
4
3.4 Quickwrite
Have students review their notes from the unit. Then ask them to respond to the learning
objective for Topic 3.4—Compare the methods by which various empires increased their
inuence from 1450 to 1750—with a claim statement followed by a paragraph that explains
how at least three pieces of specic evidence support their argument.
Unit Planning Notes
Use the space below to plan your approach to the unit. Consider how you want to pace your course and
methods of instruction and assessment.
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Course Framework V.1
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68AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Land-Based Empires
UNIT
3
TOPIC 3.1
Empires Expand
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
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69AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Governance
GOV
A variety of internal and external factors contribute to state formation, expansion,
and decline. Governments maintain order through a variety of administrative
institutions, policies, and procedures, and governments obtain, retain, and exercise
power in dierent ways and for dierent purposes.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 3: Learning Objective A
Explain how and why
various land-based empires
developed and expanded
from 1450 to 1750.
KC-4.3.II
Imperial expansion relied on the increased use
of gunpowder, cannons, and armed trade to
establish large empires in both hemispheres.
KC-4.3.II.B
Land empires included the Manchu in Central
and East Asia; the Mughal in South and Central
Asia; the Ottoman in Southern Europe, the
Middle East, and North Africa; and the Safavids
in the Middle East.
KC-4.3.III.i
Political and religious disputes led to rivalries
and conict between states.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Developments and
Processes
1.B
Explain a historical concept,
development, or process.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
State rivalries:
§ Safavid–Mughal conict
§ Songhai Empire’s
conict with Morocco
UNIT
3
Land-Based Empires
TOPIC 3.2
Empires:
Administration
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
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Course Framework V.1
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70AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Governance
GOV
A variety of internal and external factors contribute to state formation, expansion,
and decline. Governments maintain order through a variety of administrative
institutions, policies, and procedures, and governments obtain, retain, and exercise
power in dierent ways and for dierent purposes.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 3: Learning Objective B
Explain how rulers used
a variety of methods to
legitimize and consolidate
their power in land-based
empires from 1450 to 1750.
KC-4.3.I.C
Recruitment and use of bureaucratic elites,
as well as the development of military
professionals, became more common among
rulers who wanted to maintain centralized
control over their populations and resources.
KC-4.3.I.A
Rulers continued to use religious ideas,
art, and monumental architecture to
legitimize their rule.
KC-4.3.I.D
Rulers used tribute collection, tax farming,
and innovative tax-collection systems to
generate revenue in order to forward state
power and expansion.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Contextualization
4.A
Identify and describe
a historical context for
a specific historical
development or process.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
Bureaucratic elites or
military professionals:
§ Ottoman devshirme
§ Salaried samurai
Religious ideas:
§ Mexica practice of
human sacrice
§ European notions of
divine right
§ Songhai promotion
of Islam
Art and monumental
architecture:
§ Qing imperial portraits
§ Incan sun temple
of Cuzco
§ Mughal mausolea
and mosques
§ European palaces, such
as Versailles
Tax-collection systems:
§ Mughal zamindar
tax collection
§ Ottoman tax farming
§ Mexica tribute lists
§ Ming practice of
collecting taxes in
hard currency
Land-Based Empires
UNIT
3
TOPIC 3.3
Empires:
Belief Systems
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
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Course Framework V.1
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71AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Cultural Developments and Interactions
CDI
The development of ideas, beliefs, and religions illustrates how groups in society
view themselves, and the interactions of societies and their beliefs often have
political, social, and cultural implications.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 3: Learning Objective C
Explain continuity and
change within the various
belief systems during the
period from 1450 to 1750.
KC-4.1.VI.i
The Protestant Reformation marked a break
with existing Christian traditions and both
the Protestant and Catholic reformations
contributed to the growth of Christianity.
KC-4.1.VI.ii
Political rivalries between the Ottoman and
Safavid empires intensied the split within
Islam between Sunni and Shi’a.
KC-4.1.VI.iii
Sikhism developed in South Asia in a context of
interactions between Hinduism and Islam.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Sourcing and
Situation
2.B
Explain the point of view,
purpose, historical situation,
and/or audience of
a source.
UNIT
3
Land-Based Empires
TOPIC 3.4
Comparison in
Land-Based Empires
The nal topic in this unit focuses on the skill of argumentation and so provides an
opportunity for your students to draw upon the key concepts and historical developments
they have studied in this unit. Using evidence relevant to this unit’s key concepts, students
should practice the suggested skill for this topic.
Required Course Content
LEARNING OBJECTIVE REVIEW: UNIT 3 KEY CONCEPTS
Unit 3: Learning Objective D
Compare the methods
by which various empires
increased their inuence
from 1450 to 1750.
KC-4.1
The interconnection of the Eastern and
Western Hemispheres made possible by
transoceanic voyaging, transformed trade and
had a signicant social impact on the world.
KC-4.1.VI
In some cases, the increase and
intensication of interactions between
newly connected hemispheres expanded
the reach and furthered development
of existing religions, and contributed to
religious conicts and the development of
syncretic belief systems and practices.
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Course Framework V.1
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72AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
KC-4.3
Empires achieved increased scope and inuence
around the world, shaping and being shaped by
the diverse populations they incorporated.
KC-4.3.II
Imperial expansion relied on the increased use
of gunpowder, cannons, and armed trade to
establish large empires in both hemispheres.
KC-4.3.II.B
Land empires included the Manchu in
Central and East Asia; Mughal in South and
Central Asia; Ottoman in Southern Europe,
the Middle East, and North Africa; and the
Safavids in the Middle East.
KC-4.3.III.i
Political and religious disputes led to
rivalries and conict between states.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Argumentation
6.B
Support an argument
using specific and
relevant evidence.
§ Describe specic
examples of historically
relevant evidence.
§ Explain how specic
examples of historically
relevant evidence
support an argument.
Remember to go to AP Classroom
to assign students the online
Personal Progress Check for
this unit.
Whether assigned as homework or
completed in class, the Personal
Progress Check provides each
student with immediate feedback
related to this unit’s topics and skills.
Personal Progress Check 4
Multiple-choice: ~15 questions
Short-answer: 2 questions
§ Primary source
§ Secondary source
Free-response: 1 question
§ Long essay (partial)
Return to Table of Contents
© 2019 College Board
Course Framework V.1
|
74AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
continued on next page
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© 2019 College Board
Course Framework V.1
|
75AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
UNI
4
T
12–10
%
AP EXAM WEIGHTING ~22–25 CLASS PERIODS
Transoceanic Interconnections
c. 1450 to c. 1750
UNIT AT A GLANCE
c tiamThe
Focus
Topic
Reasoning
Process Suggested Skill
Class Periods
~22–25 CLASS PERIODS
TEC
4.1 Technological
Innovations from
1450 to 1750
Causation
4.A
Identify and describe a historical
context for a specic historical
development or process.
, VGO
ECN
4.2 Exploration: Causes and
Events from 1450 to 1750
Causation
5.B
Explain how a historical
development or process relates
to another historical development
or process.
NVE
4.3 Columbian Exchange
Causation
3.B
Identify the evidence used in a
source to support an argument.
, V, ECN
IOS
GO
4.4 Maritime Empires
Established
Continuity and
Change
2.A
Identify a source’s point of
view, purpose, historical situation,
and/or audience.
, V, ECN
DI CIO,
GO
S
4.5 Maritime Empires
Maintained and
Developed
Continuity and
Change
3.A
Identify and describe a claim
and/or argument in a text-based or
non-text-based source.
UNIT
4
Transoceanic Interconnections
Thematic
Focus
Topic
Reasoning
Process Suggested Skill
Class Periods
~22–25 CLASS PERIODS
OVG
4.6 Internal and External
Challenges to State
Power from 1450 to 1750
Causation
4.B
Explain how a specic historical
development or process is situated
within a broader historical context.
IOS
4.7 Changing Social
Hierarchies from
1450 to 1750
Continuity and
Change
3.D
Explain how claims or evidence
support, modify, or refute a source’s
argument.
4.8 Continuity and Change
from 1450 to 1750
Continuity and
Change
6.C
Use historical reasoning to
explain relationships among pieces
of historical evidence.
Go to AP Classroom to assign the Personal Progress Check for Unit 4.
Review the results in class to identify and address any student misunderstandings.
UNIT AT A GLANCE
(cont’d)
Return to Table of Contents
© 2019 College Board
Course Framework V.1
|
76AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
UNIT
4
Transoceanic Interconnections
SAMPLE INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES
The sample activities on this page are optional and are oered to provide possible ways to
incorporate instructional approaches into the classroom. Teachers do not need to use these
activities and are free to alter or edit them. The examples below were developed in partnership
with teachers from the AP community to share ways that they approach teaching some of the
topics in this unit. Please refer to the Instructional Approaches section beginning on p. 171 for
more examples of activities and strategies.
Activity Topic Sample Activity
1
4.2 Making Connections
Ask students to brainstorm a list of everything they remember about technological
developments in Asia from previous units and what they recently learned about European
exploration. Assign students a partner. With their partner, have them create a concept web
that maps the causal connections between the two developments.
2
4.6 Close Reading
Ask students to read an excerpt from the “Declaration of Pedro Naranjo” (1681) about
the Pueblo Revolt. As they read, have them use dierent colors to highlight the social,
economic, and political reasons for rebellion. Next, have students reread their highlighted
text and respond to the following prompt with a historically defensible claim: Explain the
most signicant causes of the Pueblo Revolt.
3
4.7 Debate
Assign the introduction of “Toleration in the World History of Religions” by Alan Kramer
(available on World History Connected). Ask students to use their textbook to compile
evidence from the period 1250–1750 that supports and refutes Kramer’s claim about toleration.
Have students engage in a debate about the scope of religious tolerance in the period. As
students debate, remind them to always support their position with historical evidence.
4
4.8 Self/Peer Revision
Have students pair up and ask them to discuss the following prompt and decide which historical
reasoning process is best for organizing a response: Develop an argument that explains how
economic developments led to changes in social structures in the period 1450–1750. Ask the
students to decide which historical reasoning process is best for organizing a response.
Then, ask each student to write a thesis that uses this reasoning process. Have students
exchange papers with their partner and discuss the strengths and areas for improvement in each
thesis. Have students continue this process of peer revision for each paragraph of the essay.
Unit Planning Notes
Use the space below to plan your approach to the unit. Consider how you want to pace your course and
methods of instruction and assessment.
Return to Table of Contents
© 2019 College Board
Course Framework V.1
|
77AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
UNIT
4
TOPIC 4.1
Technological
Innovations from
1450 to 1750
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
Transoceanic Interconnections
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Course Framework V.1
|
78AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Technology and Innovation
TEC
Human adaptation and innovation have resulted in increased eciency, comfort,
and security, and technological advances have shaped human development and
interactions with both intended and unintended consequences.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 4: Learning Objective A
Explain how cross-cultural
interactions resulted in the
diusion of technology
and facilitated changes in
patterns of trade and travel
from 1450 to 1750.
KC-4.1.II
Knowledge, scientic learning, and technology
from the Classical, Islamic, and Asian worlds
spread, facilitating European technological
developments and innovation.
KC-4.1.II.A
The developments included the production
of new tools, innovations in ship designs, and
an improved understanding of regional wind
and currents patterns—all of which made
transoceanic travel and trade possible.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Contextualization
4.A
Identify and describe
a historical context for
a specific historical
development or process.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
Innovations in ship design:
§ Caravel
§ Carrack
§ Fluyt
European technological
developments influenced
by cross-cultural
interactions with the
Classical, Islamic, and
Asian worlds:
§ Lateen sail
§ Compass
§ Astronomical charts
UNIT
4
Transoceanic Interconnections
TOPIC 4.2
Exploration:
Causes and Events
from 1450 to 1750
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
continued on next page
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Course Framework V.1
|
79AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Governance
GOV
A variety of internal and external factors contribute to state formation, expansion,
and decline. Governments maintain order through a variety of administrative
institutions, policies, and procedures, and governments obtain, retain, and exercise
power in dierent ways and for dierent purposes.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 4: Learning Objective B
Describe the role of
states in the expansion of
maritime exploration from
1450 to 1750.
KC-4.1.III
New state-supported transoceanic maritime
exploration occurred in this period.
THEMATIC FOCUS
Economics Systems
ECN
As societies develop, they aect and are aected by the ways that they produce,
exchange, and consume goods and services.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE
Unit 4: Learning Objective C
Explain the economic causes
and eects of maritime
exploration by the various
European states.
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
KC-4.1.III.A
Portuguese development of maritime
technology and navigational skills led to
increased travel to and trade with Africa and
Asia and resulted in the construction of a
global trading-post empire.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Making Connections
5.B
Explain how a historical
development or process
relates to another historical
development or process.
UNIT
4
LEARNING OBJECTIVE
Unit 4: Learning Objective C
Explain the economic causes
and eects of maritime
exploration by the various
European states.
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
KC-4.1.III.B
Spanish sponsorship of the voyages of
Columbus and subsequent voyages across
the Atlantic and Pacic dramatically increased
European interest in transoceanic travel
and trade.
KC-4.1.III.C
Northern Atlantic crossings were undertaken
under English, French, and Dutch sponsorship,
often with the goal of nding alternative sailing
routes to Asia.
Transoceanic Interconnections
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Course Framework V.1
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80AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
UNIT
4
Transoceanic Interconnections
TOPIC 4.3
Columbian
Exchange
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
continued on next page
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Course Framework V.1
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81AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Humans and the Environments
ENV
The environment shapes human societies, and as populations grow and change,
these populations in turn shape their environments.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 4: Learning Objective D
Explain the causes of the
Columbian Exchange and its
eects on the Eastern and
Western Hemispheres.
KC-4.1.V
The new connections between the Eastern and
Western Hemispheres resulted in the exchange
of new plants, animals, and diseases, known as
the Columbian Exchange.
KC-4.1.V.A
European colonization of the Americas led to
the unintentional transfer of disease vectors,
including mosquitoes and rats, and the spread
of diseases that were endemic in the Eastern
Hemisphere, including smallpox, measles, and
malaria. Some of these diseases substantially
reduced the indigenous populations, with
catastrophic eects in many areas.
KC-4.1.V.B
American foods became staple crops in
various parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Cash
crops were grown primarily on plantations with
coerced labor and were exported mostly to
Europe and the Middle East.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Claims and
Evidence in Sources
3.B
Identify the evidence
used in a source to
support an argument.
UNIT
4
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
KC-4.1.V.C
Afro-Eurasian fruit trees, grains, sugar, and
domesticated animals were brought by
Europeans to the Americas, while other foods
were brought by African slaves.
KC-4.1.V.D
Populations in Afro-Eurasia benetted
nutritionally from the increased diversity of
American food crops.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE
Unit 4: Learning Objective D
Explain the causes of the
Columbian Exchange and its
eects on the Eastern and
Western Hemispheres.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
Domesticated animals:
§ Horses
§ Pigs
§ Cattle
Foods brought by
African slaves:
§ Okra
§ Rice
Transoceanic Interconnections
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82AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
UNIT
4
Transoceanic Interconnections
TOPIC 4.4
Maritime Empires
Established
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
continued on next page
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83AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Governance
GOV
A variety of internal and external factors contribute to state formation, expansion,
and decline. Governments maintain order through a variety of administrative
institutions, policies, and procedures, and governments obtain, retain, and exercise
power in dierent ways and for dierent purposes.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 4: Learning Objective E
Explain the process of state
building and expansion
among various empires and
states in the period from
1450 to 1750.
KC-4.3.II.A.i
Europeans established new trading posts in
Africa and Asia, which proved protable for the
rulers and merchants involved in new global
trade networks. Some Asian states sought
to limit the disruptive economic and cultural
eects of European-dominated long-distance
trade by adopting restrictive or isolationist
trade policies.
KC-4.3.II.C
Driven largely by political, religious, and
economic rivalries, European states
established new maritime empires,
including the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch,
French, and British.
KC-4.3.II.A.ii
The expansion of maritime trading networks
fostered the growth of states in Africa,
including the Asante and the Kingdom of the
Kongo, whose participation in trading networks
led to an increase in their inuence.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Sourcing and
Situation
2.A
Identify a source’s point
of view, purpose, historical
situation, and/or audience.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
Asian states that adopted
restrictive or isolationist
trade policies:
§ Ming China
§ Tokugawa Japan
UNIT
4
THEMATIC FOCUS
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
(CONT’D)
Transoceanic Interconnections
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84AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Economics Systems
ECN
As societies develop, they aect and are aected by the ways that they produce,
exchange, and consume goods and services.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 4: Learning Objective F
Explain the continuities
and changes in economic
systems and labor systems
from 1450 to 1750.
KC-4.3.II.A.iii
Despite some disruption and restructuring
due to the arrival of Portuguese, Spanish,
and Dutch merchants, existing trade
networks in the Indian Ocean continued
to ourish and included intra-Asian trade
and Asian merchants.
KC-4.2.II.D
Newly developed colonial economies in the
Americas largely depended on agriculture,
utilized existing labor systems, including the
Incan mit’a, and introduced new labor systems
including chattel slavery, indentured servitude,
and encomienda and hacienda systems.
Social Interactions and Organization
SIO
The process by which societies group their members and the norms that govern
the interactions between these groups and between individuals inuence political,
economic, and cultural institutions and organization.
THEMATIC FOCUS
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 4: Learning Objective G
Explain changes and
continuities in systems of
slavery in the period from
1450 to 1750.
KC-4.2.II.B
Slavery in Africa continued in its traditional
forms, including incorporation of slaves into
households and the export of slaves to the
Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean regions.
KC-4.2.II.C
The growth of the plantation economy
increased the demand for slaves in the
Americas, leading to signicant demographic,
social, and cultural changes.
Indian Ocean Asian
merchants:
§ Swahili Arabs
§ Omanis
§ Gujaratis
§ Javanese
UNIT
4
Transoceanic Interconnections
TOPIC 4.5
Maritime Empires
Maintained and
Developed
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
continued on next page
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85AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Governance
GOV
A variety of internal and external factors contribute to state formation, expansion,
and decline. Governments maintain order through a variety of administrative
institutions, policies, and procedures, and governments obtain, retain, and exercise
power in dierent ways and for dierent purposes.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 4: Learning Objective H
Explain how rulers employed
economic strategies to
consolidate and maintain
power throughout the period
from 1450 to 1750.
KC-4.1.IV.C
Mercantilist policies and practices were used
by European rulers to expand and control their
economies and claim overseas territories.
Joint-stock companies, inuenced by these
mercantilist principles, were used by rulers and
merchants to nance exploration and were
used by rulers to compete against one another
in global trade.
KC-4.3.III.ii
Economic disputes led to rivalries and conict
between states.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Claims and
Evidence in Sources
3.A
Identify and describe a
claim and/or argument
in a text-based or
non-text-based source.
AVAILABLE RESOURCE
§ Professional
Development >
Teaching and
Assessing Module—
Contextualization in
Period 4
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
Competition over trade
routes:
§ Muslim–European rivalry
in the Indian Ocean
§ Moroccan conict with
the Songhai Empire
UNIT
4
continued on next page
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
(CONT’D)
THEMATIC FOCUS
Transoceanic Interconnections
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86AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Economics Systems
ECN
As societies develop, they aect and are aected by the ways that they produce,
exchange, and consume goods and services.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 4: Learning Objective I
Explain the continuities and
changes in networks of
exchange from 1450 to 1750.
KC-4.1.IV.D.i
The Atlantic trading system involved the
movement of goods, wealth, and labor,
including slaves.
KC-4.1.IV
The new global circulation of goods was
facilitated by chartered European monopoly
companies and the global ow of silver,
especially from Spanish colonies in the
Americas, which was used to purchase Asian
goods for the Atlantic markets and satisfy
Chinese demand for silver. Regional markets
continued to ourish in Afro-Eurasia by using
established commercial practices and new
transoceanic and regional shipping services
developed by European merchants.
KC-4.2.II.A
Peasant and artisan labor continued and
intensied in many regions as the demand for
food and consumer goods increased.
THEMATIC FOCUS
Social Interactions and Organization
SIO
The process by which societies group their members and the norms that govern
the interactions between these groups and between individuals inuence political,
economic, and cultural institutions and organization.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 4: Learning Objective J
Explain how political,
economic, and cultural
factors aected society from
1450 to 1750.
KC-4.2.III.C
Some notable gender and family restructuring
occurred, including demographic changes in
Africa that resulted from the slave trades.
KC-4.1.IV.D.ii
The Atlantic trading system involved the
movement of labor—including slaves—and
the mixing of African, American, and European
cultures and peoples, with all parties
contributing to this cultural synthesis.
Increased peasant and
artisan labor:
§ Western Europe—
wool and linen
§ India—cotton
§ China—silk
UNIT
4
THEMATIC FOCUS
Cultural Developments and Interactions
CDI
The development of ideas, beliefs, and religions illustrates how groups in society
view themselves, and the interactions of societies and their beliefs often have
political, social, and cultural implications.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 4: Learning Objective K
Explain the similarities and
dierences in how various
belief systems aected
societies from 1450 to 1750.
KC-4.1.VI
In some cases, the increase and intensication
of interactions between newly connected
hemispheres expanded the reach and
furthered development of existing religions,
and contributed to religious conicts
and the development of syncretic belief
systems and practices.
Transoceanic Interconnections
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87AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
UNIT
4
TOPIC 4.6
Internal and External
Challenges to State
Power from 1450 to 1750
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
Governance
GOV
A variety of internal and external factors contribute to state formation, expansion,
and decline. Governments maintain order through a variety of administrative
institutions, policies, and procedures, and governments obtain, retain, and exercise
power in dierent ways and for dierent purposes.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 4: Learning Objective L
Explain the eects of the
development of state power
from 1450 to 1750.
KC-4.3.III.iii
State expansion and centralization led to
resistance from an array of social, political, and
economic groups on a local level.
