Welcome to AP US History II with Mr. Kaminski!  The 2008-2009 school year will be a very busy one as we prepare ourselves for a rigorous Advanced Placement examination on Friday May 08, 2009.  APUSH is a college-level course that will require you to have extensive background knowledge in both US History I and US History II.  So, don’t throw away your notes from US I – they could come in handy during your preparation for the May exam.  

Since this is a college-level course that requires extensive background knowledge in all aspects of US History, it is imperative that we get off the ground running in September.  As such, every APUSH student will be required to complete the following summer reading / first-day-of-school assignments:

1) Read one of the following books and email me with your selection prior to September 1, 2008.

You are not required to purchase your selected book; however, it may come in handy for highlighting and note-taking purposes.  Each of these books is available in paperback format from online vendors like Amazon.com.  Most are also readily available at local retail bookstores, or can be ordered by these stores at no additional charge.

2)  Complete a dialectical journal based on your individual reading selection.

A dialectical journal is set up in the following manner:

By quotation, I mean a selection from the book that you find interesting or important.  It does not have to be dialogue from historical characters in the book – it could be a quotation of a fact found in the book, or of an opinion made by the author in the book.  Then, you comment on what you found interesting or important about the quote that you selected.  While there is no firm requirement for the number of quotations that you should select, I would argue that you should be able to select a minimum of 50 interesting items from any of the books listed above.  If this is done via computer, you may email it to me by 7:20 AM on Wednesday September 3…but bring a hard copy with you to class on the first day.

3)  Read and answer questions on select chapters from Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States.

Links to these chapters can be found at www.coachk.net  (at the top of this particular webpage).  The questions can be found in a Word .doc file.  (Simply right click on the link and select “save target as” then save the file to your hard drive.  You will be able to open the file and type your answers directly into the file using Microsoft Word or any other .doc file program.)  Save your finished questions to your hard drive (for backup).  You can email them to me when they are finished (no later than 7:20 AM on Wednesday September 3, 2008) – but you should also bring a printed copy to class on the first day of school. 

On the first day of school – Wednesday September 3, 2008 – you will do the following:

1)  Take a reading quiz on Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States.
You will be able to use your answers to the questions on the Zinn reading to assist you in a quiz (multiple-choice, true-false, short answer) on this material.  You will not be allowed to use the actual readings, however.

2)  Take a reading quiz based on your individual reading selection.
You can use any of the notes that you took on your individual reading selection as well as your dialectical journal to assist you in completing a quiz (multiple-choice, true-false, short answer) on your selection.  You will not be allowed to use your books, however.

3)  Turn in your Zinn questions and your dialectical journals (if you have not already submitted them via email).

4)  Have the following supplies with you:

Keep in mind...the four graded summer assignments (the two quizzes and the two writing assignments) will be major components of the first marking period grade.  Please be sure that you consider this as you work on these assignments and give them your best effort.  It will be extremely difficult for you to pass the first marking period if you do not complete these assignments.

Also, it is recommended that students purchase the AMSCO Preparing for the Advanced Placement Exam review text. This is a valuable resource for reviewing both at home and at school.  A limited number of copies are available for classroom use, but a copy for home would prove to be invaluable.  It is available at Amazon.com and most major retail bookstores.

Lastly, if you have any questions about these assignments, please contact me immediately.  For any questions that arise during the summer recess, I can always be reached at mike@coachk.net.  Good luck with these summer assignments.  I look forward to meeting you in person in September.