Bill Zeigler – 2025 AP US History APSI Agenda/Syllabus
Goals for the AP United States History APSI Workshop
- To familiarize participants with the unique perspective, habits of mind, and themes of a US History curriculum and to develop a practical and functioning course syllabus
- To present US history content, allaying the fears of new AP US History teachers while enhancing the knowledge of veterans in a collegial environment
- To share instructional and time-management strategies for student and teacher success in both online and in-person contexts
- To explore text, visual, and internet resources, including the College Board’s AP Classroom,. These resources will boost any AP US History course
- To investigate the traits and techniques necessary for student success through a thorough analysis of the current and past AP US History exams
Overview
United States History AP is a hallmark of every AP high school curriculum, tasked with developing up-and-coming historians and US citizens. The course seems daunting – teaching the intricacies of US history in less than thirty-six weeks plus meeting the needs of a course with a reputation for being a “trivial pursuit” exam of countless facts and dates and people – but focusing on historical reasoning skills and processes makes this intimidating task more manageable. It’s the Skills, not the memorization of countless facts, that matter.
During the week, we’ll discuss format, pace, class requirements, day-to-day structures, and online resources like AP Classroom. Special attention will be given to the Activities and Sources included in the Course and Exam Description. In addition, we’ll workshop some of the central areas of concern in any social science class – reading, writing, and thinking – and the techniques that will help teachers meet students’ needs.
Plus, the pandemic created some “unprecedented” opportunities to transform instruction, format, and content delivery. We will explore ways virtual designs have augmented our teaching to meet student needs while emphasizing skills.
Finally, we will look at past US History AP Exams, analyzing the multiple-choice and writing portions, to best organize our class and course around successful teaching and learning. And don’t worry – if you’re new to the course, you’ll be ready to teach it, and if you’re an “old-hand,” then you’ll be caught up with any updates. It’s a great course with tremendous possibilities – it just takes time!
Teachers should bring a laptop computer and be able to access Google Classroom. Contact me if you have questions.
Course Outline
- Each day will be a mixture of presentations and activities, group and individual
- Each day will have the following elements: Course Development, Reasoning Skills, Historical Content, Teaching Resources, Historiography, and Sharing of Best Practices
- Participants will be encouraged to participate in focused discussions by analyzing academic articles, reading primary texts, and sharing best practices
- Differentiated topics will be available for participants upon request.
Day 1 – Course and Exam Introductions (CED), AP Classroom, Audit, Skill Development, Units 1-2
Day 2 – SAQs, Source Analysis, CED 2, Units 3-4
Day 3 – The Essay, DBQ, Instructional Planning & Syllabus, Grading, Units 5-6
Day 4 – LEQ, Scoring Guides, Visuals, Unit Plans, MCQs, Notetaking, Units 7-8-9, Reading Simulation
