Preparing Students for the AP Exam: Human Geography
ED 515 (TI66) Pamela Wolfe
This course will provide an overview of the AP Human Geography curriculum and help
teachers design their own course. Teachers will review lesson plans, resources, and
websites for teaching each of the major topics covered in the AP Human Geography
course, including geography, population, cultural patterns, the political organization of
space, rural land use, industrialization, and cities. The course will focus on effective
teaching strategies, learning activities and preparation for success on the AP exam.
Participants will begin to develop their own course outline, syllabus and assessment tools.
Preparing Students for the AP Exam: European History
ED 505 (TI76) Pamela Wolfe
This course will help teachers design an AP European History course and prepare their
students for the AP exam. Participants will review the content, themes and structure of
the AP European History curriculum and focus on effective teaching strategies and
learning activities that will lead to success on the exam. An analysis of the past AP
examinations will be included as well as discussion of rubrics and the grading of the free
response section. Participants will review the important aspects of each time period of the
AP European History curriculum, plan their own course syllabi, and create test questions
in line with the topics and themes of the course.
ROBERT S. WELCH CENTER FOR GRADUATE AND
PROFESSIONAL STUDIES
GOUCHER COLLEGE
TEACHERS' INSTITUTE
©2011 GOUCHER COLLEGE
Syllabus for
ED505—Preparing Students for the AP Exam: European History
M-Th 8:30-4:00 and Fr 8:30 -1:00
Instructor: Pamela K. Wolfe
e-mail: [email protected]
Required Texts: AP level textbooks will be provided by publishers. AP
Manual will be provided by the College Board.
Attendance Policy: Lateness or absence is not permitted.
Course Objectives:
1) to examine the format of the AP European History Exam and learn
the skills necessary to pass it
2) to be able to write and score AP Free Response and DocumentBased Essays (DBQs)
3) to use various methods of teaching and sources of information in
the classroom
4) to acquire some of the factual information needed to teach
European History
First Day a.m.—Class Logistics
Introductions
What are your main concerns about the AP? What did you come here to learn?
Overview of Participant Packets: The AP Program and European History Exam
What type of students should take the AP? How to decide who gets in.
Teaching AP European History to a Diverse Population
Teaching AP to a Mixed AP/Non-AP Class
Strategies for Teaching AP to the Learning Disabled or Physically- Challenged Student
Summer Reading? To assign a novel or not: that is the question.
Scheduling: How to cover 700 years of history in 8 months or less.
Presentation: Plague, Schism and the 100 Years’ War
First Day p.m.-- Using the Internet, PowerPoint, and other “new”
technology
Presentation: The Five Ideals of the Renaissance
Lecture, Essay-Writing, Reading and Discussion, -- other activities to make the class
more interesting
 Films, Field Trips and the Internet
 Projects, Debates, Mock Trials, Salons, etc—all those really fun things you
don’t have time for and won’t find in a college class anyway!
Textbooks and Primary Source Materials
Tests and Alternative Assessments
Assignment #1—Readings assigned from source books
Second Day a.m.—Free Response Essays
Group Discussion of Readings
Presentation: Using Graphic Organizers to Compare Luther & Calvin
How the AP Reading is Organized. How Readers are Trained. (Video)
Types of Free Response Questions: What have they asked in the past?
The Student's Most Important Analysis: What is the question asking exactly?
Hand out Old Free Response Questions for Interpretation Practice
Methods of Preparing Students for Free Response Questions
Question File Box
Presentation: Compare and Contrast Essays
The WWMS? Game
Holistic (or Wholistic) Grading of the Free Response Question
Practice on 2006 AP Test Questions
Second Day p.m.—Multiple Choice Questions
The Multiple Choice Question
Types of Questions
The Quote Question—Looking for Magic Words
Study Guides
Presentation: Using Visuals in the Classroom
Maps
Charts and Graphs
Posters and Cartoons
Art and Architecture
Presentation: A Comparison of Philip II, Louis IV and Frederick II
Assignment #2---- Read and plan out your answer to the following
DBQ Essay Question. Look at the documents and decide how
you would group them in your essay. (You need at least three
groups.) Try to find three examples of bias or point of view to
use in your essay. Write out your Thesis Statement. As you do
this assignment, take as much time as you need, but remember:
YOUR STUDENTS WILL HAVE ONLY 15 MINUTES TO PLAN OUT
THEIR DBQ ESSAY ON THE AP EXAM!!!
Third Day a.m.— Teaching and Scoring the DBQ
Scoring “The Core”
Teaching your students to write and score DBQ Essays
First and Foremost—Answering the Question
Methods of Teaching Document Analysis
SOAPStone
The 5 W's
Organization of the Essay Comes First!!!
Discussion of DBQ Assignment
Grouping the Documents—“The Shoe Game”
It’s Not English Class— Defining POV as Bias
Writing the Thesis Sentence-- You may not simply rewrite the question.
