AP Preparation Webinars

Students will analyze the rise of the conservative movement. Students will utilize documents to understand how to craft a thesis statement, develop contextualization, and use evidence to support their DBQ.  Items explored in this episode: secondary source, free response, and a full DBQ.

Happy Days? Re-evaluating 1950s America. Students will examine how historical events are often much more complex than is typically portrayed in any one source. We will work on developing a complex thesis and continue our examination of historical documents. Items explored in this episode: free response, primary source, and a full LEQ.

Students will analyze the extent the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal changed American society. Students will learn how to use documents effectively to help craft and develop a thesis statement. Continuity and Change. Items explored in this episode: secondary source, free response, and a DBQ (thesis, contextualization, review, evidence concentration).

Students will compare and contrast different phases of American immigration. This session will primarily use political cartoons to demonstrate how to properly source a political cartoon and use it to support a historical argument. Items explored in this episode: free response, primary source, and a DBQ (thesis + contextualization).

Students will explore the causes of the civil war. This session will teach students how to maximize points on the DBQ rubric, how to select documents for the extended analysis, and how to craft a complex thesis. Items explored in this episode: secondary sources, free response, a full LEQ, and a DBQ (thesis).

Students will explore the presidency of Andrew Jackson. This session will focus on interpreting different point of views (POVs) in secondary sources and political cartoons. Items explored in this episode: primary source, secondary source, and an LEQ (thesis, contextualization, and evidence).

Students will explore the impact of the French and Indian War on the relationship between England and the 13 colonies. The focus of this session will be using historical documents that may contradict one another and effectively incorporating contradictions in a thesis statement. Items explored in this episode: primary sources with questions and an LEQ (thesis, contextualization, and evidence concentration).

This session will focus on comparing and contrasting the various colonies in North America. We will practice the various Short Answer Questions students can expect to see on the exam. Items explored in this episode: primary sources with questions and an LEQ (thesis + contextualization).

This session will examine ways in which European colonization impacted the lives of American Indian communities. Students will learn strategies for answering SAQ and MC questions. Items explored in this episode: primary sources and an LEQ (thesis).

The final session of BRI's APUSH review will cover the big ideas from the AP US History course. Content in this session will cover material from different units of the course and essential writing skills. Students are also welcome to ask any questions they still have!

In this episode, we review strategies for understanding and answering the various forms of multiple-choice questions that students will see on the AP test. We learn these skills through exploring the Declaration of Independence and Letter from Birmingham Jail.

In this episode, we review strategies to describe, explain, and compare political principles, institutions, processes, policies, and behaviors for the free-response question.

In this episode, we review strategies to describe and explain data and explain the relationship between the data and political principles, institutions, processes, policies, and behavior.

In this episode, we review strategies to describe and compare the reasoning decisions and opinions of required Supreme Court Cases. Students will also need to explain how required Supreme Court cases relate to non-required Supreme Court Cases, foundational documents, and other sources.

In this episode, we review strategies to articulate a defensible claim/thesis and support the argument using relevant evidence; use reasoning to organize and analyze evidence, explaining its significance to justify the claim/thesis; and use refutation, concession, and rebuttal in responding to opposing or alternate perspectives.

In this episode, we review strategies in developing skills to best apply relevant content related to the development of the American political system based on constitutional principles and the formal and informal relationships between the people, the states, and the federal government.

In this episode, we review strategies in developing skills to best apply relevant content related to the formal and informal relationships and interactions between Congress, the Presidency, the federal bureaucracy, and the national judiciary in developing and implementing public policy.

In this episode, we review strategies in developing skills to best apply relevant content related to the interpretation, expansion, and limitation of individual freedoms by the various institutions of the American political system, particularly through landmark Supreme Court decisions.

In this episode, we review strategies in developing skills to best apply relevant content related to the political values, ideologies, and beliefs of the American people and the American electorate as a fundamental source for public policymaking.

In this episode, we review strategies in developing skills to best apply relevant content related to the beliefs, values, and goals of the linkage institutions and their influence and impact of American political institutions and public policymaking.

