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...
The teaching of AP® World History can be a daunting task at times. Teachers are asked to teach over 800 years of historical content and then develop very specific skills so that students can be successful in the class. It can leave teachers feeling like they are constantly on an escalator, moving...
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,...
This lesson module can be used by regular or AP® World, U.S., or European History teachers to develop an understanding of how sport has been used as a "tool" to assimilate Indigenous cultures into the Imperial state's economy, politics, and culture. Portions or all of the lesson modules could also...
Between 1607 and 1754, the British presence in North America vastly increased and there were more than 30 British colonies. Among those colonies were the “13 colonies” that eventually became the United States.
Cultural diffusion and cultural syncretism are two important concepts in the AP® World History curriculum. Because of its importance, I’ve developed this activity as a fun and creative way to introduce or review the concept of cultural diffusion. It is best used at the beginning of the year as an...
Around 2005, I started a more regular and purposeful current events routine in my AP® Government and Politics class. I would supply three articles on Sunday, and students needed to read them by class time on Tuesday. I creatively called it “Current Events Tuesday.” No students cheered, but I soon...
So, you have taken the plunge and are now teaching AP® Human Geography. People will ask “What is Human Geography?” but you have no idea how to answer (yet). I get this question all the time (from students and teachers alike) and I have a short and longer answer that will help kick off your...
The beginning of the school year is an important time for establishing expectations and forming relationships, both teacher-student and student-student. In my district, we teach government and civics and AP® U.S. Government and Politics to sophomores, so I used to spend a good bit of time...
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