<p>OK, I admit it, I'm behind. We are just starting Chapter 28, "Progressivism and the Republican Roosevelt" in American Pageant. That's not good. I'm a new APUSH teacher and I know I've got to turn things around. I know what got me into the curriculum hole - too many time consuming projects and a penchant for letting class discussions go too long. I want my students to succeed. So what am I going to do?</p>
<p>One week ago, I received a free copy of REA's new AP US History Crash Course. The book is very unique. Unlike the other prep books it is not a condensed version of a textbook. Based upon a careful analysis of all the released exams, the author has created a targeted review. That's the key. Phase I of my plan is to teach the topics targeted in the Crash Course book and omit the other topics. This streamlined approach will enable me to reach 1970 with a couple of weeks for review. Phase II will be to build a winning coalition of topics built around key terms, African American history, Women's history, key Supreme Court cases and Immigration and Migration. I am going to use questions from the 2001 and 2006 released exams and the 2008 practice exam to test my students and give them practice with real tests.</p>
<p>I hope this plan helps other teachers and students how are behind. Let me know what you think.</p>
<p>^You are definitely right. A well prepared APUSH student should ace the EOCT (End of Course Test). Are you a Georgia APUSH student? Has your teacher done anything special to prepare you for the EOCT? Where are you now in APUSH?</p>
<p>^ I'm not sure what the similarities are, but in North Carolina we have to take the EOC (End of Course) test in United States History. I'm in IB History of the Americas but I know that both my class and the AP USH class spend absolutely no time preparing for the EOC because the time spent preparing for the AP/IB exams is sufficient.</p>
<p>My teacher was a veteran of APUSH, and he said that there is no way that we could cover all material in the time of just one school year without losing some valuable information. So every year from April until May, he has after school or weekend study sessions. They were a big hit. We went from the beginning of the year topics until the Clinton administration. He gave us released exams and study packets to go along with it also. I felt like I was well prepared, even when I got the Vietnam DBQ which was a shock. Also, my teacher uses throughout the year excerpts from Howard Zinn's book (A People's History of the United States), and it's very handy. Hope this helped and good luck!</p>
<p>In Texas we have to take the lousy Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS)... thankfully it's easy and we don't spend too much time preparing for it, but even the twice-yearly benchmark exams we have to take to prove we're ready (which is all of the review we ever do... or need to) seem like a pathetic waste of time. The old End of Course Exams were <em>slightly harder</em>... but hey, no complaints. I understand the teacher's pain.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info, by the way... I'll pick that book up soon. I've heard so much about that and AMSCO.</p>
<p>Oh, and if it's any consolation, we only <em>just</em> finished that unit a couple of days ago (and we have history every other day, not every day) so you're not <em>too</em> far behind us. We plan on finishing the book by the end of the month.</p>
<p>^Thanks for your support. I believe you will be pleased with the Crash Course book. Why do you have classes every other day? Are you on a block schedule?</p>
<p>Yes, I am a Georgia student. Our teacher said that if we prepare for the AP USH test thoroughly, the EOCT should be a joke.</p>
<p>I'm in a year long class that meets every other day (block schedule) and right now we are beginning the Cold War. A couple of my friends are in the semester long class, and they are starting progressivism too.</p>
<p>I know this may not be such a good idea but anyone who is willing to put their effort into getting the highest score possible would want to stay an hr or two after school to get extra help from the teacher.</p>
<p>Maybe you can offer that option? I wished my teachers would do that.</p>
<p>I wish my high school teachers were devoted enough to post on internet forums about their classes. Keep doing what you're doing, it's teachers like you who really make a difference.</p>
<p>I'm taking AP US right now, and our AP US teacher MADE us get REA's US History Builder. It's really helpful and he gives us assignments out of that a lot. As for your bit about class discussion, what's your format? Do you run it like a seminar? Our AP teacher lectures and asks us specific questions (Why was Johnson impeached? I completely forgot the name of the Tenure of Office Act...it was really embarrassing). I feel like you have to drive the class forward, if your discussions are taking too much time, let them know that you have to move forward.</p>
<p>Also, our teacher says that for the most part the AP exam is like a funnel chronologically in terms of what you have to know. So, the bulk of the exam is based on earlier stuff in American history, and by the time you reach events like the Vietnam War the amount of knowledge you have to know about that era is much smaller than what you have to know about Industrialization or Antebellum.</p>
<p>Really, I don't think that it's bad that you guys are only on Chapter 28, we haven't gotten to cover that in class yet...although we have finished the packets up to Chapter 32, or is it 33? That way when we do reach that chapter, next class I believe, the information will have had time to sink in so that it will be more of a review.</p>
<p>I should also mention that our class is really starting to pick up speed, we have packets after nearly ever class and take home and timed DBQ's and FRQ's along with some MCA's thrown in for good measure.</p>
<p>I believe my teacher said that we will be done with the material by the end of March. That way we can review in April.</p>
<p>^^^Thank you for your support and encouragement. I wish all of you were in my class!
I have 24 students. That is a bit too big for a seminar. I would say that I use a combination of lecture-discussion. I especially like to make past - present links. All of which is great but time-consuming. I did make a mistake by spending too much time on the period between 1492 and 1607. Turns out that there are few if any questions on this time period.</p>
<p>lantzk - your teacher makes a very interesting point about the distribution of questions. According to the CB Course Description Booklet 20 percent of the MC questions cover the period to 1789, 45 percent cover the period from 1790 to 1914 and 35 percent of the questions cover the period from 1915 to the present. In addition, two of the free response questions cover the period before the Civil War and two cover the period after the Civil War. The Crash Course book provides a detailed analysis of just where these questions come from. For example, although the Vietnam War is long and complex the questions are on very predictable topics - ie the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, the Tet Offensive and Kent State. Recent exams have 2 - 4 MCs on the Vietnam War. From a purely pragmatic point of view African American History and Women's history are the two most important topics. They dominate the MCs and are also found in at least one of the Free Response Questions. The 2006 Released Exam provides clear proof of this point.</p>
<p>My AP Art History teacher runs a series of successful after school, evening and even weekend review classes. Students order pizza for the after school classes and parents bring cookies, brownies, drinks etc for the weekend review classes. It has become a tradition. Test results are awesome. Good luck. Remember, if you offer they will come! (All except my own APUSH teacher, but that is another story)</p>
<p>i don't think i have anything to add that others have not already said, but i want to also applaud you for being such a dedicated teacher. it seems schools in America have been falling down on the job a bit, and teachers like you are what they need to get back on track. </p>
<p>on what you are trying to do, i think the after school study sessions are a great idea. i wish we had some. and as for those EOCTs, if they do well in AP, then they will pass it with flying colors. at my school, teachers have a very relaxed attitude towards standardized tests. in English class, we asked the teacher what was going to be on the English benchmark test. the response? "oh i don't know, something about English i assume". we all know we will do great on that test because we have done our work for the class itself.</p>