If I remember correctly, the first day walking into Mr. Johnston's class was like walking into 7th grade all over again. Yeah...I was pretty much a weenie, but hey, what can I say, it was my first AP Class and I didn't know what was coming for me.
So basically, you walk in and you get to choose your own seats. If you are anything like Hour 7 was last year, the room will be split up basically boys on one side and girls on the other (because like I emphasized before, we were Middle Schoolers apparently).
The first thing you need to take out is your two notebooks, the one with your reading notes and the one with your term notes, and your completed map. Mr. J will go around the rows and make you flip through your terms notebook only to make sure that Ch. 2-4 are done and highlighted. He will glance over your reading notebook and you map to make sure that you didn't neglect those parts too.
After he is done with attendance and he looks over your summer assignment, he will dive straight into lecture. For lecture, all you need on your desk is a notebook and the history book. You do not need to take your own book with you to and from school (unless you want to because you want to read the book during study hall or ELO). Mr. Johnston has enough books in his own inventory to cover all the APUSH students and to have one per desk, that will be kept underneath the desk everyday.
In my first entry, I said that it would be wise to have three notebooks. One for terms (big one), one for book notes, and one for lecture notes. I remember not getting an actual notebook for my lecture notes (did everything on loose leaf) until Chapter 15, which was not my best idea. Since I didn't read the book very often (which was bad on my part...) I wrote down basically everything that he had to say during lecture. On average, I used up 4-6 pages of loose leaf (8-12 front and back) on one chapter alone.
Mr. Johnston says to only write down the things you don't know or know you will forget again (also write down any funny quotes because who doesn't like reading those =) lol). To avoid having to have your hand cramp up from writing too much, read the book, and start reading and getting used to reading early, or else you'll end up like I did, saying that I'll start reading the chapter when we are already on Ch. 22.
ANYWAYS, you've already heard that schpeel too much! So, back to the first day of school. His lecture for the first day will start with telling you about the AP Exam, what to expect in his class, and all that. He will pass out his GIGANTIC syllabus, of which has what terms, short answers, maps, and essays you need to do. Now that you guys are getting short answer questions on your exam this year, my guess is that he might take the short answer portion more seriously (meaning he might actually check it). Then he will talk about the resources that are out there for you to get as supplementary materials. This involves flashcards (which are more useful for the Semester Exam or the AP Exam) and any AP Test Prep book. For the US course, many people have said that Barron's is the best. I used the Princeton Review but I also saw many more companies/brands like Five Steps to a Five and Kaplan being bought. Then he'll go through why to buy them now because you can use them in your terms (especially his book that he has because of the way it is laid out, don't know what brand he has though).
After that whole talk is done with, if he hasn't ranted on about something else and talked about his buddy Peahead somehow, then he will ask you to get the book out and turn to the first page in Chapter 2. This is where the normal routine of everyday begins. He will talk, read a few lines, pull down the US map and/or the European map, bang his golf club on the podium to scare the bajeebies out of you, attempt to make you laugh and then the bell will ring.
So basically, you walk in and you get to choose your own seats. If you are anything like Hour 7 was last year, the room will be split up basically boys on one side and girls on the other (because like I emphasized before, we were Middle Schoolers apparently).
The first thing you need to take out is your two notebooks, the one with your reading notes and the one with your term notes, and your completed map. Mr. J will go around the rows and make you flip through your terms notebook only to make sure that Ch. 2-4 are done and highlighted. He will glance over your reading notebook and you map to make sure that you didn't neglect those parts too.
After he is done with attendance and he looks over your summer assignment, he will dive straight into lecture. For lecture, all you need on your desk is a notebook and the history book. You do not need to take your own book with you to and from school (unless you want to because you want to read the book during study hall or ELO). Mr. Johnston has enough books in his own inventory to cover all the APUSH students and to have one per desk, that will be kept underneath the desk everyday.
In my first entry, I said that it would be wise to have three notebooks. One for terms (big one), one for book notes, and one for lecture notes. I remember not getting an actual notebook for my lecture notes (did everything on loose leaf) until Chapter 15, which was not my best idea. Since I didn't read the book very often (which was bad on my part...) I wrote down basically everything that he had to say during lecture. On average, I used up 4-6 pages of loose leaf (8-12 front and back) on one chapter alone.
Mr. Johnston says to only write down the things you don't know or know you will forget again (also write down any funny quotes because who doesn't like reading those =) lol). To avoid having to have your hand cramp up from writing too much, read the book, and start reading and getting used to reading early, or else you'll end up like I did, saying that I'll start reading the chapter when we are already on Ch. 22.
ANYWAYS, you've already heard that schpeel too much! So, back to the first day of school. His lecture for the first day will start with telling you about the AP Exam, what to expect in his class, and all that. He will pass out his GIGANTIC syllabus, of which has what terms, short answers, maps, and essays you need to do. Now that you guys are getting short answer questions on your exam this year, my guess is that he might take the short answer portion more seriously (meaning he might actually check it). Then he will talk about the resources that are out there for you to get as supplementary materials. This involves flashcards (which are more useful for the Semester Exam or the AP Exam) and any AP Test Prep book. For the US course, many people have said that Barron's is the best. I used the Princeton Review but I also saw many more companies/brands like Five Steps to a Five and Kaplan being bought. Then he'll go through why to buy them now because you can use them in your terms (especially his book that he has because of the way it is laid out, don't know what brand he has though).
After that whole talk is done with, if he hasn't ranted on about something else and talked about his buddy Peahead somehow, then he will ask you to get the book out and turn to the first page in Chapter 2. This is where the normal routine of everyday begins. He will talk, read a few lines, pull down the US map and/or the European map, bang his golf club on the podium to scare the bajeebies out of you, attempt to make you laugh and then the bell will ring.