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Fun end of the year activities????

Melissa Nowotarski

The end of the year looks a little different for me in APWH than in my regular WH course since we've taken the AP exam.  While the OER Climate Project is excellent for those of you who have loads of time left, for me, I don't have quite that much time so I do a variety of activities instead because we've worked so hard throughout the year already.

  • I modified a project from the APWH FB group called UnHinged History allowing students to express some their interests along with showing historical content.  Here's the basic assignment sheet: Unhinged History Infographic.docx
  • We also watch some different documentaries/films.  If you can find a version, Lagaan is a very popular Bollywood classic.  I also show this great documentary called The Other Dream Team about the 1992 Lithuanian basketball team and the end of the Cold War: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6n8DOeXZqpo
  • We also play historically based games like Stratego, Azul, Snakes and Ladders, etc.  Here's a basic evaluation sheet for that: BoardGameEvaluationSheet.docx
  • Another great example of cultural globalization would be the EuroVision Song Contest.  Here's a video compilation of all of the songs for this year's submissions:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygniu2fDTkc You could easily have students do a list of trends (similarities and differences) that they see between the submissions.

What other "fun" activities do you have to end the year?

  • Thanks for sharing  ! I also am in a similar boat after the exam except we still have to do some preparation for the NYS Regents Exam in Global (World) History. Besides that, we write a research paper and have a fun debate about who the most influential person in history is. The debate is always a class favorite and we do it bracket style to compete and eventually choose the winner.

  • in reply to Marcella Sykucki

    Love it,  . Low prep for you, friendly competition for students, and a great way to have fun and engaged learning!

  • Looks like I found this thread just in time for my final days of BHP! I will definitely be checking some of these options out! I am wrapping up my final lessons over the next week. We end BHP talking about the future- with a primary focus on AI. 

    In terms for “fun” activities. I usually create a shared Google Slide with all of my students’ names on them. Students then pick a classmate’s name out of a hat and create an award on the slide for their peer. They get to decorate the slide as well. At the end of the period, I present the slideshow to the class. It’s always a nice way to wrap up the year and our time together as a class! 

  •  shared a "Debating Globalization" activity with me (see comments on this post) last year and I had so much success with it again that I (with the help of Brisk AI) created a follow up simulation regarding the UN Sustainable Development Goals (Student Handouts/Slide/my students proposals & resolutions).

    We did both simulations during the 2 weeks leading up to final exams. I was impressed by how thorough my students were in their research and by how involved even the quietest students were in the actual discussion. I think it helps some kids to speak on behalf of their country rather than on their own behalf sometimes. It's a lower social risk to roleplay!

  • in reply to ERIN CUNNINGHAM

    You have a point,  . I have found that if students have a role or they take on a persona it helps them detach a bit from having to "own" an opinion. They still learn a lot, but they don't have to make themselves as vulnerable.

  • in reply to ERIN CUNNINGHAM

     thanks for sharing this activity! I am adding it to the coffer for next year!

  • The Council on Foreign Relations has a nice choice of simulations about current events. I ran US Arctic Policy as our final this year and the kids had a lot of fun. I'm also really interested in Who Owns Space and Trade Policy (especially given what's going on with Russia/Ukraine and Israel/Palestine/Iran right now.

    The only drawback is that I found it a little time consuming finding and adapting materials to fully familiarize them with the issues. In the end, I settled on 4 articles for the Arctic Policy simulation. I also assigned them roles (Military, Trade, Environmentalists, and Indigenous Groups) to help them view the issue from multiple perspectives and really get into the argument.

  • Lagaan is a great film and cool teaching idea!