Every year, AP US History teachers and AP Language and Composition teachers fight seemingly the same battle in their classes. We score required essay questions, only to realize there are weak thesis statements, missed historical contexts, and surface-level understanding of the author’s purpose. While our syllabi look different on paper, the realities are similar. Students need to understand how to align their evidence-based writing strategies and content knowledge.
But cross-curricular synergy shouldn’t stop at the Humanities doors.
Whether your students are in AP Psychology or AP Biology, the destination for them is the same… to learn the new content well enough to pass the AP exam, qualifying for the additional college credit. However, true mastery goes far beyond just earning a high score on test day. When learners make connections between content areas, and understand relationships between the content being taught, they become critical thinkers.
A perfect example of this in action is a collaborative project between AP US History (APUSH) and AP Language and Composition (AP Lang). In this lesson, students spent time in each class developing a deep dive into the eight core themes of APUSH by conducting research to create visual anchor chart posters.
Here’s how this lesson breaks down.
- Step 1 - (One Class Period): This is a research and planning phase. In the APUSH classroom, in small groups of three or four, after learning about the eight core themes, students use their computers and history textbooks to research the historical concepts behind one of the themes. Those themes are: American and National Identity; Work, Exchange, and Technology; Geography and Environment; Migration and Settlement; Politics and Power; America in the World; American and Regional Culture; and Social Structures. (The themes can be chosen by the students or teacher-assigned - whatever works best for your classes.) Students then make notes and plan out what symbols they will choose to represent the themes and research details they found.
- Step 2 - (One Class Period): Continuing with the planning phase, in AP Lang, students build on what they did in Step 1 during APUSH. They synthesize their learning by adding key AP Lang “idea words” and rhetorical concepts. Idea words are abstract nouns that represent larger concepts the author is trying to convey. Students find these words in their AP textbooks and by discussing commonalities they find within each theme. Words like, “identity, belonging, and democracy” are examples that are perfect for this activity.
- Step 3 - (Two Class Periods): Now that the planning phases are finished, students execute their plans. Using markers, colored pencils, and other art supplies, students draw out their symbols and add their research notes to the posters. They add the “idea” words. Then, groups present their posters, explaining the assigned theme, justifying the rhetorical choices behind their design. This part of the activity can be completed in either APUSH or AP Lang, but usually takes about two class periods.
- Step 4 - (Visual Blueprints): The finished posters are hung on the APUSH classroom walls throughout the year to serve as reminders of how the content learned in the two classes can be integrated together. They also serve as a resource for students to use when writing claims in APUSH. If students can identify the theme presented in the prompt, then they have a list of topics and idea words ready to help them develop an argument.
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- For example, when students are presented with the APUSH prompt: “Evaluate the relative importance of the causes of the market revolution between 1800 and 1848”, they reference the “Work, Exchange, and Technology” poster to find the “idea word” for their claim. In this case, students could pull the word “industrialization” from the poster, and add it to their claim about causes of the market revolution.
Once the students finished this collaborative lesson, many commented that this activity helps them connect the themes they learn in APUSH with content from AP Lang. They explain that whenever they have to write Rhetorical Essays and Argument Essays in AP Lang, they are able to visualize these posters and remember the historical content learned in APUSH. The posters serve as a mental "anchor chart” for the students, showing that ultimately, AP classes don’t have to be taught in isolation.