After reviewing the Short Answer Question from yesterday, around ¼ of my students were mixing it up goods originated in the Americas and which goods originated in the Americas. For example, several students stated that the potato was introduced to the Americas by Europe. Simple mistake (I hope), but one that needs to be corrected before we move on. I was planning on going over the Pueblo Revolt today, but that will be moved to Monday when we review big ideas from the Chapter 1 Review Video.

The students quickly took the vocabulary quiz on period 1 which had 11 questions. Instead of having them watch Key Concept 1.2, I decided to do a traditional lecture today so I can spend more time going over some of the information that was missed in the Short Answer Question from yesterday. I normally save the Key Concept videos for review before a test, but wanted to make sure they had a better understanding of it today.

Once we were done discussing the PowerPoint, I had the students complete Key Concept 1.2 Quick Assessment WITHOUT them using their notes. I collected it and will review their responses this weekend as well as grade their vocab quizzes.

On Monday, I will review the Pueblo Revolt and other key ideas from Chapter 1. Period 1 will be done then and Period 2 will start next week.

Have a good weekend!

Students came in having watched The Encomienda System for the start of class. Out of 69 students, 3 did not have it done. Coincidently, they all were from my first class of the day. I had a student that was absent yesterday, so I had her watch the video at the beginning of class. If a student doesn’t have a video done for class, I’ll have them grab a computer and begin watching it on their own. If it’s a rare occurrence, I won’t worry about it, but if a student often doesn’t watch the videos, I’ll have them come see me during a study hall or stay after school.

To start off class, the students complete The Encomienda System Quick Assessment. I often start classes with these brief review questions to review the content. This gives the student an opportunity to ask any questions they may have and if several students miss a question then I know I need to go over it.

Since document analysis is such an important part of understanding history, I introduced two documents to the students today and the four parts of DBQ analysis (Historical Context, Intended Audience, Purpose, Point of View.) Even though students do not have to do all four parts for the DBQ for each document, I expect them to in class. We did the first document together, APUSH Review- Breaking Down A Spanish Colonization Illustration.

I gave the students about five minutes to work on the next document, APUSH Review- Breaking Down Bartlomé de Las Casas’ Writing. I walked around the room and provided some assistance to students, but most of them were able to complete the four HIPP parts on their own. While discussing the document as a class, we were able to review the impacts of the Columbian Exchange on various parts of the world. This document analysis is a big part of the Period Review Sheets I have.

For the last part of class, students were given a chance to demonstrate their knowledge of today’s material. I created 3 multiple-choice questions based off of the De Las Cassas excerpt in Google Forms (If you would like a copy of this form, send me an email at Adam@APUSHReview.com and I will be happy to share.) Once students were done, they completed a Short Answer Question I created on the Columbian Exchange.

I always have a few students that work really fast and this year is no exception. For the two that finished everything before the end of class they were able to start their homework, The Pueblo Revolt Video Guide. They also have a vocabulary quiz on Period 1 at the beginning of class.

Have a good day!

One of the most important things I’ve learned over the years is to properly model expectations for students. Whenever students do not meet my expectations for an assignment or behavior, chances are it’s my fault for not modeling it properly.

Since my instruction is based on watching my videos for much of the content, I take time to show the class how I expect them to watch the videos. Students can be tempted to just watch the videos without listening to them, or skip ahead and just copy what is on the screen. I wouldn’t hand them a set of notes and think that would replace instruction, so I wouldn’t want them to watch without listening.

While showing the video, Key Concept 1.1 to the class, I made sure to pause the video so they could complete the video guide without missing information. I also purposely let it go too far without stopping. I had a student get a little frustrated that she missed the information in one of the blanks. I backed it up for the class to show them what I want them to do if that happens to them.

I know this activity may seem redundant, and maybe even unnecessary for AP students, but I have found this modeling to be a lifesaver throughout the year. Since these video guides are such an integral part of my instruction, it’s important for students to know what I want from them.

At the end, I set aside a few minutes to answer any questions that students had. No one asked any questions, so I had them complete a quick assessment in Google Classroom using a map of the US and descriptions of Native American life. The students had to move the descriptions to the correct parts of the map. We then discussed the map as a class. (If you would like a copy of this map, send me an email at Adam@APUSHReview.com and I will be happy to share.)

I gave the students three multiple-choice questions based on a map of Native Americans in North America. We do not offer AP World or AP Euro at my school, so this is the first time the students encounter AP-style questions based on a document. As a class we discussed the three questions and answers.

With the remaining time, students began working on their homework for tomorrow, The Encomienda System Video Guide. I plan on doing Document Analysis on that topic tomorrow.

Have a good day!

Even though today is the start of my 12^th year teaching, and 8^th year for APUSH, I still get anxious for the first day. Will I connect with my students this year? Will they do as well on the exam as past students? Did I forget everything about teaching over the summer? Countless questions swam through my head last night and all morning. To make my APUSH anxiety a little higher, since New York starts school today, my students are about 3 weeks behind most other schools in the country that start in August.

My students came in today with their summer outlines for chapters 1 – 3 (periods 1&2) of Alan Brinkley’s American History. I have found that the summer assignment allows me to start the year at a quicker pace and helps make up for starting after Labor Day.

Homework for tonight: None due tomorrow – I will introduce video guides with them in class, but they do have a vocab quiz this Friday. The terms are on Period 1. It will be a straightforward quiz; I will ask them the questions and they will fill in their answers. I usually do flashcard quizzes on Fridays, although I might experiment with different days this year. In the past students have told me that these are a good way to reinforce key material.

This year I plan on writing a reflection of each day’s activities. I hope this allows me to grow as a teacher, think more critically about my lessons, and gain valuable feedback from other teachers. Thanks for following along and good luck this year!