Welcome to a new year at San Luis High School!

You have been enrolled in my dual course–AP US History and English III.

The AP stands for Advanced Placement. Hmmm, what does advanced mean? Advanced Placement courses are structured much like a freshman college course. You are expected to do lots of reading, writing, analyzing, synthesizing, and studying. BUT, before you run away screaming–keep in mind, I am an instructor of an AP course and am here to help you succeed.

So, first–let’s look at why it’s a good idea to take an AP course…
1. You get to tell all your friends you are smarter than they are (unless they too, are in AP!),
2. You get to experience a college course without paying all the money for it,
3. You get to take the AP Exam (May 9, 2008),
4. Colleges and universities like students who have taken AP courses (even if you don’t score well on the exam!),
5. Scholarship monies may be more available to you,
6. Ms. Q is so cool and she teaches it!

Now, let’s cover what is expected of you in an AP course…
1. Reading. Lots and lots of reading independently. If reading is assigned as homework-you must do it. Or you will be behind.
2. Writing. One of the parts of the APUSH exam is writing a FRQ and DBQ, which I will cover in a bit, but simply they are writings about history (shocking, I know!).
3. Analysis of Information. Many students think history is just there. It’s in the textbook, so that’s all there is to it. Not so fast. Who writes history? Man. Is man (meaning men and women who write!) completely objective? Hmm..? We will discuss this very issue in the first few days of school…be ready to discuss!
4. Synthesis of Information. You get all the infomation from your history book, now what???? Use it. Just because it has already happened, does not mean there wasn’t another way of doing it, or that there was information not considered. It is fun to play the what if game. This is where synthesis comes into play!
5. Studying. You must study. The APUSH exam is not until May, BUT we will spend all year getting ready for it. If you study continuously throughout the year, your chances of scoring well on the exam and getting a good grade in my class is higher!

more coming soon