You've probably heard of Thomas C. Foster's How to Read Literature Like a Professor and may already use it in your classroom. Foster's text, while not originally written for classroom use, has become a staple for many AP®* Lit teachers. Foster puzzles over this phenomenon in the preface of the ...
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The Hidden Power of the AP Open Question
One of the most common questions asked among new and veteran AP®* Lit teachers alike is, "What titles should I teach?" It is not an easy question to answer, as the list of titles listed on the AP® Lit exam numbers over 400 now. Plus there are other considerations, such as length, authorship, genre, ...
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Everything You Need to Know About the New AP Lit Guidelines
As you may have heard, the AP®* English Literature course is getting a bit of a redesign this summer, becoming effective in Fall of 2019. For the full report released by the College Board, click here. For the remix version, keep reading!*AP® is a trademark registered by the College Board, ...
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Drama Circles: One Awesome Solution to the Post-Exam Slump
One of the most common questions I see before the AP®* Lit exam is not about test prep, but about what teachers should do with their students on the exam days are over. It is more than a valid question. For months, a good AP® teacher cultivates an environment of exploration and rigorous learning. ...
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How Analyzing Film Can Actually Strengthen Your AP Prose Lessons
I have been teaching AP®* Lit for almost 15 years, and the test prep has always been a difficult process. For years my students felt stressed about the open question, so I created the Independent Novel Project. Then, they felt overwhelmed and underprepared for the poetry question, so I created ...
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Q3 Study Guides: A Meaningful AP Test Prep Assignment
When April rolls around my AP®* Lit students begin preparing for the exam, a process which looks different for each teacher. Many students get the most anxiety when it comes to the free response question, an open-ended prompt asking students to analyze any novel or play. I’ve found success in having ...
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