You will be creating a poster featuring...YOURSELF!
You will provided with a large sheet of paper, and a brain (well, the outline of one.) You will have some time in class to have the outline of your head traced, by using the shadow from the overhead projector. This tracing will serve as a template for the model of the brain you will create.
Outline or draw each of the following sections. Label each area and include a visual to explain the function of the area. For example, the temporal area could include a picture or drawing of the ear. Each area will also need a brief, accurate description of its function. There's a lot that needs to fit on this poster, so plan accordingly.
Be creative; the more interesting posters will decorate our classroom for many months.
Your poster will be graded with the following in mind: picture connectedness and creativity, function descriptions, part location, overall creativity and visual presentation.
Required elements: thalamus, hypothalamus, hippocampus, amygdala, corpus callosum, pituitary gland, cerebellum, cerebral cortex, the four lobes of the brain, motor cortex, somatosensory cortex.
Out of 75 points. Due Wednesday, October 7. (The day before your Chapter 2 test)
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Modern World History Syllabus 2009-2010
Welcome to AHS and Honors World History! I am looking forward to an exciting, challenging and fun year with you. Throughout the year, you will use a variety of skills (for example: complex reading, note-taking, research, political cartoon analysis, etc.) to unlock the secrets of one of the most important and fascinating time periods in human history.
We will be exploring:
1. The Enlightenment and the French Revolution
2. The Congress of Vienna and the Age of Ideologies
3. The Industrial Revolution and Economic Systems
4. Imperialism
5. German and Italian Unification
6. World War I and the Russian Revolution
7. Nazi Germany and World War II
8. The Cold War
Required Materials
1. Pencil/pen
2. Notebook
3. Folder/Binder for handouts
4. Textbook
Extra Help
I will be available after school Mondays and Wednesdays until 3:10. Please let me know if you need to see me and we will schedule a time that works. I am here for help; please do not be afraid to ask me for assistance.
3 Main Expectations
1) Always be respectful to the people and materials in Room 335.
Regard yourself, those around you, and the school itself
with consideration and appreciation. No put-downs!
2) Work hard and strive for improvement.
Be responsible for your own learning.
3) Have fun!
Late Work & Attendance
Late work will not be accepted. This is non-negotiable.
If you know you will be missing a class, you need to speak to me beforehand to make arrangements. If you are sick on the day an assignment is due, you will be expected to turn it in upon returning to class. If a test or quiz is scheduled and you are out sick, e-mail me to make arrangements to take it the day you return, either during a free block or after school.
Please check the extra copies folders to pick up any handouts that you missed.
Unexcused absences will result in zeros, without exception. Please see your handbook regarding the attendance policy.
Legitimate Absences: Work missed due to excused absences must be made up in a timely fashion. It is the student’s responsibility to find out what they missed, retrieve the necessary materials and information, and turn it in.
Unexcused Absences: Missing class without a formal excuse is unacceptable. Unexcused absences will result in a dramatic drop in your Class Participation grade for the term (see below for grading information). Additional offenses will involve the Dean’s Office and calls home to parents.
Classroom Policies
Tardy Policy: Class will begin promptly according to schedule. If you are late, you must enter the classroom quietly without disturbing anything or anyone in the room. Repeated tardiness will result in a dramatic drop in your Class Participation grade for the term.
Food and Drink: If you are on time, it is fine to bring in a covered drink with you. Food is not allowed.
Cell Phones and iPods: Turned off and out of sight during and between classes.
If You Choose to Break a Rule: You will be given a verbal warning. If misbehavior continues, you will receive an after-school detention. If conduct issues persist, parents will be notified and you will be sent to the Dean’s Office.
Grading Policy
Your term grade will be determined as follows:
l Tests (approximately 100 points each)
l Quizzes (approximately 50 points each
l Papers/Projects/Presentations (30-100 points each)
l Homework and Classwork (approximately 20 points each)
l Class Participation (10% of point total)
We will be exploring:
1. The Enlightenment and the French Revolution
2. The Congress of Vienna and the Age of Ideologies
3. The Industrial Revolution and Economic Systems
4. Imperialism
5. German and Italian Unification
6. World War I and the Russian Revolution
7. Nazi Germany and World War II
8. The Cold War
Required Materials
1. Pencil/pen
2. Notebook
3. Folder/Binder for handouts
4. Textbook
Extra Help
I will be available after school Mondays and Wednesdays until 3:10. Please let me know if you need to see me and we will schedule a time that works. I am here for help; please do not be afraid to ask me for assistance.
