NOTE: As of January 2016, I will no longer be updating this website as I have moved to an online learning platform for my students. I will keep all resources available and you are welcome to use anything you find. Please join us on Facebook on the AP Comparative Government & Politics Teacher Page – lots of great teachers and resources collaborating together!
General Course Information:
- AP COGO Syllabus Spring 2015
- Get Remind Text Messages (AP COGO)
- AP COGO Student Info Form
- AP COGO Course Overview
- Website Resources for AP Comparative Government
- AP Comp GOPO Exam Tips
- Group Country Presentations on Public Policy
- Group Country Presentations on Public Policy Rubric
- Current Event Assignment Requirements
- Gapminder_World_Guide
- Core Terms & Concepts List 2013
- Critical Terms Review 2013
- AP Comparisons Systems 2
Weekly Calendars:
- U1 Week 1 calendar
- U1 Week 2 calendar
- U1 Week 3 calendar
- U1 Week 4 calendar
- U2 Week 5 calendar
- U2 Week 6 calendar
- U3 Week 7 calendar
- U3 Week 8 calendar
- U4 Week 9 calendar
- U4 Week 10 calendar
- U4/5 Week 11 calendar
- U5 Week 12 calendar
- U5/U6 Week 13 calendar
- U6 Week 14 calendar
- U7 Week 16 calendar
- U7 Week 17 calendar
- U7 Week 18 calendar
U1: Foundations
- U1 Reading Guide for Unit 1
- Reading #1: Comparative Politics Made Simple
- Vocabulary for Unit I- Concepts
- Study Guide and Possible FRQ’s for U1
- Reading #2: What Democracy Is and Is Not
- AP COGO Unit 1 Part 1 – Intro to Comparative Politics
- Reading #3: Political Culture Reading (Ethel Wood)
- Gapminder Questions (Fall 2015)
- AP COGO Unit 1 Part 2 – Sovereignty, Authority & Power
- AP COGO Unit 1 Part 3 – Political Structures_Institutions
- Reading #4: AP CG-Article- Understanding Federalism and Devolution
- AP COGO Unit 1 Part 3 – Electoral Systems & Linkage Institutions
- Reading #5: AP CG-Article- Electoral Systems and Political Parties
- Reading #6: Understanding Civil Society & Social Capital (Parris)
- AP COGO Unit 1 Part 4 – Citizens, Society & the State
- AP COGO Unit 1 Part 5 – Political and Economic Change
- Basic Economic Systems Chart
- Basic Economic Systems Cafeteria Scenario
- Reading #7: Globalization Briefing Paper
- AP COGO Unit 1 Part 6 – Public Policy
- 10 Least Livable Countries (online article)
- 10 Least Livable Countries Assignment
- Assessing Levels of Development (2015)
- Assessing Levels of Development Chart and Questions
- Trivia U1
U2: United Kingdom & European Union
- Vocabulary for Unit 2
- Study Guide and Possible FRQ’s for U2
- Britain Chapter 2 Guided Reading (Kesselman 7th Ed)
- American Exceptionalism
- Intro to Advanced Democracies Reading
- Advanced Democracies Reading Questions
- UK Part 1 – Making of Modern British State
- UK Part 2 – Governance & Policy-Making
- UK Part 3 – Citizens, Society and the State
- Understanding Parliament
- Political Parties Presentation (2015)
- The European Union
- EU Article Review
- EU McDonalds Protesters Win in Court
- EU French Vintners Find EU Concoction Unpalatable
- EU leaders sign landmark treaty
U3: Russia
- Graphic Organizer-Quick Review of Russian Government
- Vocabulary for Unit 3
- Study Guide and Possible FRQ’s for U3 – Russia
- Russia Chapter 7 Guided Reading (Kesselman 7th Ed)
- Communist and Post-Communist Countries Reading Questions
- Russia Part 1 – Making of the Modern State
- Commanding Heights Video Russia Questions
- The Russian Constitution Chart
- Russia Part 2 – Institutions
- Russia Part 3 – Citizens, Society & the State
U4: China
- China Chapter 9 Guided Reading (Kesselman 7th Ed)
- Graphic Organizer-Quick Review of Chinese Government
- Vocabulary for Unit 4 – China
- Study Guide and Possible FRQ’s for U4 – China
- China Mini-Presentation Topics (Fall 2015)
- China Part 1 – Making of the Modern State (through Mao)
- China Part 1 – Making of the Modern State (Deng Xiaoping – Present)
- The Tank Man Documentary Discussion Questions
- China Part 2 – Political Institutions)
- China Part 3 – Citizens, Society & the State
- China Public Policy (student presentation Fall 2015)
- Video Clips, Ted Talks, & Documentaries:
U5: Mexico
- Vocabulary for Unit 5 – Mexico
- Study Guide and Possible FRQ’s for U5 – Mexico
- Mexico Chapter 5 Guided Reading (Kesselman 7th Ed)
- Ethel Wood NIC and LDC Reading