KC-5.3.III.C
Slave resistance challenged existing
authorities in the Americas.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Contextualization
4.B
Explain how a specific
historical development or
process is situated within a
broader historical context.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
Local resistance:
§ Pueblo Revolts
§ Fronde
§ Cossack revolts
§ Maratha conict
with Mughals
§ Ana Nzinga’s resistance
(as ruler of Ndongo
and Matamba)
§ Metacom’s War
(King Philip’s War)
Slave resistance:
§ The establishment of
Maroon societies in the
Caribbean and Brazil
§ North American
slave resistance
Transoceanic Interconnections
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88AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
UNIT
4
Transoceanic Interconnections
TOPIC 4.7
Changing Social
Hierarchies from
1450 to 1750
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
Social Interactions and Organization
SIO
The process by which societies group their members and the norms that govern
the interactions between these groups and between individuals inuence political,
economic, and cultural institutions and organization.
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89AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 4: Learning Objective M
Explain how social
categories, roles, and
practices have been
maintained or have changed
over time.
KC-4.3.I.B
Many states, such as the Mughal and Ottoman
empires, adopted practices to accommodate
the ethnic and religious diversity of their
subjects or to utilize the economic, political,
and military contributions of dierent ethnic
or religious groups. In other cases, states
suppressed diversity or limited certain groups’
roles in society, politics, or the economy.
KC-4.2.III.A
Imperial conquests and widening global
economic opportunities contributed to the
formation of new political and economic elites,
including in China with the transition to the
Qing Dynasty and in the Americas with the rise
of the Casta system.
KC-4.2.III.B
The power of existing political and economic
elites uctuated as the elites confronted
new challenges to their ability to aect the
policies of the increasingly powerful monarchs
and leaders.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Claims and
Evidence in Sources
3.D
Explain how claims or
evidence support, modify,
or refute a source’s
argument.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
Differential treatment of
groups in society, politics,
and the economy:
§ Expulsion of Jews from
Spain and Portugal; the
acceptance of Jews in
the Ottoman Empire
§ Restrictive policies
against Han Chinese in
Qing China
§ Varying status of
dierent classes of
women within the
Ottoman Empire
Existing elites:
§ Ottoman timars
§ Russian boyars
§ European nobility
UNIT
4
TOPIC 4.8
Continuity and
Change from
1450 to 1750
The nal topic in this unit focuses on the skill of argumentation and so provides an
opportunity for your students to draw upon the key concepts and historical developments
they have studied in this unit. Using evidence relevant to this unit’s key concepts, students
should practice the suggested skill for this topic.
Required Course Content
continued on next page
Transoceanic Interconnections
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90AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
LEARNING OBJECTIVE REVIEW: UNIT 4 KEY CONCEPTS
Unit 4: Learning Objective N
Explain how economic
developments from 1450
to 1750 aected social
structures over time.
KC-4.1
The interconnection of the Eastern and
Western Hemispheres, made possible by
transoceanic voyaging, transformed trade and
had a signicant social impact on the world.
KC-4.1.II
Knowledge, scientic learning, and
technology from the Classical, Islamic, and
Asian worlds spread, facilitating European
technological developments and innovation.
KC-4.1.II.A
The developments included the production
of new tools, innovations in ship designs,
and an improved understanding of
regional wind and currents patterns—all
of which made transoceanic travel and
trade possible.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Argumentation
6.C
Use historical reasoning
to explain relationships
among pieces of
historical evidence.
UNIT
4
Transoceanic Interconnections
LEARNING OBJECTIVE
Unit 4: Learning Objective N
Explain how economic
developments from 1450
to 1750 aected social
structures over time.
REVIEW: UNIT 4 KEY CONCEPTS
KC-4.2
Although the world’s productive systems
continued to be heavily centered on
agriculture, major changes occurred in
agricultural labor, the systems and locations of
manufacturing, gender and social structures,
and environmental processes.
KC-4.2.II
The demand for labor intensied as a result
of the growing global demand for raw
materials and nished products. Traditional
peasant agriculture increased and
changed in nature, plantations expanded,
and the Atlantic slave trade developed
and intensied.
KC-4.3
Empires achieved increased scope and
inuence around the world, shaping and
being shaped by the diverse populations they
incorporated.
KC-4.3.III.ii
Economic disputes led to rivalries and
conict between states.
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91AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
THIS PAGE IS INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK.
Remember to go to AP Classroom
to assign students the online
Personal Progress Check for
this unit.
Whether assigned as homework or
completed in class, the Personal
Progress Check provides each
student with immediate feedback
related to this unit’s topics and skills.
Personal Progress Check 5
Multiple-choice: ~25 questions
Short-answer: 2 questions
§ Secondary source
§ No source
Free-response: 2 questions
§ Long essay (partial)
§ Document-based (partial)
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94AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
continued on next page
UNI
5
T
12–15
%
AP EXAM WEIGHTING ~20–23 CLASS PERIODS
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95AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Revolutions
c. 1750 to c. 1900
UNIT AT A GLANCE
c tiamThe
Focus
Topic
Reasoning
Process Suggested Skill
Class Periods
~20–23 CLASS PERIODS
, CDI
IOS
5.1 The Enlightenment
Continuity and
Change
3.A
Identify and describe a claim
and/or argument in a text-based or
non-text-based source.
OVG
5.2 Nationalism and
Revolutions in the Period
from 1750 to 1900
Causation
3.C
Compare the arguments or main
ideas of two sources.
NVE
5.3 Industrial Revolution
Begins
Causation
1.B
Explain a historical concept,
development, or process.
TEC
5.4 Industrialization
Spreads in the Period
from 1750 to 1900
Continuity and
Change
5.A
Identify patterns among or
connections between historical
developments and processes.
5.5 Technology of the
Industrial Age
Causation
1.B
Explain a historical concept,
development, or process.
OVG
5.6 Industrialization:
Government’s Role
from 1750 to 1900
Causation
5.A
Identify patterns among or
connections between historical
developments and processes.
ECN
5.7 Economic Developments
and Innovations in the
Industrial Age
Continuity and
Change
5.B
Explain how a historical
development or process relates
to another historical development
or process.
Revolutions
UNIT
5
Revolutions
Thematic
Focus
Topic
Reasoning
Process Suggested Skill
Class Periods
~20–23 CLASS PERIODS
IOS
5.8 Reactions to the
Industrial Economy
from 1750 to 1900
Causation
2.B
Explain the point of view,
purpose, historical situation, and/or
audience of a source.
5.9 Society and the
Industrial Age
Continuity and
Change
4.B
Explain how a specic historical
development or process is situated
within a broader historical context.
5.10 Continuity and Change
in the Industrial Age
Continuity and
Change
6.C
Use historical reasoning to
explain relationships among pieces
of historical evidence.
Go to AP Classroom to assign the Personal Progress Check for Unit 5.
Review the results in class to identify and address any student misunderstandings.
UNIT AT A GLANCE
(cont’d)
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96AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
UNIT
5
Revolutions
SAMPLE INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES
The sample activities on this page are optional and are oered to provide possible ways to
incorporate instructional approaches into the classroom. Teachers do not need to use these
activities and are free to alter or edit them. The examples below were developed in partnership
with teachers from the AP community to share ways that they approach teaching some of the
topics in this unit. Please refer to the Instructional Approaches section beginning on p. 171 for
more examples of activities and strategies.
Activity Topic Sample Activity
1
5.2 Socratic Seminar
Assign students excerpts from the Declaration of Independence, the “Declaration of the
Rights of Man and of the Citizen,” and the “Letter from Jamaica.”
Place students in groups of about eight and have them discuss the following questions:
§ How does historical context help us understand these documents?
§ How are the authors’ arguments similar? Why?
§ How are the authors’ arguments dierent? Why?
§ To what extent do you think these documents aected the course of human history?
2
5.5 Debate
Place students into groups of ve. Assign each student a technology from this topic and
provide them a reading about it. Present students with this scenario:
Imagine you are on the writing sta of Scientic American magazine. Your team is going
to write an article entitled “Five Technologies that Changed the World.” The steam engine,
railroad, internal combustion engine, steamship, and telegraph will be the featured
technologies; your job is to decide how to rank them. After reading about your assigned
technology, engage in a debate with your group about each technology’s relative
importance. As a group, rank them from most important to least and write a few paragraphs
justifying your decision.
3
5.8 Critique Reasoning
In groups of three, assign the descriptions of Manchester from Friedrich Engels’s
The Condition of the Working-Class in England in 1844 and the preface to the Wheelan
and Co. business directory, 1852. Ask students to discuss the dierences in the
descriptions; how the point of view, purpose, and intended audience of the authors might
explain the dierences; and which description they believe is the most accurate and why.
Unit Planning Notes
Use the space below to plan your approach to the unit. Consider how you want to pace your course and
methods of instruction and assessment.
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97AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
UNIT
5
Revolutions
TOPIC 5.1
The Enlightenment
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
Cultural Developments and Interactions
CDI
The development of ideas, beliefs, and religions illustrates how groups in society
view themselves, and the interactions of societies and their beliefs often have
political, social, and cultural implications.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 5: Learning Objective A
Explain the intellectual and
ideological context in which
revolutions swept the Atlantic
world from 1750 to 1900.
KC-5.3.I.A
Enlightenment philosophies applied new ways
of understanding and empiricist approaches to
both the natural world and human relationships;
they also reexamined the role that religion
played in public life and emphasized the
importance of reason. Philosophers developed
new political ideas about the individual, natural
rights, and the social contract.
KC-5.3.I
The rise and diusion of Enlightenment
thought that questioned established traditions
in all areas of life often preceded revolutions
and rebellions against existing governments.
KC-5.3.II.i
Nationalism also became a major force
shaping the historical development of states
and empires.
continued on next page
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98AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
SUGGESTED SKILL
Claims and
Evidence in Sources
3.A
Identify and describe a
claim and/or argument
in a text-based or non-
text-based source.
Revolutions
UNIT
5
THEMATIC FOCUS
Social Interactions and Organization
SIO
The process by which societies group their members and the norms that govern
the interactions between these groups and between individuals inuence political,
economic, and cultural institutions and organization.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 5: Learning Objective B
Explain how the
Enlightenment aected
societies over time.
KC-5.3.I.C
Enlightenment ideas and religious ideals
inuenced various reform movements.
These reform movements contributed to
the expansion of rights, as seen in expanded
surage, the abolition of slavery, and the
end of serfdom.
KC-5.3.IV.B
Demands for women’s surage and an
emergent feminism challenged political and
gender hierarchies.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
Demands:
§ Mary Wollstonecraft’s
A Vindication of the
Rights of Woman
§ Olympe de Gouges’s
Declaration of the
Rights of Woman and of
the Female Citizen
§ Seneca Falls
Conference (1848)
organized by Elizabeth
Cady Stanton and
Lucretia Mott
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99AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
UNIT
5
Revolutions
TOPIC 5.2
Nationalism and
Revolutions in the
Period from 1750 to 1900
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
Governance
GOV
A variety of internal and external factors contribute to state formation, expansion,
and decline. Governments maintain order through a variety of administrative
institutions, policies, and procedures, and governments obtain, retain, and exercise
power in dierent ways and for dierent purposes.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 5: Learning Objective C
Explain causes and eects of
the various revolutions in the
period from 1750 to 1900.
KC-5.3.II.ii
People around the world developed a new
sense of commonality based on language,
religion, social customs, and territory. This
was sometimes harnessed by governments to
foster a sense of unity.
KC-5.3
The 18th century marked the beginning of
an intense period of revolution and rebellion
against existing governments, leading to
the establishment of new nation-states
around the world.
KC-5.3.IV.A.i
Discontent with monarchist and imperial rule
encouraged the development of systems of
government and various ideologies, including
democracy and 19th-century liberalism.
continued on next page
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100AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
SUGGESTED SKILL
Claims and
Evidence in Sources
3.C
Compare the arguments or
main ideas of two sources.
Revolutions
UNIT
5
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
KC-5.3.III.B
Colonial subjects in the Americas led a series
of rebellions inspired by democratic ideals.
The American Revolution, and its successful
establishment of a republic, the United States
of America, was a model and inspiration for a
number of the revolutions that followed. The
American Revolution, the Haitian Revolution,
and the Latin American independence
movements facilitated the emergence of
independent states in the Americas.
KC-5.3.I.B
The ideas of Enlightenment philosophers,
as reected in revolutionary documents—
including the American Declaration of
Independence during the American Revolution,
the French “Declaration of the Rights of
Man and of the Citizen” during the French
Revolution, and Bolívar’s “Letter from Jamaica”
on the eve of the Latin American revolutions—
inuenced resistance to existing political
authority, often in pursuit of independence and
democratic ideals.
KC-5.3.II.iii
Newly imagined national communities often
linked this new national identity with borders
of the state, and in some cases, nationalists
challenged boundaries or sought unication of
fragmented regions.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE
Unit 5: Learning Objective C
Explain causes and eects of
the various revolutions in the
period from 1750 to 1900.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
Call for national unification
or liberation:
§ Propaganda Movement
in the Philippines
§ Maori nationalism and
the New Zealand wars in
New Zealand
§ Puerto Rico—writings of
Lola Rodríguez de Tió
§ German and Italian
unications
§ Balkan nationalisms
§ Ottomanism
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101AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
UNIT
5
Revolutions
TOPIC 5.3
Industrial Revolution
Begins
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
Humans and the Environments
ENV
The environment shapes human societies, and as populations grow and change,
these populations in turn shape their environments.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 5: Learning Objective D
Explain how environmental
factors contributed to
industrialization from
1750 to 1900.
KC-5.1.I.A
A variety of factors contributed to the growth
of industrial production and eventually resulted
in the Industrial Revolution, including:
§ Proximity to waterways; access to rivers
and canals
§ Geographical distribution of coal, iron,
and timber
§ Urbanization
§ Improved agricultural productivity
Legal protection of private property§
§ Access to foreign resources
§ Accumulation of capital
KC-5.1.I.C
The development of the factory system
concentrated production in a single
location and led to an increasing degree of
specialization of labor.
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102AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
SUGGESTED SKILL
Developments and
Processes
1.B
Explain a historical concept,
development, or process.
Revolutions
UNIT
5
TOPIC 5.4
Industrialization
Spreads in the Period
from 1750 to 1900
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
Technology and Innovation
TEC
Human adaptation and innovation have resulted in increased eciency, comfort,
and security, and technological advances have shaped human development and
interactions with both intended and unintended consequences.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 5: Learning Objective E
Explain how dierent modes
and locations of production
have developed and changed
over time.
KC-5.1.II.B
The rapid development of steam-powered
industrial production in European countries and
the U.S. contributed to the increase in these
regions’ share of global manufacturing during
the rst Industrial Revolution. While Middle
Eastern and Asian countries continued to
produce manufactured goods, these regions’
share in global manufacturing declined.
KC-5.1.I.D
As new methods of industrial production
became more common in parts of
northwestern Europe, they spread to other
parts of Europe and the United States,
Russia, and Japan.
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103AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
SUGGESTED SKILL
Making Connections
5.A
Identify patterns among
or connections between
historical developments
and processes.
AVAILABLE RESOURCE
§ Professional
Development >
Teaching and
Assessing Module—
Comparison in
Period 5 (Resources on
the industrialization of
Russia and Japan)
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
Decline of Middle Eastern
and Asian share in global
manufacturing:
§ Shipbuilding in India and
Southeast Asia
§ Iron works in India
§ Textile production in
India and Egypt
UNIT
5
Revolutions
TOPIC 5.5
Technology of the
Industrial Age
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
Technology and Innovation
TEC
Human adaptation and innovation have resulted in increased eciency, comfort,
and security, and technological advances have shaped human development and
interactions with both intended and unintended consequences.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 5: Learning Objective F
Explain how technology
shaped economic production
over time.
KC-5.1.I.B
The development of machines, including steam
engines and the internal combustion engine,
made it possible to take advantage of both
existing and vast newly discovered resources
of energy stored in fossil fuels, specically
coal and oil. The fossil fuels revolution
greatly increased the energy available
to human societies.
KC-5.1.I.E
The “second industrial revolution” led to new
methods in the production of steel, chemicals,
electricity, and precision machinery during the
second half of the 19th century.
KC-5.1.IV
Railroads, steamships, and the telegraph made
exploration, development, and communication
possible in interior regions globally, which led
to increased trade and migration.
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104AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
SUGGESTED SKILL
Developments and
Processes
1.B
Explain a historical concept,
development, or process.
Revolutions
UNIT
5
TOPIC 5.6
Industrialization:
Government’s Role
from 1750 to 1900
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
Governance
GOV
A variety of internal and external factors contribute to state formation, expansion,
and decline. Governments maintain order through a variety of administrative
institutions, policies, and procedures, and governments obtain, retain, and exercise
power in dierent ways and for dierent purposes.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 5: Learning Objective G
Explain the causes and
eects of economic
strategies of dierent states
and empires.
KC-5.1.V.C
As the inuence of the Industrial Revolution
grew, a small number of states and
governments promoted their own state-
sponsored visions of industrialization.
KC-5.2.II.A
The expansion of U.S. and European inuence
in Asia led to internal reform in Japan that
supported industrialization and led to
the growing regional power of Japan in
the Meiji Era.
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105AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
SUGGESTED SKILL
Making Connections
5.A
Identify patterns among
or connections between
historical developments
and processes.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLE
State-sponsored visions of
industrialization:
§ Muhammad Ali’s
development of a
cotton textile industry
in Egypt
UNIT
5
Revolutions
TOPIC 5.7
Economic Developments
and Innovations in
the Industrial Age
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
Economics Systems
ECN
As societies develop, they aect and are aected by the ways that they produce,
exchange, and consume goods and services.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 5: Learning Objective H
Explain the development
of economic systems,
ideologies, and institutions
and how they contributed to
change in the period from
1750 to 1900.
KC-5.1.III.A
Western European countries began
abandoning mercantilism and adopting free
trade policies, partly in response to the growing
acceptance of Adam Smith’s theories of
laissez-faire capitalism and free markets.
KC-5.1.III.B
The global nature of trade and production
contributed to the proliferation of large-scale
transnational businesses that relied on new
practices in banking and nance.
KC-5.1
The development of industrial capitalism led
to increased standards of living for some, and
to continued improvement in manufacturing
methods that increased the availability,
aordability, and variety of consumer goods.
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106AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
SUGGESTED SKILL
Making Connections
5.B
Explain how a historical
development or process
relates to another historical
development or process.
AVAILABLE RESOURCE
§ Classroom Resources
> Teaching
Consumerism in
World History
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
Transnational businesses:
§ Hong Kong and
Shanghai Banking
Corporation (HSBC)
§ Unilever based in
England and the
Netherlands and
operating in British
West Africa and the
Belgian Congo
Financial instruments:
§ Stock markets
§ Limited-liability
corporations
Revolutions
UNIT
5
TOPIC 5.8
Reactions to the
Industrial Economy
from 1750 to 1900
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
Social Interactions and Organization
SIO
The process by which societies group their members and the norms that govern
the interactions between these groups and between individuals inuence political,
economic, and cultural institutions and organization.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 5: Learning Objective I
Explain the causes and
eects of calls for changes
in industrial societies from
1750 to 1900.
KC-5.1.V.D
In response to the social and economic
changes brought about by industrial capitalism,
some governments, organizations, and
individuals promoted various types of political,
social, educational, and urban reforms.
KC-5.1.V.A
In industrialized states, many workers
organized themselves, often in labor unions,
to improve working conditions, limit hours, and
gain higher wages. Workers’ movements and
political parties emerged in dierent areas,
promoting alternative visions of society.
KC-5.3.IV.A.ii
Discontent with established power structures
encouraged the development of various
ideologies, including those espoused by Karl
Marx, and the ideas of socialism and communism.
KC-5.1.V.B
In response to the expansion of industrializing
states, some governments in Asia and Africa,
including the Ottoman Empire and Qing
China, sought to reform and modernize their
economies and militaries. Reform eorts
were often resisted by some members of
government or established elite groups.
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107AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
SUGGESTED SKILL
Sourcing and
Situation
2.B
Explain the point of view,
purpose, historical situation,
and/or audience of a source.
UNIT
5
Revolutions
TOPIC 5.9
Society and the
Industrial Age
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
Social Interactions and Organization
SIO
The process by which societies group their members and the norms that govern
the interactions between these groups and between individuals inuence political,
economic, and cultural institutions and organization.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 5: Learning Objective J
Explain how industrialization
caused change in existing
social hierarchies and
standards of living.
KC-5.1.VI.A
New social classes, including the middle class
and the industrial working class, developed.
KC-5.1.VI.B
While women and often children in working
class families typically held wage-earning
jobs to supplement their families’ income,
middle-class women who did not have the
same economic demands to satisfy were
increasingly limited to roles in the household or
roles focused on child development.
KC-5.1.VI.C
The rapid urbanization that accompanied
global capitalism at times led to a variety
of challenges, including pollution, poverty,
increased crime, public health crises, housing
shortages, and insucient infrastructure to
accommodate urban growth.
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108AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
SUGGESTED SKILL
Contextualization
4.B
Explain how a specific
historical development or
process is situated within a
broader historical context.
Revolutions
UNIT
5
TOPIC 5.10
Continuity and
Change in the
Industrial Age
The nal topic in this unit focuses on the skill of argumentation and so provides an
opportunity for your students to draw upon the key concepts and historical developments
they have studied in this unit. Using evidence relevant to this unit’s key concepts, students
should practice the suggested skill for this topic.
Required Course Content
LEARNING OBJECTIVE REVIEW: UNIT 5 KEY CONCEPTS
Unit 5: Learning Objective K
Explain the extent to which
industrialization brought
change from 1750 to 1900.
KC-5.1
The development of industrial capitalism led
to increased standards of living for some, and
to continued improvement in manufacturing
methods that increased the availability,
aordability, and variety of consumer goods.
KC-5.1.IV
Railroads, steamships, and the telegraph
made exploration, development, and
communication possible in interior
regions globally, which led to increased
trade and migration.
continued on next page
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109AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
SUGGESTED SKILL
Argumentation
6.C
Use historical reasoning
to explain relationships
among pieces of
historical evidence.
