Summer Assignments
While I still will have my students until June 18 some schools across the country are already getting out for the summer so I decided to put this together now. I have long struggled with what to give my AP government students over the summer. If you would like some others' ideas, click on the different links. There seems to be a pattern a)essay on controversial topics b)book reports c)questions on the Constitution

• Choices: This one is nicely done and gives the student the choice between following various news sources (listed), looking at the Constitution, reading a book from a list or looking at Fed #10 and 51.
  
• Election: This has students read a book on the election of 2008 and answer questions in an essay
  
• Book list. This has an exhaustive list of books to read and some good general questions students need to answer no matter which one they select
• Book report: Founding father's. A short list of books on the Founders and question to go with them.
  
• Book report on the intellectual origins of the constitution.
• Book: More detailed questions for Hardball
• Book list (another one) and detailed instructions how to prepare the book choice for class discussion
  
• Another Hardball one, but with very detailed questions for the book
• Controversial Topics: This teacher has the students read a chapter from a book with controversial topics and write a paper defending one side or the other
  
• This one has students reading Hardball and summarizing some Supreme Court cases
• Essay: this one, very nicely details how the student should write an essay - if nothing else it is worth a look for that
  
• Multi-part one that looks at the Constitution, Federalist #10 and 51, party platforms and vocab
• Essay response to a current news piece + quiz on the Constitution which this teacher has very nicely laid out all the parts to learn
• Federalist Papers: read Federalist #10 & 51
  
• Another Hardball one, but with very detailed questions for the book
• Sabato. This goes along w. the first two chapters in Sabato and O'Connor's book
  
• Vocabulary words. This has A LOT of words for the students to look up. Honestly it might be better as an end of the year review which you could "borrow" later for your own students.

If you want even more ideas go here.