PinnedAssume You’ve Been Hired as a Social Media Product InfluencerAnd my student’s blog post — Better Booch Kombucha In my AP Macroeconomics course this past semester, I challenged my students. “Assume,” I said, “that you been hired as a ‘social media product influencer’ to favorably blog about a product of your choosing.” One of my students, Conner S., readily…4 min read
PinnedThe Donner Pass TunnelsFor those wanting to see the tunnels up close and learn their history — The story of the Donner Pass Tunnels is one of the great stories of American history. It’s also one of the least known. Below, some basic information relating to the tunnels. The Donner Pass Tunnels sit at 7000 feet above sea level in California’s High Sierra Mountains, with each of…Chinese7 min read
Jun 19Imagine — You are Hung Wah and it’s 1880You’re 45-years-old, Chinese, and wondering what to do with the rest of your life a few days after unknown villians have blown up your hand-washing laundry business. OK high school students everywhere. Here’s something for you in the event you want to learn about the history of the Chinese in…8 min read
May 27The Student-Proposed Museum Wall ExhibitFinally, after years of trying, something to share For many years, US history teachers have been encouraged to provide their students with a chance to design a museum wall exhibit that reveals knowledge of an important class related topic. I’ve actually been giving it a go since 2009, though try…5 min read
May 27In-Class Cell Phone Use and How to Make Peace with the IssueAn AP teacher I don’t know recently posted this to Facebook: Cellphones are seriously the bane of my existence! We have rules prohibiting their use in the classroom, but admins do not enforce these rules, so it’s really pointless for teachers to try. Consequently, attempts to either take away a…5 min read
May 21Ten Great Projects Focusing on the Asian American ExperienceDesigned for students enrolled in any high school US History or US Government course I’m a high school US history and US government teacher who has increasingly been hearing the call for high-quality, long-term project suggestions that: Focus on the topic of the Asian American experience. Provide high school students…6 min read
May 20“The Chinese in the Sierra Nevada” Student-Proposed Museum ExhibitDesigned for the Museum of the Sierra At the start of the 2021–2022 school year, four of my AP US History students assumed that they had been hired to produce a wall exhibit for the Museum of the Sierra, with this exhibit to be entitled The Chinese in the Sierra…11 min read
May 10Ten Great Projects Focusing on the Native AmericanDesigned for students enrolled in any high school US History or US Government course I’m a high school US history and US government teacher who has increasingly heard the call for high-quality, long-term project suggestions that: Focus on the topic of the Native Americans. Provide high school students with ample…8 min read
May 4Spotlight on the Best Gifts this APUSH Teacher Has Ever ReceivedAll linked to the history that I teach I love teaching AP US History, with one of the best parts of the job having to do with the super cool, history-relating gifts that I’ve received. Gift #1 — A Postcard6 min read
May 3The Leaked Draft Opinion and the Class of 2022The recently leaked draft US Supreme Court opinion states that Roe v. Wade “was egregiously wrong from the start.” That said, I’m wondering if any other court in our nation’s history has ever issued an opinion that amounted to such a full-throated and unequivocal repudiation of an earlier court’s opinion. …3 min read