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This syllabus and the course readings are based on the AP World History College Board recommendations and the Oregon Education Standards for World History. As an on line course to serve Christian homeschooling students, this course attempts to examine a variety of perspectives and offer a biblical viewpoint to interpret the events of world history. For example, it is suggested that God is actively invloved in bringing about events to serve his divine purposes. Given this perspective, one might ask, "how was the world prepared for the ministry of Jesus?". One might also ask, "Are there biblical prophecies that are being fulfilled in the course of world history?"
The Potter's School (TPS) is not an accredited organization. Therefore, successful completion of this class may not be transferable onto a public high school transcript, even though this course serves other accredited schools, such as NSA.

Two Levels

Although all students start out on an honors track in preparation for the optional Advanced Placement Exam, some find they need to drop back to the regular track by the end of first semester which simply means they have more time to write fewer essays.

Honor's Level - Successful completion might count on your high school transcript as "Honor's World History". Administrators recognize this as equivalent to the rigors of a first semester college course. A main goal of this course is to prepare students to pass the Advanced Placement World History Exam through the College Board in May. Over 90% of colleges in the USA offer credit to students through the AP Exam results. (Colleges differ in what is an acceptable "passing" score.) Scoring high on the AP Exam could save you hundreds of dollars in college credit.

Regular Level - Some students have difficulty keeping up with the Honor's level course due to other priorities and commitments. For these students, the fewer writing assignments of the regular level may be more appropriate. Although the reading content is the same as the Honor's level, your transcript might simply read "World History" to reflect the typical demands of a tenth grade class.

Honor's	Regular
Assignments for the year total to 900 points	Assignments for the year total to 800 points
A = 810 - 900 pts. B = 720 - 809 C = 630 - 719 D = 540 - 629	A = 791 - 800 pts. B = 640 - 790 C = 560 - 639 D = 480 - 559

Use the following to convert percentages to letter grades:

A = 94-100 A- = 90-93

B+ = 88-89 B = 84-87 B- = 80-83

C+ = 78-79 C = 74-77 C- = 70-73

D+ = 68-69 D = 64-67

F = 0-63

In order to participate in the collaborative project, parents will need to confirm the particular track (Honor's or Regular) by the end of October. Still, if you don't meet the demands of the Honor's course, you can opt for a regular history credit at the end of the year. For example, if you earned a total of 800 points this year, you could choose from an "B" in Honor's or a "A" in the regular world history course. Which is more important, your GPA or the Honor's course designation?

Although regular history students have the equivalent of four less writing assignments, they are graded according to the Honor's track due dates (calendar included in this syllabus) for all assignments up to the last week of April. Grades of regular world history students will be adjusted by adding 12 bonus points to compensate for the rigorous pace of the Honors level course. Hopefully, many students will be challenged to successfully maintain the Honor's status.

Course Requirements

I. Reading (452 points total for both levels)
The readings are the same for both levels. All students are held accountable for the weekly reading assignments by a quiz taken before class and by discussion over the readings during class and in the forum.

The reading materials have been carefully selected to enhance your attainment of reaching course objectives. Readings connected with the hyperhistory.net site are in the process of revision to increase a Biblical perspective. While researching via the Internet, students will undoubtedly encounter material which better meets hyperhistory.net objectives. They are encouraged to recommend links to these sources.

II. Writing (total points differ per level, see chart below)
A. Essays:
There are four types of writing assignments, each worth 20 points. Honors track students write three of each type. Regular track students write two of each type. Essays are to be between 800 and 1600 words and biographies are between 700 and 1,200 words. Please e-mail me the topics you are considering in order that I may approve your choice, provide direction, avoid overlap, and update the lists.
1. Document Based Question (DBQ) - Write a clear, persuasive thesis demonstrating your insightful analysis of source documents with reference to historical context and author bias. Analyze by comparing and contrasting the documents to form various groupings. Focus on the Mental Skills listed above. The second DBQ requires students submit 6 to 8 related source documents from which base their essay response. Documents are provided for the other DBQs.
2. Change-Over-Time Essay (COT) - Explain how a large global issue has changed over time in one cultural area or several. Provide ample historical evidence to support your clear and comprehensive thesis. Each essay should focus on a separate region.
3. Comparative Essay (CMP) - Discuss the main similarities and differences between regional societies including chronology, causation, and connections as relevant to the content. Each essay should focus on a different time period and reflect on the 6 themes listed in the table above.
4. Biography (BIO) - Select each name from a different time and place as noted on the list of biographies. Your first "biography" is actually a report on the life history of a city.