AVAILABLE RESOURCE
§ Classroom Resources
> Review Essay:
Teaching the Great
Divergence
UNIT
5
Revolutions
LEARNING OBJECTIVE
Unit 5: Learning Objective K
Explain the extent to which
industrialization brought
change from 1750 to 1900.
REVIEW: UNIT 5 KEY CONCEPTS
KC-5.3
The 18th century marked the beginning of
an intense period of revolution and rebellion
against existing governments, leading to the
establishment of new nation-states around
the world.
KC-5.3.I.A
Enlightenment philosophies applied new
ways of understanding and empiricist
approaches to both the natural world and
human relationships; they also reexamined
the role that religion played in public life
and emphasized the importance of reason.
Philosophers developed new political ideas
about the individual, natural rights, and the
social contract.
KC-5.3.I
The rise and diusion of Enlightenment
thought that questioned established
traditions in all areas of life often preceded
revolutions and rebellions against
existing governments.
KC-5.3.II.i
Nationalism also became a major force
shaping the historical development of
states and empires
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110AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Remember to go to AP Classroom
to assign students the online
Personal Progress Check for
this unit.
Whether assigned as homework or
completed in class, the Personal
Progress Check provides each
student with immediate feedback
related to this unit’s topics and skills.
Personal Progress Check 6
Multiple-choice: ~20 questions
Short-answer: 2 questions
§ No source
§ Primary source
Free-response: 1 question
§ Document-based (partial)
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112AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
continued on next page
UNI
6
T
12–15
%
AP EXAM WEIGHTING ~12–15 CLASS PERIODS
Consequences of
Industrialization
c. 1750 to c. 1900
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113AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
UNIT AT A GLANCE
c tiamThe
Focus
Topic
Reasoning
Process Suggested Skill
Class Periods
~12–15 CLASS PERIODS
DIC
6.1 Rationales for
Imperialism from
1750 to 1900
Causation
4.B
Explain how a specic historical
development or process is situated
within a broader historical context.
OVG
6.2 State Expansion from
1750 to 1900
Comparison
4.B
Explain how a specic historical
development or process is situated
within a broader historical context.
6.3 Indigenous Responses
to State Expansion from
1750 to 1900
Causation
2.C
Explain the signicance of a
source’s point of view, purpose,
historical situation, and/or audience,
including how these might limit the
use(s) of a source.
NVE
6.4 Global Economic
Development from
1750 to 1900
Continuity and
Change
2.B
Explain the point of view,
purpose, historical situation, and/or
audience of a source might aect
its interpretation.
ECN
6.5 Economic Imperialism
from 1750 to 1900
Causation
4.B
Explain how a specic historical
development or process is situated
within a broader historical context.
, NVE
ECN
6.6 Causes of Migration in
an Interconnected World
Causation
5.B
Explain how a historical
development or process relates
to another historical development
or process.
Consequences of Industrialization
UNIT
6
Thematic
Focus
Topic
Reasoning
Process Suggested Skill
Class Periods
~12–15 CLASS PERIODS
IOS
6.7 Eects of Migration
Causation
5.B
Explain how a historical
development or process relates
to another historical development
or process.
6.8 Causation in the
Imperial Age
Causation
6.D
Corroborate, qualify, or modify
an argument using diverse and
alternative evidence in order to
develop a complex argument. This
argument might:
§ Explain nuance of an issue by
analyzing multiple variables.
§ Explain relevant and insightful
connections within and
across periods.
§ Explain the relative historical
signicance of a source’s
credibility and limitations.
§ Explain how or why a historical
claim or argument is or
is not eective.
Go to AP Classroom to assign the Personal Progress Check for Unit 6.
Review the results in class to identify and address any student misunderstandings.
UNIT AT A GLANCE
(cont’d)
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114AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
UNIT
6
Consequences of Industrialization
SAMPLE INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES
The sample activities on this page are optional and are oered to provide possible ways to
incorporate instructional approaches into the classroom. Teachers do not need to use these
activities and are free to alter or edit them. The examples below were developed in partnership
with teachers from the AP community to share ways that they approach teaching some of the
topics in this unit. Please refer to the Instructional Approaches section beginning on p. 171 for
more examples of activities and strategies.
Activity Topic Sample Activity
1
6.3 Discussion Groups
Divide the class into groups of eight. Provide each group member with the documents
from the 2009 AP Exam document-based question on imperialism in Africa. Model how
to explain the historical signicance of purpose for document 1. Assign each student one
of the remaining documents. Ask students to read their document and write a paragraph
explaining the relative historical signicance of the source’s point of view, purpose,
historical situation, or audience. Then have them take turns leading a group discussion
about the signicance of their document’s point of view, purpose, situation, or audience.
2
6.6 Quickwrite
After a lesson or reading on Topic 6.6, ask students to write a few paragraphs responding
to the following question: How do economic, environmental, and technological factors
converge to cause migration? Ask students to peer review a classmate’s work to ensure
that they have accurately connected the economy, environment, technology, and
migration. Have students discuss possible revisions to improve their work.
3
6.8 Guided Discussion
Have students work in groups to list four eects of imperialism across the top of a sheet
of paper. Under each eect, have students list as many things that they can think of that
changed as a result. Ask them to rank the eects from most signicant to least based on
the amount of change each caused. Then, have the groups circle the three changes that
they believe are most important and then revise their ranking to take this into account.
Individually, have students complete the following sentence frame:
While imperialism in the 19th century had many eects, including ,
the most signicant was because .
Unit Planning Notes
Use the space below to plan your approach to the unit. Consider how you want to pace your course and
methods of instruction and assessment.
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115AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
UNIT
6
Consequences of Industrialization
TOPIC 6.1
Rationales for
Imperialism from
1750 to 1900
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
Cultural Developments and Interactions
CDI
The development of ideas, beliefs, and religions illustrates how groups in society
view themselves, and the interactions of societies and their beliefs often have
political, social, and cultural implications.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 6: Learning Objective A
Explain how ideologies
contributed to the
development of imperialism
from 1750 to 1900.
KC-5.2.III
A range of cultural, religious, and racial
ideologies were used to justify imperialism,
including Social Darwinism, nationalism, the
concept of the civilizing mission, and the desire
to religiously convert indigenous populations.
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116AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
SUGGESTED SKILL
Contextualization
4.B
Explain how a specific
historical development or
process is situated within a
broader historical context.
Consequences of Industrialization
UNIT
6
TOPIC 6.2
State Expansion
from 1750 to 1900
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
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117AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Governance
GOV
A variety of internal and external factors contribute to state formation, expansion,
and decline. Governments maintain order through a variety of administrative
institutions, policies, and procedures, and governments obtain, retain, and exercise
power in dierent ways and for dierent purposes.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 6: Learning Objective B
Compare processes by which
state power shifted in various
parts of the world from 1750
to 1900.
KC-5.2.I.A
Some states with existing colonies
strengthened their control over those colonies
and in some cases assumed direct control over
colonies previously held by non-state entities.
KC-5.2.I.B
European states as well as the United States
and Japan acquired territories throughout Asia
and the Pacic, while Spanish and Portuguese
inuence declined.
KC-5.2.I.C
Many European states used both warfare and
diplomacy to expand their empires in Africa.
KC-5.2.I.D
Europeans established settler colonies in some
parts of their empires.
KC-5.2.II.B
The United States, Russia, and Japan
expanded their land holdings by conquering
and settling neighboring territories.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Sourcing and
Situation
4.B
Explain how a specific
historical development or
process is situated within a
broader historical context.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
Non-state to state
colonial control:
§ Shift from the private
ownership of the Congo
by King Leopold II to the
Belgium government
§ Shift from the Dutch
East India Company
to Dutch government
control in Indonesia and
Southeast Asia
European states that
expanded empires in Africa:
§ Britain in West Africa
§ Belgium in the Congo
§ French in West Africa
Settler colonies established
in empires:
§ New Zealand
UNIT
6
Consequences of Industrialization
TOPIC 6.3
Indigenous Responses
to State Expansion
from 1750 to 1900
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
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118AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Governance
GOV
A variety of internal and external factors contribute to state formation, expansion,
and decline. Governments maintain order through a variety of administrative
institutions, policies, and procedures, and governments obtain, retain, and exercise
power in dierent ways and for dierent purposes.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 6: Learning Objective C
Explain how and why internal
and external factors have
inuenced the process
of state building from
1750 to 1900.
KC-5.3.III.D
Increasing questions about political authority
and growing nationalism contributed to
anticolonial movements.
KC-5.2.II.C
Anti-imperial resistance took various forms,
including direct resistance within empires and
the creation of new states on the peripheries.
KC-5.3.III.E
Increasing discontent with imperial rule led
to rebellions, some of which were inuenced
by religious ideas.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Sourcing and
Situation
2.C
Explain the significance of
a source’s point of view,
purpose, historical situation,
and/or audience, including
how these might limit the
use(s) of a source.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
Direct resistance:
§ Túpac Amaru II’s
rebellion in Peru
§ Samory Touré’s military
battles in West Africa
§ Yaa Asantewaa War in
West Africa
§ 1857 rebellion in India
New states:
§ Establishment of
independent states in
the Balkans
§ Sokoto Caliphate in
modern-day Nigeria
§ Cherokee Nation
§ Zulu Kingdom
Rebellions:
§ Ghost Dance in the U.S.
§ Xhosa Cattle-Killing
Movement in
Southern Africa
§ Mahdist wars in Sudan
Consequences of Industrialization
UNIT
6
TOPIC 6.4
Global Economic
Development from
1750 to 1900
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
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119AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Humans and the Environments
ENV
The environment shapes human societies, and as populations grow and change,
these populations in turn shape their environments.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 6: Learning Objective D
Explain how various
environmental factors
contributed to the
development of the global
economy from 1750 to 1900.
KC-5.1.II.A
The need for raw materials for factories and
increased food supplies for the growing
population in urban centers led to the growth
of export economies around the world that
specialized in commercial extraction of natural
resources and the production of food and
industrial crops. The prots from these raw
materials were used to purchase nished goods.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Sourcing and
Situation
2.B
Explain the point of view,
purpose, historical situation,
and/or audience of a source.
AVAILABLE RESOURCE
§ Classroom Resources
> East Africa, the
Western Indian Ocean
Basin, and the World
Economy, 1760 to 1880
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
Resource export
economies:
§ Cotton production
in Egypt
§ Rubber extraction in
the Amazon and the
Congo basin
§ The palm oil trade in
West Africa
§ The guano industries in
Peru and Chile
§ Meat from Argentina
and Uruguay
§ Diamonds from Africa
UNIT
6
Consequences of Industrialization
TOPIC 6.5
Economic Imperialism
from 1750 to 1900
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
Economics Systems
ECN
As societies develop, they aect and are aected by the ways that they produce,
exchange, and consume goods and services.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 6: Learning Objective E
Explain how various
economic factors contributed
to the development of
the global economy from
1750 to 1900.
KC-5.2.I.E
Industrialized states and businesses within
those states practiced economic imperialism
primarily in Asia and Latin America.
KC-5.1.II.C
Trade in some commodities was organized in
a way that gave merchants and companies
based in Europe and the U.S. a distinct
economic advantage.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Sourcing and
Situation
4.B
Explain how a specific
historical development or
process is situated within a
broader historical context.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
Industrialized states
practicing economic
imperialism:
§ Britain and France
expanding their
inuence in China
through the Opium Wars
§ The construction of the
Port of Buenos Aires
with the support of
British rms
Commodities that
contributed to
European and American
economic advantage:
§ Opium produced
in the Middle East
or South Asia and
exported to China
§ Cotton grown in
South Asia and Egypt
and exported to
Great Britain and other
European countries
§ Palm oil produced in
sub-Saharan Africa
and exported to
European countries
§ Copper extracted
in Chile
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120AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Consequences of Industrialization
UNIT
6
TOPIC 6.6
Causes of Migration in
an Interconnected World
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
continued on next page
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121AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Humans and the Environments
ENV
The environment shapes human societies, and as populations grow and change,
these populations in turn shape their environments.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 6: Learning Objective F
Explain how various
environmental factors
contributed to the
development of varied
patterns of migration from
1750 to 1900.
KC-5.4.I
Migration in many cases was inuenced by
changes in demographics in both industrialized
and unindustrialized societies that presented
challenges to existing patterns of living.
KC-5.4.I.B
Because of the nature of new modes of
transportation, both internal and external
migrants increasingly relocated to cities.
This pattern contributed to the signicant
global urbanization of the 19th century. The
new methods of transportation also allowed
for many migrants to return, periodically or
permanently, to their home societies.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Making Connections
5.B
Explain how a historical
development or process
relates to another historical
development or process.
AVAILABLE RESOURCE
§ Classroom Resources
> Migration
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
Return of migrants:
§ Japanese agricultural
workers in the Pacic
§ Lebanese merchants in
the Americas
§ Italian industrial workers
in Argentina
UNI
6
T
Consequences of Industrialization
THEMATIC FOCUS
Economics Systems
ECN
As societies develop, they aect and are aected by the ways that they produce,
exchange, and consume goods and services.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 6: Learning Objective G
Explain how various
economic factors contributed
to the development of varied
patterns of migration from
1750 to 1900.
KC-5.4.II.A
Many individuals chose freely to relocate, often
in search of work.
KC-5.4.II.B
The new global capitalist economy continued
to rely on coerced and semicoerced labor
migration, including slavery, Chinese and Indian
indentured servitude, and convict labor.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
(CONT’D)
Migrants:
§ Irish to the United States
§ British engineers and
geologists to South Asia
and Africa
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122AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Consequences of Industrialization
UNIT
6
TOPIC 6.7
Eects of Migration
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
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123AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Social Interactions and Organization
SIO
The process by which societies group their members and the norms that govern
the interactions between these groups and between individuals inuence political,
economic, and cultural institutions and organization.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 6: Learning Objective H
Explain how and why new
patterns of migration
aected society from
1750 to 1900.
KC-5.4.III.A
Migrants tended to be male, leaving women to
take on new roles in the home society that had
been formerly occupied by men.
KC-5.4.III.B
Migrants often created ethnic enclaves
in dierent parts of the world that helped
transplant their culture into new environments.
KC-5.4.III.C
Receiving societies did not always embrace
immigrants, as seen in the various degrees of
ethnic and racial prejudice and the ways states
attempted to regulate the increased ow of
people across their borders.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Making Connections
5.B
Explain how a historical
development or process
relates to another historical
development or process.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
Migrant ethnic enclaves:
§ Chinese in Southeast
Asia, the Caribbean,
South America, and
North America
§ Indians in East and
Southern Africa,
the Caribbean, and
Southeast Asia
§ Irish in North America
§ Italians in North and
South America
Regulation of immigrants:
§ Chinese Exclusion Act
§ White Australia policy
UNIT
6
Consequences of Industrialization
TOPIC 6.8
Causation in the
Imperial Age
The nal topic in this unit focuses on the skill of argumentation and so provides an
opportunity for your students to draw upon the key concepts and historical developments
they have studied in this unit. Using evidence relevant to this unit’s key concepts, students
should practice the suggested skill for this topic.
Required Course Content
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124AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
LEARNING OBJECTIVE REVIEW: UNIT 6 KEY CONCEPTS
Unit 6: Learning Objective I
Explain the relative
signicance of the eects
of imperialism from
1750 to 1900.
KC-5.1
The development of industrial capitalism led
to increased standards of living for some, and
to continued improvement in manufacturing
methods that increased the availability,
aordability, and variety of consumer goods.
KC-5.2
As states industrialized, they also expanded
existing overseas empires and established new
colonies and transoceanic relationships.
KC-5.3
The 18th century marked the beginning of
an intense period of revolution and rebellion
against existing governments, leading to the
establishment of new nation-states around
the world.
KC-5.4
As a result of the emergence of transoceanic
empires and a global capitalist economy,
migration patterns changed dramatically, and
the numbers of migrants increased signicantly.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Argumentation
6.D
Corroborate, qualify,
or modify an argument
using diverse and
alternative evidence
in order to develop a
complex argument. This
argument might:
§ Explain nuance of an
issue by analyzing
multiple variables.
§ Explain relevant
and insightful
connections within and
across periods.
§ Explain the relative
historical signicance
of a source’s credibility
and limitations.
§ Explain how or why
a historical claim
or argument is or is
not eective.
Remember to go to AP Classroom
to assign students the online
Personal Progress Check for
this unit.
Whether assigned as homework or
completed in class, the Personal
Progress Check provides each
student with immediate feedback
related to this unit’s topics and skills.
Personal Progress Check 7
Multiple-choice: ~25 questions
Short-answer: 2 questions
§ Secondary source
§ No source
Free-response: 1 question
§ Document-based
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126AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
continued on next page
UNI
7
T
8–10
%
AP EXAM WEIGHTING ~9–12 CLASS PERIODS
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127AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Global Conict
c. 1900 to the present
UNIT AT A GLANCE
c tiamThe
Focus
Topic
Reasoning
Process Suggested Skill
Class Periods
~9–12 CLASS PERIODS
OVG
7.1 Shifting Power
After 1900
Continuity and
Change
4.B
Explain how a specic historical
development or process is situated
within a broader historical context.
7.2 Causes of World War I
Causation
1.B
Explain a historical concept,
development, or process.
TEC
7.3 Conducting World War I
Continuity and
Change
3.B
Identify the evidence used in a
source to support an argument.
ECN
7.4 Economy in the
Interwar Period
Comparison
2.C
Explain the signicance of a
source’s point of view, purpose,
historical situation, and/or audience,
including how these might limit the
use(s) of a source.
OVG
7.5 Unresolved Tensions
After World War I
Continuity and
Change
2.C
Explain the signicance of a
source’s point of view, purpose,
historical situation, and/or audience,
including how these might limit the
use(s) of a source.
7.6 Causes of World War II
Causation
2.C
Explain the signicance of a
source’s point of view, purpose,
historical situation, and/or audience,
including how these might limit the
use(s) of a source.
7.7 Conducting World War II
Comparison
3.D
Explain how claims or evidence
support, modify, or refute a source’s
argument.
Global Conict
UNIT
7
Global Conict
Thematic
Focus
Topic
Reasoning
Process Suggested Skill
Class Periods
~9–12 CLASS PERIODS
IOS
7.8 Mass Atrocities
After 1900
Causation
5.B
Explain how a historical
development or process relates
to another historical development
or process.
7.9 Causation in
Global Conict
Causation
6.D
Corroborate, qualify, or modify
an argument using diverse and
alternative evidence in order to
develop a complex argument. This
argument might:
§ Explain nuance of an issue by
analyzing multiple variables.
§ Explain relevant and insightful
connections within and
across periods.
§ Explain the relative historical
signicance of a source’s
credibility and limitations.
§ Explain how or why a historical
claim or argument is or is
not eective.
Go to AP Classroom to assign the Personal Progress Check for Unit 7.
Review the results in class to identify and address any student misunderstandings.
UNIT AT A GLANCE
(cont’d)
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128AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
UNIT
7
Global Conict
SAMPLE INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES
The sample activities on this page are optional and are oered to provide possible ways to
incorporate instructional approaches into the classroom. Teachers do not need to use these
activities and are free to alter or edit them. The examples below were developed in partnership
with teachers from the AP community to share ways that they approach teaching some of the
topics in this unit. Please refer to the Instructional Approaches section beginning on p. 171 for
more examples of activities and strategies.
Activity Topic Sample Activity
1
7.4 Shared Inquiry
Assign extended excerpts of Lázaro Cárdenas’s “Speech to the Nation” (1938) and Joseph
Stalin’s “Industrialization of the Country and the Right Deviation in the C.P.S.U.(B.)” (1928)
before class. In small groups, ask students to reread the documents and discuss the
following questions:
§ What is each author’s purpose and audience?
§ How are they similar and dierent?
§ Discuss the changes and continuities associated with the Mexican and Russian
revolutions (Topic 7.1). How does the historical situation in each country help you
understand the similarities and dierences?
§ Discuss the economic changes that you studied in Units 5 and 6. How does this help
you understand the historical signicance of each author’s point of view? Support your
response with examples.
2
7.5 Quickwrite
Assign a short excerpt from Georges Clemenceau’s “Letter of Reply to the Objections
of the German Peace Delegation” (May 1919). Ask students to review their notes from
Topic 7.2 and respond to the following prompt in a paragraph: Based on what you learned
about the causes of World War I, what are the weaknesses in Clemenceau’s argument?
3
7.7 Socratic Seminar
Ask students to read and annotate “The Century of Total War” section of “War and the
Environment” by Richard P. Tucker (available on World History Connected) before class.
Facilitate a student discussion of the following questions:
§ What is the author’s argument?
§ What evidence does he use to support his argument?
§ Is there additional evidence from before or during this time period that would support
or refute the author’s argument?
§
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129AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Do you agree with the author’s argument? Why or why not?
UNIT
7
Global Conict
TOPIC 7.1
Shifting Power
After 1900
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
Governance
GOV
A variety of internal and external factors contribute to state formation, expansion,
and decline. Governments maintain order through a variety of administrative
institutions, policies, and procedures, and governments obtain, retain, and exercise
power in dierent ways and for dierent purposes.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 7: Learning Objective A
Explain how internal and
external factors contributed
to change in various states
after 1900.
KC-6.2.I
The West dominated the global political order
at the beginning of the 20th century, but both
land-based and maritime empires gave way to
new states by the century’s end.
KC-6.2.I.A
The older, land-based Ottoman, Russian, and
Qing empires collapsed due to a combination of
internal and external factors. These changes in
Russia eventually led to communist revolution.
KC-6.2.II.D
States around the world challenged the existing
political and social order, including the Mexican
Revolution that arose as a result of political crisis.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Contextualization
4.B
Explain how a specific
historical development or
process is situated within a
broader historical context.
AVAILABLE RESOURCE
§ Professional
Development >
Teaching and
Assessing Module—
Understanding
Continuity and
Change in Period 6
(Resources on the
decline of the empire
in the 20th century)
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130AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Global Conict
UNIT
7
TOPIC 7.2
Causes of
World War I
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
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131AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Governance
GOV
A variety of internal and external factors contribute to state formation, expansion,
and decline. Governments maintain order through a variety of administrative
institutions, policies, and procedures, and governments obtain, retain, and exercise
power in dierent ways and for dierent purposes.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 7: Learning Objective B
Explain the causes and
consequences of World War I.
