Reframing Extra Credit

“Can I do extra credit to raise my grade?” I hated this question so much as a teacher. It required me to do more work and sometimes felt like it wasn’t a good practice. For a few years, I offered no extra credit because I didn’t have the capacity to grade anymore than I already […]

Things to Consider When Planning and Teaching

We’ve all done it. Whether it’s a lesson, an assessment, or a whole unit, we’ve all been in the place of knowing that it didn’t work and needed some adjustments. After years in the classroom, here is my list of things to consider for planning and teaching this coming year and years to come. Focusing […]

Memorial Day Lesson/Project Ideas

Most teachers in the social sciences discuss the wars that America has been a part of. It’s also important to discuss the people and places. Here in Arizona, we often remember Pat Tillman, a NFL player who left to enlist in the Army after the 9/11 attacks. Pat Tillman was killed in Afghanistan and is […]

Reflecting After the Test or At The End of the Year

I never wanted to be that teacher who got stale. After I did my National Board Certification, I constantly was in a state of reflection. I tried to make the class enjoyable, rigorous and not increase my workload or make life harder for anyone. The day after the AP test, I had students reflect while […]

Required Supreme Court Cases, Constitutional Clauses, & the Kitchen Sink

Here is a starting place or a review place. I took the CED, things I’ve used in class, and experience with grading FRQs to create this. Light gray is a video, yellow is the Constitutional clause that’s important, blue in other important information) Required Cases with Description from the CED (Constitutional Clauses highlighted for SCOTUS […]

{Guest Post} How to Be an Expert in the Classroom with Brit Bingold

I was given an awesome opportunity to be on Liz Evans’ podcast, Teaching History, Politics, and Stuff, which was a joy and a “taste of my own medicine” as she was on Learning Unlocked in Season 1, Episode 11: “How to Avoid Teacher Burnout and the Comparison Trap.” When she came onto the podcast last […]