Welcome to JMM’s Advanced Placement World History (APWH) course. This will be the seventh year that the College Board is offering the APWH exam. For the past six years JMM has had this course or had a club of regular world history students prepare for and do very well on the APWH exam. We expect nothing different from you.
This is a college level course. Your grades will largely be based on your performance on tests from the readings, in-class essays, and a few other assignments. For those of you used to having someone go over the chapter with you and filling out worksheets, this will be a change. We intend to make the transition a smooth one, teaching you the necessary skills, but considerable effort will be expected on your part.
Organization and responsibility are the two most important traits needed for success in this course. You will receive your assignments as far in advance as possible, you are expected to plan your time accordingly to get them done in a timely fashion. We will not be checking daily to see whether or not you have done the reading, however not keeping up with it will have long-term consequences. You need to accept your role in your success. To begin with, we suggest you read this handout carefully, follow the suggestions given in it, and then turn to your first reading assignment.
The goal of this course is for students to learn about world history and the skills necessary to study it. Among the topics we will cover are: geography, humans and their environment, political institutions, belief systems, economics, social structures and organizations, science and technology, art, and interactions. Our units of study and the corresponding chapters in the text are as follows:
ERA I - Foundations c. 8000 BCE to 600 CE
ERA II - 600 CE – 1450
ERA III - 1450–1750
ERA IV - 1750–1914
ERA V - 1914–Present
Every day you should bring the following:
You will not be allowed go to your locker to get these things once class has begun without being counted as tardy.
You will be receiving assignments; readings; copies of maps that you will be responsible for; copies of PowerPoint presentations; essay rubrics; sample essays; review sheets; & your in-class essays after they have been graded. You are required to keep all of these, especially your essays, to track your progress. You will get a grade for organization / preparation for which you lose points if you do not have the necessary items in class. The best organizational device, in my opinion, is a 3-ring binder (and for this class, several of them). Your binder(s) should have the following divisions:
Things which must be there at all times:
Things that can be removed or kept at home, but not thrown away, depending on which Era we are studying:
These can be further subdivided into units. Here you should have notes from the chapter, COT charts, societies charts, art handouts, etc.
Students have found that folders die quickly in this course and not punching holes into your handouts and putting them into your binder in a haphazard fashion is a sure recipe for disaster. Many students decided to keep several binders, keeping the eras not currently being used at home. Do not throw things away until after the exam!
You may use other ways of organizing your binders, but only if they are in addition to the above mentioned, rather than instead of, so for example, if you want to have a separate section for your COT charts, that’s fine.
Depending on your learning style, it is strongly recommended to take notes in class, it is also a good idea to take notes from your reading of the textbook - jot down questions you might have for me, write out new vocabulary, or print out summaries from the textbook’s website. Get into the habit of writing the date, topic or chapter you are taking notes from, and leave a margin on the left to help you review later. These notes should be put in the most appropriate section of your binder. You may bring a laptop if you wish to take notes (especially if it will help with legibility).
Simply printing out the chapter summaries from the website will not suffice for studying for most chapters, and most likely only for the first 12. You should look at the chapter assignments handouts for the terms to know. Otherwise you will have problems with some chapter tests, era tests, essays & the actual APWH exam.
Your textbook this year will be Traditions and Encounters: A Global Perspective on the Past. This will be your main source for the course, although you will have some supplemental readings from other textbooks and sources, including primary sources. You should feel free to leave it at home; we will not be using it in class.
Before you begin reading this text I suggest you do the following:
1. Cover the book – you will be made to pay for any damages at the end of the year – they are mostly in really good condition.
2. Learn about the authors (p. v).
3. Skim the Table of Contents (pp. vi-xxiv) to familiarize yourself with the periodization (how time is divided up into eras) of the book. These roughly, but not exactly, follow the Chronological Boundaries of the Course/Exam described in the Introduction to the Course handout, and show the perspectives of the authors on world history.
4. Read the Preface (pp. xxxi-xxxix) to learn more about the book and its resources (glossary, maps, timelines, visuals, summaries, primary sources, etc.)
5. Determine the weakness of the text – which regions seem to be emphasized? Which regions seem to be neglected?
This section with words of wisdom from last year’s students is an addendum to the “Survival Guide” available online at
http://apwhsurvivalguide.googlepages.com/ These are their words.
“Chill.”
“Don’t freak out at the beginning of the year, it’s a great class once you give it a chance.”
“Stay in the class! Its not as bad as it seems.”
“Continue working on the essays, and don’t lose confidence. They become easier as time passes, and your essays are usually better than you think.”
“Do not freak out about the AP test. Take the AP exam! It sounds scary, but you will be well-prepared for it.”
“Do not think that everyone knows what they’re doing and you don’t. A lot of people pretend.”
“Don’t procrastinate.”
“READ ALL THE CHAPTERS, and take advantage of the online outlines.”
“Read all of the chapters because even if you can guess on questions on the tests and get a good grade the information might not be covered again and you might have an essay on it, or a question on the era test or AP test.”
“Make sure you understand what you read and not just read for reading’s sake.”
“Stay on top of your reading or this will DOMINATE you.”
“Read all the chapters well!!! And take notes on the terms and people. It will help SOOOO much when you’re studying for the AP test. You’ll be surprised how much sticks”
“DO ALL CHARTS (society, comparison and COT) as you can - no matter what. You won’t want to at the time but you will kick yourself at the end of the year if you don’t.”
“Take your own notes on chapters and do the society charts when reading the chapters.”
“Definitely get a headstart on your charts and read your weekly chapters because those chapter tests overall have a larger impact on your grade than other things.”
“Don’t put off studying!”
“Start studying for the test earlier!”
““Pay attention in class!”
“Pay attention when you read the chapters, don’t just cram it in for the test.”
“Pay attention during the art presentations.”
“Find the definitions for the items on the chapter review sheet while you read the chapter, or in the outline.”
“Do the practice essays.”
“Don’t procrastinate or you will have a mountain of work before you can say ‘AP World History.’”
“If you stay ahead of schedule and constantly review you will feel better ahead and do better on the AP exam.”
“If you have questions, ASK!!!”
“Get help if you don’t understand something.”
“Take notes when talking about the essays - Really understand how to write the essays.”
“Take good era notes too.”
“Don’t talk during the AP exam!”
“Stay organized!”
“Don’t worry too much about the multiple choice questions on the AP exam; worry about the essays!”
“Use Bentley’s website. And take practice tests for each chapter and keep taking them until you get 100%.”
“Know the basic stuff like regions and beginning empires – they’re important later on.”
“Work harder than everyone else says. They’re lying.”
“Stay on-topic as much as possible and follow her directions, and life will be easier for you.”
“Ask for help, don’t wait for the last minute.”
Survival guides from previous years can be found at:
2007 APWH Student Survival Guide
2006 APWH Student Survival Guide
2005 APWH Student Survival Guide
2004 APWH Student Survival Guide
Return to: Mrs. Bond-Lamberty's JMM APWH Website