- Ethel Wood NIC and LDC FRQs (2015)
- Mexico Part 1 – Making of the Modern State
- Mexico Part 2 – Institutions
- Mexico Part 3 – Citizens, Society & State
- 4 Corners Mexico
- Mexico and Russia Electoral Comparison
U6: Iran
- Vocabulary for Unit 6 – Iran
- Study Guide and Possible FRQ’s for U6 – Iran
- Iran Chapter 8 Guided Reading (Kesselman, 7th Ed)
- Iran Overview
- Iranian Revolution
- Comparing Revolutions in the AP6
- Iran Part 1 – Making of the Modern State
- How Iran Is Ruled (BBC Website)
- How Iran is Ruled (chart)
- The Supreme Leader
- Documentary: Iran and the West (The Man Who Changed the World)
- Iran Part 2 – Institutions
- Iran Part 3 – Citizens Society & the State
U7: Nigeria
- Vocabulary for Unit 7 – Nigeria
- Nigeria Chapter 6 Guided Reading (Kesselman)
- Nigeria Group Lessons
- Analyzing Nigeria
- Nigeria Part 1 – Making of the Modern State
- Nigeria Part 2 – Institutions
- Nigeria Part 3 – Citizens Society and State
- Nigeria FRQ Practice
- Africa’s giant is waking up but it still looks unsteady on its feet
Mrs. Silverman: Social Studies 
Hi Mrs.Silverman,
I am a teacher at Green Hope HS in Cary, NC. I am using many of the wonderful notes and activities from your site, which have been an immeasurable help. I wanted to write you to ask if you have a kesselman reading guide for ch.2 Britain and the EU. If not, can you point me in a direction where I might procure such guides. Thank you for making this site available.
Sincerely,
Kevin Hrehor
Mrs. Silverman,
I am a teacher at East Mecklenburg, in Charlotte, NC. I am using the reading guides and they have been a blessing. Thank you.
You are very welcome. I started teaching this course 3 years ago and had very little help/guidance, in addition to being issued a text book that was 2 editions behind the current one! I’m glad that you and others have found this site helpful! Best Wishes!
Hi Mrs. Silverman,
I just started teaching AP this year, and your resources are fantastic! Thank you for sharing them! Did you create all of these yourself?
Thank you! I’m glad you have found this site helpful. Some of the resources I have created and some I have revised/adapted from other teachers, particuarly Rebecca Small who does AP Workshops.
Thank you!
I wanted to take the opportunity to thank you. I too am using much of your resources in my class. (Thank you for making them available!) I have two questions. First, do you have an overall review graphic organizer? I am working on it but seem to keep starting over. Secondly, I am creating a graphic organizer to compare cleavages across the case studies and develop a better understanding of crosscutting vs. coinciding cleavages and the impact of cleavages. Originally, I was going to have the students research on their own but I have been out making sure they would be able to find information… it doesn’t look good. What do you use to identify cleavages and their nature?
Mark
Hi Mark. I used to have students fill out a country chart for each country; however, I found that wasn’t very effective, at least for my students. I will just use it as review at the end of the semester. I don’t have a big one to compare all of the AP6 at the same time.
For cleavages, I rely on Ethel Wood’s book to identify them. I also recommend signing up for Ken Wedding’s Teaching Comparative Blog. It’s a great resource for relating course concepts to current events.
Hi, I’m a student. I saw your guided reading questions and I have completed the packet. Is there a way I could possibly get answer key?
Hi Ethan,
I’m glad you have utilized the guided reading questions. Yes, there is a key, but I don’t publish it. As you can imagine, students would not do their own work if I did, and my main goal is to get students learning for themselves. Good luck on the AP COGO Exam. 🙂
Ms. Silverman,
Your website is a terrific source and it’s very much appreciated that you have made it a shared resource. I have a question about cleavages; do you have a concise chart that details cross cutting/coinciding cleavages in the AP 6? Too much to ask for? thanks.
Hi Mrs. Kriewald,
Glad the website has been helpful. I don’t have a chart like that, but it sounds like a great opportunity for extra credit. 🙂
do u have the study guide and possible frqs for nigeria yet
No, I haven’t made one yet.