KC-6.2.IV.B.i
The causes of World War I included imperialist
expansion and competition for resources.
In addition, territorial and regional conicts
combined with a awed alliance system and
intense nationalism to escalate the tensions
into global conict.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Developments
and Processes
1.B
Explain a historical concept,
development, or process.
UNIT
7
Global Conict
TOPIC 7.3
Conducting
World War I
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
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132AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Technology and Innovation
TEC
Human adaptation and innovation have resulted in increased eciency, comfort,
and security, and technological advances have shaped human development and
interactions with both intended and unintended consequences.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 7: Learning Objective C
Explain how governments
used a variety of methods to
conduct war.
KC-6.2.IV.A.i
World War I was the rst total war.
Governments used a variety of strategies,
including political propaganda, art, media, and
intensied forms of nationalism, to mobilize
populations (both in the home countries and
the colonies) for the purpose of waging war.
KC-6.1.III.C.i
New military technology led to increased levels
of wartime casualties.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Claims and
Evidence in Sources
3.B
Identify the evidence used
in a source to support
an argument.
Global Conict
UNIT
7
TOPIC 7.4
Economy in the
Interwar Period
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
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133AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Economics Systems
ECN
As societies develop, they aect and are aected by the ways that they produce,
exchange, and consume goods and services.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 7: Learning Objective D
Explain how dierent
governments responded to
economic crisis after 1900.
KC-6.3.I.B
Following World War I and the onset of the
Great Depression, governments began to take
a more active role in economic life.
KC-6.3.I.A.i
In the Soviet Union, the government controlled
the national economy through the Five Year
Plans, often implementing repressive policies,
with negative repercussions for the population.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Sourcing and
Situation
2.C
Explain the significance of
a source’s point of view,
purpose, historical situation,
and/or audience, including
how these might limit the
use(s) of a source.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
Government intervention in
the economy:
§ The New Deal
§ The fascist corporatist
economy
§ Governments with
strong popular support
in Brazil and Mexico
UNIT
7
Global Conict
TOPIC 7.5
Unresolved Tensions
After World War I
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
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134AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Governance
GOV
A variety of internal and external factors contribute to state formation, expansion,
and decline. Governments maintain order through a variety of administrative
institutions, policies, and procedures, and governments obtain, retain, and exercise
power in dierent ways and for dierent purposes.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 7: Learning Objective E
Explain the continuities and
changes in territorial holdings
from 1900 to the present.
KC-6.2.I.B
Between the two world wars, Western and
Japanese imperial states predominantly
maintained control over colonial holdings; in
some cases, they gained additional territories
through conquest or treaty settlement and in
other cases faced anti-imperial resistance.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Sourcing and
Situation
2.C
Explain the significance of
a source’s point of view,
purpose, historical situation,
and/or audience, including
how these might limit the
use(s) of a source.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
Territorial gains:
§ Transfer of former
German colonies to Great
Britain and France under
the system of League of
Nations mandates
§ Manchukuo/Greater
East Asia Co-Prosperity
Sphere
Anti-imperial resistance:
§ Indian National Congress
§ West African resistance
(strikes/congresses) to
French rule
Global Conict
UNIT
7
TOPIC 7.6
Causes of
World War II
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
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135AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Governance
GOV
A variety of internal and external factors contribute to state formation, expansion,
and decline. Governments maintain order through a variety of administrative
institutions, policies, and procedures, and governments obtain, retain, and exercise
power in dierent ways and for dierent purposes.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 7: Learning Objective F
Explain the causes and
consequences of World War II.
KC-6.2.IV.B.ii
The causes of World War II included the
unsustainable peace settlement after
World War I, the global economic crisis
engendered by the Great Depression,
continued imperialist aspirations, and
especially the rise to power of fascist and
totalitarian regimes that resulted in the
aggressive militarism of Nazi Germany under
Adolf Hitler.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Sourcing and
Situation
2.C
Explain the significance of
a source’s point of view,
purpose, historical situation,
and/or audience, including
how these might limit the
use(s) of a source.
UNIT
7
Global Conict
TOPIC 7.7
Conducting
World War II
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
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136AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Governance
GOV
A variety of internal and external factors contribute to state formation, expansion,
and decline. Governments maintain order through a variety of administrative
institutions, policies, and procedures, and governments obtain, retain, and exercise
power in dierent ways and for dierent purposes.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 7: Learning Objective G
Explain similarities
and dierences in how
governments used a variety
of methods to conduct war.
KC-6.2.IV.A.ii
World War II was a total war. Governments
used a variety of strategies, including political
propaganda, art, media, and intensied forms
of nationalism, to mobilize populations (both
in the home countries and the colonies or
former colonies) for the purpose of waging
war. Governments used ideologies, including
fascism and communism to mobilize all of their
state’s resources for war and, in the case of
totalitarian states, to repress basic freedoms
and dominate many aspects of daily life during
the course of the conicts and beyond.
KC-6.1.III.C.ii
New military technology and new tactics,
including the atomic bomb, re-bombing,
and the waging of “total war” led to increased
levels of wartime casualties.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Claims and
Evidence in Sources
3.D
Explain how claims or
evidence support, modify,
or refute a source’s
argument.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
Western democracies
mobilizing for war:
§ Great Britain under
Winston Churchill
§ United States under
Franklin Roosevelt
Totalitarian states
mobilizing for war:
§ Germany under
Adolf Hitler
§ USSR under
Joseph Stalin
Global Conict
UNIT
7
TOPIC 7.8
Mass Atrocities
After 1900
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
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137AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Social Interactions and Organization
SIO
The process by which societies group their members and the norms that govern
the interactions between these groups and between individuals inuence political,
economic, and cultural institutions and organization.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENS
Unit 7: Learning Objective H
Explain the various causes
and consequences of mass
atrocities in the period from
1900 to the present.
KC-6.2.III.C
The rise of extremist groups in power led to the
attempted destruction of specic populations,
notably the Nazi killing of the Jews in the
Holocaust during World War II, and to other
atrocities, acts of genocide, or ethnic violence.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Making Connections
5.B
Explain how a historical
development or process
relates to another historical
development or process.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
Genocide, ethnic violence,
or attempted destruction of
specific populations:
§ Armenians in the
Ottoman Empire during
and after World War I
§ Cambodia during the
late 1970s
§ Tutsi in Rwanda in
the 1990s
§ Ukraine in the Soviet
Union in the 1920s
and 1930s
UNIT
7
Global Conict
TOPIC 7.9
Causation in
Global Conict
The nal topic in this unit focuses on the skill of argumentation and so provides an
opportunity for your students to draw upon the key concepts and historical developments
they have studied in this unit. Using evidence relevant to this unit’s key concepts, students
should practice the suggested skill for this topic.
Required Course Content
LEARNING OBJECTIVE REVIEW: UNIT 7 KEY CONCEPTS
Unit 7: Learning Objective I
Explain the relative
signicance of the causes of
global conict in the period
1900 to the present.
KC-6.1
Rapid advances in science and technology
altered the understanding of the universe
and the natural world and led to advances
in communication, transportation, industry,
agriculture, and medicine.
KC-6.2
Peoples and states around the world
challenged the existing political and
social order in varying ways, leading to
unprecedented worldwide conicts.
KC-6.2.I
The West dominated the global political
order at the beginning of the 20th century,
but both land-based and maritime
empires gave way to new states by the
century’s end.
KC-6.2.I.A
The older, land-based Ottoman, Russian,
and Qing empires collapsed due to a
combination of internal and external
factors. These changes in Russia eventually
led to communist revolution.
KC-6.2.II.D
States around the world challenged the
existing political and social order, including
the Mexican Revolution that arose as a
result of political crisis.
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138AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
SUGGESTED SKILL
Argumentation
6.D
Corroborate, qualify, or
modify an argument using
diverse and alternative
evidence in order to develop
a complex argument. This
argument might:
§ Explain nuance of
an issue by analyzing
multiple variables.
§ Explain relevant
and insightful
connections within and
across periods.
§ Explain the relative
historical signicance
of a source’s credibility
and limitations.
§ Explain how or why
a historical claim
or argument is or is
not eective.
Remember to go to AP Classroom
to assign students the online
Personal Progress Check for
this unit.
Whether assigned as homework or
completed in class, the Personal
Progress Check provides each
student with immediate feedback
related to this unit’s topics and skills.
Personal Progress Check 8
Multiple-choice: ~25 questions
Short-answer: 2 questions
§ No source
§ Primary source
Free-response: 1 question
§ Document-based
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Course Framework V.1
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140AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
continued on next page
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141AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
UNI
8
T
8–10
%
AP EXAM WEIGHTING ~14–17 CLASS PERIODS
Cold War and Decolonization
c. 1900 to the present
UNIT AT A GLANCE
c tiamThe
Focus
Topic
Reasoning
Process Suggested Skill
Class Periods
~14–17 CLASS PERIODS
OVG
8.1 Setting t he Stage for
the Cold War and
Decolonization
Continuity and
Change
4.B
Explain how a specic historical
development or process is situated
within a broader historical context.
DIC
8.2 The Cold War
Causation
2.B
Explain the point of view,
purpose, historical situation, and/or
audience of a source.
OVG
8.3 Eects of the Cold War
Comparison
5.B
Explain how a historical
development or process relates
to another historical development
or process.
, ECN
IOS
8.4 Spr ead of Communism
After 1900
Causation
2.C
Explain the signicance of a
source’s point of view, purpose,
historical situation, and/or audience,
including how these might limit the
use(s) of a source.
OVG
8.5 Decolonization After
1900
Comparison
5.B
Explain how a historical
development or process relates
to another historical development
or process.
, VGO
ECN
8.6 Newly Independent
States
Continuity and
Change
3.D
Explain how claims or evidence
support, modify, or refute a
source’s argument.
DIC
8.7 Gl obal Resistance to
Established Power
Structures After 1900
Causation
2.B
Explain the point of view,
purpose, historical situation, and/or
audience of a source.
Cold War and Decolonization
UNIT
8
Thematic
Focus
Topic
Reasoning
Process Suggested Skill
Class Periods
~14–17 CLASS PERIODS
OVG
8.8 End of the Cold War
Causation
1.B
Explain a historical concept,
development, or process.
8.9 Causation in the Age
of the Cold War and
Decolonization
Causation
6.D
Corroborate, qualify, or modify
an argument using diverse and
alternative evidence in order to
develop a complex argument.
This argument might:
§ Explain nuance of an issue by
analyzing multiple variables.
§ Explain relevant and insightful
connections within and
across periods.
§ Explain the relative historical
signicance of a source’s
credibility and limitations.
§ Explain how or why a historical
claim or argument is or is
not eective.
Go to AP Classroom to assign the Personal Progress Check for Unit 8.
Review the results in class to identify and address any student misunderstandings.
UNIT
8
UNIT AT A GLANCE
(cont’d)
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142AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
UNIT
8
Cold War and Decolonization
SAMPLE INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES
The sample activities on this page are optional and are oered to provide possible ways to
incorporate instructional approaches into the classroom. Teachers do not need to use these
activities and are free to alter or edit them. The examples below were developed in partnership
with teachers from the AP community to share ways that they approach teaching some of the
topics in this unit. Please refer to the Instructional Approaches section beginning on p. 171 for
more examples of activities and strategies.
Activity Topic Sample Activity
1
8.1 Quickwrite and Debrieng
Display Paul Plaschke’s cartoon of the Yalta Conference (1945). Ask students to write a
quick reply to the following prompt: Predict how this cartoon might provide context for
understanding Unit 8.
Ask a few students to share, and debrief by discussing how the events of World War II
provide essential context for understanding the Cold War.
2
8.2 Self/Peer Revision
Provide excerpts from John Foster Dulles’s “Dynamic Peace” speech (1957), V. M. Molotov’s
“The Task of Our Time: Unite Against the Enslavement of the People” (1947), and
President Sukarno’s speech at the opening of the Bandung Conference (1955). Have students
use the documents to respond to the learning objective for this topic with a claim/thesis
statement and then practice writing explanations on how or why the document’s point of view,
purpose, situation, or audience is relevant to that argument. As students work, ask them to
seek feedback and suggestions from classmates.
3
8.8 Create Representation
Have students read and annotate “The Events of 1989–1992” section of “1789–1792
and 1989–1992: Global Interaction of Social Movements” by Patrick Manning (available
on World History Connected) before class. In small groups, have students discuss the
author’s argument and then create a political cartoon that summarizes and explains the
social movements discussed.
4
8.9 Guided Discussion
Provide students with the following claim: The Cold War increased the inuence of
the United States in the world but ultimately weakened the inuence of Russia. Lead a
discussion about how to develop a complex argument that supports a claim like this as well
as acknowledges and discusses evidence that contradicts it.
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143AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Unit Planning Notes
Use the space below to plan your approach to the unit. Consider how you want to pace your course and
methods of instruction and assessment.
UNIT
8
Cold War and Decolonization
TOPIC 8.1
Setting the Stage
for the Cold War and
Decolonization
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
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144AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Governance
GOV
A variety of internal and external factors contribute to state formation, expansion,
and decline. Governments maintain order through a variety of administrative
institutions, policies, and procedures, and governments obtain, retain, and exercise
power in dierent ways and for dierent purposes.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 8: Learning Objective A
Explain the historical context
of the Cold War after 1945.
KC-6.2.II
Hopes for greater self-government were largely
unfullled following World War I; however, in
the years following World War II, increasing
anti-imperialist sentiment contributed to the
dissolution of empires and the restructuring
of states.
KC-6.2.IV.C.i
Technological and economic gains experienced
during World War II by the victorious nations
shifted the global balance of power.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Contextualization
4.B
Explain how a specific
historical development or
process is situated within a
broader historical context.
Cold War and Decolonization
UNIT
8
TOPIC 8.2
The Cold War
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
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145AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Cultural Developments and Interactions
CDI
The development of ideas, beliefs, and religions illustrates how groups in society
view themselves, and the interactions of societies and their beliefs often have
political, social, and cultural implications.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 8: Learning Objective B
Explain the causes and
eects of the ideological
struggle of the Cold War.
KC-6.2.IV.C.ii
The global balance of economic and political
power shifted during and after World War II
and rapidly evolved into the Cold War. The
democracy of the United States and the
authoritarian communist Soviet Union emerged
as superpowers, which led to ideological
conict and a power struggle between
capitalism and communism across the globe.
KC-6.2.V.B
Groups and individuals, including the
Non-Aligned Movement, opposed and
promoted alternatives to the existing
economic, political, and social orders.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Sourcing and
Situation
2.B
Explain the point of view,
purpose, historical situation,
and/or audience of a source.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
Non-Aligned Movement:
§ Sukarno in Indonesia
§ Kwame Nkrumah
in Ghana
UNIT
8
Cold War and Decolonization
TOPIC 8.3
Eects of
the Cold War
Required Course Content
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146AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
THEMATIC FOCUS
Governance
GOV
A variety of internal and external factors contribute to state formation, expansion,
and decline. Governments maintain order through a variety of administrative
institutions, policies, and procedures, and governments obtain, retain, and exercise
power in dierent ways and for dierent purposes.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 8: Learning Objective C
Compare the ways in which
the United States and the
Soviet Union sought to
maintain inuence over the
course of the Cold War.
KC-6.2.IV.D
The Cold War produced new military alliances,
including NATO and the Warsaw Pact, and
led to nuclear proliferation and proxy wars
between and within postcolonial states in
Latin America, Africa, and Asia.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Making Connections
5.B
Explain how a historical
development or process
relates to another historical
development or process.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
Proxy wars:
§ Korean War
§ Angolan Civil War
§ Sandinista-Contras
conict in Nicaragua
Cold War and Decolonization
UNIT
8
TOPIC 8.4
Spread of Communism
After 1900
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
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147AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Economics Systems
ECN
As societies develop, they aect and are aected by the ways that they produce,
exchange, and consume goods and services.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 8: Learning Objective D
Explain the causes and
consequences of China’s
adoption of communism.
KC-6.2.I.i
As a result of internal tension and Japanese
aggression, Chinese communists seized power.
These changes in China eventually led to
communist revolution.
KC-6.3.I.A.ii
In communist China, the government controlled
the national economy through the Great Leap
Forward, often implementing repressive policies,
with negative repercussions for the population.
THEMATIC FOCUS
Social Interactions and Organization
SIO
The process by which societies group their members and the norms that govern
the interactions between these groups and between individuals inuence political,
economic, and cultural institutions and organization.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 8: Learning Objective E
Explain the causes and eects
of movements to redistribute
economic resources.
KC-6.2.II.D.i
Movements to redistribute land and resources
developed within states in Africa, Asia,
and Latin America, sometimes advocating
communism or socialism.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Sourcing and
Situation
2.C
Explain the significance of
a source’s point of view,
purpose, historical situation,
and/or audience, including
how these might limit the
use(s) of a source.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
Land and resource
redistribution:
§ Communist Revolution
for Vietnamese
independence
§ Mengistu Haile Mariam
in Ethiopia
§ Land reform in Kerala
and other states
within India
§ White Revolution in Iran
UNIT
8
Cold War and Decolonization
TOPIC 8.5
Decolonization
After 1900
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
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148AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Governance
GOV
A variety of internal and external factors contribute to state formation, expansion,
and decline. Governments maintain order through a variety of administrative
institutions, policies, and procedures, and governments obtain, retain, and exercise
power in dierent ways and for dierent purposes.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 8: Learning Objective F
Compare the processes
by which various peoples
pursued independence
after 1900.
KC-6.2.II.A
Nationalist leaders and parties in Asia and
Africa sought varying degrees of autonomy
within or independence from imperial rule.
KC-6.2.I.C
After the end of World War II, some colonies
negotiated their independence, while others
achieved independence through armed struggle.
KC-6.2.II.B
Regional, religious, and ethnic movements
challenged colonial rule and inherited imperial
boundaries. Some of these movements
advocated for autonomy.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Making Connections
5.B
Explain how a historical
development or process
relates to another historical
development or process.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
Nationalist leaders and
parties:
§ Indian National Congress
§ Ho Chi Minh in French
Indochina (Vietnam)
§ Kwame Nkrumah in
British Gold Coast
(Ghana)
§ Gamal Abdel Nasser
in Egypt
Negotiated independence:
§ India from the
British Empire
§ The Gold Coast from
the British Empire
§ French West Africa
Independence through
armed struggle:
§ Algeria from the
French empire
§ Angola from the
Portuguese empire
§ Vietnam from the
French empire
Regional, religious, and
ethnic movements:
§ Muslim League in
British India
§ Québécois separatist
movement in Canada
§ Biafra secessionist
movement in Nigeria
Cold War and Decolonization
UNIT
8
TOPIC 8.6
Newly Independent
States
Required Course Content
continued on next page
THEMATIC FOCUS
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149AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Governance
GOV
A variety of internal and external factors contribute to state formation, expansion,
and decline. Governments maintain order through a variety of administrative
institutions, policies, and procedures, and governments obtain, retain, and exercise
power in dierent ways and for dierent purposes.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 8: Learning Objective G
Explain how political
changes in the period from
c. 1900 to the present led to
territorial, demographic, and
nationalist developments.
KC-6.2.III.A.i
The redrawing of political boundaries after the
withdrawal of former colonial authorities led to
the creation of new states.
KC-6.2.III.A.ii
The redrawing of political boundaries in some
cases led to conict as well as population
displacement and/or resettlements, including
those related to the Partition of India and the
creation of the state of Israel.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Claims and
Evidence in Sources
3.D
Explain how claims or
evidence support, modify,
or refute a source’s
argument.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
States created by redrawing
of political boundaries:
§ Israel
§ Cambodia
§ Pakistan
UNIT
8
Cold War and Decolonization
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
(CONT’D)
THEMATIC FOCUS
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150AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Economics Systems
ECN
As societies develop, they aect and are aected by the ways that they produce,
exchange, and consume goods and services.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 8: Learning Objective H
Explain the economic
changes and continuities
resulting from the
process of decolonization.
KC-6.3.I.C
In newly independent states after World War II,
governments often took on a strong role in
guiding economic life to promote development.
KC-6.2.III.B
The migration of former colonial subjects to
imperial metropoles (the former colonizing
country), usually in the major cities, maintained
cultural and economic ties between the colony
and the metropole even after the dissolution
of empires.
Governments guiding
economic life:
§ Gamal Abdel Nasser’s
promotion of economic
development in Egypt
§ Indira Ghandi’s
economic policies
in India
§ Julius Nyerere’s
modernization
in Tanzania
§ Sirimavo Bandaranaike’s
economic policies in
Sri Lanka
Migrations:
§ South Asians to Britain
§ Algerians to France
§ Filipinos to the
United States
Cold War and Decolonization
UNIT
8
TOPIC 8.7
Global Resistance to
Established Power
Structures After 1900
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
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151AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Cultural Developments and Interactions
CDI
The development of ideas, beliefs, and religions illustrates how groups in society
view themselves, and the interactions of societies and their beliefs often have
political, social, and cultural implications.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 8: Learning Objective I
Explain various reactions to
existing power structures in
the period after 1900.
KC-6.2.V
Although conict dominated much of the
20th century, many individuals and groups—
including states—opposed this trend. Some
individuals and groups, however, intensied
the conicts.
KC-6.2.V.A
Groups and individuals challenged the many
wars of the century, and some, such as
Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr.,
and Nelson Mandela, promoted the practice
of nonviolence as a way to bring about
political change.
KC-6.2.V.C
Militaries and militarized states often
responded to the proliferation of conicts in
ways that further intensied conict.
