European History (Honors OR AP options) – Tuesday – Full Year – 30 Weeks – Grades 10 – 12

Please note that this class will be following an AP schedule. 

In this European history course, students investigate significant events, individuals, developments, and processes from approximately 1450 to the present. Students develop and use the same skills 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. The course also provides seven themes that students explore throughout the course in order to make connections among historical developments in different times and places: interaction of Europe and the world, economic and commercial development, cultural and intellectual development, states and other institutions of power, social organization and development, national and European identity, and technological and scientific innovations.

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.

Our European history course provides learners with an overview of major events and personalities which have shaped and guided the continent from 1450 CE to the present day. It is a college-level course taught within a high-school level framework. Working within this framework will present learners with advantages and challenges that they would not otherwise experience in a typical high-school Honors History course. One advantage courses at this level offer learners is the opportunity to receive college credit for the course, provided that they earn a qualifying score on the AP exam. Also, enrollment in courses such as these can present learners with an advantage in admissions when applying to college. Most importantly, the course itself gives learners exposure to the rigorous level of academic studies that they will no doubt encounter in a university setting.

AP level courses prepare learners to take the corresponding AP exam each May, but learners are not required to take the exams.  Open Tent Academy will NOT administer AP exams. Instead, homeschool families must register and pay for AP exams through a nearby public school. 

Many colleges award credit or allow learners to be placed out of introductory classes if they receive satisfactory scores on AP exams. Consistent with the practices in many public and private schools, some homeschool parents elect to award additional quality points for Honors and AP classes when calculating their child’s homeschool GPA. For more information, see: https://ap.collegeboard.org/

Finally, if your student WANTS to take this for an HONORS credit (vs. AP credit) they may do so.  If taken for an honors credit (vs. AP credit), students will be excused from DBQ writing homework assignments.  DBQ essays are one/unit (ten over the course of the entire year). Parents MUST contact Jonathan prior to the third class at jonathan@opententacademy.com.

This course will utilize a combination of instructional lecture, in-class discussions, assigned readings, and supplemental materials, such as primary sources and documentary video.

Learners should be, upon successful completion of this course, able to demonstrate mastery of the subjects and topics covered within and should be prepared to successfully complete the AP World History exam (although taking the exam is not a requirement for course completion).

Students should expect approximately five – six hours of homework a week.  Please remember this is an AP course. This is what is needed to prepare for the AP EXAM!

This includes independent reading of chapters, preparing for class discussions and any writing prompts provided.

NOTE: This class must reach the minimum of five students by August 20th to run. If we do not reach this minimum, parents will be notified by email.