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Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: suburb of buffalo
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I think it was for APUSH, although it might have been for other study, but my kids got a lot out of some books with title worded something like this: "How to Get A 5 in (name of subject)."
That's where they read different answers and saw the difference between the 3, 4 and 5 answers on some written essays. They learned how to bring it up to that higher level, include more specific examples from what they had read, and make more meaningful statements-- not just sputter out some factoids.
They also found that the social/cultural history was sure to be included, so know your labor history, women's movement, and civil rights history along with the wars and presidents.
Also, study Supreme Court decisions by name. If, for example, you know that the history of racial desegregation in U.S. public schools began in the l950's. you're in the Land of 3. That's great; but if you also know that "Brown v. Board of Education" was the name of that turning point Supreme Court case, argued by attorney Thurgood Marshall who later became the first African American Supreme Court justice...and you're up in the Land of 5. If you understand that public elementary schools were desegregated by the courts in the l950's BEFORE Martin Luther King marched and brought political pressure to bear on the Congress to pass the Civil Rights and Fair Housing laws in the mid/late-l960's, you won't make a mistake to say that MLK was responsible for public school desegregation.
Know something about your labor laws, too, and why/when labor unions were formed and then lost power under Ronald Reagan.
In terms of early American history, it's essential to know about the difference between the first attempt at writing a constitution and the second successful attempt, and that balancing federal and states rights has always been the issue there, in one form or another. Get the story straight in your mind about George Washington, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson using the theme of federalism versus states' rights. Try to picture the Founding Fathers through that lens and it might hang together better than just a series of biographies!
In addition to (not instead of) studying hard with their books, my kids also used every opportunity to watch "The History Channel" on TV or PBS specials such as John Adams, The Civil War, World War II, the History of New York (for immigration history) or anything like that on TV nonfiction. The PBS documentaries by Ken Burnes are great for that. My kids enjoyed it, found the time efficient. In just an hour or two, they got a lot of sequencing straight by seeing it in video form. Then they had something to hang their textbook facts on and felt the mood of the times.
The funniest moment had to do with a statewide US History test (given in our state of New York). It came after one son had taken the AP exam in May, which is much harder than the statewide test in June. The night before the June state exam, he was SO SICK of studying American History that he said, "I've already taken the AP and I'm just going to watch TV instead!" But he watched a History Channel special on the history of cars, Henry Ford and the Model T, assembly lines in factories.
The next morning, one of his state exam questions (choice of 3) was all about Henry Ford. He aced it because he had all kinds of facts and trends not even taught in the AP course!
In general, it's more important to know the sequence of events and trends, not exact dates. But a few key dates you should know, such as l776 (Revp;utionary War ends), 1865 (Civil War ends), 1945 (WW-II ends), and I guess now: Sept 11, 2001 (World Trade Center/Pentagon attacked). Plus, have the flow in your mind of the Westward Expansion-- how it happened in stages, iwth the Louisiana Purchase, Civil War decisions (whcih would be slave, which free states), Mexican War/Texas as the Lone Star State, and adding on the two states of Alaska and Hawaii in the early l960's.
Know what the Carnegies and Rockefellers did, why it's important that there are federal anti-trust laws to break up monopolies, and don't be a stranger to the significance of the trans-continental railway.
As you re-study your notes and such, pick up on some terms and nicknames from each era like "Robber Baron," "Jim Crow," "Uncle Tom" "Carpetbagger" "Scab" or "Suffragette" if that helps you imagine how people called each other names even in those days. History comes alive and you can remember it so much better that way.
Be creative with your study breaks, too. For example, if you read about the Harlem Renaissance of the l920's, take a moment on the Internet and dial up Duke Ellington to listen to his jazz, or hear a poem by Langston Hughes. When you study the Civil Rights Movement of the l960's, Google up and listen to a speech in Martin Luther King's own voice. Stare at the photos of Rosa Parks and just imagine her courage. Keep your studies multi-sensory (video, photo, music to relax and breathe it in)... and I believe you'll enjoy and remember history so much better that way!
One of my kids is very talkative and social. He found it helped him to "teach" me each review chapter after he'd read it. I didn't do anything except sit there and nod. He said it helped him to hear his words out loud. So if you have a patient parent, dog or old teddy bear, try teaching the material out loud to them.
Good luck to all studying this year.
Last edited by paying3tuitions; 10-11-2008 at 09:31 PM.
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I'll let you know how it worked out on the 23rd. 
