You are responsible for:
a. reading and taking notes on the first five chapters of the text
b. familiarizing yourself with the course website
c. participating in an online forum in August that will discuss the summer reading and assignments
Why are you being assigned this work?
Advanced Placement courses are designed to expose you to college-level course work. The exam you will take in May could earn you a number of college credits that are applied toward your undergraduate degree. Because of this you should understand that the course is demanding. The exam is given the first week of May. This means that we must complete the course by the end of April.
AP US history is not just about breadth. There is also an expectation that you will know the material in sufficient detail to demonstrate mastery of the material in a variety of ways (multiple choice, free response, document based questions). In order for us to have the time we need to drill down into the rich soil of American history, we must get a solid jump on the course over the summer. If you are unwilling to commit to this summer assignment and to daily preparation for class, please reconsider your choice of history course for next year.
What will you be doing?
The textbook we are using is one of the most widely used college-level texts: America: A Narrative History by George Brown Tindall and David Emory Shi (ISBN-10: 0393927342 ISBN-13: 978-0393927344). It is a beautifully written text with excellent pictures and maps throughout. The publisher's website for our edition can be accessed by
clicking here.
From this page you can access documents, quizzes, worksheets, chapter outlines and study guides. Make use of all materials at your disposal. Completing this assignment thoroughly is important not just for the start of this course but also to provide you with a solid review guide for the spring. The material covered this summer will be the most difficult to recall in April. Short-changing yourself now will hurt in September and in April. Don't do it! Those looking to cut corners in August will do so throughout the year. This assignment is a gauge for your commitment to the course.
For each chapter you will:
When we return to school there will be a brief review of SOME of the material covered over the summer. There will be a series of exams and essays given in the first week of school to introduce you to the format of the AP exam and assess your summer work. IT IS OUR ASSUMPTION THAT THIS WORK WILL BE DONE THOROUGHLY. ASSESSMENTS GIVEN IN THE FIRST WEEKS OF SCHOOL WILL BE BASED ON THIS ASSUMPTION.
Online Discussion
The online discussion will begin the first week of August. At some point over the summer you will see an AP US History Conference on your First Class desktop. That will be our forum for the summer discussion. Questions will be posted by AP US teachers. We will be looking for you to post at least one response to each question. Our schedule will be as follows.
August 1-5: Chs. 1, 2
August 8-12: Ch. 3
August 15-19: Ch. 4
August 22-26: Ch. 5
Purchase your textbook as soon as possible. For those looking to support the Big Green Initiative, you may wish to consider purchasing the E-Book version of our textbook. A link to it can be found on the website for our textbook.
Please contact Mr. Greene or Mr. Combs anytime with questions or concerns.
Have a great summer!