Summer Assignment

AP World History Summer Assignment

Updated May 2023

Helpful resources to complete this (and every) assignment.

NOTE: To access these documents, you must use your school account! If you do not have a school account, please email me at michelle.williams@fayette.kyschools.us

Part I: Vocabulary

§ Print THIS VOCABULARY PACKET. Your answers must be hand-written and have to fit in the box. NOTE: When you print, be sure to set the "print area" so you don't get tons of blank pages at the end.

§ Answers must be in your own words. You get TEN WORDS OR LESS. The purpose of this is so that you really have to think about the word and use your own brain instead of copying off dictionary.com. Also be careful of words with multiple meanings (see DIRECTIONS on the packeet). For the visual aids, make sure they are "ORIGINAL" examples--your OWN idea. Even if you are working with a friend, DO THESE SEPARATELY and do not do the same thing as your friend.

§ Visual aids are SHORTER and often help you LEARN BETTER than sentences. You might get some ideas for simple drawings by looking at Olympic sports symbols or road signs. Stickpeople are FINE!

Part II: Learn the world map!

A good way to do that is to play THIS GAME until you can score really well on these parts:

§ World Countries

§ Continents

§ Oceans

§ Seas

§ Cities

§ Rivers

§ Lakes

§ Regions

§ Archipelegos

§ Straits

§ Islands

§ Mountain Ranges

§ Mountains

§ Deserts

§ Volcanos

Don't feel like you have to know EVERY single thing on all these, but about 70% would be great. If you like this sort of thing, you can click on the continents at the top right to get more games. Don't worry about little (or temporary) things like flags or individual states--just the big stuff. Flags and countries change over time, so be sure to focus on things that DON’T change, like mountains, rivers and peninsulas. There will be a map quiz on Day 2 of class (and later on too) based on the info from the games. Your phone might not work for this, but you should be able to use a “real” computer or Chromebook. There are good apps like Seterra where you can learn similar stuff. But the quiz will be based on the list from that site.

Part III: SPICE Charts

SPICE is an acronym that helps us study the aspects of a civilization. Watch THIS slideshow so you know what each of the letter stands for. Then check out the SAMPLE SPICE chart on the Persians HERE. Next, create your own SPICE charts with the main "memorable" aspects of each of these cultures:

Ancient Egypt (up to Alexander's conquest)

Mespotamia (up to Persians)

Indus Valley Civilization

Shang & Zhou China

Mayans

Ancient Greece (to Alexander)

Ancient Rome (to 476 CE)

Qin & Han China

Mauryan & Gupta India

Remember, you can't write down everything! Stick to the things that make that culture unique. You also need THREE illustrations for 3 super memorable aspects of that culture (I gave you ONE example on my Persians chart). Illustrations might include pictures, diagrams, charts, maps, even emojis--for more ideas see the Vocab section directions. All this needs to be HAND-WRITTEN. Don't use more than the front of one sheet of paper for each culture. Remember, it's not how much you write. It's about writing the important things and making them stick in your head. You should have studied these in Middle School, so hopefully it is more of a "refresher" than new research. Be sure to include a "header" with the title, time & place of the civilization you are writing about.

Questions? Read the directions first! Then if you are still confused, email michelle.williams@fayette.kyschools.us or mpw@qx.net

DO NOT simply trust your friends or older siblings–a lot of things have changed! If you have any doubt, you should EMAIL ME!

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