If your students are anything like mine, then they probably have asked you for the best study guide for AP Environmental Science. When students first started asking me which study guide to use, I began researching the different options that are out there. But most of these study guides cost students a decent amount of money out of pocket. I decided that I would make my own study guide for AP Environmental Science to help students master content before getting to the AP Exam in May. Today I am going to share with you how I created this study guide and how I use it in the classroom.
Before we jump in, if you are looking to create students that are expert learners in the classroom, then you should think about switching to a standards-based grading system. I may have just the right thing for you to get started! Get started on your standards-based grading journey with my free guidebook that outlines how to implement standards-based grading in your high school classroom. I will walk you step by step as you set up your standards-based grading system. Become a standards-based grading rockstar today!
Do your students not know how to study for AP Environmental Science
As a student, I always studied to do my best in school. Looking back I don’t ever remember someone teaching me how to study. I kind of just did it. I tried lots of different strategies over the years until I finally found something that worked well for me.
Fast forward to my first year of teaching, I would write on the homework board for students to study whenever I would announce an upcoming quiz or test. I would add like three exclamation points next to the word “study” so it seemed really important.
Leading up to the test, students were doing really well in class. Students completed assignments and did not seem that confused with the material. Then the test came and went and as I am grading them, I see so many of my students doing really poorly on the test.
This was such a deflating feeling because from what I could tell, in class students were grasping and understanding the material. But when it came time for the test, students were clearly struggling.
Realizing that students were not studying on their own
I really wanted to understand why this was the case. I started to make a point to do major in-class reviews. But still not that much improvement on scores.
The thing about science is that it is most courses have a lot of content. There is even more vocab that students need to remember. Without a strong understanding of vocab, students can really struggle to even understand what a question is asking. I knew that for students to be super successful in science courses need to be studying content and vocab outside of class.
One day after handing back one of their tests, I asked my students how everyone studied for the test. They all just stared back at me. No one offered up how they studied (or if they did at all). This is when I had a light bulb moment. My students did not know how to study.
After that first year of teaching, I now make it a point to teach students strategies and methods for how to study. There is no more just writing “Study!!!” on the homework board to get students to study independently.
How I create my AP Environmental Science review guides
To help my students study and master the content in AP Environmental Science, I started creating these one-page review guides for each major unit.
The idea is that a major topic, in this case, one unit from the course and exam description, is outlined in ONE SINGLE PAGE! This means that only the most important information can be put into the study guide. Smaller details may be left out.
Obviously, students need to know the minor details. But I want to make sure they can master the major points first.
I make these one-page study guides per unit. I break the unit into subtopics. Usually, I pull these subtopics directly from the CED topics within the unit.
Under each subtopic, I then add information that is most important about the topic. Instead of using only text, I try to find the best visuals that explain the topic better than words. I believe that pictures can often say more than text. Also, I think images are easily remembered as opposed to straight text.
Additionally, at the top of each unit study guide for AP Environmental Science, I also include important vocabulary for the unit. When defining these terms, the goal is to use the most simple definitions that students will be able to easily remember.
And finally, I also include other key information in a box at the top. I either use this as a place for key concepts, laws, or formulas that students NEED to know. I reserve this space for some of the most critical information that students may miss in their notes if it is not highlighted.
Helping your students study for AP Environmental Science
When we have completed a unit, I will post the study guide in Google Classroom for students to use. I make sure that when I post a new study guide, I remind students that it does not have all the content from the unit on it.
I suggest that students use it when they are trying to quickly review information. Sometimes it can be easier to view the content on one single page as opposed to reading pages and pages of notes.
In my classes, I give students weekly quizzes that can cover topics from any unit covered so far in the class. This means students are held accountable for content throughout the year, even if it is in a unit covered earlier in the course. This helps ensure long-term retention of material.
But sometimes, students may just need a quick refresher of material from previous units that we are no longer actively covering in class. These one-page study guides make it quick and easy to review past content.
Have students create their own one-page study guides
The one-page review guides that I provide to students will only review the major topics in a unit. Obviously, there is a lot more content that students are responsible for before the exam.
In addition to providing students with these unit study guides for AP Environmental Science, I also recommend that students create their own for individual topics within a unit.
For example, in unit 1, the first topic is about species interactions. On the one-page study guide I created, there are only two images that relate to this topic. There is a lot more content for this unit that students are responsible for. Therefore, as part of their “study” homework that I assign, I have them create their own one-page study guides for individual topics from the CED.
I encourage students to use more pictures and graphics like the ones I provide for them because it can be easier to remember visuals over text. It can also help students understand the content as they need to organize it and present it in a way that it can all fit on one single page.
To ensure that students are completing these study guides on their own, I make “studying” a homework assignment in my class. As I mentioned earlier, most students hear that they need to study and think they have the night off. Because there is no work to turn in with studying, most students would not necessarily do it. In my class, I make studying an actual assignment. This is to encourage students to study at home. Students will submit their one-page study guides to me for credit on the assignment.
More resources about studying
How to easily teach your students the best ways to study for biology
3 awesome tips on how to study to help biology students master content
5 effective tips for making your AP classes grading scale successful
I absolutely love sharing my ideas about creating expert learners in my high school science classes. I hope you find my ideas helpful for your classroom! After reading this, if you feel you are ready to take the plunge into standards-based grading in your high school classroom, sign up for my free guidebook to become an expert at standards-based grading! I hope my study guide for AP Environmental Science will hel your students achieve mastery.
