Book excerpt: Equip your students to excel on the AP® United States History Exam, as updated for 2016 Features "flexibility designed to use in a one-semester or one-year course "divided into nine chronological periods mirroring the structure of the new AP® U.S. College Board Curriculum Framework, the text reflects the Board's effort to focus on trends rather than isolated facts "each period features a one-page overview summarizing the major developments of the period and lists the three featured Key Concepts from the College Board Curriculum Framework "each Think As a Historian feature focuses on one of the nine historical thinking skills that the AP® exam will test "each chapter narrative concludes with Historical Perspectives, a feature that addresses the College Board emphasis on how historians have interpreted the events of the chapter in various ways "the chapter conclusion features a list of key terms, people, and events organized by theme, reflecting the College Board's focus on asking students to identify themes, not just events "chapter assessments include eight multiple-choice items, each tied to a source as on the new AP® exam, as well as four short-answer questions "period reviews include both long-essay questions and Document-Based Questions in the format of those on the AP® exam, as updated for 2016