Thank you so much for sharing all of this. This was my first year teaching comparative government, so I greatly appreciated adapting many of your fantastic resources. Would you happen to have a Kesselman reading guide for the Intro Chapter 1? I am trying to prepare for next year. Thanks so much and have a great summer. My email address is ckyrias@sd308.org. Thanks again- Cheryl Kyrias
Glad this site is helpful. 🙂 No, I use other readings for my introduction.
Hi Ms. Silverman,
What a resource this site is! I am currently preparing for my first year teaching the course and stumbled upon your site. The depth of your resources is incredible; thank you for sharing! I had one question. I was going through your unit 1 reading guide and noticed readings from “AP Guide” and thought it was the Ethel Wood book, until I also saw “AP Guide” with Parris as the author. Which textbook does this refer to? is it a more condensed version of Wood, et al works? Thanks so much!
The AP Guide is posted on my website under the AP COGO Dowloads Tab. It was a resource I downloaded off of the AP College Board website. Hope that helps!
Hi Ms. Silverman,
This is my first year teaching AP Comparative and your site has been so helpful. I am so grateful for teachers that love sharing. Thank you for everything!!
Erica Fabiano
Hi Erica,
Glad this site has been helpful to you and your students. Teaching is challenging enough, so I know I appreciate finding great resources too!
This is my first year teaching AP Comparative and your site is amazingly helpful. I can´t thank you enough. One question I do have is regarding your Pre-Test…what do you include on that? Thanks again!
Hi Alix,
Happy to hear my website has been a help to you. If you complete the survey above the weekly calendars and provide me with your school email, I will send you my pretest 🙂
Great, just completed the survey! Thank you!
Hello Mrs. Silverman,
Like many others I see on this reply board, this is my first year teaching AP Comparative Government. Your website has been very helpful. Unlike most schools, Comparative Gov where I teach is a year long course, and as a result I have more time to cover topics than most. To get to the point, I am looking for tried and true activities. I see on your calendar you have a few simulations and jigsaw group activities. I was wondering if you could share pertinent background information for some of your favorite activities. Thanks
Hi Tim,
I’m always jealous of those of you who have a year to teach this course! 🙂 If I had a year, I would do more Socratic Seminars, more “4 Corners” activities (post strongly agree/ agree, strongly disagree, disagree in 4 corners – students move to corner after you reveal a statement and they defend why they are there), more debates, more lab activities to analyze data (Gapminder, Press Freedom, etc), more FRQ workshops (let them grade past FRQ’s with rubric), more documentaries…the list goes on!
Hope that helps! Please take a moment to complete my survey. I appreciate it!
Hi, There. As a first year teacher of APCG, I’ve found you and your website to be a godsend.
I notice you’ve posted some student PP presentations for a “Russia Public Policy” assignment. I don’t, however, see the assignment instructions that you used. Any chance you could post that or send it to me via email?
Thank you much.
Robert Zieger
Kinshasa, D.R. Congo
Hi Robert,
So happy to hear that this site has helped you in your teaching. The assignment instructions can be found under the AP COGO Downloads Tab. Look under “General Course Information” and click on the link to the “Group Country Presentations on Public Policy.” The rubric is posted there as well. Hope that helps! Please take a minute to complete my survey when you get a chance. Thank you!
How do you handle note-taking in your class? Do students print out the PowerPoints? Do they take notes? Do you have mostly discussions? Thanks for sharing all of this!
Hi Justin,
You’re welcome! I give them handouts of my powerpoint notes with 3 to a page and lines on the side for additional notes. I went to this after my first semester of them taking their own notes, and I found that most did NOT take notes and the ones that did wanted to write down every word. This is a good compromise. I also include discussion questions and they have to write down the answers in their notes. Hope that helps!
Thank you for your invaluable help. Would you happen to have a reading guide for Kesselman Ch1? Thanks!
Hi Cheryl,
You’re welcome. Unfortunately, I don’t have a reading guide for Chapter 1. I do my own introductory unit and use a series of independent readings which can be found on my site along with a reading guide. 🙂
Hello Mrs. Silverman,
Thank you so much for sharing your resources. I know the time and effort you put into creating this material is considerable which is why making it available to the AP Comparative Gov community so greatly appreciated.
I see in the Russia Unit that you assign Communist and Post Communist Countries Reading Questions. I also see in the actual guided reading that it is referencing Ethel Wood, but I’m not sure which Wood reading this is referring to. Could you be kind enough to give me some guidance on where I can find the actual reading? Thank you in advance.
