- AP Course Notes Discuss Eleanor Roosevelt - U.S. Federal Government/public domain
Finding study guides for the Advanced Placement (AP) exams offered by the College Board isn't hard. In fact, most students and parents have the opposite problem; there are too many practice AP study guides on the market. From the College Board to Princeton Review, Kaplan, and so many others, it seems every major test prep company has jumped on the AP American History bandwagon. The "Dummies" series joins the pack with Greg Velm's AP U.S. History for Dummies.
AP U.S. History for Dummies
Test prep and exam study guides generate enormous book and online sales in the United States, and with 360,000 students taking the AP U.S.History exam in 2009 alone, who can blame publishers for jumping in with practice AP guides?
Students can find plenty of free AP American prep materials, starting with the College Board's own AP U.S. History guide. AP Exam Review offers a free AP review system for many of the advanced placement exams as well. So why buy a printed guide?
AP American – Advanced Placement Exam
Velm's AP U.S. History for Dummies is worth the cover price (and can be found for under $7, new, at some major online book retailers, used for as little as a few dollars). Students who have never taken a high school level American History course may not find it comprehensive enough, but for those looking to refresh their knowledge and review key events and concepts, the book shines.
It helps that, like many Dummies guides, Velm's book is funny. Each of the six parts of the book starts with an irreverent cartoon related to U.S. history. Chapter headings and subheadings use humor; a discussion on Quakers is titled "Quaking in Pennsylvania an Delaware" while the Scopes Monkey Trial discussion is titled "Monkeying around with evolution." Is it great humor? No, but then again Dave Barry isn't writing practice AP guides. Noted California historian and professor Greg Velm does his best, and while readers won't bust a gut, they'll grin and groan (with bemusement) through the book.
Course Notes for AP
The volume of historical material was surprising. Unlike some course notes for AP exams, this book's focus is on covering the material, pointing out how it relates to the exam, and covering even more content. Some study guides for AP review are strong on strategy, light on content. AP U.S. History for Dummies is the opposite.
It's not that Velm ignores strategy. He weaves it in to most subsections and provides two comprehensive practice tests, with answers, at the back of the book. The final three chapters, "Ten Monster Events the AP Wants You to Know," "Ten Important Social and Economic Issues in U.S. History," and "The Supreme Court: Ten Greatest Hits" set students up well for potential essay topics and give solid background for application of analysis and knowledge to compare/contrast essays, document-based questions, and change over time essays.
With only one shot to take the exam and earn a score that gains college credit, no AP prep should be ignored. Students and parents need to research all forms of paid and free course notes for AP and AP review to prepare for the advanced placement exam. An excellent addition to AP review for the history exam, students and parents should use AP U.S. History for Dummies for review and practice.
To Buy the Book AP U.S. History for Dummies by Greg Velm:
Velm, Greg. AP U.S. History for Dummies. Wiley Publishing Inc., 2008.
Melanie Zoltan - Melanie Zoltan is a former college professor and administrator who has written for About.com, PCWorld, Brain Child, Thomson Gale, and ...
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