AP Reading Selections

[Eddie Evans]

What do APUSH teachers aim for in regards to reading done outside of the textbook, if used at all? I try to incorporate partial readings of at least one non fiction historical book per unit. Each selection supports one key part of each unit. Do others use these books? Anybody know of other works that would be more effective?

 

-Philbrick, Mayflower

- Wood, Revolutionary Characters

-McCullough, 1776

-Larson, A Magnificant Catastrophe

-Peterson, The Great Triumvirate

-Takaki, A Different Mirror

-Folsom, The Myth of the Robber Barons

-Coffman, The War to End All Wars

-Shlaes, The Forgotten Man

-Minear, Dr Seuss Goes to War

-Kearns Goodwin, Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream

[Ann Wright]

I team with an AP English Language teacher for 11th grade.  We require an outside book review from each of the genders, biography, non-fiction, fiction, and memoir. (Each student must do all of the genres, but they get to pick which one for which time period).   Students select their genre per quarter and the quarters are chronologically divided.  They have to submit "proof" that they've read the book which can be in the form of a formal review, a powerpoint, movie, other media, etc.  It's been pretty successful.  We also require some books outside of the textbooks.  We do a team assignment in which one student reads Frederick Douglass' Narrative of the Life of a Slave and the other student in the team reads Harriet Jacobs Life of a Slave.   I usually do a jig saw project with Dee Brown's Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.  I like your list!

[Christina Vandenbergh]

Ann,

I love the idea of the team reading project.  After reading, what do students do?  Do they work together or separately on something?

[Ann Wright]

Well, they do a series of things for each novel.  All the students who read Life of a Slave get together to go over their essays and material as do the students who read Narrative.  They submit individual answers to the project.   They are each asked to do some compare contrast analysis of Douglass and Jacobs so they have to listen to each other as they've only read one of the books.  When I get back to school full time, I can post the assignment.

[Ann Wright]

I meant genres!  Not genders!  Feudian slip?

[Christina Vandenbergh]

During the AP Summer Institute, the book 10 Days that Unexpectedly Changed History, produced by the History Channel (written by a historian) was suggested.  One teacher uses it as his summer reading project where students have to journal about each chapter.  I would use specific chapters in class to reinforce points left out by our textbook and have students create cause and effect chains because the chapters lead to that so well.

 

We also use lots of articles from different places, especially History Magazine.

[Liz Becker]

When teaching APUSH, I feel that it is important to do non-textbook readings.  Here are some of the books I've used with students.  As you mentioned, sometimes I also use the whole book and sometimes just excerpts.  Don't think that students have to read an entire book (of any kind) to get the meat of what you want them to learn.

 

-Zinn, A People's History of the United States

-Sweikart & Allen, A Patriot's History of the United States

-Ellis, Founding Brothers

-Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin

-Hillenbrand, Seabiscuit

-Woodward & Bernstein, All the President's Men

-Tyson, Blood Done Sign My Name

 

I'd like to teach using some Erik Larson in the future. I know APUSH teachers have used his Devil in the White City as a text before.  If you are looking for a strategy to use a book for discussion but not spend a ton of time reading it, consider the Book in an Hour strategy. 

[Eddie Evans]

I like the idea of beginning to work in Zinn and Sweikart & Allen into the rotation. Mike Schmoker suggests that model in his book, "Focus" as a way to show how perspective and politics can affect inferences and interpretations in the study of history.

[Brian Michael Peoples]

I have students choose a book from a list of the best American history books in our library and read one over the summer. I also open it up to student choices, as long as it is substantial and, for the most part, nonfiction (Killer Angels and Caine River have been accepted). Students are given criteria for writing the book review (4 pages, identify and evaluate author's thesis, provide subjective analysis, avoid summary) and it is due in late October (usually after the first in-service days). I'm trying to do more peer evaluation work with this and providing students with examples of previous students' work.

After the AP Test, students are given a choice to write a second book review or do something different/more creative - many of my students chose to design board games that were imaginative and might be useful for future classes.