APUSH Summer Assignment for the 2019-20 School Year
AP United States History is a challenging class introducing college level concepts to clever high school students.
To help prepare for the course, NWSA strongly recommends enrolled students to complete a summer assignment
prior to the first day of class. Yes, other schools also require such work. Be ready… your class begins in August, 2019
and completed summer work is due on the first day of class. If you encounter a special circumstance, please
contact me at alan.vitale@cms.k12.nc.us as early as possible. Our first test of the year will be based on the summer
assignment and is given during the first week of class. Avoid unneeded stress during the first week and finish the work
on time! Trust me… it will help you to a fast start to the course.
GUIDEBOOKS
Before beginning the summer assignment, I’ll suggest a couple of guide books if you have a little spare cash:
Option #1-The BEST and most complete guide is the AMSCO APUSH guide. It is really helpful and a worthwhile
investment at about $20.00 or so.
Option #2- You can pick up a copy of another guidebook like the Princeton Review, REA or Larry Krieger's AP U.S.
History guides. They are all about $20-$25. They are also available at local bookstores and Amazon. If you do not
have any summer funds, please reach out to me and I will work with you based on financial need.
RESOURCES
1) We will use the America’s History (Henretta) textbook in class. I can provide a take home copy if you wish to make
arrangements (in advance) to pick it up at the NWSA front office. To get a physical copy, just e-mail at:
alan.vitale@cms.k12.nc.us In the meantime, use the online version linked above.
If you wish to watch a video summary instead, try watching video reviews for the first 3 chapters at the following link:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlair5BOIPJb3ssG437dZYH3_YbY-ssBD
Remember, the summer assignment is only for Chapters 1-3 in the Henretta book. Doing chapters 4+ may be
hazardous to the success of your summer vacation and happiness quotient.
2) On occasion, we may also use the American Pageant (Kennedy text) online textbook. It’s the prior textbook but
it’s still a really good resource and can be found online at this link If you want to use this Kennedy text for the
summer assignment, just read the first 4 chapters as they are smaller than the 3 Henretta chapters.
The Summer Assignment
Optional Video and Audio Materials:
Podcast A Voyage Long and Strange into America's Past- NPR
Video: New Worlds -Biography of America #1
Have a question? Feel free to contact me at alan.vitale@cms.k12.nc.us Please reach out with questions about the
assignment or course. While it may seem like a lot of work over the summer, it will allow us to hit the ground running
and free up time for potential field trips. If your parents are interested in helping plan any of these trips, please
contact me.
Submission:
* All work should be answered and submitted by the first day of class in August, 2019. We will test on it at the end
of the first week of class!
If needed: