FTCE Humanities K-12 Secrets Study Guide: FTCE Test Review for the Florida Teacher Certification Examinations

I have not yet taken the exam, and so I cannot yet rate the extent to which the text adequately prepared me for this endeavor. Nor can I compare/contrast this text with others. However, I can go ahead and rate my experience of the text in and of itself. And I would give it 3 stars--4 stars for content; 2 stars for clarity. In general, the text covers a lot of information. However, it does a poor job of flowing in an interconnected way. "Humanities" is a massive subject and therefore needs to be presented in an accessible way. As an instructor, I have found that this works best (1) historically, e.g. by era, (2) topically/thematically, or (3) by movement, which is a combination of the two, e.g. Impressionism. This text, however, presents the information sporadically, in a disconnected manner. It reads less like a text that is attempting to help the reader "see the bigger picture," and more like an encyclopedia--addressing this thing here, and that thing there, etc. Also, there is decent coverage of music and drama/theatre, but there seems to be limited coverage of art history.It may be true that you get no "fluff" with this text--I.e. No filler information just to fill the text and make some money. However, when things read in a disconnected way, it can still end up reading like fluff to many readers. My impression is that the test designers for this subject were each very knowledgeable in their particular area of specialty, but either they have limited familiarity with the interdisciplinary aspects of their area--which is a significant part of teaching humanities--or they have all the know-what but not the know-how. That is, it seems that it was designed by knowledgeable individuals, but individuals who are likely not teachers in practice (or are still learning how to implement flow into their lessons).In summary, this text has a lot of useful information, but the lack of effective flow and interconnection leaves the reader a bit overwhelmed as they tackle the study of such a massive topic--the interdisciplinary history of all mankind!

I had several issues with this study guide, but the most important thing to know is that it does not target the test competencies well enough. This guide covers many things that are not relevant to the exam, which caused me to waste several hours of study time on information that I did not need to focus on at all. Also, the information that did directly relate to the exam competencies only scraped the surface of what one needs to know to be properly prepared.In addition, I found it very annoying that this guide does not advertise that a practice exam can be found online. On the very last page of the book, there is a section entitled "Additional Bonus Material" and it provides a link to online material. However, it does not specifically say there is a practice exam. I wish that I would have known about the practice exam prior to creating my study schedule so I could have prepared to have the time needed to take the practice exam and review it. At any rate, I felt like Mometrix failed to communicate important information to customers.Finally, I must say that I would only consider this guide to be supplementary study material. In my opinion, it should not be a primary source of information. I feel like one will need other resources to be properly prepared. I recommend using the resources listed on the FLDOE's website, such as the book entitled, "The Annotated Mona Lisa: A Crash Course in Art History from Prehistoric to Post-Modern" by Carol Strickland., PH.D. This book was very helpful because many of the exam competencies focus on art history.

I think it is an affordable material, well organized and with some highlight features such as the links to the digital material. I found them particularly interesting and I think it is an important tool for a more comprehensive preparation for the test.

Very clear and well structured. Makes the study easy and effective.

The book is get to the point book. Straight to the facts, it will help you pass the exam and when used with humanities class it will help you understand the material, that may Be problematic. It is a great tool.