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BCLAD Test Preparation: Ethnohistory Study Guide
To prepare for the content covered in the multiple choice questions:
25% of these questions are on important events in Latin America over the past thirty years. Check the BBC Country Profiles Latin America web site and use their drop down menu to study the short summaries for Mexico, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama, Colombia, Cuba, Venezuela, Peru and Chile.
You can also visit the Thomson-Gale Latin American Timeline, organized by historical period. Review only what has happened in the last ten years.
For the Puerto Rican history
Consult the timeline at the end of Campbell's book, cited below.
The remaining 75% of the questions are on the history of Mexico and Mexican Americans/Chicanos in the United States.
List important figures for Mexican American/Chicano and Latinos in California and the US (Dolores Huerta, Joaquin Murrieta, Vicente Fox...). Be acquainted with demographics for Latinos in California. In addition to the web sites listed above, and Campbell's timeline on Mexican-American/Chicano history, you should take a look at the following books:
- Choosing Democracy: A Practical Guide to Multicultural Education, by Duane Campbell.
- Occupied America, by Rudolfo Acuña
- Mexico: The Struggle for Modernity, by Charles Cumberland
- 500 Years of Chicano History, by Elizabeth Martinez
To prepare for the two essay questions:
In addition to studying the resources listed above, review the rubric used to score the essays. A passing grade is 14 points out of a possible 20 with a minimum score of 7 on each essay. Write two one-page essays of two of the following issues:
- Mexican immigration
- Central American immigration
- Chicano political activism
- UFW and labor organizing
- Current voting and legislation in California
When you practice, try limiting yourself to twenty minutes.
But can't you check my practice sheets?
Because there are so many test takers, we unfortunately cannot do individual tutoring, or correct your practice essays.