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AP
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We have three sections, a new one taught by Lisa Hawkins and sections taught by our experienced teachers Daniel Burns and Susan Richman, and
Teacher: Lisa Hawkins
Email: lisa@questcourses.com
Texts Required:
Other primary and secondary sources, lectures, presentations, online videos, etc. will be available online.
NOTE: Much more information about the text choices, as well as every other aspect about the class, can be found at the website www.questcourses.edublogs.org.
Tech Needs: Full internet access. High speed would be very helpful, because part of this course will involve viewing and listening to streaming flash-based presentations (and those don’t work well with lower speed access). Ability to burn audio and listen to lectures off-line, and ability to watch history-related dvds will also be necessary.
Class Fees: $575 until July 1, $600 thereafter. An audit option is available. Please contact me for more information about that.
Who should apply: High school students who understand that much will be required of them,
both in terms of quantity and quality. While I will guide students into mastery of
content, I do so in the context of training students to read actively, think
critically, and write engagingly about the material they are encountering. Therefore, both a scholarly attitude and a
scholarly set of skills will be necessary for any student to thrive in this
course. In addition, my class will be
highly interactive. This means, of
course, that students will be involved in discussing a variety of American
history-related issues. However, it
means more than that. It means that
students will be assuming a high degree of responsibility in mutually equipping
each other in the learning process during the course of the year. Please see my website at www.questcourses.edublogs.org for
much more detail about how I intend to weave this seminar-style aspect into our
APUSH course.
Class Description: This course will cover the development of American history from its
colonial beginnings through the end of the twentieth century. It will prepare students to take the revised
AP US History exam in May, 2012. (Please
see the information posted on the PA Homeschoolers’ website about changes
being made in the US History exam for the following year.) However, my goals for this course are more
comprehensive than getting students ready to take the exam next May. I also hope to inspire and increase students’ love
and appreciation for history, expand students’ capacity to think
creatively and flexibly about critical issues, and communicate powerfully and
compellingly.
The course will
be conducted on a series of linked, password-protected websites. The ‘portal’ website will contain
all the necessary documents, announcements, uploads, and links for students to
access. Moodle-based
websites will allow students to submit homework and take exams. Separate ‘discussion’ websites
will allow smaller groups of students to engage more personally with one
another. On these more intimate
discussion websites, each student will be assigned his or her own ‘ravatar’ – the image of an historical
personage. The student’s ravatar will appear beside his/her name for every
post. In addition, each student will
actually assume the identity of his/her ravatar for
different projects during the school year, allowing us to have the unique
opportunity to have personalities as diverse as Alexander Hamilton, Carrie
Nation, and Louis Armstrong share their perspectives on a variety of historical
and current issues.
In addition, each
student will be assigned his/her own personal blog
– all connected to the portal website and all password-protected. Students will be called upon through the
course of the year to use their blogs as a learning site for other students
– developing thoughtful questions and leading discussions, posting more
substantial work to share with classmates, offering suggestions and reflections
to classmates. Students will have quite
a bit of leeway in crafting their blogs to reflect their personalities and interests.
Students will
read primary and secondary source material, watch videos, listen to audio, and participate in (and occasionally lead!) related
discussions. They will have access to
my college-level audio-visual presentations, which include both improving
thinking, reading, and writing skills and covering the content of American
history from the beginning through the end of the nineteenth century, more than 30 presentations in all. (Students themselves will be producing, with
my guidance, short audio-visual presentations carrying us through the twentieth
century.) They will learn how to write historical essays like the ones required
by the AP exam, not only by writing their own, but by critiquing actual college
essays for strengths and weaknesses.
They will learn how to notice on-going themes in American history and
assume responsibility for interpreting historical events through the framework
of one or more theme not only for their own sake, but for the sake of their
classmates.
Again, for more
information, and a guided audio-visual tour of the course, please visit www.questcourses.edublogs.com. From there, you will be able to
view all the websites, make comments (and see your own ravatar!),
ask questions, and submit an application for the course. Once the course begins, all of these websites
will be pasword-protected.
Instructor Qualifications: I love history, I
love teaching, and I love students. I
put a great deal of thought and time into constructing courses that are
engaging, challenging, and well-organized.
I also care a great deal about humanizing the on-line experience, and
you will see that priority woven into many aspects of my course. I majored in history at
Click here for Comments about Lisa Hawkins teaching
Teacher: Daniel Burns
Email: swampfox185@gmail.com
Texts Required:
Tech Needs: High speed internet access, ability to watch history-related videos online.
Class Fees: Early bird (before July 1st): $510, regular $535. Costs for texts vary depending on choice of format (ebook or print) and choice of used or new.
Who should apply: This course is open to homeschooled students who will be in grades 9 through 12 in the 2011-2012 school year. There are no prerequisites, but a basic understanding of U.S. History will be helpful. Students should also be willing to regularly engage in thoughtful discussions of historical issues and events.
