What study materials should I use to study over the summer? I have the PR and Barron’s SAT USH study guides as well as an online copy of my textbook.
How far into my textbook should I read to get a significant head start? A time period would suffice.
Is APUSH similar to AP world in that you shouldn’t just memorize every detail, but rather understand relationships and changes over time? If so, how can I develop this quality further?
My main goal is to get an A in the class with as little blood, sweat, tears, pain, caffeine overdose, sleep deprivation, etc. inflicted upon me during the school year. Last year was academically ok for me, but definitely wasn’t fun. Couldn’t care less about the AP Exam.
I took the class last year (junior year), so hopefully I can help you out. That’s awesome that you’re getting a head start this summer, so I can see you’re determined and that’s 100%, without a doubt what you need to succeed in APUSH: determination.
I got a B + first semester as I didn’t take the class as seriously as I should have. However, I got an A- second semester and I’ll tell you how I did it. Firstly, ask as many questions as you can think of, no matter how small or how vague (in the end, learning to ask the right kind of questions will put you into a better position to ace the test, and, more importantly, develop a life-long skill). Secondly, read the textbook thoroughly; unfortunately, reading it passively won’t suffice and you’ll end up just memorizing which doesn’t help you in the end at all (sure you’ll get an a, but don’t you actually want to learn the material?). Thirdly, use the internet to your advantage, personally I used Youtube and Apush online notes myself (just search up: apush chapter notes on google). Lastly, and most importantly, enjoy the class! Your enjoyment is infinitely more important than a stupid grade. If you put in some effort and are motivated in succeeding in APUSH then you’ll end up with the grade you want (in your case, an A).
I am a rising senior who took APUSH this past year as a junior. I had a 96 (A) the first semester and 99 (A+) the second semester.
I never once opened my textbook since we weren’t given any homework from it and I just didn’t think I had to study from a textbook. I also didn’t make any study guides, flashcards, or outlines. I only used the Princeton Review AP book (short and general). My strategy for the class was not memorization but simply to listen very closely, ask questions, and make sure I understood the general stuff. That way, I could reason my way through the specific questions on exams. Some people prefer memorization though, so it’s up to you.
The two key things were that I really, really love history and that my teacher is the best I can possibly imagine.
Honestly, the format is read a passage and then answer questions pertaining to said passage. But there’s a catch: let’s say you have a quote about Marcus Garvey. Well you see, you need to know what was happening during his time, i.e. economically, socially, politically, etc. As for the free response questions, you need to be able to connect ideas and contrast differing points of view (like with Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Rush). As for the DBQ: use all the documents given (this is a pain) and use outside evidence wherever possible (like with Ronald Reagan and the rise of new conservatism in the '80s, you could talk about people being fed up with the past liberal administrations of LBJ, JFK, etc. and how people really didn’t like the Vietnam war or Jimmy Carter’s presidency and the OPEC oil crisis). As for preparing, I never used Princeton review or the like, but I utilized Youtube heavily ( specifically, I used Adam Norris). Watch his 2-part series on APUSH FINAL review and you should get the gist of what it’s all about. For more specific details, use various websites.
I took the class last year at a good school with a pretty hard teacher. Although grades aren’t out yet I’m expecting a 98 in the class. Bottom line, read the book. The night before every test our textbook website had a multiple choice type review test and I would do that for an hour. If you can figure out what the teacher is looking for it will be fine. Also, there are multiple choice test websites to go to. Just do a quick google search.
The approach I took to notes was to skim the chapter for 10ish minutes. Then I would make a mental map as to what the main ideas were. For each paragraph, I would make a question (think more like frq format than “how many years did XYZ war last”). That would help you…because before a unit exam, you can just cover the notes with your hand or a paper and answer the question in depth. These aren’t Cornell notes bc they aren’t a column but rather paragraph form. Hope it helps! Also, I admire the fact you want to be prepared but also relax over the summer!
For studying for the exam, I just got Kaplan and along the margins I filled in whatever was missing. I found going through past frq to be helpful in assessing my knowledge.
Before you start this class you must understand one thing, THIS WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE. Prepare yourself, because I’m going to tell you the story of my APUSH life. My whole life I have breezed through school, straight A’s and all… Until APUSH. I walked into class and met my soon-to-be favorite teacher Mr. D. He was funny, and his whole life was filled with history puns and other things. We all thought he was crazy… Until the end of the class of course. At the end of your APUSH class, you become a giant history book. You start making history puns left and right. You begin to become excited when your family visits historical places and you tell them cool facts about Roger Williams and The Mayflower. You start to think that you might have all this history stuff down until the exam comes. The exam comes quite early in the year and most APUSH classes don’t even get past the 1940’s. Then you quickly realize that all the procrastinating you did before when you thought you had this stuff down was to be regretted because you have a week to learn four decades and you stay up every night watching John Green Crash Course videos and having pointless study groups with your friends, which always just end up being foolish. Because the day you walk into that exam room open that test, you will shed one single tear and realize you don’t know the difference between the Mexican American War and The Spanish American War. And you don’t know whether it’s reconstruction or the New Deal, and even though your teacher assured you the DBQ would NOT be on anything modern, it’s about Recycling in the 1980’s. So how to survive APUSH, you ask? STUDY. DO NOT END UP LIKE ME LYING IN BED WAITING FOR YOUR TEST SCORES THAT COME OUT IN 10 MINUTES. John Green is a lifesaver when you can stay awake to watch crash course, and READ YOUR TEXTBOOK. It will be long. It will be painful. It will be boring. But trust me. IT PAUS OFF. Good Luck to you my friend, because you are about to enter a rollercoaster of emotional debates and history puns.
