It's That Time Again - Plan for Fun AP Calculus Review

It's time again to start reviewing for the AP Calculus Exam.

I don't know about you, but you can never have too much review material.  What topics do students feel they need the most help with?  How can I best use the time we have to maximize their scores?  In addition I am fighting major senioritis and it seems like they are getting called out of class for this that and the other thing every other day!  I have made a plan for my AP Calculus Review - I am noting it here so I can stick to it hopefully!


1) I am going to start with a quick survey - I am going to list 10 topics and ask students to choose the 4 they feel that they need the most help with and then I will pay special attention to those topics.  Here is a link to my survey in google forms - you can feel free to use it with your students if you like.  If you don't want to use it in google forms, just print out a copy.  Google Forms Survey

2) I have an outline that I use to begin our in class review.  The course is outlined and there are problems to match each section.  We do this in class together so I can remind them about lots of different things.  Here is a link to my outline:  Study Guide and Outline

3) As we progress through this outline, I assign multiple choice questions each day that go along with the outline topics we did in class that day.  I found a pdf copy of a book online that organizes past AP Multiple choice questions by topic.  I didn't make this, but I have found it to be an invaluable resource.  Here is the link:  Previous Multiple Choice Questions by Topic

4) I need to make this fun somehow, so I think I will use my Calculus Super Secret Number Puzzles - I didn't use them this year during the year...time just got away from me.  So I will use it as part of our review.  In these puzzles, students work a total of approximately 10 questions on a given topic.  After they are finished, they add up their answers.  This is their Super Secret Number.  If their Super Secret Number matches my Super Secret Number, they probably did the problems correctly.  To add to the fun, some of the puzzles have a QR Code the students can scan to check the Super Secret Number :)

5) Students need a lot of practice with Free Response Questions.  So, I assign groups and ask students to present their preview free response question to the class.  I will do this as soon as we get back from spring break.  I don't mind if they look up the answers online - in fact I encourage them to do so.  I want them to present the problem correctly and see how the rubric scores the question.

6) The Night Before the Test...It's an Emergency...what else can they do???  Try my Emergency Last Minute Night Before the Test Study Guide.  In this guide, students practice 20 questions on various topics we have studied this year.  There are two versions of this guide included in this packet, but the one I intend to use has QR Codes included.  Students can scan the code with their phone to see if they got the correct answer.  Fun :)

Good luck to you and your students!