Vocabulary Standards View
Curriculum Standards View for AP US Government and Politics
Vocabulary sets for the 2018 redesign of the AP US Government and Politics course.
Below is the entire mapping of standards in this set, managed by Orion Smith.
Some standards are hyperlinks: clicking on them will activate a vocabulary review game which can be done in small groups. For a full description of how the game works, go to the bottom of this page.
CON Constitutionalism The U.S. Constitution establishes a system of checks and balances among branches of government and allocates power between federal and state governments. This system is based on the rule of law and the balance majority rule and minority rights.
CON-1.A Explain how Federalist and Anti-Federalits views on central government and democracy are reflected in U.S. foundational documents.
CON-1.B Explain the relationship between key provisions of the Articles of Confederation and the debate over granting the federal government greater power formerly reserved to the states.
CON-1.C Explain the ongoing impact of political negotiation and compromise at the Constitutional Convention on the development of the constitutional system.
CON-2.A Explain how societal needs affect the constitutional allocation of power between the national and state governments.
CON-2.B Explain how the appropriate balance of power between national and state governments has been interpreted differently over time.
CON-2.C Explain how the distribution of powers among three federal branches and between national and state governments impacts policy making.
CON-3.A Describe the different structures, powers, and functions of each house of Congress.
CON-3.B Explain how the structure, powers, and functions of both houses of Congress affect the policy-making process.
CON-3.C Explain how congressional behavior is influenced by election processes, partisanship, and divided government.
CON-4.A Explain how the president can implement a policy agenda.
CON-4.B Explain how the president's agenda can create tension and frequent confrontations with Congress.
CON-4.C Explain how presidents have interpreted and justified their use of formal and informal powers.
CON-4.D Explain how communication technology has changed the president's relationship with the national constituency and the other branches.
CON-5.A Explain the principle of judicial review and how it checks the power of other institutions and state governments.
CON-5.B Explain how the exercise of judicial review in conjunction with life tenure can lead to debate about the legitimacy of the Supreme Court's power.
CON-5.C Explain how other branches in the government can limit the Supreme Court's power.
CON-6.A Explain how the Supreme Court has at times allowed the restriction of the civil rights of minority groups and at other times has protected those rights.
LOR Liberty and Order Governmental laws and policies balancing order and liberty are based on the U.S. Constitution and have been interpreted differently over time.
LOR-1 A balance between governmental power and individual rights has been a hallmark of American political development.
LOR-1.A Explain how democratic ideals are reflected in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.
LOR-1.B Explain how models of representative democracy are visible in major institutions, policies, events, or debates in the U.S.
LOR-2.A Explain how the U.S. Constitution protects individual liberties and rights.
LOR-2.B Describe the rights protected in the Bill of Rights.
LOR-2.C Explain the extent to which the Supreme Court's interpretation of the First and Second Amendments reflects a commitment to individual liberty.
LOR-2.D Explain how the Supreme Court has attempted to balance claims of individual freedom with laws and enforcement procedures that promote public order and safety.
LOR-3.A Explain the implications of the doctrine of selective incorporation.
LOR-3.B Explain the extent to which states are limited by the due process clause from infringing upon individual rights.
MPA Methods of Political Analysis Using various types of analyses, political scientists measure how U.S. political behavior, attitudes, ideologies, and institutions are shaped by a number of factors over time.
MPA-1.A Explain the relationship between core beliefs of U.S. citizens and attitudes about the role of government.
MPA-1.B Explain how cultural factors influence political attitudes and socialization.
MPA-2.A Describe the elements of a scientific poll.
MPA-2.B Explain the quality and credibility of claims based on public opinion data.
MPA-3.A Describe the voting rights protections in the Constitution and in legislation.
MPA-3.B Describe different models of voting behavior.
MPA-3.C Explain the roles that individual choice and state laws play in voter turnout in elections.
PMI Competing Policy-Making Interests Multiple actors and institutions interact to produce and implement possible policies.
PMI-1 The Constitution created a competitive policy-making process to ensure the people's will is represented and that freedom is preserved.
PMI-1.A Explain the constitutional principles of separation of powers and checks and balances.
