Knee deep in the land of planning for AP Euro History . . .

So. The AP Institute training went well. I learned a lot. The instructor hooked us up with a ton of materials for setting up a new AP course such as PowerPoints, activities, DBQ's, etc. This is all good, right?

I've spent the last few days weeding out what I want to use or at least try out with my students. Also spent the past few days planning out the curriculum. I'm all planned up to November. Now, I can see some problems with my planning this far ahead. I'm hoping I'm not setting myself up for failure. I figure the more planning that I have for this new course, the better prepared I will be for my students. Also, since I coach JV volleyball until the beginning of November, I want to make sure I have my ducks in a row for the next few months. Coaching takes up a lot of "free" time. Yes, I get paid a small stipend for coaching but it's still time taken away from planning and working on AP stuff.

I'm glad that I teach History. At least I can plan chronologically. I know where I need to start and end regarding curriculum.

I'm still a little stressed about teaching this new course but I feel that if I at least prepare myself, I will be better off getting everything that needs to be taught. Most of the students will know how to write a DBQ since they've come from AP US History (APUSH). I do have a few students that are making the jump from College Prep to AP (which is sorta scary).

Calculated that I have 72 days to teach all the content for AP Euro History before the exam. I lose 16 hours because of early release days and assemblies (this only includes already PLANNED assemblies).

Ughy.

On a positive note:

There are also some great resources on the Internet for AP Euro History.

Ms. Pojer's Course web site from Horace Greeley HS in New York

Mr. Oberacker's Course web site from Los Amigos HS in California

Any AP teachers out there that have some words of advice or wisdom for a "newbie"??? :=)