Advanced Placement
United States Government & Politics

Think critically and politically!

Student Edition

• Authors and Reviewers
• Introduction
• Unit/Topic Structure
• College Readiness Skills
• Visual Support
• Assessment
• Foundational Documents
• Must-Know Supreme Court Decisions
• Civic Engagement Project

Teacher Resources

• Teaching Support

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Authors and Reviewers

Authors and Reviewers

p. ii

AMSCO authors, reviewers, and consultants are known throughout the country as exemplary teachers and leaders within their respective disciplines. AP U.S. Government & Politics author, David Wolfford, is a current AP teacher, has served as an AP reader, has published in historical journals, and is the editor of the Ohio Social Studies Review.

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pp. v-xxiv

The coursebook is divided into 20 chapters covering 60 topics mirroring the structure of the most current College Board® AP® U.S. Government & Politics Course and Exam Description.

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pp. xxvi-l

An in-depth Introduction familiarizes students with course and exam requirements, offers explanations and strategies for answering varied question types, and details a review schedule for effective exam preparation.

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pp. xxxiii-xlix

Students are provided with explanations of the types of questions on the exam— MCQs and the four different types of FRQs. Rubrics for good responses are provided for all FRQ types.

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p. l

A review schedule helps keep both students and teachers on track for success!

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Unit Introduction

Chapter Introduction

Essential Question

Instructional Content

Readability and Accessibility

Key Terms and Names

Unit/Topic Structure

p. 1

Each unit begins with a brief overview of the content and a list of the Enduring Understandings that are covered in the unit.

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p. 2

Each chapter begins with an outline of the topics covered and the learning objectives and required Foundational Documents associated with each topic.

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pp. 3, 9

The stage is set for each topic with an Essential Question. This guiding question prepares students for comprehensive learning. Additionally, at the conclusion of each topic, a Reflect on the Essential Question prompt offers students the opportunity to analyze and synthesize topic content and build critical writing skills

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pp. 3-9

The narrative instructional content is concise and focused on just the information covered on the AP Course and Exam Description with the use of appropriate and relevant language. Topics are divided into manageable sections for enhanced student comprehension.

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pp. 10-15

Making college-level content accessible to high school students is of the utmost importance in ensuring success. Each text is carefully written and designed to ensure all students comprehend key ideas, learn and use concept vocabulary, and build their analytical and writing skills.

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p. 15

Each topic’s conclusion features a list of key terms and names. This is included to aid in review.

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Think As a Political Scientist

Write As a Political Scientist

College Readiness Skills

pp. 5, 14

Each topic includes a Think As a Political Scientist activity that focuses on political science disciplinary practices and reasoning processes.

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pp. 96, 257

Write As a Political Scientist activities in Unit Reviews build argumentative writing skills for the Argument Essay.

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Maps and Graphics

Primary Sources

PowerPoint Slides - Customizable PowerPoint slides

Visual Support

pp. 11, 13, 25, 47, 59, 62

Maps, charts, graphs, cartoons, photographs, and other visual materials are integrated into the text to help students practice their analytical skills.

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pp. 16, 26, 71

High-quality primary sources offer students opportunities to analyze historical evidence, identify historical significance, and evaluate credibility.

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replaced.

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Formative Assessment

Summative Assessment Practice Exam

Assessment

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pp. 23-25, 87- 97

Chapter and Unit Reviews include AP-style multiple-choice questions and freeresponse questions. Free-response questions provide abundant practice in concept application, quantitative analysis, and SCOTUS comparison. In Unit Reviews, students also practice an Argument Essay.

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pp. 672-694

Following the final chapter is a complete practice examination mirroring the exact question types, timing, and instructions of the current AP U.S. Government & Politics exam.

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Foundational Documents

The Declaration of Independence and
Constitution of the United States

Foundational Documents

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pp. 6, 17, 696, 700

Students must be familiar with the nine foundational documents the College Board has selected. For each document, a selected passage or excerpt is included along with questions to evaluate understanding. The Declaration of Independence and The Constitution of the United States are reprinted in their entirety in the back of the book.

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pp. 695-719

Two of the nine foundational documents students must be familiar with, The Declaration of Independence and The Constitution of the United States, are reprinted in their entirety in the back of the book.

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Must-Know Supreme Court Decisions

Must-Know Supreme Court Decisions

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pp. 68, 72

Students must have in-depth knowledge of 15 landmark Supreme Court cases as designated by the College Board. For each Must-Know Decision, students read an introduction and selected passages from the Court’s opinions. Questions follow each case for further analysis.

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Civic Engagement Project

Civic Engagement Project

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pp. 667

The College Board requires all students taking this AP course to complete a project that shows how the student can affect, and is affected by, government and politics. Examples of projects at a national and local level are provided.

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pp. 1-22

A comprehensive Answer Key identifies the best choice for each multiple-choice question and acceptable answers for the free-response questions. Each question is correlated to elements of the most current Course and Exam Description—Enduring Understandings/Learning Objectives, Disciplinary Practices and Reasoning Processes, and the most relevant related textbook pages.

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pp. 198-236

A detailed page-by-page correlation of the AMSCO coursebook content to the AP U.S. Government & Politics course content, disciplinary practices, reasoning processes, and Big Ideas as presented in College Board’s Course and Exam Description (CED).

Perfection Learning®/AMSCO® has paired the College-Board approved OER Project AP World History digital resource with the AMSCO AP World History: Modern coursebook to provide the most in-depth resources and support for your AP® World History classroom instruction and College Board course audit approval.    

 The College Board-approved OER project AP World History digital resource has been aligned with the AMSCO World History: Modern AP coursebook.

The paired resource is:

·   Available at no additional charge

·   Listed on the College Board example textbook list

·   Pre-approved for AP course audit submission

For each paired text you will receive:
·   Pacing Guide with suggestions for using the OER Project

    resource with the AMSCO World History: Modern coursebook

·   Expanded open-source resources: maps, primary sources,

    videos

College Board Course Audit Approval

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Interactive Editions with Immersive Reader from Perfection Learning

Help all learners access texts and engage in learning!  

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