:: SOCIAL STUDIES

Please note: The courses listed below are for the 2009 AP Summer Institutes. These course descriptions will remain posted for your reference, until December 2009.

Week One: July 13-16, 2009
Week Two: July 20-23, 2009

In the course titles, “combined” means that the institute is open to both new and experienced teachers in that particular Pre-AP or AP subject.

Please note that participants in Pre-AP Institutes are no longer required to purchase the AP Vertical Teams Guide. This text will be provided by the hosting institution as part of the course materials.

SOCIAL STUDIES WEEK ONE: JULY 13-16, 2009

Pre-AP Social Studies (middle school)—combined

This institute is full and we are not accepting any more wait list registrations for this institute.

We’ll be looking at the purpose(s) of a Pre-AP class and some different ways to approach both content and skill-building. We’ll explore the use of music, movies, and other media to help students connect with history, and we’ll look at ways of helping them learn document analysis and higher-level thinking. Because SO many students are coming to us with fewer and fewer basic reading skills, we’ll look at some content-appropriate literacy strategies that will work with primary sources, outside reading, and textbooks. We’ll talk about the various uses of primary sources and discuss ways to help our students become comfortable with different types of prompts (FRQs, DBQs, and so on). In general, we’ll add to our repertoire of strategies for building students’ skills while trying to keep them from hating history. Somewhere in the mix of artsy-craftsy, hands-on goodies and academic skill-building, we’ll try to help them learn what they need to know now AND lay a foundation for what they need to succeed down the road.

Participants should bring the following:

Your best lesson plan or idea
Your most challenging idea, concept, time period to teach

Lead Consultant: Rhonda Johnson
Rhonda Johnson has been teaching American History at Union Intermediate High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for 10 years. She’s been involved with Pre-AP since the district implemented the program eight years ago and has been a consultant for the College Board for the last four years. This past school year was spent developing a pilot program, with fellow consultant Dallas Koehn, to team teach and loop a group of freshman Pre-AP students in an attempt to make them successful in the areas of content as well as skills. She is a Master Teacher for the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board, co-chair of her department, and professional development representative. She became National Board certified in November of 2007.

Pre-AP Geography (high school)—combined

This course will focus on helping teachers prepare to successfully teach a high school class in Pre-AP World Geography. Using a combination of content presentation, effective teaching strategies, and technology, this institute will provide an overview of the systematic study of patterns and processes that have shaped our understanding, use, and alteration of Earth’s surface. In addition, writing skills and habits of mind that students need to be successful in an AP class will be addressed.

Topics will include the following:

Learn how to teach your students to develop case studies, using main ideas in the Geography curriculum for classroom presentations.
Focus topics will be population, weather/climate, culture, urbanization, and globalization.

Participants should bring the following:

A copy of their textbooks
Sticky notes
30 copies of their favorite lesson/units to share with others

Lead Consultant: Linda Hammon
Linda Hammon teaches 9th grade Pre-AP Geography, AP Human Geography, and AP Art History at Canyon High School in New Braunfels, Texas. She has been teaching Geography for over 22 years, with the last 13 being Pre-AP World Geography. Ms Hammon holds a B.S. degree in geography and art, and a M.Ed. degree in curriculum and instruction and applied geography. She worked closely with the Texas Alliance for Geographic Education as a co-editor of its newsletter for six years, as a member of the Steering Committee, and as a teacher consultant for more than eleven years. She has also done consulting work with the College Board for the last nine years. She has been a reader for the AP Human Geography exam the past three summers. In 1993, she received the National Council for Geographic Education Distinguished Teaching Award. In 1994 she attended the National Geographic’s Leadership Institute in Washington, DC. In 1995 and 1997, she earned the National Council for Geographic Education/CRAM awards for exemplary classroom teaching. Also in 1997, she was selected as one of 10 teachers in the country to participate in Project Marco Polo. She and a student toured Portugal, Morocco, Greece, and the Mediterranean on a U.S. Navy/National Geographic oceanic research vessel. In 1998, she was awarded the Comal Independent School District Secondary Teacher of the Year, and in 1999, she received the Southwest Texas State University Geography Department Distinguished Alumni award. In 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, and 2006 she was recognized by Who’s Who among America’s Teachers. In fall of 2001, Ms Hammon received the Texas Alliance for Geographic Education’s Distinguished Service award for her dedicated work on behalf of quality geographic education in Texas schools. In spring 2002, Ms. Hammon was one of two teachers in the United States chosen to take part in a teacher exchange in Japan to develop problem-solving lessons in geography. Ms. Hammon was named Akins Teacher of the Year and Austin ISD High School Teacher of the Year for 2003. She was one of 19 teachers chosen to do a study abroad program to Saudi Arabia in May 2005. Ms. Hammon was recently nominated for a Disney Teacher Award, and she is a Texas Exes/Department of Education Outstanding High School Teacher Nominee for 2006. She was recognized by the Senior class in May 2007 and May 2008 as one of the 20 Distinguished Educators in Comal ISD. 

