Unraveled Teacher

One of the biggest challenges of teaching AP World History is helping students make connections across time periods, regions, and civilizations. The course is divided into six themes which can be remembered with the acronym SPICE-T. The SPICE-T framework—Social, Political, Interactions with the Environment, Cultural, Economic, and Technology & Innovation—provides a structured way to analyze history thematically, making it easier for students to recognize patterns and continuity over time. By working intentionally with these themes throughout the course, you can enhance historical thinking skills and improve student engagement with the content.

Starting the Year with SPICE-T

Introducing the themes is the perfect way to begin your AP World History class. On day 1 or 2 (or even through your summer work packet if you assign those), go ahead and jump into the course themes with your students. I start by running through each of the six themes with a quick explanation. Then, have students complete a SPICE-T chart using a topic they are already familiar with. Often, you can use a topic from Ancient Civ to start working on themes and skills early in the year before students are comfortable with the actual content of the course. This sets the expectation that history is interconnected and will be analyzed thematically throughout the course.

Example SPICE-T Chart for the Roman Empire:

Introduce and teach the SPICE-T themes effectively on the first day and all year with this done-for-you SPICE-T Themes lesson. It includes posters, introductory slides, student notes, a blank SPICE-T chart, an identifying themes activity, and 33 SPICE-T answer keys for topics across Units 1-9 (You’ll have your themes covered for the entire year!)

Take a peek inside here

Use SPICE-T as a Daily or Weekly Framework

Rather than teaching history solely in chronological order, consider structuring lessons around SPICE-T categories (which you will end up doing both in the AP World course). Here’s a few ideas:

• Bell Ringer Questions: Start each class with a SPICE-T question related to the current unit (e.g., “How did political structures change in China from the Tang to the Song dynasty?”).
• Lecture Structure: When delivering notes, break down content into SPICE-T categories so students can identify themes.
• Exit Tickets: Ask students to summarize the day’s content using one or more SPICE-T categories.

Turn SPICE-T into a Review Game

Engage students with interactive SPICE-T review games before unit exams or the AP test.

• SPICE-T Relay Race: Divide students into teams and give them historical events. They must categorize them into SPICE-T themes as quickly as possible.
• SPICE-T Jeopardy: Create a Jeopardy-style game where each category represents a SPICE-T theme.
• SPICE-T Sorting Activity: Provide students with historical facts on index cards and have them sort them into the correct theme. (This is my favorite!)

Assess Understanding with SPICE-T-Based Writing Practice

Writing should be a key component of your AP World class. It’s absolutely crucial that your students develop their writing skills throughout the year (don’t try and cram it all in at the end), and the themes factor into AP FRQs heavily. As you develop prompts for your students to use as practice, be sure you are weaving the themes into those prompts. For example, SAQs often focus on a particular theme:

Explain one way that technological innovations facilitated global trade between 1200 and 1450.

As you write exam questions for your students to use for practice, keep the six SPICE-T themes in mind! It’s important that you challenge your AP kids to go beyond just memorizing content, and using SPICE-T effectively will not only help students master course content but also prepare them for the AP exam in a structured, engaging way.