Writing Topic Sentences for each Paragraph
Linking paragraphs-- Transition sentences
The Conclusion
What to avoid: Laundry Lists
Too many quotes or Paraphrases
Paragraphs that start off with a document
Firstly, Secondly, Thirdly, In conclusion
Having kids write their own DBQs-- yes or no?
Practice Scoring the 2006 DBQ
Presentation: The Medieval World View, the Scientific Revolution
and the Enlightenment
Third Day p.m.—The Important 19th Century
Presentation: Nationalism—Greek DBQ
Presentation: The Industrial Revolution—Manchester DBQ
Assignment #3— Readings from source books on the Problems of
the Workers, Utopian, Marxist and Revisionist Socialism,
Anarchism and Syndicalism for group discussion tomorrow.
Fourth Day a.m. —Simulation of Workers’ Rally
Group Discussion of Readings and Simulation
Presentation: Women and Gender Issues
Presentation: Art History in the AP Euro Classroom
Fourth Day p.m.-- Field Trip to the Walters Art Gallery
Handout: Sample Art Gallery Worksheet
Assignment #4— Construct an Art Gallery worksheet for
students. Find examples of the various time-periods of art
discussed in class as well as some of the ideals of the times.
Fifth Day a.m.-- What to do after the AP is over
Presentation: Totalitarianism—Comparing Mussolini, Hitler and Stalin
Presentation: The Cold War and the Fall of Communism
Presentation: Military History Through Film
Salon
Immigration Project
Manor House/ Dinner Party Project
The Kevin Bacon Game
Discussion of Participant ideas for Lesson Plan Assignment
Final Assignment—Construct a Unit of Lesson Plans-- one weeksworth or more, ending with an assessment (test, essay, project,
etc.)-- to be used with your class next year, using the
ideas/techniques discussed during the week. (Finished Lesson
plan and assessment you would use with your students should be
e-mailed to Instructor by July 22 at [email protected].)
Bibliography
An extensive bibliography for the AP European History teacher is provided by the
College Board at the AP Central website at
http://apps.apcentral.collegeboard.com/ResourceSearchResults.jsp.
Other recommended readings include:
General
Carey, John. Eyewitness to History. Harvard University Press. 1988.
Cumming, Robert. Annotated Art. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
H.W. Janson. A History of Art. Prentice Hall. 2003.
Kagan, et al. The Western Heritage. 8th ed. Prentice Hall, 2004.
Perry, Marvin. Sources of the Western Tradition. Houghton Mifflin. 2006.
Stevenson, Neil. Architecture. Dorling Kindersley, 1997.
Strickland, Carol. The Annotated Mona Lisa and The Annotated Arch.
The Middle Ages
Manchester, William. 1993. A World Lit Only By Fire: The Medieval
Mind and The Renaissance.
ISBN: 0-316-54556-2.
Cantor, Norman F. 1993. The Civilization of the Middle Ages
(Completely Revised and Expanded
Edition). ISBN: 0-06-017033-6.
Cantor, Norman F., ed. 1994. The Medieval Reader: First-hand accounts
of the Middle Ages. ISBN: 0-06-270102-9.
Tuchman, Barbara W. 1978. A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th
Century. ISBN: 0-345-34957-1.
Most of the following are Primary Sources, many of which can be found in
collections of primary documents such as the ones received in class.
The Renaissance and Reformation
Macchiavelli, Nicolo. The Prince.
Castiglione, Balthasar. The Book of the Courtier.
Luther, Martin. The 95 Theses.
Calvin, John. The Institutes of the Christian Religion.
St. Ignatius of Loyola. Spiritual Exercises.
Medwick, Catherine. Teresa of Avila: the Progress of a Soul. Image Books, Random
House, 1999.
17th and 18th Centuries
Bacon, Francis. The Advancement of Learning.
Brinton, Crane. Anatomy of a Revolution.
Descartes, Rene. Pensees.
Lefebvre, Georges. The Coming of the French Revolution. Princeton Classics.
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. Emile. and The Social Contract.
Shakespeare, William. Henry V. (and other plays)
Voltaire. Candide.
Wollstonecraft, Mary. A Vindication of the Rights of Women.
19th Century
Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice.
Cornwell, Bernard. Sharpe’s Rifles. Penguin Books. (And other in the series)
All are fiction but extremely accurate, as are the Horatio Hornblower series by Haggard
and Master and Commander by Patrick.
Marx, Karl. The Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital.
Kipling, Rudyard. The White Man’s Burden.
Zola, Emile. J’Accuse!
20th Century and Beyond
Service, Robert. A History of Modern Russia. Harvard University Press. 2005.
Lenin. What Is To Be Done?
Hitler, Adolph. Mein Kampf.
Solzhenitsyn, Alexander. The Gulag Archipelago.
