Learning List recently reviewed print materials for Bedford, Freeman & Worth’s (BFW) America’s History: For the AP Course, 8th Edition. This comprehensive course supports instruction in Advanced Placement (AP) United States History courses. Content is available in print and digital formats and includes additional online resources. Instruction provides a thematic exploration of U.S. history and provides explanations and analyses of political, social, cultural, and economic developments within and across historical periods.
America’s History begins with a preface and an article titled “Historical Thinking, Reading, and Writing Skills for AP U.S. History.” The course’s core content is organized in nine chronological parts that are roughly aligned to the College Board’s periods for AP U.S. History (e.g., Part 4: Overlapping Revolutions, 1800-1860). Part openers include a detailed “Thematic Timeline” table that presents the period’s key events in terms of their related AP theme (horizontal row) and chronological decade (vertical column). For example, in Part 8, titled “The Modern State and the Age of Liberalism, 1945-1980,” the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education (1954) appears at the intersection of the theme “American & National Identity” and the 1950s.
Parts are made up of chapters that address smaller periods within the overarching period. Each chapter contains three features addressing the analysis of primary sources: “American Voices,” “America Compared,” and “Think Like a Historian,” and includes striking visual elements provide the context for written content and prompt student interest and engagement.
America’s History has an ExamView® test bank that contains multiple-choice and stimulus-based multiple-choice questions that reflect those on the AP exam. Each question includes an explanation of the correct answer and why other selections are incorrect. Test items also reference the key concept(s) learning objective(s), and historical thinking skill(s) assessed by the question.
About BFW*
BFW believes that what happens in the classroom matters, and that a good class, a good teacher, and good content have the power to change the world—one student and one idea at a time. BFW products have long been best-sellers for AP courses. Now, in response to the needs of teachers across the country, BFW offers materials for Common Core, elective courses, and on-level programs aligned to NGSS.
Information in this section is provided by or adapted from BFW.
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