Hi Ira,
The reading I am referring to is from her book, AP Comparative Government and Politics: An Essential Coursebook. Her book is what I base most of my powerpoints on. Very helpful!
I saw that you are including video clips with your UK unit and other units in your weekly plans. Do you save these videos in a specific location that can be shared as well?
Hi Justin,
Usually the links I use are included in the Powerpoints on those specific topics.
Mrs. Silverman –
First, like almost everyone above, thank you for posting these resources on here. I have taught AP US Gov for 5 years and this year is my first adventures into AP Comp Gov. I AM SO EXCITED! I ordered the Ethel Wood’s Coursebook because our school didn’t have enough resources for a more expensive textbook. Reading through the Coursebook, I have been very impressed with the concise information. I will supplement the material with other readings and texts.
Question for you, where I am struggling with is coming up with AP level multiple choice questions for Unit Tests. In my AP Gov, I have a test generator that is awesome, but I didn’t get that luxury with AP Comp Gov. Is there any possibility of getting tests from you with answer keys? I would be forever grateful and it would help me a lot!
Also, good luck with the online classes. I teach two online courses and love it!
Thanks for all you do as an awesome teacher!
Abbie Butler
Hi Abbie,
I will send you a private email. 🙂
Greetings from Shanghai! Your website is a life saver! Any chance you’d be willing to share that test generator with me as well. This is my first year teaching comp gov, and my first year in a foreign country. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for this amazing resource.
Hi Patrick,
I’m glad my resources have been helpful to you in your teaching of the course. I don’t have a test generator, but I use Ethel Wood’s book a lot. Each edition has new multiple choice questions. Also, if you use a book, the publisher should offer its own test bank. There are also two released multiple choice exams, but they are only given out at the AP workshops. I use a combination of all of those.
Hope that gets you moving in the right direction.
I want to thank you for all your invaluable help to those of us new to AP Comp GOPO. There are very few resources and only a few opportunities to go to an AP conference on this subject. If there were a College Board award for Most Helpful Colleague above and beyond the call of duty, it would go to you!!!
Barbara Gazda
Hartland High School
Hartland, MI
Hi Barbara,
How kind of you to say!! I think we are all better teachers as a result of teachers who have shared their resources and ideas along the way. I know I am so grateful for those who have helped me. This job is challenging enough – we need to support one another!
Hello from Brazil Ms Silverman! I have been asked to develop an AP COGO course at my international school next year, finding your site has been a godsend in helping me to organize my semester. Thank you for your generous help!
I’ll be teaching CGP for the third time next year. Thank you so much for sharing your resources! I have struggled with pacing in the past, and I think that this year I will be able to better given your guidance. 🙂 Good luck with your switch to your LMS. I hope it is going smoothly so far.
Hello from Virginia Beach, VA! I am a first year teacher of APCOGO. Your website has helped me survive my planning for the upcoming year. Thank you so very much for the invaluable resources. I hope you are well!
Your website is really nice and helpful. Do you have the answers for the reading guide and other material posted anywhere? Please let me know if you do. Thank you so much!
[…] One teacher from Georgia has the great advice to pay attention to the action verbs in the questions. Action verbs tell you exactly what kind of task the question is asking you to perform. For example, there’s a difference between defining something, discussing it, and describing it. Understanding the distinction between these tasks is essential to making sure you answer the question the way the test wants you to. The AP Comparative Government exam makes this easy because most of the action verbs are going to be at the beginning of the free response question you are dealing with. Paying close attention to the specific task that is being asked of you is a great way to ensure you get the highest possible score. […]
Hi Lisa,
Amazing website. Thank God I found it. They just change my class from Honors American Govt to an AP Lite Comparative Government. I was in a panic with one week left in school this June and 6 weeks of summer vacation here in China to try and get anything ready. Already had the course prepped and ready to go when they changed it. Hopefully I will be able to use this effectively here. Thanks again.
This is my first year teaching COGO. The study materials at my school are not great, coming from rural South Carolina. I am very thankful for the excellent resources you have listed here; they have made my life much easier. I have been testing my students using free response questions, but I’m not sure how well they are preparing them for the AP exam. Could I get multiple choice tests from you. I cannot find good AP level questions online without the answers to them being out on the internet. That would help me a great deal!
Hi from Jodie in Kuala Lumpur! Thank you for this treasure trove of resources, which I have made excellent use of during my first time teaching AP Cogo. May I ask how long your class sessions are? I have one semester with four 60-minute blocks a week and am finding that I am racing to get through the material.