How to Teach an Advanced Placement World History Course
Educators teaching an Advanced Placement world history course need a thorough understanding of the expectations demanded on the World History AP Exam, which includes a 55-minute multiple-choice section and 130-minute free-response questions. The course, which prepares students for the AP exam, "emphasizes relevant factual knowledge, leading interpretive issues and skills in analyzing types of historical evidence." Teachers planning to teach AP World History must be prepared to present a balanced global coverage of all people groups; require, read and evaluate student papers; and meet with students for individual consultation.
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Instructions
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Prepare to teach an AP world history class and be knowledgeable, fair and diligent. Know the time-period boundaries: 8000 BCE-600 CE, 600 CE-1450, 1450-1750, 1750-1914 and 1914 to the present. Also, prepare to cover each world culture equitably. For example, European culture must not exceed 30 percent of the course. Plan to spend considerably more time preparing for this course than regular high school history courses.
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Read the AP guidelines and select a textbook that will address the issues and all populations presented in the exam. Advancedplacementhistory.com offers PowerPoint resources, practice quiz questions and sample essays. Develop a syllabus/class outline for the students based on the demands of the test, class schedule and the chosen text. The class outline should include both chapter or unit multiple-choice tests and essay and research-based writing assignments.
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Emphasize trends to help students evaluate and critique the processes and causes involved in historical events that bring change or maintain the status quo. For example, global themes such as "creation, expansion and interaction of economic systems" need to be presented more than rote memorization of the names of European countries using the euro. The PowerPoint and other teaching resources available through advancedplacementhistory.com include material on African, Chinese, Meso and South American, Indian and South Asia history.
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Review test-taking and essay/research writing skills. Guide students in carefully reading multiple-choice questions and eliminating incorrect choices based on what they know, so they learn to make more educated guesses. For essays, emphasize the need to write a clear thesis -- the backbone of any essay or research assignment. Remind students to answer all parts of the essay question and write with the historical context of the societies being addressed in mind.
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Guide students in the learning process. Help students identify writer bias when reading primary and secondary historical resources and teach students to use the proper citation format for writing historical research papers. Do not hesitate to check students' research to confirm validity.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit the united states on the world globe image by Gary from Fotolia.com
