Welcome to AP European History Parent/Student Night Helix Charter High School

What is Advanced Placement? College Board Classes at Helix beyond European History (Psych, Econ, Math, U.S., Science, etc.) Tests in May (May 6th for AP Euro) What’s on the exam (redesigned for 2016) 55 Multiple-Choice Questions—40 Percent Four Short-Answer Questions—20 Percent One Document Based Question (DBQ)—25 Percent One Long Essay Question—15 Percent

Why take an AP course? Cheaper than taking the course in college Looks “good” on one’s transcript Challenging course structure that more closely mimics college Skills beyond the obvious (reading, note taking, essay writing, test taking strategies)

What is AP European History? Sophomore level (at Helix) history Time period covered: 1450-Present The study of various themes: Intellectual and cultural history Political and diplomatic history Social and economic history

Structure of the course Mostly lecture based with students taking notes A lot of outside reading and note taking Students should be prepared to participate in discussions/lectures

Success in AP Euro = M.A.D.E Motivated to learn Actively learning Dedicated to excellence Expanding skills and knowledge Passive is a bad word!!!!

Other items of interest The cost of the test is (currently) $91 Fee Reductions Scrip Textbooks Used vs. new Checking out a text Where to buy

A History of Western Society: Since 1300 8th edition There are several versions of this text Since 1300 Full Text Edition Split Editions ISBN: 0-618-52273-5 Places to buy: eBay, Amazon, Half.com Supplemental Texts

Summer Assignment Make sure it’s done on the first day of class Follow all of the directions Hand written vs. typed Good quality definitions A chance to see if this class is really something that you want to tackle

Parting thoughts… Thank you for coming tonight!! Please contact either myself or your student’s counselors if you have questions/clarifications in the future Don’t forget to take the following: Summer Assignment Copy of the text (Chapters 12 and 13) Textbook information…including the used textbook “For Sale” list Thank you for coming tonight!!