Multiple choice practice is a staple of any AP class but can quickly become routine and dull and thus less effective for students. As teachers strive to provide opportunities for low-pressure practice, we should also dedicate ourselves to being creative in our approach in an effort to keep students engaged in learning and building skill. The result – students who are confident and prepared for the exam but more importantly mature readers and thinkers. Below are seven ideas to shake up multiple choice practice: Activity 1 – Stations around the Room Students work through a passage individually. Have letters A, B, C, D, and E posted around the room. Students move to the letter they believe is the correct answer when reviewing the questions. Students can defend their answer and others have the opportunity to change their mind and move to another letter or stay and defend their answer. Benefits – Students are able to ... KEEP READING

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Registration for next year has begun at my school. Students have so many options in today’s education system. Dual enrollment, virtual school, and non-AP English classes are all options offering different benefits. There is no one right answer for all students; instead, students need to figure out which class is best for their strengths and curriculum path. This post is not to take away from any of the other options students have but to promote why I (along with some support from former students) think AP Lit is beneficial. Forgive the question/answer slides, but I’m obsessed with JEOPARDY! and this week’s college tournament. JEOPARDY! is the perfect mentor text. AP Lit offers daily writing practice. I have students for 180 days, and we write the far majority of those days. Even without feedback (which I do give), student writing will improve simply from daily practice. Writing practice involves not only writing timed essays to prepare ... KEEP READING

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One of the most underused resources in AP Literature are the sample essays (or anchor essays as I call them) on the College Board AP Lit exam page. College Board provides sample responses for Question 1 (poetry), Question 2 (prose), and Question 3 (open-ended) for every year dating back to 2003. In addition to the essays, College Board provides a summary justifying the scores the essays received at the reading. These essays are GOLD, and the possibilities of using them to improve student writing are endless. Here are a few ways I use them in class: Scoring Essays Having students score essays not only gives them the opportunity to see a full range of essays but provides a purpose for close and evaluative reading. Scoring essays most importantly offers students a model of a good (or average or bad) timed writing. In addition to reading essays, students become familiar with the scoring guide and learn ... KEEP READING

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Writing a timed essay for an AP exam is stressful for even the most confident of students. The job of an AP teacher (or any writing teacher honestly) is to provide as many tools as possible for the student to have in their writing toolbox. Having different methods of organization is fundamental because it provides the outline and structure for the analysis and ideas of the essay. Organizing can be challenging because there is no one “right” way to do this. Below are the three most common ways to organize a timed writing response with examples of sample essays from AP central. Insight – Organizing by insight about a passage starts with a big picture idea, observation, or theme further unpacked with textual evidence and/or devices linked back to the meaning. The advantage of this method of organization is students almost always address the meaning of the work to some degree and focus heavily on analysis. Students ... KEEP READING

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Started in 1996 by the American Academy of Poets, April is set aside as National Poetry month. The purpose is to encourage the reading of and celebrate poetry in the classroom as well as society as a whole. As teachers of Literature, our challenge lies in providing students with the tools to analyze poetry without killing the poem. The idea of having students read a poem daily without the task of deconstructing the poem for meaning but simply to appreciate the beauty of the words is one that is worth exploring this month. Resources for poems: Poem a Day from the American Academy of Poets Poetry 180 from the Library of Congress (hosted by Billy Collins) The Writer’s Almanac features daily reading by Garrison Keillor and is supported by the Poetry Foundation. The New Yorker is my go-to resource for current poetry; I use this to do cold readings of poems with my students. As ... KEEP READING

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complex [adjective, verb kuh m-pleks, kom-pleks] 1. composed of many interconnected parts; compound; composite: a complex highway system. 2. characterized by a very complicated or involved arrangement of parts, units, etc.: complex machinery. 3. so complicated or intricate as to be hard to understand or deal with: a complex problem. Regardless of the text, prompt, discussion topic, or type of essay, the goal is always the same: go beyond the surface level of a text and dig deep to find and unpack meaning. Moving students to complex writing can be difficult for several reasons but mainly because complex thinking is hard. Phrases such as “very complicated” and “hard to understand” from the Dictionary.com definition of complex indicate the difficulty associated with complexity. Repeated practice of reading and discussing meaty texts are the best ways to develop thought patterns to find what is not easily seen. Summary vs. Analysis vs. Complexity Understanding the difference between these three concepts is key when ... KEEP READING

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You take the test; the test doesn’t take you. This is something my students and I talk about a lot. The last thing I want them to do on exam day is walking in feeling powerless to an exam. I want the opposite: I want them to feel like they have a choice in how they decide to tackle the exam. Confidence on exam day goes a long way and knowing some test taking strategies and having a personal plan for exam day helps build student confidence.  Take advantage of these test-taking strategies and pointers for students: Multiple Choice: Quickly glance at the stems then read the passage. Reading the stems (not answers) before reading the passage gives not only a sense of what to look for when reading but also can give clues about the meaning of the passage which can help students with understanding. Mark the question based on if the evidence can ... KEEP READING