AP U.S. History for new AP teachers

The AP U.S. History Institute offers valuable and practical help for teachers new to AP U.S. History. Included will be the following topics: beginning an AP program, curriculum content, an overview of the AP exam, test-taking strategies, standard essay and Document Based Question writing, simulated reading of released student essays, predicting success on the exam, classroom strategies, and an opportunity to share with other teachers. Participants are encouraged to bring a copy of their favorite lesson plan to share with other institute participants.

Lead Consultant: Ellis Smith
Ellis Smith has 26 years teaching experience with over 16 years teaching AP courses in the following subjects: U.S. History, European history, Psychology, and Government and Politics. He has been an active AP consultant for 12 years in both U.S. history and government and politics, and he was a reader for the 2006 and 2008 AP U.S. History Exams. In 1997, Ellis received the College Board Special Recognition Award. In 2002, he was profiled in the book titled Top Texas Teachers (Republic of Texas Press), by Dorothy McConachie and, in 2003, he was presented the Teaching Excellence Award by the Dripping Springs Education Foundation Board.

AP Economics: Macro and Micro—combined

This course will cover the major topics that are required for teaching AP Macroeconomics and Microeconomics for both new and experienced teachers. The first day will include the basics of setting up an AP course: materials, resources, pacing, and teaching techniques that will result in student success. AP testing skills will be emphasized and copies of previous tests and free response questions will be provided. A computer lab session will cover Internet resources for economics and speakers will be scheduled for certain topics.

Laptops for taking notes are welcome; however, Web access will not be available. All teachers should bring their current textbook and any supplemental materials that are used regularly. All teachers are requested to bring a favorite economics activity to share—this will be the focus of the last day.

Topics will include the following:

Economic analysis
Graphs and models
Problems & policy options
International trade
Markets
Externalities

Lead Consultant: Sally Adamson
Sally Adamson teaches AP Macroeconomics, Honors Economics and Honors Government at Duncanville High School in Duncanville, Texas (near Dallas). A career educator with 32 years of experience, Sally is the DHS Social Studies Department Chair and District Social Studies Instructional Specialist for grades 7 through 12. She has a B.A. from Southwestern University and a M.A. in Economic Education and Entrepreneurship from the University of Delaware. She has served as an AP Economics reader for six years, as a College Board consultant since 2004, and she teaches AP Summer Institutes. She was on the Teacher Panel for the Powell Foundation-Richmond FED AP Economics Conference in November, 2009. In addition, Sally was honored as Duncanville District Secondary Teacher of the Year in 2005 and as the Outstanding Texas Secondary Economics Teacher by the Texas Council for Economic Education in 2007.

SOCIAL STUDIES WEEK TWO: JULY 20-23, 2009

Pre-AP World History (high school)—combined

Designed to integrate the Pre-AP World History curriculum into the open-enrollment classroom, this course will include discussions and updated techniques covering the successful introduction and implementation of the AP “habits of mind” into the middle school, junior high and senior high classroom. Emphasis will be placed on the five chronological periods covered in the AP World History.