PMI-1.B Explain the implications of separation of powers and checks and balances for the U.S. political system.
PMI-2 The federal bureaucracy is a powerful institution implementing federal policies with sometimes questionable accountability.
PMI-2.A Explain how the bureaucracy carries out the responsibilities of the federal government.
PMI-2.B Explain how the federal bureaucracy uses delegated discretionary authority for rule making and implementation.
PMI-2.C Explain how Congress uses its oversight power in its relationship with the executive branch.
PMI-2.D Explain how the president ensures that executive branch agencies and departments carry out their responsibilities in concert with the goals of the administration.
PMI-2.E Explain the extent to which governmental branches can hold the bureaucracy accountable given the competing interests of Congress, the president, and the federal courts.
PMI-3 Public policy promoting civil rights is influenced by citizen-state interactions and constitutional interpretation over time.
PMI-3.A Explain how the government has responded to social movements.
PMI-4 Widely held political ideologies shape policy debates and choices in American policies.
PMI-4.A Explain how the ideologies of the two major parties shape policy debates.
PMI-4.B Explain how U.S. political culture (e.g. values, attitudes, and beliefs) influences the formation, goals, and implementation of public policy over time.
PMI-4.C Describe different political ideologies regarding the role of government in regulating the marketplace.
PMI-4.D Explain how political ideologies vary on the government's role in regulating the marketplace.
PMI-4.E Explain how political ideologies vary on the role of the government in addressing social issues.
PMI-4.F Explain how different ideologies impact policy on social issues.
PMI-5.A Describe linkage institutions.
PMI-5.B Explain the function and impact of political parties on the electorate and government.
PMI-5.C Explain why and how political parties change and adapt.
PMI-5.D Explain how structural barriers impact third party and independent-candidate success.
PMI-5.E Explain the benefits and potential problems of interest-group influence on elections and policy making.
PMI-5.F Explain how variation in types and resources of interest groups affects their ability to influence elections and policy making.
PMI-5.G Explain how various political actors influence public policy outcomes.
PRD Civic Participation in a Representative Democracy Popular sovereignty, individualism, and republicanism are important considerations of U.S. laws and policy making and assume citizens will engage and participate.
PRD-1 The Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause as well as other constitutional provisions have often been used to support the advancement of liberty.
PRD-1.A Explain how constitutional provisions have supported and motivated social movements.
PRD-2 The impact of federal policies on campaigning and electoral rules continues to be contested by both sides of the political spectrum.
PRD-2.A Explain how the different processes work in a U.S. presidential election.
PRD-2.B Explain how the Electoral College impacts democratic participation.
PRD-2.C Explain how the different processes work in U.S. congressional elections.
PRD-2.D Explain how campaign organizations and strategies affect the election process.
PRD-2.E Explain how the organization, finance, and strategies of national political campaigns affect the election process.
PRD-3 The various forms of media provide citizens with political information and influence the ways in which they participate politically.
PRD-3.A Explain the media's role as a linkage institution.
PRD-3.B Explain how increasingly diverse choices of media and communication outlets influence political institutions and behavior.
Vocabulary Game Directions
Student setup
Arrange the students into groups of 2-6 such that all but one student can see the screen, and one cannot. Then, click on a standard to play the game with associated terms.
Playing the game
Upon loading the game for a standard, you will see a screen like the following:
Students who can see the screen should attempt to describe the term to the student who cannot see it. The describing students should describe using words other than those in the term itself, and also avoid saying the "prohibited terms" listed underneath it. Descriptions should avoid phrases such as "sounds like," and should use academic descriptors in order to reinforce academic understandings.
If none of the describing students know the term well enough to describe it, scroll down and find a definition of the term at the bottom of the page.
Every so often, switching up which student is guessing within groups is a great idea.
When the guessing student successfully guesses the term in question, click on it to see another in the same set. Terms are randomly ordered, and will "loop around" to the beginning of the set once the last term in the set is clicked on.
This activity is intended to be a quick, high-engagement vocabulary learning or vocabulary review strategy to last from 5-15 minutes. It can be stretched out longer by having students toggle between multiple standards. Students can get back to the list of standards by clicking on the Back to standards link on the game page.