AP World HistorySeeing the Big Picture

The AP Exam Is Not A Vocab Test!

• It is virtually impossible to pass the AP by just trying to memorize every name, date, and event that you read about.– In the past 15 years 2 students have

passed by studying this way• Both had nervous breakdowns

You can’t memorize information randomly

• When learning a new piece of information, you have to connect it to other pieces of similar information

• People don’t memorize telephone numbers as 7 digits, they memorize them as 2 numbers– Not as 7-5-4-8-2-8-1– But as 754-8281

What should the next piece look like?

What should the next piece look like?

Put the information you learn in order• Ancient Greeks make advances in math, science, government, and art• Roman culture is heavily influenced by the ancient Greeks• After the Roman Empire collapses, Europe falls into a state of chaos for a

1000 years called the Middle Ages– Knowledge of Greeks and Romans passes to Muslims in the East

• Muslims experience a Golden Age

• With no strong central government in Europe, the church becomes the dominate power– Looking to take back the Holy Land, the Church calls on Europeans to fight in the

Crusades

• Although losing the crusades, Europeans take back from the Middle East preserved Greek and Roman knowledge and a taste for exotic goods (pepper, silk, etc…)

• Rediscovering Greek and Roman knowledge starts Europe on a course of learning called the Renaissance

• The taste for exotic goods and the questioning ideas of the Renaissance lead to the Age of Exploration