KC-6.2.V.D
Some movements used violence against
civilians in an eort to achieve political aims.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Sourcing and
Situation
2.B
Explain the point of view,
purpose, historical situation,
and/or audience of a source.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
Responses that intensified
conflict:
§ Chile under
Augusto Pinochet
§ Spain under
Francisco Franco
§ Uganda under Idi Amin
§ The buildup of the
military–industrial
complex and
weapons trading
Movements that used
violence:
§ Shining Path
§ Al-Qaeda
UNIT
8
Cold War and Decolonization
TOPIC 8.8
End of
the Cold War
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
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152AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Governance
GOV
A variety of internal and external factors contribute to state formation, expansion,
and decline. Governments maintain order through a variety of administrative
institutions, policies, and procedures, and governments obtain, retain, and exercise
power in dierent ways and for dierent purposes.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 8: Learning Objective J
Explain the causes of the end
of the Cold War.
KC-6.2.IV.E
Advances in U.S. military and technological
development, the Soviet Union’s costly and
ultimately failed invasion of Afghanistan, and
public discontent and economic weakness
in communist countries led to the end of the
Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Developments and
Processes
1.B
Explain a historical concept,
development, or process.
Cold War and Decolonization
UNIT
8
TOPIC 8.9
Causation in the
Age of the Cold War
and Decolonization
The nal topic in this unit focuses on the skill of argumentation and so provides an
opportunity for your students to draw upon the key concepts and historical developments
they have studied in this unit. Using evidence relevant to this unit’s key concepts, students
should practice the suggested skill for this topic.
Required Course Content
LEARNING OBJECTIVE REVIEW: UNIT 8 KEY CONCEPTS
Unit 8: Learning Objective K
Explain the extent to which
the eects of the Cold War
were similar in the Eastern
and Western Hemispheres.
KC-6.2
Peoples and states around the world
challenged the existing political and
social order in varying ways, leading to
unprecedented worldwide conicts.
KC-6.2.II
Hopes for greater self-government
were largely unfullled following the
World War I; however, in the years
following the World War II, increasing anti-
imperialist sentiment contributed to the
dissolution of empires and the restructuring
of states.
KC-6.2.IV.C
The Cold War conict extended beyond its
basic ideological origins to have profound
eects on economic, political, social, and
cultural aspects of global events.
KC-6.3
The role of the state in the domestic economy
varied, and new institutions of global
association emerged and continued to develop
throughout the century.
KC-6.3.I
States responded in a variety of ways to the
economic challenges of the 20th century.
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153AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
SUGGESTED SKILL
Argumentation
6.D
Corroborate, qualify, or
modify an argument using
diverse and alternative
evidence in order to develop
a complex argument.
This argument might:
§ Explain nuance of an
issue by analyzing
multiple variables.
§ Explain relevant
and insightful
connections within and
across periods.
§ Explain the relative
historical signicance
of a source’s credibility
and limitations.
§ Explain how or why
a historical claim
or argument is or
is not eective.
THIS PAGE IS INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK.
Remember to go to AP Classroom
to assign students the online
Personal Progress Check for
this unit.
Whether assigned as homework or
completed in class, the Personal
Progress Check provides each
student with immediate feedback
related to this unit’s topics and skills.
Personal Progress Check 9
Multiple-choice: ~25 questions
Short-answer: 2 questions
§ Secondary source
§ No source
Free-response: 1 question
§ Long essay
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156AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
continued on next page
UNI
9
T
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157AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
8–10
%
AP EXAM WEIGHTING ~8–11 CLASS PERIODS
Globalization
c. 1900 to the present
UNIT AT A GLANCE
c tiamThe
Focus
Topic
Reasoning
Process Suggested Skill
Class Periods
~8–11 CLASS PERIODS
TEC
9.1 Advances in Technology
and Exchange After 1900
Continuity and
Change
5.A
Identify patterns among or
connections between historical
developments and processes.
NVE
9.2 Technological Advances
and Limitations After
1900: Disease
Continuity and
Change
5.B
Explain how a historical
development or process relates
to another historical development
or process.
9.3 Technological Advances:
Debates About the
Environment After 1900
Causation
4.B
Explain how a specic historical
development or process is situated
within a broader historical context.
ECN
9.4 Economics in the
Global Age
Continuity and
Change
2.C
Explain the signicance of a
source’s point of view, purpose,
historical situation, and/or audience,
including how these might limit the
use(s) of a source.
IOS
9.5 Calls for Reform and
Responses After 1900
Continuity and
Change
4.B
Explain how a specic historical
development or process is situated
within a broader historical context.
DIC
9.6 Globalized Culture
After 1900
Continuity and
Change
4.B
Explain how a specic historical
development or process is situated
within a broader historical context.
9.7 Resistance to
Globalization After 1900
Causation
2.C
Explain the signicance of a
source’s point of view, purpose,
historical situation, and/or audience,
including how these might limit the
use(s) of a source.
Globalization
UNIT
9
Thematic
Focus
Topic
Reasoning
Process Suggested Skill
Class Periods
~8–11 CLASS PERIODS
OVG
9.8 Institutions Developing
in a Globalized World
Causation
3.C
Compare the arguments or main
ideas of two sources.
9.9 Continuity and Change
in a Globalized World
Continuity and
Change
6.D
Corroborate, qualify, or modify
an argument using diverse and
alternative evidence in order to
develop a complex argument.
This argument might:
§ Explain nuance of an issue by
analyzing multiple variables.
§ Explain relevant and insightful
connections within and
across periods.
§ Explain the relative historical
signicance of a source’s
credibility and limitations.
§ Explain how or why a historical
claim or argument is or
is not eective.
Go to AP Classroom to assign the Personal Progress Check for Unit 9.
Review the results in class to identify and address any student misunderstandings.
UNIT AT A GLANCE
(cont’d)
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158AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
UNIT
9
Globalization
SAMPLE INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES
The sample activities on this page are optional and are oered to provide possible ways to
incorporate instructional approaches into the classroom. Teachers do not need to use these
activities and are free to alter or edit them. The examples below were developed in partnership
with teachers from the AP community to share ways that they approach teaching some of the
topics in this unit. Please refer to the Instructional Approaches section beginning on p. 171 for
more examples of activities and strategies.
Activity Topic Sample Activity
1
9.2 Making Connections
Display photographs from the 1918 inuenza pandemic. Ask students to think about the
technological, geopolitical, and environmental continuities and changes they studied
in previous units. Have students create a list of continuities and changes that help us
understand the developments depicted in the photo. Next, have students work with a partner
to create a concept web that explains the connections between the 1918 inuenza pandemic
and at least two other major changes or continuities in the early part of the 20th century.
2
9.4 Critique Reasoning
Give students the “Pinochet’s Achievements” section of Margaret Thatcher’s speech
on Pinochet at the Conservative Party Conference (1999). Ask students to fact-check
Thatcher by conducting research on each of the claims she makes about Pinochet in the
document. Have students rate the accuracy of Thatcher’s speech and write a brief report
justifying their rating.
3
9.9 Self/Peer Revision
Organize students into small groups. Display the learning objective for Topic 9.9. Ask
students to write a claim supported by a paragraph with specic historical evidence that
argues for a change but qualies the argument by acknowledging continuity. To help
students get started, provide a sentence frame for the topic sentence such as the following:
Science and technology led to profound changes like
; however, this
change did have limits, for example remained constant.
When students nish, have them share their paragraphs and discuss the strengths and
areas for improvement.
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159AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Unit Planning Notes
Use the space below to plan your approach to the unit. Consider how you want to pace your course and
methods of instruction and assessment.
UNIT
9
Globalization
TOPIC 9.1
Advances in
Technology and
Exchange After 1900
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
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160AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Technology and Innovation
TEC
Human adaptation and innovation have resulted in increased eciency, comfort,
and security, and technological advances have shaped human development and
interactions with both intended and unintended consequences.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 9: Learning Objective A
Explain how the development
of new technologies
changed the world from
1900 to present.
KC-6.1.I.A
New modes of communication—including
radio communication, cellular communication,
and the internet—as well as transportation,
including air travel and shipping containers,
reduced the problem of geographic distance.
KC-6.1.I.D
Energy technologies, including the use
of petroleum and nuclear power, raised
productivity and increased the production of
material goods.
KC-6.1.III.B
More eective forms of birth control gave
women greater control over fertility, transformed
reproductive practices, and contributed to
declining rates of fertility in much of the world.
KC-6.1.I.B
The Green Revolution and commercial
agriculture increased productivity and
sustained the earth’s growing population as
it spread chemically and genetically modied
forms of agriculture.
KC-6.1.I.C
Medical innovations, including vaccines and
antibiotics, increased the ability of humans to
survive and live longer lives.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Making Connections
5.A
Identify patterns among
or connections between
historical developments
and processes.
Globalization
UNIT
9
TOPIC 9.2
Technological Advances
and Limitations
After 1900: Disease
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
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161AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Humans and the Environments
ENV
The environment shapes human societies, and as populations grow and change,
these populations in turn shape their environments.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 9: Learning Objective B
Explain how environmental
factors aected human
populations over time.
KC-6.1.III
Diseases, as well as medical and scientic
developments, had signicant eects on
populations around the world.
KC-6.1.III.A
Diseases associated with poverty persisted
while other diseases emerged as new
epidemics and threats to human populations,
in some cases leading to social disruption.
These outbreaks spurred technological and
medical advances. Some diseases occurred
at higher incidence merely because of
increased longevity.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Making Connections
5.B
Explain how a historical
development or process
relates to another historical
development or process.
AVAILABLE RESOURCE
§ Classroom Resources >
The Spanish Flu and
Its Legacy
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
Diseases associated with
poverty:
§ Malaria
§ Tuberculosis
§ Cholera
Emergent epidemic
diseases:
§ 1918 inuenza
pandemic
§ Ebola
§ HIV/AIDS
Diseases associated with
increased longevity:
§ Heart disease
§ Alzheimer’s disease
UNIT
9
Globalization
TOPIC 9.3
Technological Advances:
Debates About the
Environment After 1900
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
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162AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Humans and the Environments
ENV
The environment shapes human societies, and as populations grow and change,
these populations in turn shape their environments.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 9: Learning Objective C
Explain the causes and
eects of environmental
changes in the period from
1900 to present.
KC-6.1.II.A
As human activity contributed to deforestation,
desertication, a decline in air quality, and
increased consumption of the world’s supply
of fresh water, humans competed over
these and other resources more intensely
than ever before.
KC-6.1.II.B
The release of greenhouse gases and
pollutants into the atmosphere contributed
to debates about the nature and causes of
climate change.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Contextualization
4.B
Explain how a specific
historical development or
process is situated within a
broader historical context.
Globalization
UNIT
9
TOPIC 9.4
Economics in
the Global Age
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
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163AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Economics Systems
ECN
As societies develop, they aect and are aected by the ways that they produce,
exchange, and consume goods and services.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 9: Learning Objective D
Explain the continuities
and changes in the
global economy from
1900 to present.
KC-6.3.I.D
In a trend accelerated by the end of the Cold
War, many governments encouraged free-
market economic policies and promoted
economic liberalization in the late 20th century.
KC-6.3.I.E
In the late 20th century, revolutions in
information and communications technology
led to the growth of knowledge economies in
some regions, while industrial production and
manufacturing were increasingly situated in
Asia and Latin America.
KC-6.3.II.B
Changing economic institutions, multinational
corporations, and regional trade agreements
reected the spread of principles and practices
associated with free-market economics
throughout the world.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Sourcing and
Situation
2.C
Explain the significance of
a source’s point of view,
purpose, historical situation,
and/or audience, including
how these might limit the
use(s) of a source.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
Governments’ increased
encouragement of
free-market policies:
§ The United States under
Ronald Reagan
§ Britain under
Margaret Thatcher
§ China under Deng
Xiaoping
§ Chile under
Augusto Pinochet
Knowledge economies:
§ Finland
§ Japan
§ U.S.
Asian production and
manufacturing economies:
§ Vietnam
§ Bangladesh
Latin American production
and manufacturing
economies:
§ Mexico
§ Honduras
Economic institutions and
regional trade agreements:
§ World Trade
Organization (WTO)
§ North American Free
Trade Agreement
(NAFTA)
§ Association of
Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN)
Multinational corporations:
§ Nestlé
§ Nissan
§ Mahindra and Mahindra
UNIT
9
Globalization
TOPIC 9.5
Calls for Reform and
Responses After 1900
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
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164AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Social Interactions and Organization
SIO
The process by which societies group their members and the norms that govern
the interactions between these groups and between individuals inuence political,
economic, and cultural institutions and organization.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 9: Learning Objective E
Explain how social categories,
roles, and practices have
been maintained and
challenged over time.
KC-6.3.III.i
Rights-based discourses challenged old
assumptions about race, class, gender,
and religion.
KC-6.3.III.ii
In much of the world, access to education
as well as participation in new political and
professional roles became more inclusive in
terms of race, class, gender, and religion.
KC-6.3.II.C.i
Movements throughout the world protested
the inequality of the environmental and
economic consequences of global integration.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Contextualization
4.B
Explain how a specific
historical development or
process is situated within a
broader historical context.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
Challenges to assumptions
about race, class, gender,
and religion:
§ The U.N. Universal
Declaration of Human
Rights, especially as
it sought to protect
the rights of children,
women, and refugees
§ Global feminism
movements
§ Negritude movement
§ Liberation theology in
Latin America
Increased access to
education and political and
professional roles:
§ The right to vote and/
or to hold public oce
granted to women
in the United States
(1920), Brazil (1932),
Turkey (1934), Japan
(1945), India (1947), and
Morocco (1963)
§ The rising rate of
female literacy and the
increasing numbers
of women in higher
education, in most parts
of the world
§ The U.S. Civil Rights Act
of 1965
§ The end of apartheid
§ Caste reservation in India
Environmental movements:
§ Greenpeace
§ Professor Wangari
Maathai’s Green Belt
Movement in Kenya
Economic movements:
§ World Fair Trade
Organization
Globalization
UNIT
9
TOPIC 9.6
Globalized Culture
After 1900
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
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165AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Cultural Developments and Interactions
CDI
The development of ideas, beliefs, and religions illustrates how groups in society
view themselves, and the interactions of societies and their beliefs often have
political, social, and cultural implications.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 9: Learning Objective F
Explain how and why
globalization changed culture
over time.
KC-6.3.IV.i
Political and social changes of the 20th century
led to changes in the arts and in the second
half of the century, popular and consumer
culture became more global.
KC-6.3.IV.ii
Arts, entertainment, and popular culture
increasingly reected the inuence of a
globalized society.
KC-6.3.IV.iii
Consumer culture became globalized and
transcended national borders.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Contextualization
4.B
Explain how a specific
historical development or
process is situated within a
broader historical context.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
Global culture:
§ Music: Reggae
§ Movies: Bollywood
§ Social media:
Facebook, Twitter
§ Television: BBC
§ Sports: World Cup
soccer, the Olympics
Global consumerism:
§ Online commerce:
Alibaba, eBay
§ Global brands: Toyota,
Coca-Cola
UNIT
9
Globalization
TOPIC 9.7
Resistance to
Globalization
After 1900
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
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166AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Cultural Developments and Interactions
CDI
The development of ideas, beliefs, and religions illustrates how groups in society
view themselves, and the interactions of societies and their beliefs often have
political, social, and cultural implications.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 9: Learning Objective G
Explain the various responses
to increasing globalization
from 1900 to present.
KC-6.3.IV.iv
Responses to rising cultural and economic
globalization took a variety of forms.
SUGGESTED SKILL
Sourcing and
Situation
2.C
Explain the significance of
a source’s point of view,
purpose, historical situation,
and/or audience, including
how these might limit the
use(s) of a source.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
Responses to economic
globalization:
§ Anti-IMF and anti-World
Bank activism
§ Advent of locally
developed social media
(Weibo in China)
Globalization
UNIT
9
TOPIC 9.8
Institutions
Developing in a
Globalized World
Required Course Content
THEMATIC FOCUS
Governance
GOV
A variety of internal and external factors contribute to state formation, expansion,
and decline. Governments maintain order through a variety of administrative
institutions, policies, and procedures, and governments obtain, retain, and exercise
power in dierent ways and for dierent purposes.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Unit 9: Learning Objective H
Explain how and why
globalization changed
international interactions
among states.
KC-6.3.II.A
New international organizations, including the
United Nations, formed with the stated goal
of maintaining world peace and facilitating
international cooperation.
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167AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
SUGGESTED SKILL
Claims and
Evidence in Sources
3.C
Compare the arguments or
main ideas of two sources.
UNIT
9
Globalization
TOPIC 9.9
Continuity and Change
in a Globalized World
The nal topic in this unit focuses on the skill of argumentation and so provides an
opportunity for your students to draw upon the key concepts and historical developments
they have studied in this unit. Using evidence relevant to this unit’s key concepts, students
should practice the suggested skill for this topic.
Required Course Content
LEARNING OBJECTIVE REVIEW: UNIT 9 KEY CONCEPTS
Unit 9: Learning Objective I
Explain the extent to which
science and technology
brought change in the period
from 1900 to the present.
KC-6.1
Rapid advances in science and technology
altered the understanding of the universe
and the natural world and led to advances
in communication, transportation, industry,
agriculture, and medicine.
KC-6.1.I.A
New modes of communication—
including radio communication, cellular
communication, and the internet—as well
as transportation, including air travel and
shipping containers, reduced the problem
of geographic distance.
KC-6.1.I.D
Energy technologies, including the use
of petroleum and nuclear power, raised
productivity and increased the production
of material goods.
KC-6.1.III.B
More eective forms of birth control
gave women greater control over fertility,
transformed reproductive practices, and
contributed to declining rates of fertility in
much of the world.
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168AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
SUGGESTED SKILL
Argumentation
6.D
Corroborate, qualify, or
modify an argument using
diverse and alternative
evidence in order to develop
a complex argument. This
argument might:
§ Explain nuance of an
issue by analyzing
multiple variables.
§ Explain relevant
and insightful
connections within and
across periods.
§ Explain the relative
historical signicance
of a source’s credibility
and limitations.
§ Explain how or why
a historical claim
or argument is or
is not eective.
Globalization
UNIT
9
LEARNING OBJECTIVE
Unit 9: Learning Objective I
Explain the extent to which
science and technology
brought change in the period
from 1900 to the present.
REVIEW: UNIT 9 KEY CONCEPTS
KC-6.1.I.B
The Green Revolution and commercial
agriculture increased productivity and
sustained the earth’s growing population
as it spread chemically and genetically
modied forms of agriculture.
KC-6.1.I.C
Medical innovations, including vaccines and
antibiotics, increased the ability of humans
to survive and live longer lives.
KC-6.3.I
States responded in a variety of ways to the
economic challenges of the 20th century.
KC-6.3.III.i
Rights-based discourses challenged old
assumptions about race, class, gender,
and religion.
KC-6.3.III.ii
In much of the world, access to education
as well as participation in new political and
professional roles became more inclusive in
terms of race, class, gender, and religion.
KC-6.3.IV.i
Political and social changes of the 20th century
led to changes in the arts and in the second
half of the century, popular and consumer
culture became more global.
KC-6.3.IV.ii
Arts, entertainment, and popular culture
increasingly reected the inuence of a
globalized society.
KC-6.3.IV.iii
Consumer culture became globalized and
transcended national borders.
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169AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
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AP WORLD HISTORY
Instructional
Approaches
Selecting and Using
Course Materials
Using a wide array of historical source material helps
students become procient with the practices and skills
and develop a conceptual understanding of world
history. In addition to using a textbook that will provide
required course content, students should have regular
opportunities to examine primary source material in
dierent and varied forms as well as other types of
historical scholarship. Rich, diverse source material
provides more exibility in designing learning activities
that develop the habits of historical thinking that are
essential for student success in the course.
Textbooks
The AP World History: Modern course requires the use
of a college-level textbook that includes discussion
of historical developments and processes from
c. 1200 into the 21st century in a way that encourages
conceptual understanding.
While nearly all college-level world history textbooks
address the six themes of the AP World History:
Modern course, they often do not do so in a balanced
fashion. As such, it is important to identify other types
of secondary sources and supplement the textbook
accordingly to ensure that each of the six thematic
approaches receives adequate attention. Many college-
level world history textbooks organize content by
civilization or region within a specied periodization.
These periodization models vary across textbooks and
may be dierent than the AP World History: Modern
course periodization. Teachers can use curricular
materials and strategies that ensure that students can
make connections across civilizations, regions, and
time periods.
While College Board provides an example
textbook list that teachers may consult to help
determine whether a text is considered appropriate in
meeting the AP World History: Modern Course Audit
curricular requirement, teachers select textbooks
locally. Additionally, the AP World History Teacher
Community on AP Central provides reviews of recently
published texts to help teachers determine their
appropriateness for the AP course.
Primary Sources
Students will nd it useful to analyze primary source
material regularly to deepen their understanding of
the learning objectives and develop the required
processes and skills. While publishers are increasingly
including primary source material within the textbook,
students should be introduced to a wide variety of
source material so that they can analyze evidence from
the past from diverse sources. These sources should
include written documents as well as images, such as
photographs, cartoons, and works of art. Teachers may
use the ancillary materials and website sources that
accompany most of the recently published textbooks
to nd high-quality primary source documents, artwork,
charts, and other sources of data that are linked to
the topics and themes addressed in the textbook. If a
textbook does not provide ample primary sources, or
the sources are too brief, teachers can supplement the
course with primary source anthologies that provide
lengthier selections or online compilations of primary
sources related to particular topic areas.
Secondary Sources
Student success in the course also depends on
exposure to and analysis of multiple secondary sources.
These include noncontemporary accounts of the
past written by historians or scholars of other related
disciplines, such as economists, sociologists, political
commentators, or art historians as well as data sets,
charts, and maps. Secondary sources of all types can
provide a broader and more substantive perspective
on topics addressed by the textbook. Additionally,
secondary sources can be helpful in supplementing
textbooks with older publication dates. It is especially
important that students practice analyzing and
comparing historians’ interpretations of events; they
should have opportunities to compare a primary
source with a secondary source or to compare the
views represented by two dierent secondary sources.
This need can often be met by source collections that
provide both primary and secondary source material
or through ancillary resource materials oered by
textbook publishers. When nding resources to use
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173AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
with students, consider a variety of sources that vary in
complexity, building toward publications by practicing
historians, university presses, or scholarly journals.
