I was pleasantly surprised with my students’ efforts and results on the Civic Engagement project in COVID spring 2021. The student-government connections were not what they might have been in a non-pandemic year, but with proper social distancing and a reliance on email and telephone calls, several...
Early in a school year it can be a real challenge to know how to begin teaching students critical skills they need to score on the AP® U.S. History Exam. I don’t think there is any one right way to begin approaching exam skills with our students, but, personally, I like to begin with something that...
If you read my previous blog post, The Most Foundational Document: The U.S. Constitution, you'll have noticed a classroom activity for the Constitution unit. If you were interested in finding out more on this activity, you're in luck
Do you struggle with teaching over 800 years of content and building college-level skill proficiency to AP® World History students? Does teaching AP® World seem like riding an escalator, where you are never being able to get off on a floor to explore? Are you always struggling with timing and...
Most AP® European History teachers try to pace their class by killing Napoleon prior to winter break. Hopefully the attached lesson plan will be useful as you wind down this semester as it requires students to categorize the policies of Napoleon Bonaparte and create a complex thesis that will be...
One of the most vexing problems facing students and teachers alike is the teaching of Federalist #10. Federalist #10 and the issue of factions is critical to understanding the Madisonian model, and the complexities of the design scheme of the United States’ federal system. While students generally...
I must have convinced you of the need to build a classroom community from my first post because…you’re here. Or maybe you already know that you need to build a classroom community, so you clicked on my post. Thank you. You are what makes this blog and your classrooms special! That is why students...
You know the Style #4 Free Response Question on the College Board’s national Government exam can be a real challenge. I am talking about the argument essay that takes more time for students to plan and write. Because it is a little more challenging, I tend to dread then delay teaching it. Not a...
AP® Psychology is just as much a class with an abundance of new vocabulary as it is an introduction into the field of psychology. Students often confuse terms because their meanings overlap or they are similar to one another. These terms are often seen on the free-response portion of the exam to...
Happy Halloween week! For those wanting to sprinkle a little Halloween spirit into the classroom this week, the attached lesson plan uses the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley as a case study to help students better understand the “Romantic movement.” Not only will they analyze features of the...
