PPA - Understanding AP U.S. Government & Politics Unit 5 Lesson
Understanding AP U.S. Government & Politics Unit 5
There are 5 units of study defined by the College Board. Your course modules will fall into one of these five units. This fifth and final unit is titled Political Participation and 20-27% of the AP Exam questions will come from it. Here's what you should know:
Developing Understanding
Students should understand the many ways that they can influence policymakers and impact the decisions that will affect their daily lives.
The principle of rule by the people is the bedrock of the American political system and requires that citizens engage and participate in the development of policy. Under our Constitution, governing is achieved directly through citizen participation, although there are institutions (e.g., political parties, interest groups, and mass media) that inform, organize, and mobilize support to influence government and politics, resulting in many venues for citizen influence on policymaking.
| Big Idea 3 |
Big Idea 4 |
Big Idea 5 |
| Civic Participation in a Representative Democracy | Competing Policymaking Interests | Methods of Political Analysis |
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Building the Course Skills
Throughout the course, students have been gradually introduced to argumentation and have had regular opportunities to practice this skill. In this unit, students continue to write defensible claims, support claims with relevant evidence, and establish a line of reasoning, but now also use refutation or rebuttal when they respond to alternative perspectives.
Just as political scientists do in their arguments, students should be able to identify an opposing or alternate perspective about a political principle, institution, process, or behavior and use evidence to explain why that perspective is not as valid or credible as their own claim.
As students build toward more complex skills, it helps to ask them to identify and explain limitations they discover when analyzing and interpreting quantitative data. Limitations can include data from a limited demographic, opt-in polling (like on social media), a biased polling source, the way questions were asked, and more.
Preparing for the AP Exam
To complete their argument essays, students will respond to an opposing or alternative perspective. It is not enough for students to simply identify an opposing or alternative perspective. They must demonstrate a correct understanding of the perspective by briefly describing it, and then refute or rebut that perspective.
This task is often difficult for students. Many students can identify an opposing or alternative perspective, but they struggle to explain why the other perspective is incorrect or why another perspective might be equally as valid as their own argument. To help students master this skill, ask them to identify evidence that would support an alternative perspective when establishing their own claims. Then, have them explain why, in the face of this evidence, they still chose to support a different claim. This thought process shows students one way of effectively rebutting or refuting an alternative perspective. Key phrases such as “while some may argue” or “even though some evidence supports” can help them frame their counterarguments.
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