What are concept cards?

They are index cards that list key infomation on both sides... On one side, students write an essential APUSH

concept as identified by Dr. Conway (see our concept card listings for each unit). On the other side, students

conceptualize the meaning of the item including the following: What is it? What time period is it from? What page(s)

is it found on? Why is it important (Why do we still care)?

Concept Card Listings by Chapter:

Chapter 1-5 Concept Card List

Based on my experience and feedback from previous students, I believe the following

about the concept card process...

MOST EFFECTIVE APPROACH:
(As described by "A students" who scored 3s, 4s, and 5s on AP exam)

1. On one side of your review card, write the concept, the chapter number and the page number

as listed on our class web-site.

2. When reading the text, don't stop to write about every concept as they appear.

Instead, establish continuity in the reading by reading several sections at a time and then going

back and writing the review card information that seems most important.

3. Don't copy everything there is to know about the concept. Write as much as you will need

in (April and May) to refresh your memory about the concept. If possible, note the historical

importance (why do we care about this concept in the big scheme of things?). Also, when possible,

include a date to help place the concept into an era.

LESS EFFECTIVE APPROACH:

Writing the index card information as you read. This tends to break up the continuity of the material for people.

EVEN LESS EFFECTIVE APPROACH:

Search for items (using index or word search technique) and write in information without reading the rest of

the text to establish context.

LEAST EFFECTIVE APPROACH:

Doing nothing and hoping to get by via class coverage.

Concept Card Grading Criteria:

A+ quality:

Outstanding quality and effort, every required concept item is represented by a card, each card has a

well developed, full description of the concept, a consistent organization system is used that will help

the student learn the item now and review the item in the future.

A-/B+ quality:

Very good quality and effort, most concept items are represented by a card, most cards have a well-developed,

full description of the concept, a consistent organization system is used that will help the student learn the item

now and review the item in the future.

C quality:

Satisfactory quality and effort, most concept items are represented by a card, most cards have a clear,

satisfactory description of the concept, an organization system is used but is not apparent in many cards,

cards are high enough quality to help the student learn the items now and review the items in the future,

improvement is possible on future cards.

Less than C quality:

Partial completion, cards are not done yet, quality level is lacking satisfactory criteria as described

in orginal assignment and above.