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A.P. U.S. Government and Politics |
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Bisson Home
Comments from previous classes Media Sources & Other sites of interest Review Power Point 6
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I received this email from a 2008 graduate.
Hello Mr. Bisson,
One thing I wanted to note: The day before the test, I read the Barron's
AP Gov book cover to cover and did all the multiple choice tests after
each chapter and at the end of the book. Many questions that were in the
book were on the AP test almost word for word. I also used the Sparknotes
AP Gov practice test on their website and those questions appeared on the
AP test as well. If you don't have this particular book, I would be happy
to drop it off if you wanted to take a look at it. Comments from the Class of 2008: "Make sure you do your reading on time. I would suggest maybe reading the chapters twice, once when assigned and then before the test. The tests focus on small details. Most importantly, just enjoy this class because it is really fun..." "To future students: just do the reading and the outlines. You'll probably get senioritis but just try not to slack off." "Students: If you do your work & participate in discussions, you're going to learn a lot. Keep up with your reading!!! Or else. You won't understand what's going on in class - and you'll totally miss out. Read newspapers every day if you can, and watch political programs. After a while, you'll understand as much as adults. And it pays to be informed." "Keep your notes very organized because they will really help for AP test prep. Review past tests and quizzes to prepare for unit tests." "Mr. Bisson, more essay writing would be helpful and you could also assume that we're seniors so we're lazy so maybe make the class a little harder." "Ultimately, it is up to the students to do well in the class. They are given the tools and information and must decide for themselves how they use it. I think this class is good preparation for college because you ultimately have the final say in your success."
Comments from the Class of 2007: The following comments were submitted by students in the class after taking the AP test. They were asked to reflect on the class in relation to the test and comment on the quality of preparation they received and what changes they would suggest for coming classes. Below are selections from their comments representative of those who answered. They are not all the comments, just the most frequent themes. Spelling, punctuation, emphasis, and underlining are all taken from the students' papers. Bullets are my addition. "Honestly, it was a bad idea to put so much faith in the idea that we, as students, were so self motivated because we signed up for an AP class. It's one thing to say you're ready to commit to a lot of work but entirely different when the time comes to work." "I think maybe next year, a little less (and I mean a little) class discussion and more instruction time would probably be beneficial. Also make outline assignments that are due because we may be self-motivated, but we are also seniors, and the two sort of cancel each other out." "The one area I would of liked to have accessed deeper knowledge in would be past landmark court cases. The historical cases seemed to be a favorite selection of the AP exam. "Overall here is what needs just a bit more emphasis:
most of these things however could have easily been covered by studying more." "The choice of diction on the test is very tough, so practicing using more complex words would be very beneficial because if you don't understand the question you probably won't get the answer."
If you have any questions please feel free to contact Mr. Bisson at gbisson@cusd.net |
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