3 Main Expectations
1) Always be respectful to the people and materials in Room 335.
Regard yourself, those around you, and the school itself
with consideration and appreciation. No put-downs!
2) Work hard and strive for improvement.
Be responsible for your own learning.
3) Have fun!
Late Work & Attendance
Late work will not be accepted. This is non-negotiable.
If you know you will be missing a class, you need to speak to me beforehand to make arrangements. If you are sick on the day an assignment is due, you will be expected to turn it in upon returning to class. If a test or quiz is scheduled and you are out sick, e-mail me to make arrangements to take it the day you return, either during a free block or after school.
Please check the extra copies folders to pick up any handouts that you missed.
Unexcused absences will result in zeros, without exception. Please see your handbook regarding the attendance policy.
Legitimate Absences: Work missed due to excused absences must be made up in a timely fashion. It is the student’s responsibility to find out what they missed, retrieve the necessary materials and information, and turn it in.
Unexcused Absences: Missing class without a formal excuse is unacceptable. Unexcused absences will result in a dramatic drop in your Class Participation grade for the term (see below for grading information). Additional offenses will involve the Dean’s Office and calls home to parents.
Classroom Policies
Tardy Policy: Class will begin promptly according to schedule. If you are late, you must enter the classroom quietly without disturbing anything or anyone in the room. Repeated tardiness will result in a dramatic drop in your Class Participation grade for the term.
Food and Drink: If you are on time, it is fine to bring in a covered drink with you. Food is not allowed.
Cell Phones and iPods: Turned off and out of sight during and between classes.
If You Choose to Break a Rule: You will be given a verbal warning. If misbehavior continues, you will receive an after-school detention. If conduct issues persist, parents will be notified and you will be sent to the Dean’s Office.
Grading Policy
Your term grade will be determined as follows:
l Tests (approximately 100 points each)
l Quizzes (approximately 50 points each
l Papers/Projects/Presentations (30-100 points each)
l Homework and Classwork (approximately 20 points each)
l Class Participation (10% of point total)
AP Psychology Syllabus 2009-2010
I. History and Approaches (2-4%) & Research Methods (8-10%)
Prologue & Chapter 1
A. What is Psychology?
B. The History of Psychology
C. Models of Psychology (Behavioral, Cognitive, Humanist, Psychodynamic,
Biological & Evolutionary)
D. The Scientific Method
E. Research Methods
1. Descriptive Methods (case study, survey, naturalistic observation)
2. The Experimental Method
F. Ethics in Psychology
Essential Questions:
● What is psychology?
● What differences exist in how psychologists approach human behavior?
● How do psychologists test behavior and interpret results?
● Are there limits to what psychologists should be allowed to do?
II. Biological Bases of Behavior (8-10%)
Chapters 2 & 3
A. The Brain
B. The Nervous System
C. Neural Communication
D. The Endocrine System
Essential Questions:
● What does research about brain function suggest about optimum learning?
● How do scientists investigate the interaction between genetics and experience?
III. Developmental Psychology (7-9%)
Chapter 4
A. Prenatal development
B. Infancy and attachment
C. Language Acquisition
D. Dimensions of Development (Cognitive, Moral, Personality)
E. Adolescence and Adulthood
F. Death and Dying
Essential Questions:
● To what extent is development caused by forces within the individual?
● Does a critical period exist for language development?
● Do our personalities stay the same throughout our lives, or do we become different people as we age?
● What is the significance of research about our cognitive, moral, and personality development?
IV. Sensation and Perception (6-8%)
Chapters 5 & 6
A. Attention and awareness
B. Vision
C. Hearing
D. The other senses
E. Perceptual Illusions
F. Perceptual Organization
G. Perceptual Interpretation
Essential Questions:
● What is the relationship between sensation and perception?
● To what extent does our mind consciously control sensations and perceptions?
