Job Knowledge - History

The title alone is almost enough to make one tremble. We've been told that we can [generally] narrow it down to history since WWII. That still encompasses a lot of information. Preparation should be general; don't get bogged down in too many books, or discouraged by seemingly endless bibliographies or suggested reading lists.

1) Keeping Updated - You are already a step ahead if you are relatively well-versed in current events; many articles and newscasts refer to historical antecedents that could make their way onto the exam. The sidebar on the right lists a number of online periodicals.

2) Reviewing - A few "general overview" books have been routinely suggested on the Yahoo FSWE Group, including old AP History textbooks that you still might have lying around (or can pick up in a garage sale); Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, any number of Cliff's Quick Reviews, or even American History in 100 Nutshells.

3) Test Yourself - In addition to the Official Study Guide, there are literally thousands of internet sites that offer history quizzes, from composers to politics to mathematics. Rather than spend an eternity critiquing and and filtering them all, I've included a few quick links to quizzes and quiz sites that contain specific JK-type questions:

American History:

• American History 101?
• The Toughest American History Quiz
• American History AP Quizzes

World History:

• World Quiz
• Triv.net's History Quizzes
• Syvum's World History Quiz Games

Black History:

• Interactive Treasure Hunt & Quiz (and for additional study)
• Thomson Gale's Black History Quiz (and Historical Overview)

U.S. Government:

• Funtrivia.com's U.S. Politics Quizzes
• Constitution, Issues & History Quiz
• The Great American Civics Quiz (mostly T/F, but good)
• USA Government Constitution Quiz (and much more!)
• Digital History's Constitution Quiz (and more history quizzes - scroll to bottom)
• Whitehouse Kids Constitution Quiz (good Q&A, don't let the word "kids" fool you - this site even has math questions!
  

I haven't yet delved too deeply into any these sites (mostly organizing them into my normal test prep schedule), so if any of them are innapropriate or less-than-helpful, please do let me know. Additionally, if anyone finds some other gems, please post them in the comments. Thank you.

Much more is yet to come!