B. Collaborative Project
Three students will work collaboratively (CLB) to write a required reading assignment for the week. This is the largest assignment of the year and is broken into multiple steps on the calendar.

C. Supplementary Writing
1. For each COT & CMP students are to design four multiple choice questions. (1 point each question)
2. For the second DBQ essay students are to submit 6 to 8 related source documents. (20 points)

Thus, each COT or CMP essay has a maximum of 28 points possible broken down as follows:
20 points, 1 essay scored according to the rubric (required)
4 points, 4 multiple choice questions (required)
2 points, write the m/c questions into HTML (extra credit)
2 points, write the endnotes into HTML (extra credit)

D. More on the Writing:
You may choose your topic question from the list of Comparative Essays, the list of Change Over Time Essays, or you may also suggest your own topics for approval. There are many links on the Internet from which you may research. To gain constructive feedback, you are allowed to submit an essay for feedback only if it is received at least one week prior to its due date as listed on the calendar below. I will return your submission within four days with my revision comments on how to improve the content of the essay. (This editorial assistance does not apply to biographies or DBQ.) Please e-mail me your 1st submission as a MS Word attachment (for my suggested revisions) and upload your final submission through the Classroom (and also the TPS site as a backup) where they will be graded according to the appropriate rubric. You are encouraged to have your essays proofread for proper mechanics and stylistic advice prior to first submission.

Options to Writing CMP and COT Essays

If you are not preparing to take the World History AP (WHAP) exam, then you may do as many options to writing essays as you would like with the exception that you must do at least one COT, one CMP, and the DBQ2. Those students preparing to take the WHAP may substitute up to three essays from the following options. Due dates for essay substitutions still apply. Some options may be done collaboratively as noted. None of these options need to include multiple choice questions. Each is worth 24 points. See our classroom for more details and topic approval.

PowerPoint Presentation:
You may design a PowerPoint presentation which reviews one of the seven week time periods (see "Chronological Boundaries" above) of a specific regional scope. With three or four slides per week (for a total of 21-28 slides), the presentation should highlight the major themes and events of your selected time period and region. Bulleted phrases are are preferred over paragraphs. Keeping the total file size under 2MB, it should include less than 500 words of narrative and at least seven graphics, e.g., a map, graph, or other appropriate visuals. (Working with a partner would double all requirements.) The goal is to fill in this table of PowerPoint Historical Summaries.

Illustrated Dictionary:
You may design an Illustrated Dictionary which reviews the vocabulary of one of the seven week time periods. The dictionary should define 35 - 40 terms and include 7-10 original illustrations. (Working with a partner would double these requirements.)

Reader's Theater:
You may write a humorous, but fact filled, 5 minute dialog between 3-5 characters that might have occurred in one of the following settings: Ottoman harem, Chinese court, slavery debate, European saloon, UN Security Council, World Bank, Jewish Synagogue, or a gathering of Old Testament prophets. The conversation should reference a wide variety of historically accurate data (which are to be cited with endnotes and a bibliography). Here is an idea starter that provides roles for answering, "What options did Kublai Khan and the Mongols face as they established the Yuan Dynasty and how they should rule China?" The Reader's Theater can also be group project.

Song Composition:
You may record your original song in which the lyrics tell of a historical event or person. The lyrical information is to be cited with endnotes where applicable. (If done collaboratively, vocals need to be in harmony, with an instrument and a lead sheet submitted, i.e., notated melody line with chords lettered over staff.) Flaming Sword (3.8MB, mp3) is an example of a song with great music and adequate lyrics but was submitted without endnotes. Magellan the Sailin' Man is a truthfully funny song about the first ill fated round the world trip.

Oral History Interview:
You may interview and report on the life of a person who is over 70 years old. This is known as an oral history. (If done collaboratively this would need to include a short audio and video clip of the interview along with stills from the subject's past.)