V. States of Consciousness (2-4%)
Chapter 7
A. Sleep and Dreams
B. Hypnosis & Meditation
C. Drugs and Consciousness
Essential Questions:
● What is the purpose of sleep?
● What is the role of culture in sleep patterns and dreaming?
● What techniques are used to alter consciousness, and for what purposes?
● What are the dangers of mind-altering substances?
VI. Learning (7-9%)
Chapter 8
A. Classical Conditioning
B. Operant Conditioning
Essential Questions:
● What phenomena are involved in the acquisition of knowledge or skills?
● What is the role of past experience on future behavior?
● How can psychological data be used to control behavior in real-life settings?
VII. Cognition (8-10%)
Chapters 9 & 10
A. Information Processing Model (encoding, storage, retrieval)
B. Short-term vs. Long-term Memory
C. Forgetting
D. Memory Construction & Eyewitness Memory
E. Problem-Solving & Heuristics
Essential Questions:
● What are the various explanations of how memory is stored?
● How can psychological research on memory be used to better retention?
● Is information ever permanently lost from our memories?
● How can memories be altered by external factors?
● Can memories be repressed over long spans of time and later recalled?
● What are the devices that humans use to solve problems and store information?
VIII. Testing and Individual differences (5-7%)
Chapter 11
A. What is Intelligence?
B. The History of Intelligence Testing
C. Genetic and Environmental Influences on Intelligence
Essential Questions:
● How has the testing of intelligence evolved in the field of psychology?
● How do genetics and personal experience account for intelligence?
● How do psychologists of differing perspectives define intelligence?
● What are the possible explanations for gaps in intelligence test scores among racial and ethnic groups?
IX. Motivation & Emotion (6-8%)
Chapters 12 & 13
A. Achievement and Belonging Needs
B. Hunger
C. Sexual Motivation
D. Theories of Emotion
E. Emotion Perception
F. Stress, Coping, and Health
Essential Questions:
● How can research on motivation and peak performance be applied to our lives?
● What are the genetic and environmental influences on hunger and eating?
● What gender differences exist in the motivation for sexual reproduction?
● What is the role of culture in the formation and perception of emotion?
X. Personality (5-7%)
Chapter 15
A. The Psychoanalytical Perspective
B. The Behavioral Perspective
C. The Humanist Perspective
D. The Biological Perspective
E. Assessment Techniques
Essential Questions:
● What is the balance between genetics (nature) and environment (nurture) in determining human personality?
● How do the various psychological perspectives differ in their explanations of human personality?
● What traits are used to separate between types of personality?
● What are the tools by which we measure personality?
XI. Abnormal Psychology (7-9%)
Chapters 14 & 16
A. Perspectives on Psychological Disorders
B. Anxiety Disorders
C. Somatoform Disorders
D. Mood Disorders
E. Dissociative Disorders
F. Schizophrenic Disorders
G. Personality Disorders
Essential Questions:
● How do psychologists distinguish normal behavior from abnormal behavior?
● What are the common misperceptions about people with mental disorders?
● What are the advantages and disadvantages of diagnostic labeling?
● How do psychologists differentiate between various types of mental disorders?
● How are the mentally ill affected by their individual disorders?
XI. Treatment of Psychological Disorders (5-7%)
Chapter 17
A. Insight Therapies
B. Psychodynamic Approaches
C. Behavioral Approaches
D. Cognitive Approaches
E. Biological Therapies and Psychopharmacology
Essential Questions:
● What are the rewards and challenges of working as a therapist?
● In what cases should adults have treatments imposed on them?
XIII. Social Psychology (8-10%)
Chapter 18
A. Social Thinking (Attributions)
B. Social Influence
1. Techniques of Persuasion
2. Conformity
3. Obedience
C. Social Relations
1. Attraction
2. Prejudice & Stereotyping
3. Conflict
4. Group Dynamics
Essential Questions:
● Is there a limit to which control over a situation can control human behavior?
● What is the role of physical attractiveness in human society?
● What psychological phenomena contribute to the formation of stereotypes?
● How does perception of attractiveness differ across cultures?
● How can group membership influence an individual’s behavior & personality?
