Advanced Placement United States History
Summer Assignments
As a student of Advanced Placement United States History, you will be completing two assignments prior to the
start of school in August 2014. These assignments are required to continue in the course and are due the first
day of class. History is much more than reading a textbook and regurgitating facts. These exercises will
provide you with the opportunity to examine varying historical resources along with giving us a common
starting point as we embark upon a fun-filled year of in-depth study and analysis of our local and national
history! The course is designed to be a year long, college-level course of American history covering the Age of
Exploration and Discovery up through the political and social movements of today. Time management and
self-discipline will be integral to your success in this course as you find that you will be doing a great deal of
reading from both primary and secondary sources in history. I also highly recommend that you purchase one of
the many available review books for APUSH. These may be found at both local and online booksellers.
Our goal is for you to earn college credit through the achievement of a score of a 3, 4, or 5 on the College Board
administered U.S. History exam in May 2014.
Please contact Mrs. Collet at colletj@plainlocal.org if you have any questions. Check EagleApps on a
regular basis for updates to the class folder and sign up for Remind 101 texts or e-mails. I will also be
updating our classroom website throughout the summer.
Assignment One: Critical Book Review
As a scholar of history, it is important that you acquaint yourself with varying resources in history and perfect
your ability to analyze, synthesize, and detect bias. This is the purpose of the critical book review assignment.
You will be selecting a piece of historical non-fiction with a focus on content from our first unit of study. After
reading your selection, you will be writing a review of the book along with presenting your recommendation for
its further use. Please see the attached handout for more detailed instructions. Your essay response should
include a strong thesis and introductory paragraph and should be between 4 and 6 pages in length. Please select
a book from the following list. Many of these may be found at the library in addition to online booksellers.
Abigail Adams by Janet Whitney
John Adams by David McCullough
1776 by David McCullough
Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow
Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised our
Nation by Cokie Roberts
His Excellency: George Washington by Joseph J.
Ellis
The American Revolution: A History by Gordon S.
Wood
Jefferson and His Time by Dumas Malone
How Democratic is the American Constitution by
Robert A. Dahl
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs
Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and
War by Nathaniel Philbrick
AP United States History
Critical Book Review
Historians present a variety of viewpoints through hundreds of books published each year. Your assignment is
to select a piece of historical non-fiction from the approved list and present a critical review in written form.
This will be due the first day of class.
Technical Requirements
1.
Your review should be between 4 and 6 pages, double-spaced, 12 point, Times New Roman font or
similar.
2.
At the top of the review you should include your name, the name of the author, title of the book, place of
publication, name of publisher, and date of publication in MLA format. Please see the example below.
Example:
Your Name
McPherson, James M. and Alan Brinkley. Days of Destiny: Crossroads in American History. New York.
Agincourt Press. 2001.
Critical Review Contents
1.
Thesis: A good review has a clear thesis that the entire paper argues and supports with evidence.
Example: “The author has written an intriguing book but fails to provide adequate evidence to support
her argument.”
2.
Explanation
a.
Explain the author’s thesis, supporting arguments and evidence.
b.
What is the author’s approach? (biography? social history? military? political?)
3.
Summary
a.
What is the book about?
b.
Is the material well presented? Is the book readable and well organized?
4.
Evaluation of Author’s Sources
a.
consider type, quality, and use of sources
b.
Does the author have adequate sources? Does he/she use them to present a convincing argument?
Are only secondary sources used? Are interviews and manuscripts used? Do sources indicate
the author has written a scholarly work if the author presents it as one?
c.
Consider the use and usefulness of footnotes and the bibliography. If either is missing, does it
affect the book?
d.
Is the book arranged chronologically, topically, or some variation?
5.
Relevant information about the author
Who is the author? Is he/she a historian/journalist/political scientist? Throughout the review,
consider whether the author is guided by values, biases, background, etc.
6.
Analysis of the author’s writing style
a.
Does the author have an easy-to-follow style? Does his/her style fit the audience at which the
book is aimed? Does the style have any noted peculiarities (good or bad)?
b.
If style can best be explained only through a sample, provide a quotation that epitomizes the
author’s style.
7.
Recommendation
a.
What type of reader should use this book? Why?
b.
Is it a book for someone new to the topic? Is it a book for experts? Why?
Assignment Two: Introductory Terms, Explorers, and Colonization
We will begin our study of United States history with reading selections on the early exploration and
colonization of the United States.
You will be utilizing the first 2 chapters of The American Pageant for your summer work. You will find
the 2 chapters shared with you on EagleApps. If you have difficulty accessing the chapters, please email me and I will send you the files. Be prepared for a multiple choice quiz over the reading
material when you return to school. Utilize the following questions as a guide for your notes. The
Cornell Notes format is one of the easiest ways to take notes over your reading. You will find a sample
page attached. Your notes must be handwritten, not typed. Highlight key terms, names, documents, etc.
You should not have more than 3-4 pages of notes for each chapter!
Chapter 1: New World Beginnings
1. What European developments were important leading up to Columbus’s voyage to America?
2. Describe the pre-Columbian Native Americans.
3. How did the coming of the Europeans affect pre-Columbian Native Americans?
4. Describe Spain’s New World conquests.
5. How did England’s colonizing efforts differ from those of the Spanish?
6. Why was England finally able to plant successful colonies in the 17th century?
7. What difficulties did the Chesapeake colonies (Virginia and Maryland) experience initially?
8. Why did both white indentured servitude and African slavery become common labor systems in the
southern colonies?
9. What were the motives for the founding of each of the five southern colonies?
10. How was each southern colony distinctive from one another?
11. What did all of the southern English colonies have in common?
Chapter 2: The Planting of English America
1.
Describe the beliefs of the Puritans.
2.
Why did the Puritans leave England for the New World?
3.
What governmental practices existed in the Massachusetts Bay Colony?
4.
How did the conflict with religious dissenters and other forces lead to the expansion of New
England?
5.
Why and how did New York, Pennsylvania, and the other middle colonies become so ethnically,
religiously, and politically diverse?
6.
How did the features of the middle colonies differ from New England?