Hands-on activities, simulations, and presentations will cover the following:

Establishing and Maintaining Advanced Academic Standards While Making the Course Enjoyable for Students
Building Teacher Success and Confidence through Preparation
Using Creative Lessons and Activities to Open the Door to Student Confidence and Success and to Address the Issues of, “But my students can’t do this.”
Writing a Practical Course Syllabus for any Block and/or a Traditional School Schedule
Making Art and Culture a Part of Your Unit Lessons
Improving Student Organization
Teaching Effective Essay-Writing and Critical-Thinking Skills Using Law and Order/CSI investigative style
Examining the 2009 Exam for Test-Taking Strategies
Learning How to Grade Essays Using Rubrics and Comparing the Results with the Grades Given by AP Test Readers

What participants should bring:

2009-2010 School calendar, if available
Note-taking materials
Textbook and document reader used in your class, if possible
Portable-sized monthly lesson-planning calendar (for the academic year) with squares big enough to write in for planning purposes (if desired)

Lead Consultant: James Rowland
A National Board Certified secondary social studies teacher, James spends his days teaching AP World History and World History to sophomores at The Woodlands High School in The Woodlands, Texas. James is a certified College Board consultant for both Pre-AP/AP World History and AP European History in the Southwest Region. When not corrupting the youth of The Woodlands, James is at home with his teenage daughters and their pet menagerie, grading essays, working on his computer, watching the International History Channel, reading books and journals to create historical chaos in his classroom, devising ways to further torture his students, or playing PS3 games.

AP U.S. Government and Politics—combined

This institute is primarily intended for teachers new to or relatively inexperienced in AP U.S. Government and Politics. The sessions in this institute will introduce participants to the AP U.S. Government and Politics, course with a combination of “how to” and content. Sessions will range from looking at the scope of the course and how to cover the content to lessons from past exams. We will also discuss Web-based resources, textbooks, and other materials; techniques for teaching writing skills in AP U.S. Government and Politics; specific topics taught in the course, and more.

Participants should bring the following:

A copy of the text they are using or plan to use
A copy of their best lesson plan

Lead Consultant: Jenny Esler
Jenny Esler graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a B.S. in Secondary Social Studies Education. She has taught in the Round Rock Independent School District for 25 years, 21 at Round Rock High School. Jenny has extensive experience in the AP U.S. Government and Politics curriculum: she has taught the course for 18 years and has been a reader or grader for the national exam for 14 years. Jenny is currently a member of the AP Government and Politics Test Development Committee.

AP U.S. History for experienced AP teachers

This course will cover the following:

Structure of the AP U.S. History exam
Using the AP central Web site
Analysis of participants’ successful lesson plans/strategies that have worked for them
How to prepare students for success on the multiple-choice section
How to prepare students to write quality standard essays and DBQ essays
Student-centered strategies for teaching the AP U.S. History curriculum
Strategies for improving student reading skills for the AP U.S. History curriculum
Using historiography in the AP U.S. History curriculum
Teaching Jacksonian Democracy and Turner’s Frontier thesis together
Teaching the Civil War in the AP U.S. History curriculum
The decision to drop the atomic bomb 
A review of the 2008 AP U.S. History exam

Participants should bring the following:

A couple of the most successful lesson plans/strategies you have used in your AP U.S. History class for the class to evaluate. Bring these on a flashdrive or floppy disk so that we can project them on the screen in front so that the entire class can see them.
Notebook paper for practice activities
Pen or pencil

I will NOT be providing an electronic copy of my course materials. Participants may access my webpage at tconway@eanesisd.net to view some of my materials. They should go to the “Student Handout” section if they want to view these.

Lead Consultant: Thomas Conway
Thomas Conway is native of Beaumont, Texas, and he has lived in Austin, Texas since 1983. He received his B.A. and M.A. in history from Lamar University, and has completed two years towards a Ph.D. in U.S. history at UT Austin. He has taught college U.S. History survey courses at Lamar University, and he was a teaching assistant at UT Austin. Tom has taught survey classes in U.S. History as an adjunct faculty member at Austin Community College since 1988, and has taught AP U.S. History at Westlake High School in Austin, Texas since 1990. He has been a College Board consultant since 1998 and is an AP U.S. History grader for ETS.

Cancelled: AP European History—combined

This AP European History course is designed to emphasize course content and student skills. Sessions dedicated to content will provide materials for enhancing the course beyond the textbook and will explore various approaches to covering the syllabus. Participants will work together to develop conceptual, big-picture questions to establish course themes that can be applied to all units of study. The second area of concentration, student skills, will tackle effective reading strategies, essay writing, the Document-Based Question essay, and developing successful classroom discussions. Participants are encouraged to bring questions and share challenges as well as favorite lessons and techniques.