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
AP Psych: Designing an Experiment
For your first project, you will be creating an experimental design for a psychological research project. First, you must choose an area of interest concerning human behavior. Then, identify a hypothesis that you wish to test. Your research design must include the following sections in your report:
I. INTRODUCTION
This section should read from general to specific, beginning with an overview of the topic you wish to study and concluding with your hypothesis. Introductions generally include a literature review, in which you provide summaries of relevant psychological studies that have been previously conducted. For the purposes of this assignment, however, a literature review is not necessary.
II. METHOD
This section is generally divided into three sections: materials, participants, and procedures. Materials include any objects, tests or other created items used in the study. The participant section includes information regarding the general characteristics of the subjects (no names), and the manner in which they were selected and assigned. Lastly, the procedures section provides detail on how the experiment is to be conducted.
In your text, be sure to include and identify the following terms as they apply to your study: hypothesis, independent variable, dependent variable, operational definition, experimental group, control group, as well as any other relevant terms (such as random sampling, random assignment, placebo.)
In the spring, you may have the opportunity to follow up on this design by conducting the experiment.
Due at the start of class Thursday 9/24 (Wednesday 9/23 for 3rd-Period Section) Out of 75 points.
I. INTRODUCTION
This section should read from general to specific, beginning with an overview of the topic you wish to study and concluding with your hypothesis. Introductions generally include a literature review, in which you provide summaries of relevant psychological studies that have been previously conducted. For the purposes of this assignment, however, a literature review is not necessary.
II. METHOD
This section is generally divided into three sections: materials, participants, and procedures. Materials include any objects, tests or other created items used in the study. The participant section includes information regarding the general characteristics of the subjects (no names), and the manner in which they were selected and assigned. Lastly, the procedures section provides detail on how the experiment is to be conducted.
In your text, be sure to include and identify the following terms as they apply to your study: hypothesis, independent variable, dependent variable, operational definition, experimental group, control group, as well as any other relevant terms (such as random sampling, random assignment, placebo.)
In the spring, you may have the opportunity to follow up on this design by conducting the experiment.
Due at the start of class Thursday 9/24 (Wednesday 9/23 for 3rd-Period Section) Out of 75 points.
Monday, September 14, 2009
World History Homework due Thursday, 9/17
Create a map of AHS. Use one sheet of graph paper. Label the three houses -- Downs, Collomb & Fusco -- the "links," gyms and auditoriums, stairwells, double doors, and your five core curriculum classrooms.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
AP Psych due dates
Due Thursday 9/17
All sections: Read pages 99-116 and take notes
Due Friday 9/18
All sections: Read pages 116-132 and take notes
Due Monday 9/21 (Tuesday 9/22 for G7 section)
Naturalistic Observation assignment
Due Thursday 9/24 (Weds 9/23 for Period 3 section)
Experimental Design project
Friday 9/25:
All sections: Test on Prologue, Chapter 1 & Chapter 3
All sections: Read pages 99-116 and take notes
Due Friday 9/18
All sections: Read pages 116-132 and take notes
Due Monday 9/21 (Tuesday 9/22 for G7 section)
Naturalistic Observation assignment
Due Thursday 9/24 (Weds 9/23 for Period 3 section)
Experimental Design project
Friday 9/25:
All sections: Test on Prologue, Chapter 1 & Chapter 3
Thursday, September 10, 2009
World History Homework due Friday, 9/11
Please hand in a one-page (12 point Times or Arial font, 1 1/2 spaced) letter to Mr. Sandler at the start of Friday's class.
Your letter is meant to be an introduction. Address the following questions in full sentences and without bullet points:
--What is the most important thing that I, your teacher, should know about you?
--What was the most exciting event of your summer?
--What is your favorite activity outside of school?
--What are your hopes for the school year? (We all want good grades...what else?)
--What is your favorite website? (mistersandler.blogspot.com doesn't count!)
Your letter is meant to be an introduction. Address the following questions in full sentences and without bullet points:
--What is the most important thing that I, your teacher, should know about you?
--What was the most exciting event of your summer?
--What is your favorite activity outside of school?
--What are your hopes for the school year? (We all want good grades...what else?)
--What is your favorite website? (mistersandler.blogspot.com doesn't count!)
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