Exam Preparation 6 - The Last Day!

We want to end class with high energy and send students away with confidence to score well on the AP exam.  When about 10 minutes remain in class, distribute the 2005 AB n6 printable handout and have students leave the handout face down until I tell everyone to flip it over and begin working.  The directions are simple: This is the last question they have to complete on the AP exam but only 5 minutes remain, so there is not enough time to finish the entire problem.  The goal is to earn as many of the quick and easy points as possible in this problem, wherever they may be located. 

For this problem, parts (a) and (b) take a relatively long amount of time to complete but do not have many points associated with them, just 2 points for each part.  Part (c) on the other hand has 5 points available, and the steps to earn these points can be completed very quickly.  The national average on this question was 3.95, which I tell students as I am showing them the grading rubric.  After projecting the grading rubric and having students quickly score their own 5 minute responses, have students raise their hands who scored 4 points or more.  Most of the class raises their hands.  Questions like this one appear regularly on AP exams, and because the national averages are typically very low it is easy for students to beat the national average.  For this reason, this is a great problem for boosting students’ confidence as the last problem students complete in class.

With however much time remains, project the FIVE PowerPoint slides with the word “five” translated into many different languages, and have students guess the languages for each word.  This is a fun, uplifting way to instill confidence in students’ ability to join the High Five Club as students leave class for the last time before taking the AP exam.  And of course give each student a high-five as they walk out of class!  See my reflection video for actual classroom footage of the sendoff I gave students this year.

Tonight’s Homework:

Join the High 5 Club!  Review Session Tuesday 3:00-4:00pm.  Wear your Calculus t-shirts

Resources:  In The Classroom file, 2005 AB n6 – PRINTABLE, FIVE PowerPoint