Showcase
Advanced Placement
U.S. History
Within each of the nine course units, the content, topics, course themes, and learning objectives focus on developing the historical thinking skills and reasoning processes for the AP® exam and college success.
Authors and
Reviewers
AMSCO authors and reviewers are known throughout the country as exemplary teachers and leaders within their respective disciplines. AP
U.S. History authors, John J. Newman, Ed.D., and John M. Schmalbach, Ed.D., both served many years as high school AP U.S. History teachers and continued their careers at the college level.
p. iii Student Edition
Table of
Contents
pp. iv-xxiv Student Edition
The coursebook is divided into nine chronological periods mirroring the structure of the most current College
Board® AP® U.S. History Curriculum Framework and reflecting the Board’s focus on historical trends rather than isolated facts.
Introduction
pp. xxvi-lvi Student Edition
An in-depth Introduction familiarizes students with course and exam requirements, offers strategies for answering varied question types, and details a review schedule for effective exam preparation.
Thematic
Learning
Objectives
pp. xxxii-xxxiii Student Edition
Questions on the AP exam are related to one or more of eight thematic learning objectives, or historical themes, introduced in this section. The eight themes address broad recurring patterns and topics in U.S. history. These themes follow the AP U.S. History Course and Exam Description.
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Guide to
Answering
Different
Question
Types
pp. xxxvi-lv Student Edition
Students are provided with scaffolded guidance through a step-by-step development guide which explains how to answer the four types of questions on the exam: MCQs, SAQs, LEQs and DBQs. A model for organizing answers to essay questions and a practice scoring guide are included in this section.
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Review
Schedule
p. lvi Student Edition
A review schedule helps keep both students and teachers on track for success!
Unit/Topic Structure
Student Edition
Period Opener
pp. 32-33 Student Edition
Each period begins with a brief introduction that provides contextualization of the content and the Learning Objective from the AP Course and Exam Description.
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Instructional
Content
pp. 19-20 Student Edition
The narrative instructional content is concise and focused on just the information covered on the AP Course and Exam Description with the use of appropriate and relevant language. Topics and themes are divided into manageable sections for enhanced student comprehension.
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Readability and
Accessibility
pp. 38-48 Student Edition
Making college-level content accessible to high school students is of the utmost importance in ensuring success. Each text is carefully written and designed to ensure all students comprehend key ideas, learn and use concept vocabulary, and build their analytical and writing skills.
Key Terms
by Theme
pp. 36 and 47 Student Edition
Each topic’s conclusion features a list of key terms, people, and events organized by theme, reflecting the current AP U.S. History Curriculum Framework. This is included to aid in review.
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College Readiness Skills
Student Edition
Historical
Perspectives
pp. 72 Student Edition
Each unit includes a Historical Perspectives feature that introduces conflicting interpretations about significant historical issues. This feature addresses the College Board’s emphasis on how historians have interpreted events in various ways.
Think As A
Historian
pp. 77 Student Edition
Think as a Historian features focus on one of the history disciplinary practices or reasoning skills tested on the AP exam.
Write As a
Historian
pp. 78 Student Edition
Write as a Historian activities in Period Reviews provide writing skill support tips and exercises for addressing LEQs and DBQs.
Visual Support
Student Edition
Maps and
Graphics
pp. 33, 43, 62, 65, 76
Maps, charts, graphs, cartoons, photographs, and other visual materials are integrated into the text to help students practice their analytical skills.
Primary
Sources
pp. 83, 195 Student Edition
High-quality primary sources offer students opportunities to analyze historical evidence, identify historical significance, and evaluate credibility.
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PowerPoint
Slides
Digital Download from
Teacher Edition
Customizable PowerPoint slides are provided of all visuals in the student text.
Assessments
Summative Assessment Practice Exams
- One full-length practice exam mirroring the actual AP exam is included in the Student Edition
- Two additional full-length practice exams, with rationales, are accessible through the Teacher Resource
Student Edition
Formative
Assessment
by Topic
pp. 36-37 Student Edition
Formative assessment at the end of each topic features a set of multiple-choice questions all based on stimulus material. One stimulus-based short-answer question often with paired stimulus material is also included in the review of each topic.
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Formative
Assessment
by Period
pp. 78-83 Student Edition
Period Reviews include AP-style Long Essay Questions and Document Based Questions prompting students to apply course reasoning and writing skills.
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Answer Key
and Scoring
Rubrics
pp. viii Teacher Resource
A comprehensive Answer Key identifies the best choice for each multiple-choice question and provides examples of good responses to the SAQs, LEQs, and DBQs. Each question is correlated to the elements of the AP U.S. History Course and Exam Description—historical thinking skills, themes, learning objectives, and the most relevant related textbook pages.
Historical
Perspectives
pp. 180-197 Teacher Resource
Eighteen additional reproducible Historical Perspective activities introduce conflicting interpretations about significant historical issues.
CED
Correlation
pp. 198-236 Teacher Resource
A detailed page-by-page correlation of the AMSCO coursebook content to the AP U.S. History course content, historical thinking skills, history reasoning processes, and themes as presented in College Board’s Course and Exam Description (CED).
Pacing Guide and
Free Resource
Links
A detailed pacing guide demonstrates how the College-Board approved OpenStax text can be used to complement the instruction in the AMSCO APUSH coursebook with direct links to the additional content. Recommended day-by-day pacing builds on College Board CED guidelines and is available by topic and by day in the school year.
Perfection Learning/AMSCO is an OpenStax ally. We join OpenStax in the mission to improve access to affordable educational materials by providing additional resources for OpenStax books. OpenStax is committed to providing free, peer-reviewed textbook content and offering multiple options for instructors who need additional resources for their course.
This alliance allows us to provide the most in-depth resources and support for your classroom instruction and course audit approval.
Each College Board-approved OpenStax text has been aligned with an AP social studies coursebook from Perfection Learning/AMSCO.
All paired OpenStax t are:
- Available at no additional charge.
- Listed on the College Board example textbook lists.
- Pre-approved for AP Course Audit submission.