ROBERT S. WELCH CENTER FOR GRADUATE AND
PROFESSIONAL STUDIES
GOUCHER COLLEGE
TEACHERS' INSTITUTE
©2011 GOUCHER COLLEGE
Syllabus for
ED505—Preparing Students for the AP Exam: Human Geography
M-Th 8:30-4:30 and Fr 8:30 -1:00
Instructor: Pamela K. Wolfe
e-mail: [email protected]
Required Texts: AP level textbooks will be provided by publishers. AP
Manual will be provided by the College Board.
Attendance Policy: Lateness or absence is not permitted.
Course Objectives:
1) to examine the format of the AP Human Geography Exam and
learn the skills necessary to pass it
2) to be able to write and score AP Free Response and DocumentBased Essays (DBQs)
3) to use various methods of teaching and sources of information in
the classroom
4) to acquire some of the factual information needed to teach Human
Geography
First Day a.m.—Class Logistics and Definitions: What exactly is
Human Geography?
Introductions
What are your main concerns about the AP? What did you come here to learn?
Overview of Participant Packets: The AP Program and European History Exam
What type of students should take the AP? How to decide who gets in.
Teaching AP European History to a Diverse Population
Teaching AP to a Mixed AP/Non-AP Class
Strategies for Teaching AP to the Learning Disabled or Physically- Challenged Student
Summer Reading? To assign a novel or not: that is the question.
Scheduling
Lecture: History of Geography—Film: the Shape of the World
First Day p.m.-- Map Skills, Population and Migration
Using GIS and other “new” technology
Map, Chart and Graph Skills
Lecture: Population Information: So Much Vocabulary!!! So Many Abbreviations!!!
Population Pyramids
Film on Population Issues: World In the Balance
Lecture: Migration in History
Film on Migration: Guns, Germs and Steel
Films List—Brainstorm other possibilities
Presentation: Immigration Project
Homework: Interview at Least One Person
Assignment for Tuesday—bring in a newspaper or news magazine
Assignment for Credit: Students Will Write and Present a Lesson Plan
Guest Speaker: NASA Scientist Robert E. Wolfe on the topic of
Satellite Mapping
Second Day —Cultural Geography
Put Migration Interview Info on the Map and Discuss Migration and Culture
Music Demonstration: Effects of Migration and Pop Culture on Traditional Music
Lecture: Language and Culture:
Lecture: Religion and Religious Conflict: a good topic for a paper!
Lecture: Art and Architecture—Houses and Feng Shui
Dying Cultures and How to Keep them Alive-- Films: Living Treasures of Japan, and
Australia’s Aborigines
Culture Projects on Sports, Clothes, Music—everything that makes life worth living for a
teenager
Cultural Geography on the Web and in Film
Film: Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?, WhaleRider, Atanarjuat The Fast Runner
Guest Speaker: Dr. Catherine Allen of GWU on the Quechua
Speakers of Peru
Third Day—Political Geography
Lecture: Nation States and Geography
News Articles and Journal Exercises—teacher handouts
Begin Your Own File Folder of Articles—Newspaper exercise
Group Work: Brainstorm ideas for your own projects
Using the Human Geography AP Central Website in your course
Handout of Internet sites and Assignment of Countries and States for Project Work
Computer Lab Projects
Group Discussion of Findings
Fourth Day---Economic Geography: the Haves & the Have Nots
Make Your Students the Experts: States Project on Agriculture and Industries
Lesser Developed Countries and More Developed Countries (and some societies
that have both parts at once)—Film Clip: The Gods Must Be Crazy
Apple Demonstration and Popcorn Project: Teaching your kids through Food!
Views of America-- Films: Supersize Me, Walmart and Affluenza
Urbanization Models
Problems of Industrialization—Global Warming, Pollution, etc.
Fourth Day p.m.-- Field Trip
Summing it all up: Mall Project
Fifth Day a.m.-- What to do after the AP is over
Final Assignment—Construct a Unit of Lesson Plans-- one weeksworth or more, ending with an assessment (test, essay, project,
etc.)-- to be used with your class next year, using the
ideas/techniques discussed during the week. (Finished Lesson
plan and assessment you would use with your students should be
e-mailed to Instructor by July 15 at [email protected].)
Bibliography
An extensive bibliography for the AP Human Geography teacher is provided by the
College Board at the AP Central website at
http://apps.apcentral.collegeboard.com/ResourceSearchResults.jsp
David Brooks Bobos in Paradise
Bill Bryson In a Sunburned Country
Cathy Davidson 36 Views of Mount Fuji
Jared Diamond Guns, Germs and Steel and Collapse
Franklin Foer How Soccer Explains the World
Thomas Friedman The World Is Flat and Hot, Flat and Crowded
Maria Poggi Johnson Strangers and Neighbors
David Landes The Wealth and Poverty of Nations
Michael Pollan The Omnivore’s Dilemma
Eric Schlosser Fast Food Nation: the Dark Side of the All American Meal
Beppe Severignini Ciao, America!
Tom Standage A History of the World in Six Glasses
Joseph Stieglitz Globalization and Its Discontents