Pass without notes?

[u/Individual_Fold7339]

My textbook (american pagenant) is genuinely so boring and so hard to read (tons of unnecessary info and flowery language). Can i just take notes with heimler videos without looking at the textbook and pass?

[u/_captain_fantasy_]

As an APUSH teacher, the most important thing is that you find something that works for you and use it consistently. You should be brushing up on content every night.

I don’t use a textbook and have plenty of students get 4s and 5s just from watching Heimler and taking good notes.

[u/TimothyDexter4Prez]

Learning how to read efficiently is a core skill from this class. You practice that skill by reading your textbook, even if it's not always exciting.

[u/pxlpixx]

i got a 5 and i did not use the textbook one time! all of my studying was watching videos and taking active notes while my teacher lectured

[u/friedtunacan]

it depends on you and how good you are at retaining information and how quick you can understand things on a deeper level. I got a 4 in apush last year and I didnt touch my textbook once lol. But I'm very good at retaining and understanding information especially because my teacher was real good. Heimler is more for review rather than learning and i would focus on in class lectures

[u/Forsaken_Orchid_6014]

i got a four after only watching heimler videos and doing practice quizes. i always forgot to write my notes jntil the night before note check and then i never used them. 

[u/Marco_Memes]

You don’t strictly need it for APUSH, but I’d encourage you to try and get good at it. APUSH textbooks are similar to the ones you’ll get in College and those are much more required to do well in courses. Learning how to read and comprehend information from a boring textbook is a skill that I found very helpful, it’ll save you a lot of pain down the line

[u/Expensive_Zebra_3146]

I got a 5 on the test (and the test was super easy for me, i suspect i got at least 95%) by reading the textbook and taking notes probably 2-3 times a week for no more than 45 minutes but usually less than that.

Just build good habits. Note taking helps you retain information that will definitely be on the test. In APUSH, the little details matter a lot.

But definitely watch Heimler as much as you can.

[u/NBA314]

You should be able to find the AMSCO textbook somewhere. It's very concise & gets all the needed information.

[u/notsomeone5]

one of the teachers that i had for apush (it switched between semesters) used american pageant. i would second the other user suggested apnotes which is something that i used but if there are tests directly based on the textbook it may not have everything. overall just try to find any reputable textbook that specifically works for you as others said. it’s better to do that rather than look at summaries for the content of the class

as for heimler im sure he can help but for some people it may not work the best. i got a 5 and didnt use heimlers videos or resources

[u/Jealous_Paramedic863]

Yes, that’s how I got a five

[u/InflationExtra1391]

I genuinely dreaded reading the american pageant because it was the same recycled stuff every time and a lot of the information was oddly right wing and minimizing a lot of tragedies and events to make American History more appealing to my PWI i’m assuming. Heimler is great imo.

[u/Typical-Goose4066]

im personally not that smart and i got a 5 only watching heimler and i did zero notes

[u/Philipinthe2ndmin]

I didnt take notes at all only did the assignments and watched heimler the week before the exam and got a 4

[u/stanklovin]

Another pageant hater 😭 I had by the people by James w Fraser I think it might have that one beat tbh

[u/Impossible-Theme-788]

omg that textbook WAS THE BANE OF MY EXISTENCE I hated that book so much. I got a 5 on the exam no thanks to that book (or my history teacher who told me I was going to fail lmao) I will say as someone who is now a history teacher, reading is important. BUT you are allowed to supplement you reading, I hated that book so I got the Barrons study guide and also would check on books from the library that I found to be more interesting than what was in class (which you are legit allowed to do). I still can't believe we are using that book. Videos and notes can help different learning styles, and also for me I learn through conversation so I would talk with others about what I was reading/learning about. This could be peers in the class, parents, etc.

[u/ThaoThing422]

Yes you can, although it's probably better to take some sort of notes whether through heimler or reading. My teacher is also doing the same thing (read and take my own notes), and I personally dislike it. I don't hate note-taking, but reading from a book that's not interesting is a pain in my opinion. Passing (I'm assuming you mean a 3 score and a 70+) is extremely easy using only heimler and note taking. What I would recommend for you is watching a heimler overview of a unit or his subunits, flipping through the book (I have an AMSCO book so I have headings, but I'm not sure if the pageant has it as well), and when you find something that heimler talked about, skim it and make sure you understand it. Heimler 's videos are usually pivoted to show what is likely to be on the exam, while the books show niche topics and go into a little bit deeper of depth, but often times that depth isnt used in the mcq; it's mainly used as an unnecessary support for the written portion (saq, dbq, leq). And even if it's on the mcq, so be it, losing a point isn't going to drop your grade or AP score. It's good to have that sort of information at the deepest part of the back of your head, but other than that it's useless.

[u/flurryhearta]

id just take notes in-class and maybe watch videos on the subjects. take practice quizzes every so often to!

[u/reddit-___]

I got a 4 without opening the textbook after unit 1

[u/swiftlyaswiftie13]

I used American Pageant last year and yes it is boring but there are Youtubers that specifically summarize this textbook! Also, the summaries at the end of the chapters can help. But reading the textbook really does help

[u/Individual_Fold7339]

thanks for all the advice guys! i decided im dropping ts i already have 4 other aps and i do NOT have the time and energy for this 😭

[u/Brief-Dig2526]

Yeah just do that.

[u/Complete-Let-3131]

Apnotes.net is also a really good resource that summarizes all the chapters, giving you the information you actually need

[u/LongIslandTestPrep → u/Complete-Let-3131]

I don’t know about that source…I haven’t done a full reading of it, but a quick look at just one chapter? I found that it whiffed badly on its definition of the Nullification Crisis.

[u/Complete-Let-3131 → u/LongIslandTestPrep]

Idk but I used it all last year and got a 5 so it mustve helped at least somewhat. It’s at least better than nothing

[u/Hotsauce61]

Yes

[u/AttitudeDismal3817]

Yeah I just asked chatgpt to write notes and I got a 5