How do I take good

notes??
WHAP Skills
5 General Tips
1. Use your own words! Copying the textbook won’t help you.
2. Include key terms and questions- pay attention to margins!
3. Include CONTEXT to those terms/questions.
4. Remember PIECES themes. Always, always, always refer
back to them.
5. Draw/doodle/use colors! Research shows using IMAGES and
COLORS in addition to WORDS uses more areas of your
brain, and helps retain memories.
Remember PIECES
To succeed in AP, you have to
speak College Board’s
language.

Constantly referring back to

the six themes will help you
see things the way they want
you to.
Context Is Everything
DON’T: DO:

Leave the term “floating” by itself Include how the term/question fits into the
rest of the chapter

Example: Example: the Paleolithic Era (also called the

Neolithic Revolution- the transition of early
humans from hunter-gatherers to agricultural
societies.
Stone Age) was brought to an end by what
historians call the Neolithic or Agricultural
Revolution. Societies transitioned from
nomadic, hunter-gatherer lifestyles to build
permanent settlements and begin farming.
3 Different Note-Taking Strategies
Crash course video - note taking (5:18-end)

1. Outline Method
2. Cornell Method
3. Mind Map Method
Outline Method
Organized- good for linear
thinkers
Somewhat inflexible- can
be difficult to go back and
edit/change
Cornell Method
Adaptable- take notes and
decide what the major points
are later
Summary section means you
have regular reviews on your
own- good for retention
Mind-Map Method
Good for people who are
visual thinkers
Designed to pattern after how
our memories work
Makes notes about more than
simply copying down words
Shows relationships/
timelines/etc.
Rules for Reading the Textbook
Having trouble understanding what you’re reading? Follow these
steps:

1. Read a small section (2-3 paragraphs) without writing anything

down.
2. Put your textbook aside.
3. Without the book, write down as much as you need to remember.
4. Check through the section to see if you missed anything (and add
it to notes).
5. REPEAT
Practice!
3 Different Stations

● In each station, read the portion of the textbook

● Use the method for that station (use handout)
● Move on, try all 3!

Which do you like best? Why?

Outline Method- Intro and “Out of
Africa”
I. Paleolithic or Stone Age- 95% of history
A. Used stone instead of metal
B. People collected food instead of growing food
II. Africa is birthplace of humanity
A. First place where “culture” is seen
1. Technology innovation
a) Stone blades
b) Hand axes
c) Grindstones
2. Hunting and fishing- not just scavenging
B. Evidence for other regions found later
III. Neolithic Revolution
A. 12000 years ago- people began growing food
B. Also known as “Agricultural Revolution”
Cornell Method- “Into Eurasia” and “Into
Australia”
Key Terms
Humans left Africa for Europe and Asia around 45,000 years ago.
Venus figurines Developed styles of hunting (horses, reindeer), made stone tools
and left paintings in caves. Widespread also found Venus figurines-
statues of women 35,000 years old.

Dreamtime Humans also used boats to make it to Australia as early as 60,000

years ago. There, humans developed as many as 250 languages and
had simple technology to harvest plants like bulbs, tubers, seeds,
and hunt large and small animals. Also developed complex outlook
on the world called Dreamtime to explain history of the world.

Summary: As humans spread out of Africa into other parts of the world, they developed
new and complex systems of hunting and gathering, with technology to go with it. They
also used art, like the Venus figurines, and developed belief systems, like the Dreamtime.
Mind Map- “Settling Down: The Great
Transition”
Technological:
Social: Changes to permanent
dwellings meant new social
Micro-blades (spears,
structures- political elites,
arrowheads, knives
private ownership, class dist.
The Great Transition:
Changes

Permanent settlements- like

Environmental: Jomon in Japan
Natural global warming Gobekli Tepli in Turkey
More game/food available (limestone pillars/carvings
Chumash in California
HOMEWORK
Reading Assignments start TONIGHT

Read Chapter 1, p. 7-17 of the textbook. This is a bit larger than

we will usually cover, so pay attention to key terms. Don’t get
lost in the details.

Remember, starting next week, there will be a reading quiz once

each week. It could happen on any day of the week and you will
not be warned beforehand.