Alma Rivas

U.S. History-10^th grade

Best Practices

My American History class is basically conducted with lectures, class discussions, videos, and Power Point projects done by students. Every chapter is introduced with a Power Point compiled by me. The Presentation is broken down into sections just like the textbook. My students write down the notes from the Presentation. These notes are later used for chapter tests.

My Power Points (lectures) will usually have something that is not included in the textbook. All of my lectures will have pictures, maps, and/or Virtual Field Trips. Students enjoy the Presentations and will usually give them the opportunity to think about history on a new level.

For TAKS purposes, the 10^th graders need to review and understand the causes of the American Revolution, the development of the Constitution, the causes of the Civil War and Reconstruction. Usually this part of history is reserved for students who are in the 8^th grade only.

In this particular Power Point I included an Audio clip taken from the internet from Paul Revere’s ride across Lexington and Concord.