hopskipjump Posted September 20, 2016 Share Posted September 20, 2016 Has anyone put together an AP US Govt course on their own? Was it successful, or do you wish you'd signed up to an online class for the topic? :) Any recommendations for texts to use or plans of study are very welcome!! (I swear that I have read several threads on this very topic, but my search-of-forums was fruitless... :o ) Our original plan was to schedule "regular" US Govt this year, but a slight schedule shift has allowed some flexibility, and now we are considering her taking the AP course after all. DD2 is already going through the Thinkwell course. I just ordered the AP-prep books from Princeton Review and Barrons, as well as the Barrons flashcards. She will also be studying for Biology CLEP & AP Computer Science A (which she started last year, but abandoned when we had computer issues, ugh!!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFwife Claire Posted September 20, 2016 Share Posted September 20, 2016 I think AP gov. is one of the easiest AP's to do at home. My oldest 2 sons have both self-studied and done very well on the AP exam. If you send me a PM, I'll email you my approved syllabus, which has all the books we used. Honestly though--my boys said the most practical resource they used was the REA's AP Government Crash Course test prep book. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted September 20, 2016 Share Posted September 20, 2016 This was the first AP course I ever designed. I used Edwards' Government in America (a couple year old text is fine) and Ethel Wood's American Government (listed in Amazon as Steck-Vaughn American Government). The Ethel Wood book hasn't been updated since 2001, which is a real shame, since it is a super readable govt text. I taught a very small coop class. I assigned readings, but did not do anything with a grade. Instead we used the coop time for group activities like doing the story board for a political ad on an issue, Supreme Court oral arguments, researching and presenting info on various congressional districts and a mock Congress. I think it was really a lot of fun. I really liked the activities I found that were linked to the Wood book, but I did have to do a lot of updating to bring some of them forward 10+ years. I used You Decide for some of our Bill of Rights exercises. Pursuit of Justice is a great resource on Landmark Supreme Court cases. You can buy a paperback copy or download a pdf from Annenberg. http://www.annenbergclassroom.org/page/the-pursuit-of-justice 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted September 21, 2016 Share Posted September 21, 2016 (edited) We're doing AP US Gov this year after a very successful AP Comp Gov last year. Our sources: --How Our Government Really Works Despite What They Say (Daniel Rubin, 4th ed) --the REA Crash Course book referenced above --Crash Course Government videos --the 'More Perfect' podcast about Supreme Court cases --Constitution USA series of 3 hourlong episodes --"538 Fridays" in which we read the election posts on the 538 blog and other polling/demographic data about this year's races --some other bits and pieces We read and discuss all kinds of primary sources---Articles of Confederation, Constituition, Bill of Rights, amendments, various acts of Congress, Supreme Court cases, etc. Dd noticed something yesterday in the news that runs counter to two amendments. A very good discussion ensued with us reciting parts of the Constitution back-and-forth :D I belong to an AP Government teacher group on Facebook which has been an awesome resource. Edited September 21, 2016 by Luckymama 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hopskipjump Posted September 21, 2016 Author Share Posted September 21, 2016 Thanks to you all for the recommendations!! MUCH Appreciated!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gratia271 Posted September 22, 2016 Share Posted September 22, 2016 (edited) Has anyone put together an AP US Govt course on their own? Was it successful, or do you wish you'd signed up to an online class for the topic? :) Any recommendations for texts to use or plans of study are very welcome!! (I swear that I have read several threads on this very topic, but my search-of-forums was fruitless... :o ) Our original plan was to schedule "regular" US Govt this year, but a slight schedule shift has allowed some flexibility, and now we are considering her taking the AP course after all. DD2 is already going through the Thinkwell course. I just ordered the AP-prep books from Princeton Review and Barrons, as well as the Barrons flashcards. She will also be studying for Biology CLEP & AP Computer Science A (which she started last year, but abandoned when we had computer issues, ugh!!). DD and I are doing this currently, and putting together the AP syllabus was not too difficult. Given my legal background, we probably spend more time on case law analysis etc. Otherwise, the resources we use sound like what others above have posted. Edited September 22, 2016 by Gratia271 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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