A school library media specialist can help identify
databases that contain a variety of useful source
material, both primary and secondary. Many schools
already subscribe to databases such as ABC-CLIO,
JSTOR, EBSCO, or Gale that may augment the materials
found in texts or source collections. World History
Connected is an important e-journal that is dedicated
to teaching and learning in world history. Current as well
as all past issues are free and available online. Library
media specialists can assist in developing LibGuides
specic to individual courses that give students easy
access to source material teachers identify to be used
at home or in the classroom.
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174AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Instructional Strategies
The AP World History: Modern course framework outlines the concepts and skills students should master to
be successful on the AP Exam. To address those concepts and skills eectively, it helps to incorporate a variety
of instructional approaches into daily lessons and activities. The following table presents strategies that can
help students master the historical thinking skills and reasoning process and apply their understanding of
course concepts.
Strategy Denition Purpose Example
Close Reading
Students read, reread, and
analyze small chunks of text
word for word, sentence by
sentence, and line by line.
Develops comprehensive
understanding of a text.
When students are reading
primary documents, have
them highlight relevant words
and passages that support
the author’s claim.
Create
Representations
Students create tables,
graphs, or other infographics
to interpret text or data.
Helps students organize
information using multiple
ways to present data.
Give students a set of data,
such as the migration rates by
place of origin and destination,
and have them create a graph
that best shows the data and
the trends.
Critique
Reasoning
Through collaborative
discussion, students critique
the arguments of others,
questioning the author’s
perspective, evidence
presented, and reasoning
behind the argument.
Helps students learn
from others as they make
connections between
concepts and learn to support
their arguments with evidence
and reasoning that make
sense to peers.
Have students critique
Simón Bolívar’s arguments
for independence in his
“Letter from Jamaica.” Have
them examine Bolívar’s
perspective and the evidence
and reasoning he uses to
support this position.
Debate
Students present an informal
or formal argument that
defends a claim with reasons,
while others defend dierent
claims about the same topic
or issue. The goal is to debate
ideas without attacking
the people who defend
those ideas.
Gives students an
opportunity to collect and
orally present evidence
supporting the armative
and negative arguments of
a proposition or issue.
Have students debate
whether the Mongol
conquest stied or stimulated
economic growth in Asia,
using evidence and reasoning
to support their claims.
Debrieng
Students participate in a
facilitated discussion that
leads to consensus
understanding or helps
students identify the key
conclusions or takeaways.
Helps students solidify
and deepen understanding
of content.
For complex issues, such
as changes in social class
structures, lead students
in a debrief to ensure their
understanding.
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175AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Strategy Denition Purpose Example
Discussion
Groups
Students engage in an
interactive, small-group
discussion, often with an
assigned role (e.g., questioner,
summarizer, facilitator,
evidence keeper), to consider
a topic, text, question.
Helps students gain new
understanding of or insight
into a text or issue by listening
to multiple perspectives.
Use the learning objectives,
such as Explain how and why
globalization changed culture
over time, with the view
to help students gain new
understanding by hearing the
views of their classmates.
Fishbowl
Some students form an inner
circle and model appropriate
discussion techniques, while
an outer circle of students
listens, responds, and
evaluates.
Provides students with an
opportunity to engage in a
formal discussion and to
experience roles both as
participant and active listener;
students also have the
responsibility of supporting
their opinions and responses
using specic textual evidence.
Have students discuss the
arguments presented in Latin
American revolutionary-era
documents and how they
responded to European
actions and policies leading
up to the Latin American
revolutions.
Graphic
Organizer
Students use a visual
representation for the
organization of information.
Provides students a visual
system for organizing
multiple ideas, details,
and/or textual support to be
included in a piece of writing.
Ask students to use a
graphic organizer to compare
political, economic, religious,
social, intellectual, and
technological ideas. Make
sure students use any
organizer thoughtfully and do
not simply “ll in the blanks.”
Guided
Discussion
A guided discussion is an
umbrella strategy that allows
for the use of dierent
techniques as you guide
students through the lesson.
Helps students see the
big picture and builds their
condence when dealing
with dicult content and/or
new skills.
Use brainstorming and
quickwrite as strategies
during a guided discussion
to help students understand
the motivations and patterns
of colonization in America by
European countries.
Jigsaw
Each student in a group
actively reads a dierent text
or dierent passage from a
single text, taking on the role
of “expert” on what was read.
Students share the information
from that reading with
students from other groups
and then return to their original
groups to share their new
knowledge.
Helps students summarize
and present information to
others in a way that facilitates
an understanding of a text
(or multiple texts) or issue
without having each student
read the text in its entirety;
by teaching others, they
become experts.
Use this strategy to facilitate
understanding of the various
methods and motivations
for 19th-century imperialism
by having students read
and analyze primary and
secondary sources related
to topics like industrialization
and the demand for raw
materials, missionary work,
and social Darwinism.
Look for a
Pattern
Students evaluate data or
create visual representations
to nd a trend.
Helps students identify
patterns that may be used to
draw conclusions.
Using a complex graph (with
at least two data sets), have
students compare data
related to the relationship
between urbanization and
capitalism to nd a trend and
draw a conclusion.
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176AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Strategy Denition Purpose Example
Making
Connections
Students are given a concept,
term, event, or document
and asked to write what they
know about it. Then, students
are paired and asked to
determine, describe, and
then explain the connection
between the two concepts.
Reinforces the fact that
historical concepts are
often connected and
provides the opportunity for
students to make and explain
connections between and
among these concepts.
Write concepts related to
one of the course themes
on cards, place them into a
box, and have students pick
a concept at random. Give
students a few minutes to
gather and recall information
about the term and then
pair students and ask them
to nd the connection
between their concepts.
Finally, ask the pairs to write
a brief explanation of how
the concepts are related.
Match Claims
and Evidence
Students are given sample
claims (most of which
can be improved upon)
to evaluate and revise.
Then students match their
revised claims with pieces
of evidence that can be
used to support the claims.
Once matched, students
write a statement explaining
how and why the evidence
supports the claim.
Provides opportunities for
students to edit existing
claims and match those
claims with existing evidence
in preparation for writing their
own argumentative essays.
After studying the major
trading networks in Unit 2,
have students practice
argumentation by asking
small groups of students to
write claims and supporting
evidence statements in
response to the following
learning objective: Explain the
similarities and dierences
among the various networks
of exchange in the period
from c. 1200 to c. 1450.
Have groups trade claims
and evidence and revise
or modify the claims (if
necessary), match the claims
and evidence, and write
statements explaining why the
evidence supports the claim.
Questioning
the Text
Students develop literal,
interpretive, and universal
questions about a text
before and during reading
it. Students should then
respond to the questions
during and after reading.
Allows students to engage
more actively with texts, read
with greater purpose and
focus, and ultimately answer
questions to gain greater
insight into the text.
Assign students to read and
analyze the writings of Ibn
Battuta and write down any
clarication and discussion
questions that come to
mind while reading the
text. Form groups around
similar questions and ask
students to research answers
from a source, such as the
textbook, working with peers
to answer any remaining
questions. Have groups
present their ndings and
lead a discussion about how
Ibn Battuta’s point of view
shaped his impressions of
the places he visited.
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177AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Strategy Denition Purpose Example
Quickwrite
Students write for a short,
specic amount of time
about a designated topic.
Helps students generate
ideas in a short time.
As preparation for the free-
response questions, use
a learning objective, such
as Explain the similarities
and dierences among
the various networks of
exchange in the period from
c. 1200 to c. 1450, to do a
quickwrite where students
write a claim and explain
evidence that supports
their claim for the assigned
learning objective.
Self/Peer
Revision
Students work alone or
with a partner to examine a
piece of writing for accuracy
and clarity.
Provides students with
an opportunity for editing
a written text to ensure
correctness of identied
components.
Have students perform
self- and peer revisions of their
practice document-based
and long essay questions so
that they have the opportunity
to review and revise their
practice claims, supporting
evidence, sourcing, and
analysis and reasoning.
Shared Inquiry
Students actively read a
provocative text, asking
interpretive questions
(questions for which there
are no predetermined right
answers) before and during
reading. After reading the
text, students engage with
their peers to make meaning
from the text, oer dierent
answers to the questions,
and debate one another,
supporting their positions
with specic evidence from
the text.
Allows a teacher to lead a
deep discussion about a
text and encourage diverse
ideas to emerge as students
think deeply and share
interpretations.
Provide a selection of primary
sources from individuals
involved in African and Asian
independence movements.
In groups, ask students to
formulate responses to this
learning objective: Compare
the processes by which
various peoples pursued
independence after 1900,
and present their ideas to the
class. Then lead a whole-group
discussion comparing these
movements to the earlier
movements in the Americas.
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178AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Strategy Denition Purpose Example
Socratic Seminar
Students engage in a
focused discussion tied to a
topic, essential question, or
selected text in which they
ask questions of one another.
The questions initiate a
conversation that continues
with a series of responses
and additional questions.
Helps students arrive at
a new understanding by
asking questions that clarify;
challenging assumptions;
probing perspective and
point of view; questioning
facts, reasons, and evidence;
or examining implications
and outcomes.
Have students read an
extended excerpt from
Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s
The Social Contract. Place
students in groups of six to
eight and have them discuss
the following questions:
§ According to Rousseau,
what is the social
contract?
§ What role should
government play in the
lives of people?
§ What is the general will?
§ How should individuals
participate in
government?
§ Why were Rousseau’s
ideas revolutionary?
Think-Pair-Share
Students think through a
question or issue alone, pair
with a partner to share ideas,
and then share results with
the class.
Enables the development
of initial ideas that are then
tested with a partner in
preparation for revising ideas
and sharing them with a
larger group.
To prepare for a long essay
about the causes of military
conict in the 20th century,
use think-pair-share as a
prewriting activity in response
to the following learning
objective: Explain the relative
signicance of the causes of
global conict in the period
1900 to the present.
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179AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Developing Historical
Thinking Skills
Throughout the AP World History: Modern course,
students will develop skills that are fundamental
to the discipline of history. Since these historical
thinking skills represent the complex skills that adept
historians demonstrate, students will benet from
multiple opportunities to develop these skills in a
scaolded manner.
The historical thinking skills and reasoning processes
used in the course framework equip students to begin
to understand and create historical knowledge in a
process similar to that followed by historians. This
process begins with a close analysis of historical
sources and reaches its conclusion when evidence,
drawn from historical sources, is used eectively to
support an argument about the past.
The tables on the pages that follow look at each of the
skills and provide examples of tasks or questions for
each skill, along with instructional notes and strategies
for implementing that skill into the course.
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180AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Historical Thinking Skill 1: Identify and explain
historical developments and processes
Historical knowledge is gained from a variety of formats: knowledge transfer from
the teacher, reading textbooks, analyzing primary and secondary sources, and from
other media. In order to perform historical analysis and argumentation, students
should establish a depth of knowledge about historical events, processes, and
people and their actions. This skill allows students to gain that empirical knowledge
that they can then apply using more sophisticated skills.
Skill Tasks/Questions Sample Activity
Instructional
Strategies
1.A: Identify a
historical concept,
development, or
process.
§ Identify the characteristics
and traits of a concept,
development, or process.
§ What does the historical
evidence tell you about
a concept, development,
or process?
Ask students to read the speeches
by Mao Zedong and use a table to
identify his policies related to the
national economy.
§ Graphic
Organizer
1.B: Explain a
historical concept,
development,
or process.
§ Begin to think about
causation and patterns
of continuity and change
over time.
§ Using specic historical
evidence, explain how
and why a historical
concept, development, or
process emerged.
Ask students to read excepts from
speeches by Jiang Qing and explain
through writing how the Cultural
Revolution emerged in China.
§ Quickwrite
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181AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Historical Thinking Skill 2: Analyze sourcing and
situation of primary and secondary sources
Historians use primary sources and the arguments of other historians (secondary
sources) as the foundation for creating an understanding about historical events—
in short, a historical argument. Sources need to be closely evaluated so that they
can be used properly to support, refute, or even modify an argument. By using these
skills, students will build an understanding of source analysis that they can later
use in developing their own historical arguments. Good analysis requires a critical
evaluation of the source’s limitations.
Skill Tasks/Questions Sample Activity
Instructional
Strategies
2.A: Identify a
source’s point of
view, purpose,
historical
situation, and/or
audience.
§ Identify the author.
§ Identify their perspective.
§ Identify their purpose.
§ Identify the intended
audience.
§ Place the source within its
historical situation.
Lead students on a guided reading
of an excerpt from Simón Bolívar’s
“Letter from Jamaica.” Ask them
to identify the author and his
perspective (point of view). Then
ask students to identify the
historical situation during the time
it was written.
§ Critique
Reasoning
2.B: Explain
the point of
view, purpose,
historical
situation,
and/or audience
of a source.
Explain the many dierent
variables that impact a source’s:
§ Content
§ Tone
§ Interpretation
§ Audience
§ Purpose
Ask students to examine and
discuss the factors that led Simón
Bolívar to respond to colonial
control in the way he did.
§ Socratic
Seminar
§ Questioning
a Text
2.C: Explain the
signicance of a
source’s point of
view, purpose,
historical situation,
and/or audience,
including how
these might limit
the use(s) of
the source.
§ Why does the source’s point
of view, purpose, historical
situation, and audience matter?
§ How could a historian use
this source to develop
an argument?
§ What does the source not
tell you?
§ How does the point of view,
purpose, historical situation
and/or audience of a source
aect its value to historians?
Ask students to assess the impact
of Simón Bolívar’s point of view on
the tone and content of the “Letter
from Jamaica” and explain how his
point of view might cause the letter
to present an incomplete picture
of the historical developments of
the time.
§ Discussion
Groups
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182AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Historical Thinking Skill 3: Analyze arguments in
primary and secondary sources
Because historians rely on primary and secondary sources to serve as evidence
to support their claims, they need to closely analyze these sources. This analysis
includes investigating what the source does and does not communicate, determining
the argument established by a source, and identifying the evidence the author
uses to support that argument.
Skill Tasks/Questions Sample Activity
Instructional
Strategies
3.A: Identify
and describe a
claim and/or
argument in a
text-based or non-
text-based source.
§ What is the author trying to
prove in the source?
Ask students to identify Adam
Smith’s argument in an excerpt from
the Wealth of Nations.
§ Close Reading
3.B: Identify the
evidence used in a
source to support
an argument.
§ What is the source’s
argument?
§ What specic examples
does the author use to
support the argument?
Ask students to identify the
justications for revolution
that Karl Marx presents in
The Communist Manifesto.
§ Think-Pair-
Share
3.C: Compare
the arguments
or main ideas of
two sources.
§ Identify the argument or
main idea in each source.
§ What are the similarities
between the arguments or
main ideas in each source?
§ What are the dierences
between the arguments or
main ideas in each source?
Have students compare newspaper
editorials from a supporter of fair
trade and a supporter for free trade
to identify and discuss similarities
and dierences in their arguments.
§ Fishbowl
3.D: Explain
how claims or
evidence support,
modify, or refute
a source’s
argument.
§ Explain the source's claim.
§ Explain the evidence
presented in the source.
§ Explain how the outside
evidence supports the claims
in the source.
§ Explain how the outside
evidence contradicts the
source's claim.
Ask students to explain the
arguments made in the Declaration
of Independence. What outside
evidence supports and refutes the
claims made?
§ Critique
Reasoning
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183AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Historical Thinking Skill 4: Analyze the context of
historical events, developments, or processes
Historical events, developments, and processes do not happen in a vacuum.
They cannot be understood without proper examination within the relevant context.
While students are often taught to focus on comparison, causality, and patterns of
continuity and change over time as ways to look at these events, historical context
also plays a part. Analyzing historical events using context helps students see the big
picture and make the connections they will need to make when developing thoughtful
arguments. These skills guide students through the process of contextual analysis.
Skill Tasks/Questions Sample Activity
Instructional
Strategies
4.A: Identify and
describe a historical
context for a
specic historical
development
or process.
§ What events led up to the
one we are studying?
§ What else is happening in
the world at this time?
Have students examine Mohandas
Gandhi's 1942 Quit India speech
and identify and describe events
and developments outside of
India that help with understanding
Gandhi's arguments.
§ Discussion
Group
4.B: Explain how a
specic historical
development or
process is situated
within a broader
historical context.
§ Ask students to use historical
reasoning to explain how an
event relates to a broader
process.
§ Why are the events related?
§ How does the relationship
help us understand the event
we are studying?
Have students examine Huda
Shaarawi’s speech at the 1944
Arab Feminist Conference in
the context of Islam, global
feminist movements, and colonial
independence movements.
Challenge students to explore
how events outside of Egypt
might help them understand
Huda Shaarawi’s position.
§ Socratic
Seminar
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184AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Historical Thinking Skill 5: Using historical
reasoning processes (comparison, causation,
continuity and change), analyze patterns and
connections between and among historical
developments and processes
Analyzing patterns and making connections is the bridge between all of the
previous historical thinking skills. This skill pulls everything together and allows
students to connect all concepts. Whether they are using sources or their own
historical knowledge, students will use the historical reasoning processes to identify
and explain patterns and connections between historical events and developments.
Skill Tasks/Questions Sample Activity
Instructional
Strategies
5.A: Identify
patterns among
or connections
between historical
developments and
processes.
§ What historical developments
or processes are described in
this source?
§ What are the causes of this
development or process?
§ What are the eects of this
development or process?
§ Where does the development
or process t into a pattern of
continuity or change over time?
§ What are the similarities and
dierences between this
development or process
and another?
§ What does the data in a non-
text based source show?
§ What trends and patterns can
you identify from data?
Have students read an excerpt
from Nelson Mandela's 1964
speech from the Rivonia Trial and,
using a table, identify similarities
and dierences to developments
in South Africa and North America.
§ Graphic
Organizer
5.B: Explain
how a historical
development or
process relates to
another historical
development or
process.
§ What historical developments
or processes are described in
this source?
§ How or why are the causes of
this development or process
related to another historical
development or process?
§ How or why are the eects of
this development or process
related to another historical
development or process?
§ How or why does the
development or process t
into a pattern of continuity or
change over time?
§ How or why are developments
and processes similar and/or
dierent?
Using excerpts from Kwame
Nkrumah’s 1953 speech
to the House of Commons,
have students quickwrite a
series of explanations that
connect Nkrumah’s opinion on
independence to other historical
developments and processes
using historical reasoning.
For example, connect the source
to the rise of nationalism after
World War II using causation,
connect the source to Indian
independence using comparison,
and connect the source to the
Enlightenment using patterns of
continuity and change over time.
§ Quickwrite
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185AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Historical Thinking Skill 6: Develop an argument
Writing claims is often the rst argumentation skill that students practice, but claims
are dicult to develop without prompting. Giving students prompts to work with can
help them as they learn this skill. The prompt should establish parameters that require
students to take a position, either by choosing one of two presented alternatives or
by assessing the extent to which a given proposition or scenario is valid.
In order to develop a historically defensible claim, students need to know what
evidence is available to support that claim. They can practice writing claims using
just their knowledge as evidence, as they will in the long essay question. They
should also write claims using documents, to practice both evidence and sourcing (a
few at rst, then build quantity as students gain skills and condence), as they will in
the document-based question.
The reasoning processes, discussed in more depth starting on page 190, will
help students develop historical reasoning needed to appropriately connect their
evidence to their claims.
There is no simple path to teaching students to develop complex arguments.
The tasks/questions and the sample activities in the table below can serve as a
roadmap. However, students will also need a mastery of the course content, source
analysis, a highly developed understanding of historical context, and the ability to
make connections between and among events to demonstrate this skill. In short,
it is the culminating skill for an AP World History: Modern student.
Skill Tasks/Questions Sample Activity
Instructional
Strategies
6.A: Make a
historically
defensible claim.
§ What do you know about the
development or processes
established the prompt?
§ What are your options
regarding positions to take?
§ What historical reasoning
process is indicated (or best
ts the structure of the essay
you plan to write)?
§ Based on the prompt and the
evidence (either provided or
from your own knowledge),
which position will you take?
§ State in a few words how you
will prove your claim.
Provide students with a practice
writing prompt, such as Develop
an argument that evaluates how
industrialization aected Asia
after 1830.
Have students break down the
question into potential positions
(industrialization fostered economic
growth or industrialization led to
imperial domination, or both).
Have them identify a historical
reasoning process that best ts
the essay that they would go on
to develop (such as comparison
or causation).
Ask them to think of evidence that
would support all of the identied
positions; then, ask them to
write a defensible claim that
establishes a line of reasoning by
stating their chosen position and
provides a roadmap for how they
are going to prove their claim.
§ Self/Peer Revision
continued on next page
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186AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Skill Tasks/Questions Sample Activity
Instructional
Strategies
6.B: Support an
argument using
specic and
relevant evidence.
§ Describe
specic
examples of
historically
relevant
evidence.
§ Explain how
specic
examples of
historically
relevant
evidence
support an
argument.
§ Brainstorm relevant
evidence that relates to the
development or process
established in the prompt.
§ Hone your initial list of
evidence by describing
specic examples that
support the argument.
§ If practicing a document-
based question, evaluate the
evidence provided.
§ Determine whether the
evidence supports, refutes,
or modies each of the
possible positions.
Provide students with three to
four documents* that could be
used to support the positions
outlined in a sample prompt,
such as Evaluate the extent to
which European industrialization
produced a radical change
in the lives of Africans. Ask
students to evaluate the evidence
using a Venn diagram. They
should group the evidence into
three categories: evidence
that supports the idea that
industrialization produced a
radical change, evidence that the
change was not as radical, and
evidence that could be used to
support both positions. For each
piece of evidence, have students
write a statement explaining
how the evidence supports
the position(s).
*Teachers can use this same activity for
long essay question practice by asking
students to brainstorm relevant evidence
instead of providing documents.
§ Graphic Organizer
6.C: Use
historical
reasoning
to explain
relationships
among pieces
of historical
evidence.
§ Which reasoning process(es)
is indicated in the prompt
(comparison, causation,
continuity and change)?
§ If comparison is indicated,
establish relevant categories
in which to compare the
evidence.