Chapter of historical fiction book:
Rit Nosotro is writing a historical fiction novel about a family who experiences the religious upheavals in Europe between 1588 and 1688. You may participate by drafting a chapter as an option to writing an essay. Chapters do not need to be written in sequence as the story outline of each chapter is provided for students to fill in with imagination and historical facts. Contact Mr. N. to request a chapter.

Tourist Guidebook to History:
Provide a guide to historical points of interest in a country, region or city. Select 4 – 7 places that a tourist might like to visit due to the historical significance of the location. Gather one photo per location to accompany each of your one to three paragraph historical summaries. The resulting brochure will contain between 800 and 1200 words. Upload all material in one MS word document without formatting other than paragraphs.

III. Assessment
The following information is also found on the FAQ page.
Students are graded in three areas: Assessments, Participation, and Essays. Assessments are automatically scored immediately making results available in the classroom from the “Grades” link. Tracking student weekly participation in the discussion forums is easily done by clicking the tab entitled “Forum Posts”. Parents are encouraged to view the quality and quantity of student posts in order to better know their child. Essays are scored using a rubric. Essays that don’t meet the rubric’s standards are returned with feedback to the student for improvement until the “A” category is reached. Thus, students can be assured of their success in all areas of the course. Parents receive a comprehensive grade card to track weekly assessment results, forum posts, and essays. I also maintain a grade card on each student which I email to the parent as a pdf file at the end of each quarter. Due to the design of the assessments, there is rarely any discrepancy between teacher and parent records.

A. Writing Scores
All writing is scored on a rubric standard. Students registered to take the AP World History Exam write the CMP3 and COT3 essays within a timed period to prepare for exam conditions.

B. Quizzes over the Readings: (32 readings, 10 points each = 320 points)
Each quiz is "open book", multiple choice, password protected, one attempt only, and not timed. Each quiz over the weekly reading has 5 to 20 multiple choice questions. There are no quizzes during each week of the two semester exams. The quiz for each week is located in the classroom.

C. Comments over the Readings: 33 weekly postings in the classroom (4 points each = 132 pts).
The weekly "WHY" on the Assignment Bank contains prompts which are to be discussed in the weekly forum found in the classroom. Your written comments should demonstrate strong authentic opinion supported by facts. Make specific reference to the article but do not summarize it. You are encouraged to constructively critique the author's written analysis and those offered by your classmates. Encourage in honest love "as iron sharpens iron" since the author of the article may be your classmate. Tie your comments into a broader analytical context. Although fewer carefully chosen words can carry more weight than a thoughtless mouthful, a mere comment like, "Ditto, Dude!" will earn very few points. Avoid a flame of inappropriate emotion by being "quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger" (James 1:19). I will monitor the discussion and direct issues for debate within a historical and Biblical context. Our goal is "If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God" (1 Peter 4:11), and, "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers." (Eph 4:29)

D. Semester Exams (2 exams, 32 pts each)
Each semester exam is "open book", multiple choice, and password protected and timed. About half the exam questions are taken directly from the weekly quizzes. There is no final exam over the year's content.

F. World Geography Test, Religions/Ideologies Test (20 points each)

• The World Geography test has you locate most of the countries of the world.
  
• The Religions test includes beliefs and practices of major world religions and also ideologies of major philosophical, political, and economic systems.

G. AP World History Exam: (optional)
Your scores on the College Board AP World History Exam will not effect your grade for this course. The once a year exam is about three hours long with the first session containing 70 multiple choice questions and the second session composed of three essay questions. A comprehensive sample exam is available on line. You usually request a local high school to order the AP exam in January in order for them to proctor the exam for you in May. Only about 60% of all students who took the exam in May, 2005 earned a score of 3 or better. The low passing rate indicates how challenging the exam is. Remember, the Honor's level is like a first year college level course. Here are some APWH exam tips.

