So to cut a very long story short: my APUSH course is being taught by a teacher in his first year teaching the course. There is plenty of evidence that we are not learning AP material, and we are in fact, studying details we don’t need to know. This has been confirmed by the parent of a friend of mine who has been teaching the course for many years successfully. We JUST finished the chapter on the Civil War. </p>
I feel incredibly behind and I want to start prepping for the AP exam now. Would any of you be able to help me figure this out?? I’m so anxious about it and I have no idea where to even begin and how to start. Thank you!!! </p>
P.S. I’m SO sorry if I posted this in the wrong place. Still trying to figure this out. :)</p>
<p>The Larry Krieger AP Essential Contents will give you a 5. If you can write essays, the information from Krieger’s book will give you everything you need for a 5. It’s a great book because the information is fairly concise.</p>
<p>I took APUSH last year, and my school had two teachers who taught the course. One of them was very on top of things, having her classes do constant studying and projects each week, and her students generally felt very prepared from that class going into the exam. The other teacher was a rather grumpy middle-aged woman who did NOT want to be teaching the class, and rarely taught (there were days when she came into class, threw her feet up on the test, and told us not to bother her for the next hour and just “do work”). </p>
<p>I was in the latter’s class, which I was very unhappy about initially. However, her scores were ALWAYS higher than the other teacher’s scores, and I now understand why. Because she was such a terrible teacher, all of her students were forced to teach themselves the material. We took the initiative to study ourselves, using other resources, and I think that it definitely helped us to retain the material. Five students in the class received a 5, and many others (including me) achieved a 4. The other teacher had much lower averages. </p>
<p>So in the end, I think it proves that it’s really up to you to get the score. Your teacher will be a great resource for giving feedback on writing, but in the end, it’s in your hands. A bad teacher can sometimes be a blessing in disguise because they force you to do things on your own, rather than just relying on them. It’s a great idea to start prepping for the AP exam on your own now.</p>
<p>For books - I’m personally a fan of Cracking the AP US History Exam (it’s super concise and clear). I also used Barron’s Review (the textbook and the box set of flash cards). </p>
<p>First off, do not panic too much. There’s still a good amount of time before the test. </p>
<p>Second, the majority of the test will cover topics from the Civil War and before. The test focuses proportionally less on material after the 1950s.</p>
<p>Third, you may want to look into getting a tutor. </p>
<p>If that’s not a possibility, what I would do is get a bunch of the AP books out there and go over any of the material you haven’t covered. I like REA personally. Then, take as many practice tests as possible (among all the AP books) and go over all the questions you go wrong so that you are covering any gaps in your knowledge. This way, you don’t spend extra time studying things you already know and instead focus on the areas you can improve the most in.</p>
<p>This book is a godsend. I read it once before the AP exam and scored a 5. Sentences from this book were literally word-for-word on the exam itself. This book covered pretty much everything, and is perfect for the MCQ.</p>
<p>Besides that, focus on your essay writing skills. There are previous FRQ’s on AP Central. I don’t remember if the Essential Content mentioned how to write the essays, but you can definitely pick it up from any review book. It’s important to practice the DBQ especially, and work on integrating the sources into your essay.</p>
<p>Besides that, you should be fine! Don’t worry, start now, and keep a clear head. You’ll do well :)</p>