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Below are short videos for Questions 1, 2, and 3 with some general reminders for writing. These observations are not an exhaustive list by any means but can be used for a quick review or a to start a conversation about AP Lit essays. (I apologize for the quality of the first video. I didn’t realize how poor the quality is, but the audio is good). The comments from last night’s Twitter chat can be found below the videos.  The following comments are from the AP Lit Twitter chat on April 23rd. These are exam tips from teachers across the nation. In the interest of getting these out in a timely manner, I did not put names with tips. These are copied and pasted from Twitter so go easy on grammar errors. Multiple Choice Fill in multiple choice bubbles after you are done w/ each page not each Q.  Saves time Don’t get rattled when ... KEEP READING

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While many of our students continue to be in the thick of AP exams, AP Literature is over to a certain extent. I only have 10 days with my seniors before exams and graduation. Friends of mine have until the end of June (bless all of you!). And while we will all continue to do meaningful work with our students, the class atmosphere changes with the exam being in the rearview mirror. Most teachers I have spoken with assign a cumulative project ranging from TED Talks to independent reading to senior scrapbooks with several ideas discussed found in After the Exam or The Exam’s Over What Now?. The focus of this article, however, is quick yet reflective activities for seniors as the year is winding down to help them process the end of high school and continue to build community.   Graffiti I love putting up black paper across the front of the room and ... KEEP READING

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Today’s post will be the last post for the 2016-2017 school year. Graduation at my school is Friday, and I am wanting to take a little time off before the AP reading. After the reading, look for observations from the reading; I will try to have at least one reader from each question sharing. I love AP Lit Help because it is written by teachers for teachers, so the ideas and resources found here work in real classrooms. The amount of creative genius and passion for students found in this learning community are like none other I have experienced, and it is my pleasure to serve this group. Now I have a favor to ask of you. I would love for each reader to write a post (or two or three) over the summer about a favorite lesson, teaching method, novel or poem used in class, or community building idea. My plan is to create ... KEEP READING

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Welcome to AP Lit Reading Week! You may have seen us on day one of the AP Lit reading in our shirts and wondered who we are. The best way to explain is using a method of how we instruct our students to write essays. Answer the what, the how, and the why.  What is APLitHelp? ApLitHelp is more than a website; we are a community of educators committed to giving our students a valuable experience in AP Literature by providing the best practices, diverse literature, and a positive classroom culture. We share ideas, resources, and inspiration on a regular basis. This site is full of posts of lessons by real teachers in real classrooms. While some of the posts are specific to the AP exam in particular, most of the lessons are ones that can be used in any ELA classroom because best practices and good ideas work at any level. If you have a ... KEEP READING

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Students may have found themselves in a pickle after the initial reading of the Smollett passage, but according to Trevor Packer, students scored highest on this essay. Here are a few observations from Q2 readers Amy Adams and Susan Barber (reflections in italics). Students struggled the most with tone. There seemed to be a disconnect between the word choice students were using, ie barbaric and wrathful (bipolar, Shakespearean, snarky, quirky)  to describe the writing. They seemed to be confusing this with mood. The best way to respond would be to identify the satiric nature of Smollett’s writing, which I was pleased to see most students did identify and understand.  The essays reinforced my need to differentiate my instruction on tone and mood and help students develop a clear understanding of each. Even if it is not mentioned in a future prompt, tone would be a literary device accessible for most students to write about. I also ... KEEP READING

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Thanks to Sarah Soper and Melissa Smith for sharing their thoughts from the AP Lit reading this year on Question 3. The prompt can be found here at AP Central. Reflections by Sarah Soper: When my students came back from the AP test this year (and of course waited the 2 days until we could discuss it), I was really excited when I heard Q3’s topic.  A character of an unusual or mysterious origin; it sounded interesting and something accessible to students, so when I found out I had Q3 at the reading, I was excited to see what they had produced. The first thing I realized was when we initially looked at the prompt that day was that students need to make the prompt work for them.  We discussed at our table what “unusual or mysterious” could be taken as and also what it meant by “origin.”  We soon saw the prompt being used in various ... KEEP READING

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The following thoughts were originally posted on the College Board AP Lit list serve and are being posted here with permission.  Dear Colleagues, We have been having a very good discussion about AP English scores this year, and our director at the College Board, Brandon Abdon, has followed the comments very closely and responded with 8 carefully considered points. In my role as a consultant for APSI sessions and as moderator for this community, I think that these contributions from Brandon are very helpful in advancing our dialogue, and he has discussed them in some detail with me and with our advisors for Language (Jodi Rice) and Literature (Brian Sztabnik). We now offer them for your consideration. Eight things to consider about AP English examination scores: 1. The standards for scoring are neither College Board’s nor Educational Testing Service’s alone so much as they are the standard set by higher education professors that take part ... KEEP READING