I just finished APUSH with an A. BUY THE AMSCO USH BOOK AND READ IT COVER TO COVER. Highlight it, do the practice tests, practice essays, etc. That’s what made the biggest difference for me. I wouldn’t worry too much about getting ahead because you want to be with your class, but I would recommend reviewing and studying as you go instead of learning things right before a test. Make concept maps to help with knowing connections between things. Try to read a lot of primary source documents. Use quizlet as well. Hope this helps!
they’re all wrong. you’re a smart kid; it’s not too hard. i got a 5 and a 780. you really don’t need to prepare over the summer. just make sure to read your book and review a lot. get amsco, use adam norris vids for final
yes, i am right. i am always right muahahahahahah. nah jk. the others are correct, but apush is something you can’t really study yourself. just go with the flow in class. AND READ THE FRAMEWORK! it has all the answers to the new exam
@Yakisoba love your avatar as I just got done playing that guy’s wife. I just had to say that lol.
Admittedly, it was the old test, but I got A’s both semesters and a 5 on the test with 0 extra review or books (aka didn’t even go to teacher’s review sessions). What’s the key to success? Find stories within these “broad themes” that interest you. Almost every single “key term” will have a fun story behind it, like Adams and Jefferson’s eternal feud despite a brief rendezvous in France. Next, take all of these stories and connect them. Try to find out one story caused the next story to happen and so on. It gives you a greater picture as to how America morphed due to factors that stemmed from the actions of its citizens and the world.
I agree with @joeweller as well; you don’t really need to start in the summer to start reviewing. Our schedule was a module a week, which gave us about a month before the test to review. If you really want to though, I recommend starting with the Native American Societies and North American Colonies units and get them over with quickly; they read moreso as a review more than anything. (For reference, basically read everything in the textbook/review book up until before the American Revolution.)
As for books, I always recommend Princeton Review just because I’ve always gotten great scores with them. On YouTube, Adam Norris and John Green will be your best friends, no question.
And as for the class itself, you’re basically spot on in what they emphasize in the written portion. A great thing to do at the end of every unit you cover is to write out any ways you can compare or contrast it with time periods before it. A major emphasis on the new test is synthesizing periods of time together, so consider each unit not as standalone, but segueing into the next.
I took the redesigned class and test this past year. Had over 100% both semesters and got a 5 on the test.
Usually, you shouldn't use review guides over the summer. They are meant for review after you've already learned the content. If you really want to study over the summer, just read through the first 50 pages or so (that would give you at least a week's head start
Get past through the pre-history eras/native-american eras if you need to.
About 1/2: I really wouldn’t start during the summer if I were you. Unless you are taking 6 other APs or if you know you won’t have an hour a day for US once school starts, it’s unnecessary to study so early. It’s best to go with the class and the reading your teacher assigns. That way, you won’t get confused and things are fresh when you go over them in class.
No, no, no, no, no. Unlike World, US is very specific. You NEED specific dates. You need to know the presidents, the major economic changes, the wars. What's gonna save you on tests is knowing the dates associated with them. Many MCs and essays deal with specific events in a given time period.
Honestly, if you read and take notes, you’ll run away with the class. It’s really easy, it just has a reputation as a killer class because too many people try to go through the class without opening their textbooks once.
I agree with everyone else’s comments regarding opinions on APUSH vs. World and prep books. My personal approach was to read the chapter 2-3 times before taking notes. I tried to take the most simplistic notes as possible, while capturing the key information. My first month in the class I completely ruined my sleep schedule the first month of class by taking too many notes. I would also watch John Green Crash Course Videos ALONGSIDE with taking notes. Also google for flashcards when you’re studying each chapter (ex: “APUSH westward expansion quizlet)”. I found these sites to be very helpful whens studying for tests and quizzes. At the end of the class you will probably learn more about history than you can ever imagine, but I truly enjoyed the class. I left with a great appreciation for US history. I would not prepare over the summer though, just take extra time when you’re actually taking the class. If you want to skim over your textbook than that’s fine but don’t go into any in depth detailed prep work.
@FireBallsDJ NONONONO. You DO NOT need specific dates, especially with the new exam. You need an idea of how to synthesize some periods with others, for both the DBQ and FRQ. For example, there were like two questions on this year’s exam that I clearly remember that talked about flappers relating to women’s rights in another period; the other was about how the Missouri Compromise was about sectionalism and it asked how that related to another period. Just know what happened in specific periods and have a good idea of that; I never memorised a date in that class and did very well - 96 in class both semesters, 780 on Subject, and 5 on AP.