Lead Consultant: Kelly Saenz
Kelly Saenz is Chair of the Department of Social Studies at Westwood High School, Round Rock ISD. She has worked with the College Board in several capacities, including three years as a committee member on the European History Test Development Committee, and as a Reader and Question Leader on the AP exam. She is currently Co-Chair of the College Board’s AP European History Commission. She is also the high school European History representative to the College Board’s History and Social Studies Committee, which considers various aspects of teaching and learning for all College Board History programs, including AP, SAT, and CLEP. Kelly was honored in 2006 with The University of Texas Exes Teaching Excellence Award.

AP World History—combined

Designed to integrate the AP World History curriculum into the open enrollment classroom, this institute will include discussions and techniques covering the successful introduction and implementation of the AP “habits of mind” into the classroom. Emphasis will be placed on the five chronological periods covered in the AP World History course description.

Hands-on activities, simulations, and presentations will cover the following:

Establishing and maintaining college-level academic standards while making the course enjoyable for students
Using creative lessons and activities to open the door to student confidence and AP success
Writing a practical course syllabus for an accelerated block and/or a traditional school schedule
Examining the 2003 exam for improved test-taking strategies
Improving student organization
Teaching the effective essay-writing and critical-thinking skills needed for success on the AP test
Learning how to grade the three essays for maximum correlation with the AP test readers
Sharing best practices

Participants should bring the following:

A copy of your school calendar, if available
Note-taking materials
A copy of the textbook and document reader you will be using (if possible)
A monthly calendar with squares big enough to write in, for planning purposes
3” x 3” Post-It Notes

Lead Consultant: Barbara Ozuna
Barbara Ozuna has taught history in the Fort Worth Independent School District since 1990. She has taught the AP World History class since its inception in 2001, first piloting the course for the district and then formally proposing its adoption by the school board. Barbara has also spent time on vertical articulation within the discipline, aligning the Pre-AP world geography course to the AP world history course and writing its curriculum for the district. Barbara teaches “WHAP” and AP Human Geography at Paschal High School where she also serves as Academic Coordinator part time. When not kept busy with the course, she is the mom of two kids and the wife of a band-director, musician husband.

Cancelled: AP Psychology—combined

This institute is designed for both the new and experienced AP Psychology teacher. Over the week, we will review the College Board curriculum, various syllabi for both one- and two-semester courses, textbook options, ancillary materials, and other resources to support the AP classroom. Additionally, among the various content sessions presented will be “best practices” for presenting the more difficult units on Brain Anatomy, Research Methods and Statistics, Sensation and Perception, and Neuroanatomy and Physiology. Hands-on activities are planned. Psychology faculty from UT-Austin will be invited to present their areas of research and special interest. Each experienced teacher is asked to bring a handout for 25 people explaining a favorite, successful lesson in AP Psychology. Come ready to learn, and leave energized and empowered for an exciting new school year!

Participants should bring the following:

A favorite lesson to share with handouts for 25 people (for experienced teachers)
All participants should bring plenty of paper for note-taking, colored pencils (sharpened), yellow 2 x 2 post-it notes, and a highlighter (yellow)

Lead Consultant: Katherine Minter
With over 20 years teaching experience, Katherine Minter has taught AP Psychology since 1991-1992.She has been a College Board Consultant since 1994, giving workshops and summer institutes all over the country, and she has been an AP Reader since 1995. The College Board awarded Katherine its Teaching Excellence Award in 1996, and she was named Westwood High School’s Teacher of the Year for 2000-2001. Katherine also teaches IB Psychology, both SL and HL, and for 10 years was an Adjunct Faculty in Psychology at Austin Community College. Katherine recently was author of an AP Teacher’s Manual, published by McGraw-Hill in 2007, to accompany a college Introductory Psychology textbook. She has also helped prepare a lesson plan to be distributed nationwide to members of TOPSS. Currently, Katherine serves as Regional Coordinator (six states) for the APA, Division 2 (affiliate) of Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools (TOPSS), and she was the 2008-2009 recipient of a national teaching award for Excellence in Teaching presented by the American Psychological Association.

student reading from binder