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Sweet summer time which means rest, sun, and family time, but as teachers, we are always thinking about next year. In addition to the Listserve through College Board’s Teacher Community page, here are a few resources for AP Lit teachers. If you are not on the Listserve, you should definitely join. As always, the resources featured here are not only relevant for AP Lit but for most English classes. Best practices are best practices regardless of the level.  Sandra Effinger’s “Miss Effie’s Lifesavers” has helped countless teachers navigate through AP Lit classes, and her lists of AP questions from the free response section of the exam are an invaluable tool for all AP teachers. Miss Effie’s site offers question stems, rubrics, AP free response questions and links to College Board resources.  As of September 1st, Ms. Effie’s site will look a little different as she will no longer be a consultant for CB after years ... KEEP READING

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Summer means family, rest, and for most teachers, professional reading. Here’s what some people in our community have been reading this summer: 52 Things I Learned in 52 Years (2017) by Shanna Peeples Reviewed by Susan Barber This ebook is a gem and is FREE. Shanna Peeples, 2015 National Teacher of the Year, shares her learned lessons on fear, living, time management, and other subjects that teachers – and people – need to consider. This book is part inspirational, part instructional, and all Shanna. As an added bonus, the ebook is full of hyperlinks to authors, sites, and books that go with each lesson; this in itself is invaluable. This book is divided into seven chapters which taken week by week would be a great way to start the first seven weeks of school. Disrupting Thinking: Why How We Read Matters (2017) by Kyleen Beers and Robert Probst Reviewed by Adrian Nester Ask yourself these ... KEEP READING

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There are two types of grocery shoppers; those who shop by a list and those who wing it. I’m a hybrid of these two types making and taking my list but falling trap to the end cap displays and piling flavored coffee, nutritional breakfast bars, and Oreos into the shopping cart (or the buggy where I’m from). Classroom teaching is similar. I plan and give myself the stick-to-the-plan pep talk at the beginning of the year but end up throwing the latest technology, newest novel, or current professional development idea into the mix and by the time I’m checking out in May my cart is overflowing with all kinds of items that may or may not add nourishment to the learning soul of my students. I went into this year knowing I needed to have some type of plan to keep me focused but one that also allowed for flexibility and Oreo eating on occassion.  ... KEEP READING

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Maybe you can relate to me. Type A. Monitor for the quickest moving rather than the shortest check out line. Get things done. A minimum of five tabs open at a time on the computer. Don’t sit still well. Sound familiar? My high capacity disposition serves me well in most areas of life except for when it comes to teaching literary analysis. Unpacking a text is slow, tedious work. Teaching students to unpack a text can be even slower and more tedious. Slow, tedious work is difficult for me; I operate best in fast and furious mode. This year, however, I am making a change: I am slowing down – way down. I have always struggled with teaching novels. How does a teacher exactly teach a novel? Back in my day, we read novels, the teacher lectured on the novel, we tested on the novel, and then moved on to the next text. This is ... KEEP READING

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AP Lit teacher confession: I have never taught an entire poetry collection. Single poems – lots. A collection – never. But when #APBKCHAT introduced me to Counting Descent coupled with Melissa Smith’s push to #teachlivingpoets, I knew this collection would be on this year’s reading list. I fell in love with Smith’s voice, message, and way with words and knew my students would also. Counting Descent is Smith’s first published collection exploring his life, his response to the world around him, and his questions about history and humanity forcing the reader to do the same. While the subject is weighty, the accessibility of the words on the page and the free verse form eases the reader to think and question with Smith and exploring the poems feels more like a conversation than a lecture. This is the perfect collection for high school students. These lessons were birthed out of the APLit PLN as several of us ... KEEP READING

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Are you considering teaching a unit on power? Or perhaps you are looking for some resources to pair with a major text with a theme of power? Look no further. The following list is compiled from a Twitter chat hosted by Talks with Teachers to brainstorm resources for teaching texts dealing with the theme of power. These resources include major works, visual art pieces (click on the link to see the picture), songs, Ted Talks, films, documentaries, writing ideas, question ideas, and more. Pick and choose what you need to create your own unit.  Q1. List some major works (novels and plays) tackle the theme of power? 1984 A Lesson Before Dying All the King’s Men Animal Farm Antigone The Awakening Beloved Beowulf The Bluest Eye Brave New World Catcher in the Rye The Crucible Cry the Beloved Country Darkness at Noon Death of a Salesman East of Eden Ender’s Game Fahrenheit 451 Fences Frankenstein The ... KEEP READING

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