Summer Reading Assignment for AP US History Fall 2015
The summer reading assignment will be due during the first unit of the first semester. It will count as one
major grade.
Part I
You are to research some of the major concepts, vocabulary, and people we will be studying in Unit 1,
Early Contacts Among Groups in North America. Print the review sheet and answer directly on the paper
your responses must be handwritten. Answer these terms as if you were doing so why while reading a
textbook. Be concise but be sure to include the relevant information so it can be a useful study guide for the
first Unit Test. You DO NOT need your AP US History textbook. You will be able to find this
information on the Internet and in any history reference book. Please make sure that you are using
reputable sources.
Part II
Read from the book After the Fact, The Art of Historical Detection by James West Davidson and Mark
Hamilton Lytle.
“The Strange Death of Silas Deane”
"Serving Time in Virginia"
These readings will help you to better understand the second unit, North American Societies in the Context
of the Atlantic World. It is about 40 pages of reading.
Written Assignment: Your assignment is to summarize the main points of each chapter assigned.

Chapter Title

General Subject

Authors’ Thesis (what was the main point they were trying to make)

Key points and facts made by the authors: (this should be moderately detailed)

These should be about 1 page each, double spaced (2 pages total), and in paragraph format, not
bullets or lists.
All Honor Codes apply to summer work.
After the Fact books can be found on Amazon, Ebay, or other sites. You can pick up the older additions
(2nd , 3rd, or 4th) for much cheaper. There are 3 types you can buy, Combined, Volume I or Volume II. The
combined is the best but Volume I will suit your needs. These chapters can also be found online below are
two examples.
http://www.westga.edu/~history/FacultyUpdated/EMacKinnon/Spring%202011%20Syllabi%20and%20Ma
terials/After%20the%20Fact%20Prologue--The%20Strange%20Death%20of%20Silas%20Deane.pdf
http://www.sbschools.org/schools/sbhs/academic_departments/docs/serving_time_in_va.pdf