In this first episode of the 2021 series on AP U.S. History Skills, the focus is on sectionalism and compromise from 1789-1860 to understand continuity and change. Thesis writing is also discussed.

In this episode, we discuss reform movements including the progressive movement, the new deal, and the great society. We also focus on SAQ practice.

In this episode, we review American political parties from 1789-1932 to understand continuity and change. We also focus on multiple-choice skills.

In this episode, we review American history with maps to sharpen map analysis and contextualization skills.

In this episode, we discuss the Korean War to sharpen comparison and argumentation skills.

In this episode, we analyze major turning points in American history to understand comparison, causation, continuity and change, and complex thesis point.

In this episode, we analyze immigration in American history through political cartoons to sharpen skills in claims and evidence in sources, analyzing political cartoons, and continuity & change.

In this episode, we analyze Reconstruction to understand argumentation and thesis writing.

In this episode, we analyze the effects of American wars to understand causation.

In this episode, we understand the development and fight for democratic rights to sharpen skills in continuity and change over time, claims and evidence in sources, and multiple-choice review.

Session 1: The Constitution and Federalism This session reviews the foundations of American democracy, including the events that led to the Declaration of Independence. The controversies and compromises surrounding the writing and ratification of the Constitution will also be covered. The session finishes with the concept of federalism, the division of power between the federal and state governments, and its application to modern policy concerns.

Session 2: The Legislative Branch This session focuses on Congress and its powers. A special focus is on the legislative branch’s position in the separation of powers and checks and balances.

Session 3: The Executive Branch and the Federal Bureaucracy This session focuses on the executive branch especially on the powers of the president and checks on those powers. A special focus is on the role of the executive branch in the constitutional system of government. The federal bureaucracy is also reviewed, focusing on the role of the bureaucracy in implementing policy and the problems with regulation of the bureaucracy.

Session 4: The Judicial Branch This session begins with a review of the powers and roles of the judicial branch in federal policymaking. The history and politics of judicial decision making are also a main focus.

Session 5: Civil Liberties This session investigates the history of civil liberties in the United States. Special attention is on the important Supreme Court cases that outlined modern civil liberties and the process of selective incorporation that applied the Bill of Rights to state governments.

Session 6: Civil Rights This session reviews the question of equality in the United States. The history of civil rights and important legislation is a special focus.

Session 7: Political Ideologies This session looks at the various opinions and beliefs Americans have about the political system and public policy. Public opinion polling and attempts to craft public opinion are also covered.

Session 8: Political Parties and Interest Groups This session explores the similarities and differences between political parties and interest groups. The focus is on the various ways parties and groups influence the policymaking process.

Session 9: Campaigns and Mass Media This session investigates the influence of campaigns and mass media on public policy. Special attention is paid to the ways that campaigns and media affect public opinion.

In this session, we focus on topics from Colonial America that will be most useful for contextualizing later events in US History.

In this session, we discuss the causes of the American Revolution, its key events, and the effects of the Revolution on politics and society.

In this session, we will compare the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution, discuss the debates between the Federalists and the Antifederalists regarding ratification, and compare the competing views of Jefferson and Hamilton that led to the First Two-Party System.

In this session, we examine continuity and change during the Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe administrations, focusing on foreign policy and economic development.

In this session, we discuss the causes of the Civil War, examine the major controversies of the 1850s and the key events of the Civil War, such as the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Emancipation Proclamation, and compare Presidential Reconstruction and Radical Reconstruction.

In this session, we focus on economic and political developments of the Gilded Age and the Progressive era, with a focus on comparing the relationship between government and big business during these two periods.

In this session, we focus on developments in American foreign policy at the turn of the twentieth century, focusing on Imperialism, World War I, and the Versailles Treaty, as well as on cultural and economic developments of the 1920s.

In this session, we focus on the causes of the Great Depression, FDR’s New Deal, American neutrality in the 1930s, and World War II both at home and abroad.

In this session, we focus on postwar developments, including the Cold War, the civil rights movement, Vietnam, the conservative movement, and post-Cold War foreign policy developments.