AP US History focuses on the development of historical thinking skills (chronological reasoning, comparing and contextualizing, crafting historical narrative) and the development of students’ abilities to think conceptually about US history from approximately 1491 to the present.  Seven themes of equal importance- American and National Identity; Migration and Settlement; Politics and Power; Work, Exchange, and Technology; America in the World; Geography and the Environment; and Culture and Society – provide areas of historical inquiry for investigation throughout the course.  These require students to reason historically about continuity and change over time and make comparisons among various historical developments in different times and places.  Students will be required to take the AP Exam or take a final exam at the end of the school year.  Students will be responsible for the cost of the AP Exam.