Tips for Success in AP Psych from former BHS AP Psych students 
              READING 
             Read the chapters when assigned. 
             READ – otherwise the quizzes are hard! 
             Read the book – nothing cements the info. in your brain like reading the book does. 
             Read the book, and then take detailed notes in class to reinforce what you learned. 
              TERMS & CONCEPTS 
             Do your terms & concepts  – it adds up! 
             Do your stinking terms! JUST DO IT! It won’t hurt, I promise.  
             Save your vocab until the AP Exam in May. 
             Do your vocab on note cards, and save your note cards! 
              PREPARATION 
             Pace yourself with homework, reading, and assignments. Being organized and planning when to do work (and how 
              much) is SUPER helpful.  
             Have your materials in class every day! 
             Be quiet during notes – you don’t want to miss anything / Listen during class. 
             Keep your notes in the same place throughout the entire year. This will be helpful for the tests, and it will also be the 
              key to the AP Exam. 
             Associate the information you learn with an everyday situation – it will help you remember. 
              QUIZZES, TESTS, and CORRECTIONS 
             Study for quizzes – even though they don’t seem like a big deal, a lot of the questions are on the test. 
             Read the chapter summaries to help review for tests and use your notes to study. 
             Use the study guides given before the test – they pretty much lay it all out. 
             Study for the tests; you can’t not study and then expect to do well. It won’t happen. 
             Study in a timely manner before tests. 
             This class moves quickly and there is a lot to cover – and not everything is covered in class. 
             If you get less than 100% on a test do the corrections… you may need those extra points down the road. 
             Do test corrections, no matter what. They’re more fun when done in a group with your friends  
              PROJECTS 
             Do your projects to the best of your ability, and make them interesting – otherwise it’s a waste of your time (and 
              Ms. J’s). 
              OTHER ASSIGNMENTS 
             Do ALL assignments!  
             Do all the work ALL the time. It’s way easier to take it as it comes rather than putting it off till later and trying to do it 
              all at once. 
              AP EXAM  
             Take the AP Exam!  And start studying for the AP Exam before the class does because it gets really hectic the last 
              couple of weeks in April. 
             AP Exam review books are really worth a few weeks of allowance or mowing a few lawns! 
              MISCELLANEIOUS 
             Sign up for Edmodo text/e-mail notifications – they are good reminders of deadlines. 
             Enjoy this class. It’s actually quite humorous at times  
             Do your best and have fun! It can really be worth it if you’re willing to put in the effort. 
             Have a jamminawesome year!  
                                Tips for Success in AP Psych from Ms. Justice 
         Make the commitment RIGHT NOW to always put forth your best effort in this class 
         Make the commitment RIGHT NOW to enjoy this class and to learn a lot of really fascinating stuff this year! 
         Set up a binder, or a section of a binder, dedicated to AP Psychology. Keep EVERYTHNG in there. Everything. No, 
                                                         
          really. Keep ALL of your AP Psych stuff until at least May 4,2015. Seriously. 
         Become really good friends with the extremely lovely monthly calendars that I will give you every month.  You can 
          use them to organize your life around AP Psych and make sure you never miss a due date and are always one step 
          ahead of where you need to be! 
         Decide RIGHT NOW that you are going to take the advice of those who have gone before you, and do the chapter 
          readings and Terms & Concepts as they are assigned. You can’t be successful in this class without them. Truly. 
         If you haven’t already, decide RIGHT NOW whether you are going to complete your Terms & Concepts on note 
          cards or in a composition book. It doesn’t matter to me which you choose, so go with the option that you think will 
          work best for you. 
             o  Oh, and did you notice that your first assignment is due on Friday?   (The terms you are to define & 
                explain are in bold in the reading, they are listed on the back of your monthly calendar, and they are listed at 
                the end of the chapter in the textbook.)  
         On the day a reading assignment is due your entry task will be a Reading Quiz consisting of 10 multiple choice 
          questions that will largely be related to the Terms & Concepts you defined as you read. Oh, and btw, these quiz 
          questions will almost always show up on your chapter/unit tests. (Do you see the connection between doing the 
          readings and the Terms & Concepts and the quizzes and the tests??     ….please say yes….) 
         Take notes in class every day – I will go over important concepts and ideas, and we will discuss them to make sure 
          you understand them. Sometimes we will watch a related video or complete a relevant activity, etc. Pay attention to 
          everything – it all matters. (I would never waste your time with something that was irrelevant!) 
         Be aware that we will not cover everything in class – there just isn’t time. This is a college-level course with 
          college-level curriculum…. which means you have college-level responsibility when it comes to class work.  It is 
          your responsibility to do all readings, terms, and assignments to make sure you get all the ideas – even the ones 
          we don’t discuss in class.  
         If you need help with something that we don’t discuss in class, please ask. I promise I will not bite. I am generally 
          available before school (6:45am –ish) and after school until 2:30, sometimes 3:00 (unless I have a meeting). Making 
          an appointment with me is a great idea!  
         I echo the sentiments of your predecessors: read; complete all assignments to the best of your ability; take notes; 
          study; do quiz/test corrections if necessary. And don’t forget to study. It is so important to study…. And read. And 
          study.  
         Create a study group if possible – it really is a great way to do homework and prepare for tests! 
         Challenge yourself to learn new things – and remember that learning new things generally means struggling and 
          feeling uncomfortable and squirming a bit. But, as that’s happening your brain is growing…. Ok, it’s not really 
          growing, but it is building new neural connections. I’m getting ahead of myself, though…. We won’t learn about that 
          till Unit 3!  
         I’m sooooo psyched for AP Psych 