United States History


Goals & Objectives:


The institute will assist teachers

  1. to teach AP* United States History in their high schools and
  2. to provide students with the analytical skills and factual knowledge necessary to deal critically with the problems and materials in United State History.
  3. to familiarize participants with the continuum and flow of the US history curriculum from early settlement to the 1970s-1980s
  4. to familiarize participants with hands-on instructional methods and time management strategies necessary to successfully prepare students to pass the AP* Exam.
  5. to familiarize participants with interesting and meaningful individual and group assignments for students to complete throughout the year.
  6. to familiarize participants with the entire U.S. History Exam, how the essay parts are graded, and successful review techniques

All participants should bring:

  1. a laptop computer if possible.
  2. an activity or teaching strategy to share with the other participants.


COURSE OUTLINE :


Day 1


Introductions


1. Concerns and expectations
2. Approaches and general introduction to course

School setting and student selection


1. Student motivation, weighted GPA, AP* Exam required/not required
2. Commitment - Students, parents, teachers - preparing for the exam\

General overview of US History course

1. The Acorn Book, AP* Teachers' Guide to AP* US History
2. Syllabus and selecting a textbook
3. Supplementary materials; primary and secondary sources; audio visual aids
4. Pacing and Reading Schedule/Scope and Sequence
5. The College Board vs. E.T.S.

The AP* Exam

1. Participants take a multiple-choice AP* Exam to determine areas of strength and weakness.



Day 2


Teaching the APUSH class
1. Video of teaching strategies
a. Discussion of video
2. Sharing my class with you
3. Strategies
4. Lesson development
5. Sharing participants activities or lesson

Day 3


Teaching Skills for a successful APUSH Class
1. Critical reading skills
2. Analytical writing skills
3. Documental Analysis
4. Multiple Choice test taking skills


Day 4


The AP* Exam--empowering students
1. Review techniques
2. Editing multiple-choice questions supplied by publishers
3. Techniques for developing multiple-choice questions
4. Grading essays using rubrics developed at summer reading


Day 5


Multimedia teaching strategies
1. Videos
2. Music
3. Power Point
Sharing participant created DBQ



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