Teaching historical agency means helping students see history as a series of choices, not inevitabilities. Through primary sources on figures like Richelieu and Louis XIV, students explore how power, structure, and context shape what individuals and groups can—and cannot—do, revealing the complexity behind seemingly inevitable historical outcomes.
AP World History Modern
AP World History is one of my favorite classes to teach. The content is exciting, and the historical thinking skills are always front and center.
Choose Your Own Adventure: The English Civil War
Lectures have their place, but sometimes students need to step into history themselves. This Choose-Your-Own-Adventure activity on the English Civil War let my AP Euro students explore turning points through roleplay, choices, and consequences—making the conflict between Charles I and Parliament more engaging and memorable.
Negotiating History: A Classroom Simulation of the Treaty of Westphalia
Simulations bring history alive, even if students don’t always land on the “right” outcome. My Treaty of Westphalia simulation in AP European History pushed students to negotiate, compromise, and reflect, skills as valuable as the history itself.
Cards on the Table: Starting AP Euro with a game
I designed a custom strategy game called Institutions and Ideologies, themed around the Renaissance through Enlightenment. The game introduces students to major ideas and institutions of early modern Europe through unique decks, influence mechanics, and competitive play. Check it out, and try it in your own classroom.
AP World Released DBQs & LEQs by Topic & Year (Updated 2025)
Quick Reference charts for the AP World DBQ and LEQ released topics from past exams. Includes links to the College Board PDFs. Files are in doc and excel format.
Searching for Depth in AP World
This reflection explores strategies for deepening historical thinking in AP World History despite limited seat time. It highlights resources like Deadly Companions, Istanbul, and Gallagher’s “Imperialism of Free Trade,” while advocating for historiography, Harkness discussions, and thematic integration to enhance student engagement, critical thinking, and skill development across the course.
Teaching the Silk Roads with Primary Sources
I like to slow down in the first two units of AP World and take advantage of the time and lighter content to unpack skills, particularly primary source comprehension and analysis. This post includes several activities and resources I have used over the years to do this.
Teaching Historical Writing to English Language Learners
I have been teaching in China for nearly a decade, and in that time at least half of my students have been English language learners. Ultimately, this has made me a much better teacher. When I started teaching in Florida, I rarely used instructional time to explicitly teach writing. After all, that's what the English teachers did. When I moved to China, I was forced to stop taking writing skills for granted.
Tools and Tips for Teaching Contextualization in AP World History
Contextualization can be a deceptively easy skill for students. Many default to information overload instead of thinking through which historical facts or developments are the best choice for revealing historical insight about their topic or argument. Structure is needed.
Making the First Day in AP World Count
Start the year with something engaging that will help establish a positive class culture. Be the unique class that breaks the Day 1 stereotypes of syllabi and class rules and show students that inquiry and historical thinking can be fun.