Patrick Sprinkle

Stacked newspaper articles

AP® US History: Article Analysis

In a 2004 Gallup survey, history and social studies ranked as the least popular subject for teenagers. Why is this? Many adults recount history class as being forced to memorize names, dates, and events without a connection to one another. Acronyms like SOAPStone (Speaker, Occasion, Audience,...

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Analyzing Primary Sources in the Social Studies

One of the most common tasks I see in the social studies classroom is the use of primary sources. The power of letting people choose their own story and bringing diverse perspectives to the historical narrative is essential and worthy work. After all, teaching with textbooks, for a wide variety of...

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AP® Government Exam: Quantitative Analysis Review

In 2021, the College Board® added a new section to the AP® U.S Government and Politics Exam: quantitative analysis. This counts for four raw points on the exam. Along with the data project, students are asked to evaluate data and use their critical thinking skills to connect data to political...

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Tips for the AP® Gov FRQ

The Free-Response Question (FRQ) portion of the Advanced Placement® exam provides test takers with the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge on a vast array of topics in a concise manner. In many instances, each bullet can be answered in one to three sentences if students are able to...

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AP® Gov: Teaching the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of the United States is often seen as the most distant and befuddling branch for my students. Whether it is misunderstanding their unelected status, difficulty in discerning legal language, or simply confusion about how the federal courts function, students are often left with a...

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AP® Gov: Constitutional Amendments

One of the most important goals of civics education is to get students to understand the imperfections of the constitutional system of the United States. The system, webbed together through a series of compromises, reflects the values of the authors, largely based upon Judeo-Christian values,...