AP Humanities Best Practices--strategies to engage and support students who want a 5

Preparing for the AP test

Practice makes permanent

• Format of test/Time constraints• Styles of Questions• The Unknown• Free Response Questions

Format of Test

• World History• Human Geography• US Government

• Students need to be comfortable with the time they have to answer questions

• Practice makes Permanent

Styles of Multiple Choice Questions

• Normal Question (5 answers)• Except or Not Questions• Multiple Answer Questions• Map Questions• Graphs• Short Paragraphs

The Unknown

• It is impossible to cover all content on the test in the finite period of time we are given

• Give students questions that there is little to no chance of answering correctly

• They will freak out… Seriously• They need to learn how to be educated

guessers

FRQ’s• Spend time with your students on this• Scores across the country are abysmal… This is

where they can get a step ahead• Make them better

1. Give them questions that they will not be able to answer all the parts (the must learn to get all the points they can)

2. Spend a day grading other peoples work3. Make your test essays released exam essays and grade

them with a rubric4. Find the positive about your FRQ and focus on that

when you talk about it.