§ If causation is indicated,
how does the evidence
show a pattern of causes
and/or eects?
§ If continuity and change
is indicated, identify
patterns or developments
that indicate change
and/or continuity and draw
conclusions in support of
your claim.
When practicing for the long
essay, have students identify
the historical reasoning process
indicated in the prompt. Then
have them develop and use a
graphic organizer (such as a
Venn diagram or ow chart) to
arrange the evidence in a way
that reects the organizational
structure of the historical
reasoning process.
§ Graphic Organizer
§ Self/Peer Revision
§ Debate
continued on next page
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187AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Skill Tasks/Questions Sample Activity
Instructional
Strategies
6.D: Corroborate,
qualify, or modify
an argument
using diverse
and alternative
evidence in
order to develop
a complex
argument. This
argument might:
continued on next page
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188AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
§ Create
Representations
§ Graphic Organizer
§ Think-Pair-Share
§ Quickwrite
§ Self/Peer Revision
§ Explain
nuanceof
an issue by
analyzing
multiple
variables.
§ Which categorical variables
(such as commercial,
political, religious, etc.) have
a signicant eect on the
development or process?
§ How does the development
or process relate to or
how was it aected by the
categorical variables you
identied?
In an essay on the eectiveness
of state sponsored
industrialization, ask students
to provide evidence to support
various categorical variables
and explain their impact on the
eectiveness of programs to
promote industrialization. Then
have them order the categorical
variables to show the most
to least important in terms of
eectiveness.
§ Explain relevant
and insightful
connections
within and
across periods.
§ How is this development or
process signicantly similar
to or dierent from a related
development or process?
§ Is this development or
process a signicant result
of or a major catalyst
for a development or
process within or across
time periods?
§ Does this development
or process represent a
signicant change or a
continuity over time?
§ Does this development or
process provide evidence
of a signicant pattern in
world history?
In an essay, ask students to
make connections between
independence movements.
For example, how was the
American Revolution of the
18th century similar to other
independence movements
like the one in India in the
20th century? Do the similarities
provide evidence of a broad
pattern in world history? In what
ways does the later movement
show continuity with the original
movement? In what ways does
it show change? Do these
continuities and changes provide
evidence of a larger pattern in
world history?
Skill Tasks/Questions Sample Activity
Instructional
Strategies
§ Explain the
relative historical
signicance
of a source’s
credibility and
limitations.
§ How or why is the source’s
point of view, purpose,
historical situation,
or audience relevant to
the argument?
§ How would this aect the use
of the source in developing
an argument?
Provide students with a set of four
documents with contradictory
perspectives on the debate over
the outcome of the settlement of
World War I.
Ask them to examine each
document and weigh the relative
historical signicance and
credibility of each.
Then have students establish
a position on the eects of the
peace negotiations through
an evaluation of each source’s
point of view, purpose, historical
situation, or audience.
§ Create
Representations
§ Graphic Organizer
§ Think-Pair-Share
§ Quickwrite
§ Self/Peer Revision
§ Explain how
or why a
historical claim
or argument
is or is not
eective.
§ Evaluate the historical claim.
§ How does the evidence
support this claim?
§ What evidence goes against
this claim?
§ What evidence-based
counterarguments exist?
§ Refute the counterargument
by using evidence to explain
why it is not as eective.
Using a collection of sources
from a released document-
based question, ask students
to identify the claim of a source
and list the evidence presented
in a chart. Then ask them to
corroborate or refute the claim
based on the evidence. Ask them
to present disparate, diverse,
or contradictory evidence that
they glean from the sources.
After refuting the claim, ask them
why their argument is the most
persuasive.
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189AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Developing the
Reasoning Processes
Reasoning processes describe the cognitive
operations that students will be required to apply
when engaging with the historical thinking skills on
the AP Exam. The reasoning processes ultimately
represent ways in which historians think.
Student responses on the AP Exam should reect their
ability to apply a reasoning process that aligns to the
intent of the question. For example, if students are asked
to explain how and why the Silk Road and trans-Saharan
trade networks impacted society in the period 1200–
1450, successful student responses will be organized
around the reasoning process of comparison. In many
cases, guiding students toward a better alignment
between the reasoning process and the task unlocks
their understanding and helps them improve their writing.
The following table provides suggestions for
approaching the reasoning processes in the AP World
History: Modern course.
Reasoning
Process Key Tasks Examples
Instructional
Strategies
Comparison
1.i: Describe similarities
and/or dierences
between dierent
historical developments or
processes.
1.ii: Explain relevant
similarities and/or
dierences between
specic historical
developments and
processes.
1.iii: Explain the relative
historical signicance
of similarities and/or
dierences between
dierent historical
developments or
processes.
After discussing the concept of a second
industrial revolution, ask students to write a
paragraph identifying and describing the
similarities and dierences in industrialization
in the United States, Germany, Russia, and
Japan between 1870 and 1914.
After students identify similarities and
dierences in the industrialization of the
United States, Germany, Russia, and Japan
between 1870 and 1914, discuss these
similarities and dierences in class and
have students explain why these similarities
and dierences exist.
After students explain why similarities
and dierences exist in the process of
industrialization in the United States,
Germany, Russia, and Japan between 1870
and 1914, discuss these similarities and
dierences in class and have students
explain how the comparisons among the
dierent economies substantiate the
concept of a second industrial revolution in
general.
Have students write a thesis and
supporting paragraph explaining how
the comparisons among the dierent
economies substantiate the concept of a
second industrial revolution in general.
§ Quickwrite
§ Guided
Discussion
§ Self/Peer
Revision
continued on next page
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190AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Reasoning
Process Key Tasks Examples
Instructional
Strategies
Causation
2.i: Describe causes
and/or eects of a specic
historical development or
process.
2.ii: Explain the
relationship between
causes and eects of
a specic historical
development or process.
2.iii: Explain the dierence
between primary and
secondary causes and
between short- and long-
term eects.
2.iv: Explain how
a relevant context
inuenced a specic
historical development or
process.
2.v: Explain the relative
historical signicance of
dierent causes and/or
eects.
After reading a historian’s explanation of
the concept of nationalism in the 19th and
20th century, have students describe two
eects of this development.
After students identify and describe the
eects of nationalism, ask them to create a
ow chart that explains how a cause of the
rise of nationalism (like imperialism) might
be related to the eects they described.
After students explain the relationship
between the causes and eects of
nationalism, ask them to share their causes
and eects with other students. Have
students discuss how they would classify
the various causes and eects (primary,
secondary, short term, long term).
After students classify the causes and
eects with their group, have them quickly
write a paragraph that explains how the
Enlightenment, industrialization, or the world
wars might serve as a relevant context for
understanding the rise of nationalism.
Have students read an extended excerpt
from Usha Mehta’s interview with Uma
Shanker about her role in the Quit India
Movement, recorded October 30, 1969 and
discuss the relative historical signicance of
nationalism in shaping her words and goals.
§ Close Reading
§ Graphic
Organizer
§ Discussion
Group
§ Quickwrite
§ Socratic
Seminar
Continuity
and Change
3.i: Describe patterns of
continuity and/or change
over time.
3.ii: Explain patterns of
continuity and/or change
over time.
3.iii: Explain the relative
historical signicance of
specic historical
developments in relation
to a larger pattern of
continuity and/or change.
Give students a range of years, such as
1200–1750, and ask them to describe three
aspects of long distance trade in the world
that changed in those years and three
aspects that did not.
After students describe continuities and
changes in long-distance trade, ask them
to explain how and why one continuity
and one change existed.
Ask students to work with a partner
to develop a thesis with supporting
paragraph(s) that explains the signicance
of the Mongol Empire in larger patterns
of continuity and change related to
long distance trade in the period from
1200 to 1750.
§ Think-Pair-
Share
§ Quickwrite
§ Self/Peer
Revision
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191AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
THIS PAGE IS INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK.
AP WORLD HISTORY
Exam
Information
Exam Overview
The AP World History Exam assesses student understanding of the
historical thinking skills and learning objectives outlined in the course
framework. The exam is 3 hours and 15 minutes long and students are
required to answer 55 multiple-choice questions, 3 short-answer questions,
1 document-based question, and 1 long essay question. The details of the
exam, including exam weighting and timing, can be found below:
Section Question Type
Number of
Questions
Exam
Weighting Timing
I
Part A: Multiple-choice questions 55 40% 55 minutes
Part B: Short-answer questions 3 20% 40 minutes
Question 1: Secondary source(s)
Question 2: Primary source
Students select one:
Question 3: No stimulus
Question 4: No stimulus
II
Free-response questions 2
Question 1: Document-based 25% 60 minutes
(includes
15-minute
reading period)
Students select one:
Question 2: Long essay
Question 3: Long essay
Question 4: Long essay
15% 40 minutes
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195AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
The exam assesses content from the six course themes:
Theme 1: Humans and the Environment
Theme 2: Cultural Developments and Interactions
Theme 3: Governance
Theme 4: Economic Systems
Theme 5: Social Interactions and Organization
Theme 6: Technology and Innovation
The exam weighting for each of the nine units of the course is provided below.
Units Chronological Period* Exam Weighting
Unit 1: The Global Tapestry
c. 1200 to
c. 1450
8–10%
Unit 2: Network of Exchange
8–10%
Unit 3: Land-Based Empires
c. 1450 to
c. 1750
12–15%
Unit 4: Transoceanic Interconnections
12–15%
Unit 5: Revolutions
c. 1750 to
c. 1900
12–15%
Unit 6: Consequences of Industrialization
12–15%
Unit 7: Global Conict
c. 1900 to
the present
8–10%
Unit 8: Cold War and Decolonization
8–10%
Unit 9: Globalization
8–10%
*Events, processes, and developments are not constrained by the given dates and may begin before, or continue after, the
approximate dates assigned to each unit.
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196AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Section I
PART A: MULTIPLE-CHOICE
The rst part of Section I of the AP World History Exam includes 55 multiple-choice
questions typically appearing in sets of three to four questions, each with one or more
stimuli, including primary texts, secondary texts, images (artwork, photos, posters,
cartoons, etc.), charts or other quantitative data, and maps. Additionally, there will be
at least one set of paired text-based stimuli. Multiple-choice questions require analysis
of the provided stimulus sources and of the historical developments and processes
described in the sources.
PART B: SHORT-ANSWER
The second part of Section I of the AP Exam also includes three required short-answer
questions. Short-answer question 1 is required and includes a secondary source
stimulus. The topic of the question will include historical developments or processes
between the years 1200 and 2001.
Short-answer question 2 is required and includes a primary source stimulus. The
topic of the question will include historical developments or processes between the
years 1200 and 2001.
Students may select short-answer questions 3 or 4, neither of which includes a
stimulus. Short-answer question 3 will focus on historical developments or processes
between the years 1200 and 1750. Short-answer question 4 will focus on historical
developments or processes between the years 1750 and 2001.
All four historical periods are represented among the four short-answer questions.
Section II
DOCUMENT-BASED QUESTION
The document-based question presents students with seven documents oering
various perspectives on a historical development or process. The question requires
students to do the following:
§ Respond to the prompt with a historically defensible thesis or claim that
establishes a line of reasoning.
§ Describe a broader historical context relevant to the prompt.
§ Use the provided documents to support an argument in response to the prompt.
§ Use historical evidence beyond the documents relevant to an argument about the
prompt.
§ For at least three documents, explain how or why the document’s point of view,
purpose, historical situation, and/or audience is relevant to an argument.
§ Demonstrate a complex understanding of the historical development that is the
focus of the prompt, using evidence to corroborate, qualify, or modify an argument
that addresses the question.
The topic of the document-based question will include historical developments or
processes between the years 1450 and 2001.
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197AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
LONG ESSAY QUESTION
The long essay question requires students to do the following:
§ Respond to the prompt with a historically defensible thesis or claim that
establishes a line of reasoning.
§ Describe a broader historical context relevant to the prompt.
§ Support an argument in response to the prompt using specic and relevant
examples of evidence.
§ Demonstrate a complex understanding of the historical development that is the
focus of the prompt, using evidence to corroborate, qualify, or modify an argument
that addresses the question.
Students must select one of the three long essay questions. Each question focuses
on the same reasoning process, but historical developments and processes in
dierent time periods. The rst option focuses primarily on historical developments or
processes between 1200 and 1750, the second primarily on historical developments
or processes between 1450 and 1900, and the third primarily on historical
developments or processes between 1750 and 2001.
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198AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
How Student Learning Is
Assessed on the AP Exam
The six historical thinking skills are assessed on the AP Exam as detailed below.
Historical
Thinking Skill Multiple-Choice Questions Free-Response Questions
Skill 1: Developments
and Processes
Multiple-choice questions assess students’
ability to identify and explain historical
developments and processes.
The short-answer questions,
document-based question, and long
essay question assess students’
ability to identify and explain historical
developments and processes.
Skill 2: Sourcing and
Situation
Multiple-choice questions assess students’ ability
to analyze sourcing and situation of primary and
secondary sources.
Students will need to identify and explain a source's
point of view, purpose, historical situation and
audience, including its signicance. Additionally,
students will need to explain how the sourcing and
situation might limit the use(s) of a source.
Short-answer questions 1 and/or
2 assess students’ ability to
analyze the sourcing or situation
in primary or secondary sources.
The document-based question
assesses students’ ability to analyze
how the point of view, purpose,
historical situation, and/or audience
is relevant to an argument.
Skill 3: Claims and
Evidence in Sources
Multiple-choice questions assess students’
ability arguments in primary and secondary
sources, including identifying and describing
claims and evidence used. Additionally, students
will need to compare arguments and explain how
claims or evidence support, modify, or refute a
source's argument.
Short-answer questions 1 and/or
2 assess students’ ability to analyze
arguments in primary or secondary
sources. The document-
based question also provides
opportunities for students to
analyze arguments in primary
sources.
Skill 4:
Contextualization
Multiple-choice questions assess students’
ability to identify and describe a historical
context for a specic historical development
or process as well as explain how a specic
development or process is situated within a
broader historical context.
The document-based question
and long essay question assess
students’ ability to describe a
broader historical context relevant
to the topic of the question. One or
two of the short-answer questions
may also assess this skill.
Skill 5: Making
Connections
Multiple-choice questions assess students’
ability to analyze patterns and connections
between and among historical developments
and processes using historical reasoning
(e.g., comparison, causation, continuity and
change).
The document-based question,
long essay question, and one
or more of the short-answer
questions all assess this skill.
Skill 6:
Argumentation
No multiple-choice questions explicitly assess
the argumentation skill.
The document-based question
and long essay question assess
argumentation.
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199AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Task Verbs Usedin
Free-Response
Questions
The following task verbs are commonly used in the free-response questions:
Compare: Provide a description or explanation of similarities and/or dierences.
Describe: Provide the relevant characteristics of a specied topic.
Evaluate: Judge or determine the signicance or importance of information, or
the quality or accuracy of a claim.
Explain: Provide information about how or why a relationship, process, pattern,
position, situation, or outcome occurs, using evidence and/or reasoning.
Explain “how” typically requires analyzing the relationship, process, pattern,
position, situation, or outcome, whereas explain “why” typically requires
analysis of motivations or reasons for the relationship, process, pattern,
position, situation, or outcome.
Identify: Indicate or provide information about a specied topic, without
elaboration or explanation.
Support an argument: Provide specic examples and explain how they
support a claim.
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200AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Sample Exam
Questions
The sample exam questions that follow illustrate the relationship between the course
framework and the AP World History: Modern Exam and serve as examples of the
types of questions that appear on the exam. After the sample questions is a table that
shows to which skill and learning objective(s), each question relates. The table
also provides the answers to the multiple-choice questions.
Section I
PART A: MULTIPLE-CHOICE
Questions 1–3 refer to the passage below.
“To the most holy father, the Pope:
Most of our kingdom of Hungary was reduced to a desert by the scourge of
the Mongols’ invasion. Now, we receive news every day that the Mongols have
again unied their forces and will soon send their countless troops against
all of Europe. We are afraid that we will be unable to withstand the Mongols’
ferocity in battle unless the Pope is able to persuade other Christian rulers to
send us aid to fortify our kingdom.
When the Mongols invaded in 1241, we sent requests for military aid to the
papacy, the Holy Roman Emperor, the king of France, and others. But from
all of them we received only words of support. We, for shame, resorted to
inviting pagan Cumans* into our kingdom.
If, God forbid, our kingdom fell to the Mongols, the door would be open
for them to invade the other regions of the Catholic faith from the Hungarian
steppes. So, the people in our kingdom cannot cease to be amazed that you
oer substantial help to the Christian territories overseas, which if they were
lost would not harm the inhabitants of Europe more than if our kingdom fell.”
*a people who dwelled along the steppes of the Black Sea and in Central Asia
King Béla IV of Hungary, letter to Pope Innocent IV, circa 1250
1. Which of the following features of Europe in the period circa 1200–1450
most directly contributed to the fact that the king of Hungary did not
receive the military assistance that he requested in 1241, as mentioned in
the third paragraph?
(A) e existence of numerous feudal states that were frequently in conict
with one another
(B) e development of parliaments that could check royal authority
(C) e growing political power of regional trade organizations such as the
Hanseatic League
(D) e religious divisions of Europe into Protestants and Catholics as a
result of the Reformation
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201AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
2. Béla IV’s statement in the fourth paragraph that the Hungarian people
“cannot cease to be amazed” by the actions of the papacy most directly refers
to the papacy’s failure to aid the Hungarians while
(A) sending missionaries to China
(B) supporting Christian conquests in the Iberian Peninsula
(C) initiating European military campaigns in the Middle East
(D) encouraging maritime exploration in the Indian Ocean
3. All of the following statements are factually accurate. Which would best
explain Béla IV’s reasoning for inviting the Cumans into Hungary as mentioned
in the third paragraph?
(A) Cumans had settled in Hungary and had been granted local autonomy.
(B) Cuman slave soldiers had become the rulers of the Mamluk Sultanate
of Egypt.
(C) Cumans were ethnic Turks who spoke a language intelligible to the
Mongols.
(D) Cumans were nomadic warriors and were familiar with the Mongols’
military tactics.
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202AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Questions 4–6 refer to the following two maps.
Map 1
Navigational Map Produced
by Albino De Canepa, Genoese Mapmaker, 1489
The History Collection/Alamy Stock Photo
e map shows a number of cities and places, including Genoa, Venice, Paris,
the Muslim emirate of Granada, Algiers, Cairo, Jerusalem, Damascus, and
several cities along the Danube River.
Map 2
World Map, Produced By Henricus Martellus,
A German Cartographer Working in Florence, Italy, Early 1490s
The Picture Art Collection/Alamy Stock Photo
4. Which of the following historical developments most strongly contributed
to the mapmaker’s depiction of West Africa and the southern half of the world
in Map 2?
(A) Portugal’s development of maritime technology and navigational skills
(B) China’s naval expeditions in the Indian Ocean basin
(C) e limited geographical knowledge of western European mapmakers
as a result of the region’s commercial isolation
(D) e decline of Mediterranean powers such as Genoa and Venice and the
rise of Atlantic powers such as England, France, and the Netherlands
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203AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
5. A historian would most likely use Map 1 to research which of the following
developments in the period 1450–1750 ?
(A) e eorts of wealthy Renaissance patrons to encourage the ne arts and
scientic research
(B) e ways that European cartography drew on earlier knowledge from the
Islamic world and merchant activity in the Mediterranean
(C) e inuence of Crusades against the Ottoman Empire on the commercial
expansion of Italian city-states
(D) e consolidation of the Russian Empire, its expansion into Siberia, and
its challenge to imperial China
6. Which of the following factors would contribute most to future revisions
of Map 2?
(A) Western Europeans’ discovery of geographical scholarship from the
Mongol khanates
(B) e experiences of European merchants transporting Asian goods in the
Indian Ocean
(C) Spanish sponsorship of trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacic maritime exploration
(D) Qing China’s resumption of maritime expeditions to expand its tribute
system
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204AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Questions 7–9 refer to the passage below.
“Concerning his greatest project, the Selimiye imperial mosque, Sinan himself
said this:
‘Sultan Selim II [reigned 1566–1574] ordered the building of a great mosque
in the city of Edirne. I, Sinan, his humble servant, prepared for him a design
showing four minaret towers, each standing at one of the four corners of
an enormous central prayer hall topped by a great dome. Each of the four
minarets had three balconies, with separate staircases leading to each balcony.
Previously only one Ottoman mosque had a minaret with three balconies,
and its one minaret is like a thick tower. But the minarets I designed for
Sultan Selim’s mosque are slender and elegant. e diculty of putting three
staircases in such slender structures should be obvious to anyone.
ose among the Christians* who consider themselves architects used to
say that no building can ever be covered by a dome that is larger than that
of the Christian church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. ey used to
claim that no Muslim architect would ever be able to build a mosque whose
dome even approaches in size that of the Hagia Sophia. Yet in the Selimiye
mosque, with the help of God and with the support of His Majesty the Sultan,
I was able to build a dome that is about 10 feet higher and 6 feet wider than
the dome of the Hagia Sophia.’”
*Sinan himself was born into an Ottoman Greek Christian family, but was converted to Islam when he
began training for government service as a young boy.
Sai Mustafa Chelebi, Ottoman court official, biography of the famous
Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan, written circa 1600
7. Which of the following characteristics of the Ottoman Empire best explains
why Sinan was determined to match the dimensions of the Hagia Sophia
church, as discussed in the third paragraph?
(A) e Ottoman dynasty was descended from Turkic pastoralist nomads
who did not have their own tradition of monumental architecture.
(B) Ottoman art oen illustrated the historical and spiritual connections
between Islam and other monotheistic religions, such as Christianity
and Judaism.
(C) By the time the Ottoman Empire began to expand, the Byzantine
Empire had already been dramatically reduced in size and geopolitical
importance.
(D) Bringing Constantinople, with its imperial traditions, under Islamic
rule was one of the central pillars of Ottoman rulers’ claims to political
legitimacy.
