How to Find Success in World History AP
This page is dedicated to providing tips and tricks on doing well (or even just surviving) WHAP.
WHAP Success Form - A checklist of "Things to Do" to see success in this class.
No system is perfect. All human beings learn differently, but we can take ideas that have worked for most and apply them ourselves. Please ask Mr. Rangel if you have any question regarding any of these tips or suggestions. Many of these tips will discuss in class throughout the year. |
Be patient, learning at an advanced pace will be trial and error at first. What takes you an hour to accomplish in August and September, might take 20 minutes in November. It will feel as if you are working very hard at first until you get to a point where when you work efficiently.
Sooner or later you will come to a place this year when you just "Shampoo It" each week.
That's what I call it.
Shampoo it:
Lather, Rinse, Repeat if necessary.
Those are the directions on the back of the bottle. You will find a system that works for you. (Results may vary!)
Find a weekly pattern that works for you and then stick with it. First step, find a place to read Strayer in quiet. A place that you can sit and write at the same time. If you can do it, it is not a bad idea to purchase a copy of Strayer so that you can actually write in it and take notes as you go. That is exactly what many college students do.
Brain science tells us that learning only happens with repetition. You can't possibly look at something once and know it. Especially a topic as vast and as complex as the history of the world. As an old teacher used to tell me, "Repetition is at the root of learning."
Learn from the past. Students that have had success in the class and ended up doing great on the AP Test have passed on their tried and true methods.
Sooner or later you will come to a place this year when you just "Shampoo It" each week.
That's what I call it.
Shampoo it:
Lather, Rinse, Repeat if necessary.
Those are the directions on the back of the bottle. You will find a system that works for you. (Results may vary!)
Find a weekly pattern that works for you and then stick with it. First step, find a place to read Strayer in quiet. A place that you can sit and write at the same time. If you can do it, it is not a bad idea to purchase a copy of Strayer so that you can actually write in it and take notes as you go. That is exactly what many college students do.
Brain science tells us that learning only happens with repetition. You can't possibly look at something once and know it. Especially a topic as vast and as complex as the history of the world. As an old teacher used to tell me, "Repetition is at the root of learning."
Learn from the past. Students that have had success in the class and ended up doing great on the AP Test have passed on their tried and true methods.
Suggested Pace for the Class
1. Read and copy down the Learning Targets from the website or reading packet. Copy the key terms and definitions into your notes so that you can use them on your quiz for that chapter. Or - make flash cards (I sometimes call them "cards that flash").
2. Skim through the Chapter you are reading from Stearns quickly, looking over the section titles, headings, pictures, and thinking historically. What do you already know? How did Stearns organize this chapter? Why do you think it is presented in this way?
3. Read the Chapter and take notes. My best advice is column notes or Cornell notes so that there is room on the page of notes for you to add to it during class.
4. Continue reading the Chapter and taking notes. Most students can NOT read 30+ pages of a college text in one sitting. Heck, I can't either. I usually do a major section and then take a break. Write questions down in your notes for things you do not understand. Bring those to class on Monday and ask that question in class. Then, Read Mr. Rangel's Notes and/or Watch the accompanying YouTube video lectures. Compare his notes and ideas to your own.
5. Write out and answer the Focus Questions. After you have read the chapter, go back and try to answer the questions. They are listed for you in the Target Sheets for your convenience. Before Monday, try to at least, write out the questions in your notebook. Then during the week focus on answering them. Try a few each night.
6. Check the agenda for the week on the website and see how Mr. Rangel plans to teach the chapter.
MONDAY:
7. CRUSH THE READING CHECK QUIZ.
How, you say? You can use your handwritten notes. So take them over the weekend, bring them to class on Monday and get to crushing that quiz!
8. Answer the Focus Questions and Reading Questions from the Target Sheet. Place special emphasis on questions that are in the week's agenda that Mr. Rangel has already put on the website and will be the focus of a lesson or a DO NOW Question.
WEEK OF THE UNIT TEST:
9. Get together with a STUDY GROUP to sit and discuss the chapter. Don't just "talk about it". Question each other with Focus Questions and Reading Guide Questions and work to find the best answers cooperatively.
DAY OF THE TEST:
10. CRUSH THE TEST.
- REPEAT STARTING WITH #1 -
Skip all that and CRAM the night before. NOT!
This is what is meant by not conquering Rangel's AP class. The image below is from the 2014 WHAP T-Shirts. You will not succeed by doing what you have done in the past. You must grow up and start to work smart.
2. Skim through the Chapter you are reading from Stearns quickly, looking over the section titles, headings, pictures, and thinking historically. What do you already know? How did Stearns organize this chapter? Why do you think it is presented in this way?
3. Read the Chapter and take notes. My best advice is column notes or Cornell notes so that there is room on the page of notes for you to add to it during class.
4. Continue reading the Chapter and taking notes. Most students can NOT read 30+ pages of a college text in one sitting. Heck, I can't either. I usually do a major section and then take a break. Write questions down in your notes for things you do not understand. Bring those to class on Monday and ask that question in class. Then, Read Mr. Rangel's Notes and/or Watch the accompanying YouTube video lectures. Compare his notes and ideas to your own.
5. Write out and answer the Focus Questions. After you have read the chapter, go back and try to answer the questions. They are listed for you in the Target Sheets for your convenience. Before Monday, try to at least, write out the questions in your notebook. Then during the week focus on answering them. Try a few each night.
6. Check the agenda for the week on the website and see how Mr. Rangel plans to teach the chapter.
MONDAY:
7. CRUSH THE READING CHECK QUIZ.
How, you say? You can use your handwritten notes. So take them over the weekend, bring them to class on Monday and get to crushing that quiz!
8. Answer the Focus Questions and Reading Questions from the Target Sheet. Place special emphasis on questions that are in the week's agenda that Mr. Rangel has already put on the website and will be the focus of a lesson or a DO NOW Question.
WEEK OF THE UNIT TEST:
9. Get together with a STUDY GROUP to sit and discuss the chapter. Don't just "talk about it". Question each other with Focus Questions and Reading Guide Questions and work to find the best answers cooperatively.
DAY OF THE TEST:
10. CRUSH THE TEST.
- REPEAT STARTING WITH #1 -
Skip all that and CRAM the night before. NOT!
This is what is meant by not conquering Rangel's AP class. The image below is from the 2014 WHAP T-Shirts. You will not succeed by doing what you have done in the past. You must grow up and start to work smart.
Glasser's Percentages of Information Retention
You will remember... 10% of what you read 20% of what you hear 30% of what you see 50% of what you see and hear 70% of what you discuss with others 80% of what you experience personally (that involves feeling) 95% of what you teach someone else So Create a Study Group! It is a GREAT way to learn, help others, and Help Yourself! |
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