Chalk it up to review for AP World History
With the school year nearing the end, students are studying to take their EOCs and AP exams. While some are studying straight out of the book, Mrs. Colton, AP World History teacher, has her students reviewing without pens, pencils, or even paper; her students are using chalk.
“We often learn best through tactile learning, and writing it out in chalk makes a good mental map,” said Mrs. Colton. This review is being done to prepare students for the AP World History exam, a class where the county and national passing rates aren’t exactly amazing. According to Mrs. Colton, the national passing rate is 48%, and the Pinellas county passing rate is 28%. “My scores last year were 56%,” said Mrs. Colton.
To come up with the idea, Mrs. Colton turned to social media. “I have this AP World History Facebook page where teachers exchange ideas, and someone had mentioned using it for an assignment,” said Colton, who mentioned the students used the chalk to review material such as time periods, themes, and concepts. Also, to better prepare students for the AP World History exam, students have done practice tests after school and on the weekends. “We have done four full length practice tests on two Saturday mornings and two Wednesday afternoons after school. We have reviewed geography, key concepts, you name it, we reviewed it,” said Colton. AP World history students took the exam on Thursday, May 15th.