This course is ideal for those who have a passion for
history and enjoy an academic challenge. There will be large readings required
along with primary source documents, two essays each month, and other
assignments, so strong reading and writing skills are important. Students
should expect to devote an average of 10 hours each week to this course. I will
ask for PSAT/
Class Description: As
preparation for the AP U.S. History exam in May, the course will cover
We like to have fun in APUSH! The course will have a highly
interactive website (interactive rating of 3) where students get to know each
other, respond to each other’s work, ask questions, etc. It will have a
format similar to the demo website and will be password protected. We will also
organize (optional) live chat sessions for review, interaction, and history
games.
An average month will include about 200 pages of textbook reading, two essays (roughly 500 words each), a number of primary documents, an interview or cartoon analysis, several quizzes, and whatever extra credit or bonus assignments the student chooses to complete.
I will post frequent updates on the website as a reminder of assignments. Parents are encouraged to check the website regularly for details about course work and student interaction. I will also send out a midyear progress report and a final progress report to parents (very useful to show evaluators or to include in a portfolio!).
Registration: The application is available for download here. Please email me with any questions. Class size is limited and there will be a summer reading assignment, so sign up early.
Instructor
Qualifications: This will be my eighth year teaching AP U.S. History online
for the Pennsylvania Homeschoolers. I have also been a classroom teacher and
currently serve as administrator for
Click here to read
class reviews from past participants in Daniel Burns' section of this class
Click here
for an application to Daniel Burns’ section of this class
Teacher: Susan Richman
Email: richmans@pahomeschoolers.com or spr1951@gmail.com
Texts required: free Digital History online text at http://www.digitalhistory2.uh.edu
OR alternatively the print text (available 2nd hand)
Tech Needs: hi-speed internet access; computer capable of viewing online
videos and listening to audio lectures; highly recommended: video or
Class fees: $575 early bird (until July 1), regular tuition $600. Required texts will cost approximately $16 to $75 (students have a choice of a free online multi-media text OR a standard print text – the print text can often be purchased 2nd hand very reasonably; Barron’s Guide 9th edition can be found 2nd hand).
Who should apply: Class is limited to 35 students max, and I receive
lots of applicants, so apply early. Audit option available for strong students
after the class has filled ($150), with the option of
joining the class and paying balance of tuition if an enrolled student drops
the class. This class is for high school students having a strong passion for
history, who have advanced writing and reading skills. This is not an easy
class, and each student must be willing to put in the required time (roughly 8
to 12 hours of study per week, including watching history video lectures online
and other activities besides text reading and essay writing). I will ask for
Class Description: This class will cover mainstream US History from early colonization to the present, using an online basic college text (students also have the option of using a standard print text as a supplement to the free online multi-media text--more info on this in application) as well as many original source documents, varied Internet sources, and the archive of material on our class site. Our class archives include all past original history interviews, biography projects, history film reviews, and more, completed by past students--this year I hope to add a section where students can post reviews of ‘real world’ history sites they’ve visited). Students are also encouraged to use other outside sources (websites, videos, history-related novels, magazines, biographies, and visiting historical museums, etc.) for earning bonus points. Students will be required to submit two formal essays per month, similar to AP US History exam essays, as well shorter less formal responses to 'History in the News', Historical Cartoons, summaries of original History Interviews, and Document-Based Question (DBQ) Follow-Up responses. December includes a history film/documentary review project. Students also complete two major Biography projects, with at least one as a website or multi-media project. For those students who can readily keep on top of regular assignments, there are also many optional quick bonus assignments for extra credit-- many students really find these engaging and fascinating.
Further, we hold three simulated 'Dinner Parties' where students take on the role of various historical characters, who meet and discuss issues related to a particular era or theme (Revolutionary War era, Civil War era, Social Reform/Labor/Industry Leaders Theme). A summer history book review project is also part of the class-- I send out a list of possible titles, and students can also suggest books they own that might meet this requirement. Each week students also complete a regular round of requirements: text readings, regular reading in primary documents, readings in the New York Times historical archive, and weekly practice quizzes, while also learning about various effective review techniques. Students will also regularly be using various audio resources online, including podcast interviews with historians, important historical speeches, and more.
The class will again have a lively website with many ways for students to interact with one another, debate issues, react and respond to one another’s essays, post history interviews, take quizzes, view history lectures, listen to history podcasts, and much more. We also have a direct link and full access to our digital text website and to the print text website, and both have many excellent resources that we will use regularly. Our site also has links to many other history sites on the web.
The class website is password protected to insure privacy as the students learn together. The 2011-2012 website will be updated and ready for action by July 20, 2011.
Instructor Qualifications: This will be my 16th year leading this
class on-line with homeschool students, and I have also completed three
different one-day College Board workshops on teaching AP US History. I am a PA
certified teacher, and have a BA from
Click
here to find a PDF file with an application for Mrs. Richman’s APUSH
2010-2011 class
Click here to
read class reviews from past participants in Susan Richman's section of this
class
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