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AP* Summer Institute

American Government & Politics

American Government & Politics


July 19-23, 2010
Monday-Thursday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 12:00 noon

This Institute will deal with how to teach a complete course in AP* American Government.  Both a year long and a semester model will be shown and discussed.

Another area of concentration will be how to maximize student scores on the AP* exam.  Strategies and previous tests will be examined.  Participants will leave the Institute with a working notebook of all materials including past tests, textbook samples from publishers, and a sharing of best practices from other participants.

The week will be divided up according to the following outline.  The amount of time spent on each area may vary. 

1. Introduction
      -“nuts and bolts”
      -reasons for AP*
      -selection of students
      -syllabi, texts, readers
      -AP* six areas
      -grading
      -AP* community and resources available
      -building AP* in your building, district

2. General Course Outline
      -comparison of year long to semester
      -units of study
      -sample lessons demonstrated
      -best practice sharing
      -as much pedagogy as time and need permits

3. The Exam
      -released exams
      -how to master multiple choice questions
      -what is needed by student to answer free response questions
      -strategies to “pass” the test
      -how to review and prepare students to take the exam


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Instructor

Jerry Morris is the 2010 AP* American Government & Politics Instructor.