The Last AP Review

I had two weeks this year to review the entire course material with my students before they took their exam on May 16, and for the first week the students had time to fill in the gaps in their knowledge with a review packet that also forced them to articulate some complex ideas. This meant, however, that for that first week many of the students could only focus on what they did not know, and they became a bit anxious. So on the day before the exam I decided I needed to make them feel more empowered with an activity, and this is when I had one of the most rewarding moments. 

I split the class into three different groups of four people each, and each group was given a stack of cards with 60 identifications on it, ranging from important historical figures and artists (e.g. Simon Bolivar; Claude Monet) to important historical documents (e.g. The Tale of Genji; Truman Doctrine) to important historical concepts (e.g. Social Darwinism; umma). I told the groups that in ten minutes they had to categorize each card however they wanted, but they needed to consider how to group their cards based on similar themes or based on cause and effect. I was explicit that they were not allowed to group items solely based on time period or region, and that each grouping had to have 3-5 items.

It was fascinating to watch them work: each group laid out their cards in a haphazard way on the floor, and as the time ticked away, slowly I watched order come out of the chaos. The students had great debates within their groups about the creativity of their categories, the criteria for their groupings, and in the end we walked around the room and each group had to share and explain all of their categories to everyone else. They all enjoyed seeing how differently they connected the 60 items.

What was particularly rewarding about this exercise is that at the end of it, I reminded them of the first day of class, when they struggled with the first activity of the year. On that day I had written the six chronological units of the course on the board, and had placed six corresponding stations around the classroom that had a variety of images and artifacts from a unit. They had to rotate from station to station and match the images with their correct chronological unit, and on that first day they understandably had a different time just identifying some of the 25 laminated images in the stations. Yet now, on the day before the test, they had proven their command over the material and had each come up with different ways of understanding 10,000 years of history. It was a nice way to stand back in awe as the bell rang and I could wish them luck on the exam.

Thesis Writing Exercises

My colleagues in the science and math departments have increasingly used small white boards in their classrooms as a way for students to do quick problem-solving in groups. Talking with them about this inspired me to consider how to use small, portable white boards in my own classroom for writing exercises, and now I do not think I could have a classroom without them again.

I have used the white boards mostly in my AP World History class as a way to practice writing thesis statements. First, students are put into groups and then given a sheet of paper with twenty to thirty pieces of evidence about one or two civilizations that we are studying (not all the evidence may be relevant; I want them to practice sifting through data). Then they are given a question and must use the evidence in front of them to create a thesis statement. When completed we line the boards at the front of the class and read each of them over, giving constructive criticism and praise where appropriate. This has allowed me to easily point out strengths in theses (such as using appropriate transition words and precise verbs) and to allow the students to quickly dissect what makes for a weaker thesis. One of my colleagues gave me the idea of calling such an exercise the "Thesis Olympics". 

Giving students the same pieces of evidence lets them easily gauge the differences between arguments since they can immediately see the various results from the same set of evidence, but I have also given them different pieces of evidence so that they can reflect on how important it is to articulate an idea well when you cannot assume your audience knows exactly to what you may be referring. For example, below are photos from a recent exercise we did concerning the trade of commodities in world history. Each group was given a packet of primary sources regarding a different commodity (chocolate, salt, fur, and rice) and then had to come up with a thesis answering this question: "How should we understand the role of your commodity in world history?" Considering that the other groups had not read the other sources, we had a good discussion assessing how well the theses articulated an answer. I also posted photos of all the boards from both of my AP sections so the students could review all 8 theses later in their own time. Here are two examples of theses below in their original form.

The white boards have also been great for review games - my favorite so far has been using them as a way for students to compete in Pictionary. Each team selects a member to leave the room and then they all must draw one or separate concept/figures in world history within a time limit. Then the team member returns to the room and the first to successfully figure out the drawing wins a point. They get an extra point if they can also explain the significance of the concept/figure in world history. Here is a fun photo of my students playing this game, with the team members trying to analyze the drawings while their team mates squirm in their seats, pace around the room, and stand in anticipation, waiting for them to figure it out.

Lastly, my freshmen often struggle to synthesize information, so the white boards have been a great way for them to quickly get into groups and try to summarize a complex idea in a paragraph together.