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205AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
8. Based on the intended purpose of Sinan’s biography, it is most likely that the
information in the passage might be
(A) overstating the extent of the architectural challenges Sinan faced in
building the mosque
(B) understating the extent of Ottoman royal support for the building of the
mosque
(C) overstating Christian architects’ achievements and their contributions to
the building on the mosque
(D) intentionally attributing the building of the mosque to Sinan even though
he was not the architect
9. Sinan’s service to the Ottoman state best illustrates the fact that land-based
empires in the period 1450–1750 oen relied on
(A) appointed bureaucrats to break the power of entrenched landed
aristocracies
(B) mass conscription of soldiers to carry out their territorial expansion
(C) methods of recruitment of ocials that made use of the ethnic and
religious diversity of their subjects
(D) members of the clergy to perform religious services, administer religious
law, and oversee public order
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206AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Questions 10–12 refer to the passage below.
“Imagine that Chinese ships were to start importing arsenic* into England,
advertising it as a harmless, foreign and fashionable luxury. Next, imagine
that aer a few years of arsenic being all the rage, with hundreds of thousands
using it, the British government were to ban its use because of its bad eects.
Finally, imagine again that, in opposition to this ban on arsenic, Chinese
ships were to be positioned o the coast of England, making occasional raids
on London.
Advocates of the opium-smuggling profession argue that it is immensely
protable and that supplying opium in bulk as they are doing is not immoral
and it only becomes vulgar when the opium is sold in small portions, to
individual users. What admirable logic with which one may shield oneself
from reality, satised that the opium trade is nothing more than ‘supplying
an important source of revenue to British companies operating in India.’
e trade may be a protable one—it may be of importance to the Indian
government, and to individuals—but to pretend that it can be defended as
harmless to health and morals is to argue the impossible. Anyone who
seriously thinks about the subject cannot defend what is, in itself, manifestly
indefensible.”
*a poisonous substance
“Remarks on the Opium Trade,” letter to a British magazine
from an anonymous English merchant in Guangzhou (Canton),
China, published in 1836
10. e trade described in the passage is best seen as an early example of which of
the following?
(A) e economic decline of Asian states resulting from the importation of
cheap consumer goods from Europe
(B) e growing economic inuence of European immigrants in China
(C) e declining political power of European joint-stock companies in Asia
because of states assuming direct imperial control
(D) e use of economic imperialism by European merchants and states
11. As described in the second paragraph, the arguments made by the supporters
of the opium trade were most similar to the arguments made in the early
nineteenth century by supporters of the continued use of
(A) artisanal and cra production, as opposed to the factory system
(B) mercantilist trade practices, as opposed to free trade
(C) African slave labor on sugar plantations in the Americas
(D) women’s and children’s labor in the production of luxury goods in
Chinese households
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207AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
12. A historian might argue that the trade described in the passage reected a
turning point in world history primarily because the opium trade
(A) shied the pattern of historic European trade imbalances with China
(B) marked the transition from mercantilist trade toward capitalist free trade
(C) was the rst time that Europeans used migrant labor to grow crops for
global distribution
(D) relied upon industrial techniques of production and modern consumer
marketing
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208AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Questions 13–15 refer to the following two passages.
Source 1
“I have long dreamed of buying an island owned by no nation whatsoever
and of establishing the World Headquarters of the Dow company there, on
the truly neutral ground of such an island, beholden to no nation or society.
If we were located on such truly neutral ground, we could then operate
in the United States as U.S. citizens, in Japan as Japanese citizens, and in
Brazil as Brazilians rather than being governed primarily by the laws of the
United States. We could even pay any native workers handsomely to move
elsewhere.”
Carl A. Gerstacker, chairman of the Dow Chemical Company,
a United States corporation, speech before the White House
“Conference on the Industrial World Ahead,” 1972
Source 2
“I was asked the other day about United States competitiveness in the world
economy. I replied that I don’t think about it at all. We at NCR think of
ourselves as a globally competitive company that happens to be headquartered
in the United States.”
Gilbert Williamson, president of NCR Corporation, a United States
technology company, interview with the New York Times, 1989
13. e views expressed in the two passages were most directly enabled by which of
the following economic trends in the late twentieth century?
(A) Many of the defeated countries in the Second World War received generous
economic assistance from the United States aer the war.
(B) Governments in newly independent postcolonial states sought to limit
their countries’ economic reliance on the former colonial powers.
(C) e governments of many developed Western countries adopted policies
of economic liberalization and deregulation.
(D) Governments in Asia cooperated with private businesses in an eort to
maximize exports and acquire foreign currencies from Europe and the
United States.
14. e corporate philosophy reected in the two passages most directly
contributed to which of the following?
(A) e inability of the Soviet-planned economy to compete successfully with
the economies of the United States and other Western countries
(B) e shi of manufacturing capacity from the postindustrial countries of
the West to the new manufacturing centers in Asia and Latin America
(C) e passage of stronger measures to safeguard workers’ and consumers’
rights in many developed countries
(D) Increased popular hostility toward economic migrants and migrations in
many countries
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209AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
15. In the late twentieth and early twenty-rst centuries, which of the following
was most directly a response to the business philosophy expressed in the
two passages?
(A) Trade unionism
(B) Liberation theology
(C) International Socialism
(D) Antiglobalization activism
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210AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
PART B: SHORT-ANSWER QUESTION WITH SECONDARY SOURCE
The following is an example of short-answer question 1 found on the AP Exam. Note
that on the actual AP Exam, students will answer three short-answer questions.
1. Use the passage below to answer all parts of the question that follows.
“Having questioned Sidotti,* I understand that Christians teach that their
God produced heaven and earth and make him out to be the Great Lord and
Father. is God of theirs, they say, cannot be served without giving him all
of one’s love and all of one’s reverence. What these Christians are in eect
saying is this: I have a [real] father, but I do not love him because I reserve
all my love for God; I have a [real] lord, but I don’t revere him because I
reserve all my reverence for God. Now this is what we call being impious and
disloyal! According to the Book of Rites, it is the emperor, the Son of Heaven,
who should be worshiping God, the Lord of Heaven. It is not a duty that is
given to ordinary people. And that is in order to prevent the blurring of the
line between the exalted and the base. us, the sovereign is Heaven to the
subjects just as the father is Heaven to the child.”
*Giovanni Battista Sidotti was an Italian priest who had entered Japan in 1708, in violation of the
Japanese government’s prohibition on Christian missionary activities.
Arai Hakuseki, Japanese scholar and adviser to the
Tokugawa shogun, report, circa 1720
(A) Describe ONE way in which Hakuseki’s argument was inuenced by
long-standing Asian cultural traditions.
(B) Explain ONE way in which the religious encounter referred to in the
passage diered from most other religious encounters in the period
circa 1450–1750.
(C) Explain ONE historical situation in the period 1450–1750, other than the
one illustrated in the passage, in which states in Asia or Africa adopted
policies to limit European political power or cultural inuence.
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211AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Section II
The following are examples of the kinds of free-response questions found on the exam.
Note that on the actual AP Exam, students will answer one document-based question
and will select one of the three long essay questions to answer.
DOCUMENT-BASED QUESTION
1. Evaluate the extent to which the experience of the First World War changed
relationships between Europeans and colonized peoples.
In your response you should do the following:
§ Respond to the prompt with a historically defensible thesis or claim that
establishes a line of reasoning.
§ Describe a broader historical context relevant to the prompt.
§ Support an argument in response to the prompt using at least six documents.
§ Use at least one additional piece of specic historical evidence (beyond that found
in the documents) relevant to an argument about the prompt.
§ For at least three documents, explain how or why the document's point of view,
purpose, historical situation, and/or audience is relevant to an argument.
§ Use evidence to corroborate, qualify, or modify an argument that addresses
the prompt.
Document 1
Source: John Chilembwe, native of British Nyasaland (present-day
Malawi) and ordained Baptist minister, letter sent to the Nyasaland Times,*
November 1914.
We have been invited to shed our innocent blood in this world war which
is now in progress. In the past, it was said indirectly that Africa had nothing
to do with the civilized world. But now we nd that the poor African has
already been plunged into the great war. e masses of our people are ready
to put on uniforms, ignorant of what they have to face or why they have to
face it. We natives have been loyal since the commencement of this [British]
Government, and in all departments of Nyasaland the welfare of the British
would have been incomplete without our loyalty. But in time of peace the
Government failed to help the underdog. In time of peace everything was for
Europeans only. But in time of war it has been found that we are needed to
share hardships and shed our blood in equality. e poor Africans who have
nothing to win in this present world are invited to die for a cause which is not
theirs.
*The letter was published but later retracted by the newspaper’s British editors, and the entire
issue was subsequently withdrawn from circulation and destroyed by the Nyasaland colonial
government.
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212AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Document 2
Source: Kalyan Mukerji, Indian ocer in the British Indian army that
was ghting against the Ottoman army in Iraq, letter to a friend in India,
October 1915. e letter was intercepted by British mail censors and was not
delivered.
England is the educator. e patriotism that the English have taught us,
the patriotism that all civilized nations have celebrated—that patriotism is
responsible for all this bloodshed. We see now that all that patriotism means
is snatching away another man’s country. To show patriotism, nationalism,
by killing thousands and thousands of people all to snatch away a bit of land,
well it’s the English who have taught us this.
e youths of our country, seeing this, have started to practice this brutal
form of nationalism. erefore, killing a number of people, throwing
bombs—they have started doing these horric things. Shame on patriotism.
As long as this narrow-mindedness continues, bloodshed in the name of
patriotism will not cease. Whether a man throws a bomb from the roof-top
or whether y men, under orders from their ocer, start ring from a
cannon-gun at the front line—the cause of this bloodshed, this madness, is
the same.
Document 3
Source: French postcard, showing colonial troops in France and French
civilians, 1915. e text of the card says: “Our Black troops in the Great War
1914–1915 [say]: ‘What are we doing here?! . . . We came to kill savages*. . .
the German ones!’”
Keystone-France/Contributor
*a reference to the fact that German wartime propaganda often depicted colonial troops in the
French and British armies as savages
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213AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Document 4
Source: Behari Lal, Indian soldier in the British Indian army on the Western
Front, letter to his family, November 1917. e letter was intercepted by
British mail censors and was not delivered.
ere is no likelihood of our getting rest during the winter. I am sure
German prisoners would not be worse o in any way than we are. I had to
go three nights without sleep, as I was on a truck, and the Europeans on the
truck did not like to sleep next to me because I am an Indian. I am sorry the
hatred between Europeans and Indians is increasing instead of decreasing,
and I am sure the fault is not with the Indians. I am sorry to write this, which
is not a hundredth part of what is in mind, but this increasing hatred and
continued ill-treatment has compelled me to give you a hint.
Document 5
Source: Popular Egyptian protest song sung during the Egyptian revolt of
1919 against the British occupation of Egypt. e revolt led to Great Britain’s
recognition of Egypt’s nominal independence in 1922.
Laborers and soldiers were forced to travel, leaving their land
ey headed to the battleelds and the trenches!
And now the British blame us for revolting?
Behold the calamities you have caused! Had it not been for our laborers,
You and your troops would have been helpless in the desert sand!
Oh, you who are in authority, why didn’t you go all alone to the
Dardanelles?*
Oh Maxwell** now you feel the hardships, how does it feel?
e Egyptian is resilient; and now he is willing and able and can do
anything.
His achievements are worthy of praise, and he will do his all to gain a
constitution.
We are the sons of Pharaohs, which no one can dispute. . . .
*The Dardanelles, a narrow strait of water in northwest Turkey, was the site of the famous 1915–1916
Gallipoli campaign. During the campaign, Allied forces attacked the Ottoman Empire and were
defeated.
**British commander in Egypt in 1915
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214AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Document 6
Source: Hubert Reid, Jamaican veteran of a West Indian regiment in the
British Army and leader of a labor union formed to defend the rights of
Jamaican war veterans, petition to the British colonial government, 1935.
It has taken 17 years of countless petitions, marching through the streets of
Kingston,* as well as agitations before we were given worthless lands in some
of the most remote parts of the island without even a well-needed ve-pound
bill to assist us in making a shabby shelter, much less in trying to cultivate
the place for an existence. In some cases, not even wild birds would care to
inhabit the worthless lands that we were given. Not even an inch is suitable
for cultivation, and as far as roads are concerned, the inaccessibility of the
places renders that impossible.
*the Jamaican capital
Document 7
Source: Nar Diouf, African veteran of a West African regiment in the French
army, interview for an oral history project, 1982.
My experience in the war gave me many lasting things. I demonstrated my
dignity and courage, and I won the respect of my people and the [French
colonial] government. In the years immediately aer the war, whenever the
people of my village had something to contest with the French—and they
didn’t dare do it themselves because they were afraid—I would go and take
care of it for them. And many times when people had problems with the
government, I would go with my war decorations and arrange the situation
for them. Because whenever the French saw your decorations, they knew
that they are dealing with a very important person. So I gained this ability—
to obtain justice over the Europeans—from the war.
For example, one day a French military doctor was in our village, and there
was a small boy who was blind. e boy was walking, but he couldn’t see and
he bumped into the Frenchman. And the Frenchman turned and pushed
the boy down on the ground. And when I saw this, I came and said to the
Frenchman: “Why did you push the boy? Can’t you see that he is blind?” And
he looked at me and said: “Oh, pardon, pardon. I did not know. I will never
do it again, excuse me!” But before the war, it would not have been possible
for me to interact like that with a European, no matter what he had done.
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215AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
LONG ESSAY QUESTION
The following is an example of a long essay question. Free-response questions 2, 3,
and 4 in Section II of the AP Exam are long essay questions, and students will select
one question of the three to answer.
2. In the nineteenth century, various political and social groups in industrial
societies called for reforms.
Develop an argument that evaluates the extent to which reform movements in
the nineteenth century succeeded in bringing about political or social change in
industrial society.
In your response you should do the following:
§ Respond to the prompt with a historically defensible thesis or claim that
establishes a line of reasoning.
§ Describe a broader historical context relevant to the prompt.
§ Support an argument in response to the prompt using specic and relevant
examples of evidence.
§ Use historical reasoning (e.g., comparison, causation, continuity or change) to
frame or structure an argument that addresses the prompt.
§ Use evidence to corroborate, qualify, or modify an argument that addresses
the prompt.
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216AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Answer Key and Question
Alignment to Course Framework
Multiple-Choice
Question Answer Skill Learning Objective
1 A 4.A Unit 1: Learning Objective L
2 C 5.A Unit 2: Learning Objective D
3 D 5.B Unit 2: Learning Objective D
4 A 5.A Unit 4: Learning Objective C
5 B 4.A Unit 4: Learning Objective A
6 C 5.A Unit 4: Learning Objective C
7 D 4.B Unit 3: Learning Objective A
8 A 2.B Unit 3: Learning Objective B
9 C 4.A Unit 3: Learning Objective B
10 D 1.A Unit 6: Learning Objective E
11 C 5.A Unit 4: Learning Objective I
12 A 5.B Unit 6: Learning Objective E
13 C 2.A Unit 9: Learning Objective D
14 B 5.A Unit 9: Learning Objective D
15 D 5.A Unit 9: Learning Objective G
Short-Answer Question Skill Learning Objective
1 2.A, 5.B Unit 1: Learning Objective B;
Unit 4: Learning Objectives E, K, M
Free-Response
Question
Question
Type Skill Thematic Focus Learning Objective
1 Document-
based
1.B, 2.B, 4.A, 5.B,
6.A, 6.B, 6.C, 6.D
GOV, TEC Unit 7: Learning
Objectives B, C, E, F, G,
2 Long essay 1.A, 1.B, 4.A, 5.B,
6.A, 6.B, 6.C, 6.D
ECN, GOV,
SIO, TEC
Unit 5: Learning
Objectives D, E, F, G,
H, I, J, K
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217AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
The scoring information for the questions within this course and exam description, along with further
exam resources, can be found on the AP World History Exam Page on AP Central.
AP History Rubrics
Introductory notes:
§ Except where otherwise noted, each point of the rubric is earned independently.
For instance, a student could earn a point for evidence beyond the documents
without earning a point for thesis/claim.
§ Accuracy: The components of this rubric each require that students demonstrate
historically defensible content knowledge. Given the timed nature of the exam, a
response may contain errors that do not detract from its overall quality, as long as
the historical content used to advance the argument is accurate.
§ Clarity: Exam essays should be considered rst drafts and thus may contain
grammatical errors. Those errors will not be counted against a student unless
they obscure the successful demonstration of the content knowledge, skills, and
reasoning processes described in the rubrics.
AP History DBQ Rubric (7 points)
Reporting Category Scoring Criteria Decision Rules
A. THESIS/CLAIM
(0–1 pt)
1 pt.
Responds to the prompt with a
historically defensible thesis/claim
that establishes a line of reasoning.
To earn this point, the thesis must make
a claim that responds to the prompt
rather than restating or rephrasing
the prompt. The thesis must consist
of one or more sentences located in
one place, either in the introduction
or the conclusion.
B. CONTEXTUALIZATION
(0–1 pt)
1 pt.
Describes a broader historical
context relevant to the prompt.
To earn this point, the response must
relate the topic of the prompt to broader
historical events, developments, or
processes that occur before, during,
or continue after the time frame of the
question. This point is not awarded for
merely a phrase or reference.
continued on next page
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218AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Reporting Category Scoring Criteria Decision Rules
C. EVIDENCE
(0–3 pts)
Evidence from the Documents
1 pt.
Uses the
content of at
least three
documents to
address the
topic of the
prompt.
OR 2 pts.
Supports an
argument in
response to
the prompt
using at
least six
documents.
To earn one point, the response must
accurately describe — rather than
simply quote — the content from at
least three of the documents.
To earn two points, the response must
accurately describe — rather than
simply quote — the content from at
least six documents. In addition, the
response must use the content of the
documents to support an argument in
response to the prompt.
Evidence beyond the Documents
1 pt.
Uses at least one additional piece
of the specic historical evidence
(beyond that found in the documents)
relevant to an argument about
the prompt.
To earn this point, the response must
describe the evidence and must use
more than a phrase or reference. This
additional piece of evidence must be
dierent from the evidence used to earn
the point for contextualization.
D. ANALYSIS AND
REASONING
(0–2 pts)
1 pt.
For at least three documents,
explains how or why the document’s
point of view, purpose, historical
situation, and/or audience is relevant
to an argument.
To earn this point, the response must
explain how or why (rather than simply
identifying) the document’s point of
view, purpose, historical situation, or
audience is relevant to an argument
about the prompt for each of the three
documents sourced.
1 pt.
Demonstrates a complex
understanding of the historical
development that is the focus of
the prompt, using evidence to
corroborate, qualify, or modify an
argument that addresses the question.
A response may demonstrate a complex
understanding in a variety of ways,
such as:
§ Explaining nuance of an issue by
analyzing multiple variables
§ Explaining both similarity and
dierence, or explaining both
continuity and change, or explaining
multiple causes, or explaining both
cause and eect
§ Explaining relevant and insightful
connections within and across
periods
§ Conrming the validity of an
argument by corroborating multiple
perspectives across themes
§ Qualifying or modifying an argument
by considering diverse or alternative
views or evidence
This understanding must be part of
the argument, not merely a phrase
or reference.
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Exam Information V.1
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219AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
AP History LEQ Rubric (6 points)
Reporting Category Scoring Criteria Decision Rules
A. THESIS/CLAIM
(0–1 pt)
1 pt.
Responds to the prompt with a
historically defensible thesis/claim
that establishes a line of reasoning.
To earn this point, the thesis must
make a claim that responds to the
prompt, rather than merely restating
or rephrasing the prompt. The thesis
must consist of one or more sentences
located in one place, either in the
introduction or the conclusion.
B. CONTEXTUALIZATION
(0–1 pt)
1 pt.
Describes a broader historical
context relevant to the prompt.
To earn this point, the response must
relate the topic of the prompt to broader
historical events, developments, or
processes that occur before, during,
or continue after the time frame of the
question. This point is not awarded for
merely a phrase or a reference.
C. EVIDENCE
(0–2 pts)
1 pt.
Provides
specic
examples
of evidence
relevant to the
topic of the
prompt.
OR 2 pts.
Supports an
argument in
response to
the prompt
using specic
and relevant
examples of
evidence.
To earn one point, the response must
identify specic historical examples
of evidence relevant to the topic of
the prompt.
To earn two points the response must
use specic historical evidence to
support an argument in response
to the prompt.
continued on next page
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Exam Information V.1
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220AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
Reporting Category Scoring Criteria Decision Rules
D. ANALYSIS AND
REASONING
(0–2 pts)
1 pt.
Uses historical
reasoning (e.g.
comparison,
causation,
continuity
and change)
to frame or
structure an
argument that
addresses the
prompt.
OR 2 pts.
Demonstrates
a complex
understanding
of the
historical
development
that is the
focus of the
prompt, using
evidence to
corroborate,
qualify, or
modify an
argument that
addresses the
question.
To earn the rst point, the response
must demonstrate the use of historical
reasoning to frame or structure an
argument, although the reasoning might
be uneven or imbalanced.
To earn the second point, the response
must demonstrate a complex
understanding. This can be accomplished
in a variety of ways, such as:
§ Explaining nuance of an issue by
analyzing multiple variables
§ Explaining both similarity and
dierence, or explaining both
continuity and change, or explaining
multiple causes, or explaining both
causes and eects
§ Explaining relevant and insightful
connections within and
across periods
§ Conrming the validity of an
argument by corroborating multiple
perspectives across themes
§ Qualifying or modifying an argument
by considering diverse or alternative
views or evidence
This understanding must be part of
the argument, not merely a phrase
or reference.
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Exam Information V.1
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221AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
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AP WORLD HISTORY
Appendix
AP WORLD HISTORY
Appendix:
AP World History
Concept Outline
A concept outline for AP World History: Modern, which presents the course
content organized by key concept, can be found online.
The coding that appears throughout the unit guides in this course and exam
description corresponds to the organization of course content found in this outline.
Teachers who would like to print and add a copy of the outline to their course and
exam description binder can nd the AP World History: Modern Concept Outline
on AP Central.
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Appendix V.1
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225AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description
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