IV. Additional Credit (optional - of course!)
*Any single option worth eight points or more requires prior teacher approval.

maximum possible	points each	Students may earn up to 50 points additional credit from the following categories:
27	3	including one hand drawn or original computer generated graphic (map, chart, picture, flow chart, political cartoon...) per essay. These must be of exceptional quality to earn the full three points each. (gladiator earned only one point)
20	2	placing the multiple choice questions over essays into specified HTML code e.g., Papal Succession
20	2	placing the Chicago style endnotes into specified HTML code, e.g., Ancient Law
30	15*	performing a video clip which impersonates someone on the list of biographies
24	12*	writing a book report over a pre approved book
20	10*	summarizing early people groups of either South America, North America, South Pacific, Asia, or Europe, e.g., Africa
24	8*	critiquing the accuracy of a historical fiction movie
5	5	writing an auto-biographical sketch for our yearbook, e.g., class of 2001-2002
10	1	broken link reported on our website (does not include links to off site sources).
10	1	alerting to inappropriate advertising on hyperhistory.net - send the URL (web domain) to have it blocked.
10	1	photo or drawing, e.g., Erasmus, sent in to compliment a biography (prefer 120 pixels wide).

V. Logistics of Implementation

A. Materials and Prerequisites:
All materials for this course are on-line. There are no books or videos to purchase. You only need a connection to the Internet, a word processing software, your conferencing software and e-mail. However, please consider these other recommendations.

B. GatherPlace Classroom Rules:
Please show up to class on time and use proper net etiquette. Please do not respond to students who whisper in class via the private chat feature. All questions and comments should be made publicly. There is no penalty for missing class, other than the forfeiture of discussing the dynamic understanding of history in biblical perspective.

C. Procrastination and Due Dates:
This is known as a synchronous course, meaning, your pace must follow the calendar of classes listed below. Keep up with the readings. Carefully evaluate your priorities and commitments prior to registration. The Course Outline provides 34 weeks of assignments which might require 8-12 hours per week. There is one writing assignment about every other week. Every writing assignment is due by Friday midnight (before Saturday) as assigned on the calendar. After a one week grace period there is a one time 50% penalty for late papers. Avoid procrastination. Quizzes over the weekly readings must be taken before class starts of the week they are assigned [except for week one] in order to receive any credit. This zero tolerance deadline for quizzes is to ensure that you complete them in advance of class in order for us to go over the readings and quiz answers during class. Concerned students are encouraged to build up "Additional Credit" as described above (see IV). [All TPS times are in EDT/EST. Eastern Daylight Time/Eastern Standard Time. Five hours behind GMT from October to April, and three hours ahead of California (PDT/PST).] As a backup to submitting assignments in our classroom, you may upload all assignments into the TPS folder. It will also automatically put your name, date, and time on the file. You must include the assignment code and topic in the file name. For example, "COT2africandisease" means your second "change over time" essay (over diseases in Africa).

Don't procrastinate! The Apostle Paul wrote, "Be very careful then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil" (Eph. 5:16 NKJV). Putting off today what can be done tomorrow is wrong thinking. Proverbs 27:1 exhorts, "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth." Deadline management is an essential skill for college or job preparation. When a planned future event might preclude a timely submission, the student's workload should be increased before the event so work is submitted in advance, rather than falling behind and increasing the student's workload afterward. Send me an e-mail if you get stuck, lack motivation, or need an extra grace period due to unanticipated circumstances beyond your family's control.

Potter's 2006-2007 (Honor's) World History
NEEDS TO BE UPDATED FOR THE 2007-2008 SCHOOL YEAR!
34 Week Synchronous Class Schedule (condensed from 35 weeks)
. Have you been procrastinating?

*The content of Week 34 and 35 will be spread throughout the year. Although many advanced high school courses demand 36 weeks, TPS conferencing is only set up for 34 sessions.

D. Formation of this On-Line Course:
The course essays were written by an international mix of students under the pseudonym of "Rit Nosotro". By submitting your writing to the instructor of this course, you are agreeing to have your work be considered as an anonymous supplement to this site and transfer all rights to the site owner. This course is also built on the shoulders of outstanding scholars who have freely published articles on the Internet. In preparation for this course, your instructor has traveled to several of the historic sites in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the Americas in addition to university studies. There is more history of hyperhistory.net for your reading enjoyment.

E. Ready?
If you are ready to register, I am ready to know who you are. Please complete the student information survey and quiz.

Contact Mr. N.
Prompt, mutual responsiveness to concerns is necessary to limit misunderstandings and achieve success. You may always email me at with any question related to the course content or procedures. Read and make your own comments about this course in the public guestbook. Here is my brief autobiography and resume.