American Government 2018
Course Description:
American Government is an introductory course into the themes and concepts of American Government, Civics, and comparative governmental systems. Students enrolled in this course will be able to better understand how the American political and governmental system works. This course in American government allows students the opportunity to study the various branches of government including federal, state, county, and local government. The course introduces students to the fundamental concepts used by political scientists to study the processes and outcomes of politics in a variety of country settings. This course is designed to help students analyze the differences in both democratic and non-democratic societies. Lastly, students will be able to acquire the understandings needed to evaluate the American Experience and to relate how they are, or are not, active members of that experience.
Course Purpose:
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to demonstrate the ability to identify and use terminology, critical thinking skills, writing standards, and concepts of American government and the social sciences. The purpose of this course is to allow the students the ability to learn and academically develop in each of the following areas: Students will be able to describe the origins and background of American government. Students will be able to analyze the structure and operation of American institutions (i.e. The Office of the President of the United States and the United States Congress). Students will be able to assess and evaluate the role of the individual in American government. Students will understand major political issues within American government (i.e. civil liberties and civil rights). Students will be able to identify and then analyze the differences and similarities in federal, state, and local government. Students will be able to identify current and past major U.S. foreign policy decisions and how they have affected national policy. Students will be able to evaluate and link the similarities and differences between democratic and non-democratic governmental systems, with a specific focus on the fundamental similarities and differences between direct and representative democracy, totalitarian states and popular sovereign states, and economic equality vs. economic freedom.
Units of Study:
Unit 1: The Rule of Law
Unit 2: Separation of Powers and the Constitution
Unit 3: Popular Sovereignty and US Elections
Unit 4: Federalism
Unit 5: The Bill of Rights and Civil Liberties
Unit 6: Active Democracy
American Government is an introductory course into the themes and concepts of American Government, Civics, and comparative governmental systems. Students enrolled in this course will be able to better understand how the American political and governmental system works. This course in American government allows students the opportunity to study the various branches of government including federal, state, county, and local government. The course introduces students to the fundamental concepts used by political scientists to study the processes and outcomes of politics in a variety of country settings. This course is designed to help students analyze the differences in both democratic and non-democratic societies. Lastly, students will be able to acquire the understandings needed to evaluate the American Experience and to relate how they are, or are not, active members of that experience.
Course Purpose:
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to demonstrate the ability to identify and use terminology, critical thinking skills, writing standards, and concepts of American government and the social sciences. The purpose of this course is to allow the students the ability to learn and academically develop in each of the following areas: Students will be able to describe the origins and background of American government. Students will be able to analyze the structure and operation of American institutions (i.e. The Office of the President of the United States and the United States Congress). Students will be able to assess and evaluate the role of the individual in American government. Students will understand major political issues within American government (i.e. civil liberties and civil rights). Students will be able to identify and then analyze the differences and similarities in federal, state, and local government. Students will be able to identify current and past major U.S. foreign policy decisions and how they have affected national policy. Students will be able to evaluate and link the similarities and differences between democratic and non-democratic governmental systems, with a specific focus on the fundamental similarities and differences between direct and representative democracy, totalitarian states and popular sovereign states, and economic equality vs. economic freedom.
Units of Study:
Unit 1: The Rule of Law
Unit 2: Separation of Powers and the Constitution
Unit 3: Popular Sovereignty and US Elections
Unit 4: Federalism
Unit 5: The Bill of Rights and Civil Liberties
Unit 6: Active Democracy
Unit 1: The Rule of Law
Unit Objectives and Scope:
Unit Big Idea/Universal Concept Connection: Control
Students will be able to understand, analyze, and evaluate:
Course Essential Question: Essential Question #1: How is power gained, used, and justified?
Daily Guiding Questions (AIMs):
Part A:
AIM Question: What makes-up the Rule of Law?
Part B:
AIM Question: Is the Rule of Law necessary within a democracy?
Sequence/Activities:
Overview:
Unit 1 introduces students to the concept of the Rule of Law within both democratic and non-democratic institutions. Students will conduct a range of individual and collaborative assessments building to an end of unit debate on if the Rule of Law is necessary within a 21st government. To achieve this objective, students will address the following lesson objectives:
1) Students will be able to assess the extent to which there is, or is not, a relationship between how a nation's political power is allocated and to what the rule of law looks like within that nation. Students will collaboratively identify various essential and aspirational features of what the rule of law looks like to develop a universal definition of the rule of law. Students will then collaboratively research several nations to determine what the rule of law looks like within those nations and to compare those nations with that of the USA. Lastly, students will evaluate those nations to determine which nation is closest to their definition of the rule of law.
2) Students will be able to evaluate the extent to which historical experiences are or are not representative of the statement "All men are created equal." To achieve this objective, students will conduct a document-based analysis to compare and contrast various historical first-hand accounts on the concept of equality in America.
3) Students will evaluate the impact of the rule of law has developing economies to determine the extent to which law promotes the type of economic interactions that promote prosperity both individually and collectively.
Lesson Sequence:
1) Opening Week, Lesson 1: What is American government?
2) Unit 1, Lesson #1 -- What is the Rule of Law?
3) Unit 1, Lesson #2 -- What is equality in America?
4) Unit 1, Lesson #3 -- The Road to Prosperity
Unit Assessments:
Formative Assessment #1 – What is the Rule of Law quick write
Summative Assessment #1 – Unit Concept Assessment
Summative Assessment #2 – Class Debate; Is the Rule of Law necessary in a democracy?
Unit Objectives and Scope:
Unit Big Idea/Universal Concept Connection: Control
Students will be able to understand, analyze, and evaluate:
- Rule of Law
- Law as Culture
Course Essential Question: Essential Question #1: How is power gained, used, and justified?
Daily Guiding Questions (AIMs):
Part A:
AIM Question: What makes-up the Rule of Law?
Part B:
AIM Question: Is the Rule of Law necessary within a democracy?
Sequence/Activities:
Overview:
Unit 1 introduces students to the concept of the Rule of Law within both democratic and non-democratic institutions. Students will conduct a range of individual and collaborative assessments building to an end of unit debate on if the Rule of Law is necessary within a 21st government. To achieve this objective, students will address the following lesson objectives:
1) Students will be able to assess the extent to which there is, or is not, a relationship between how a nation's political power is allocated and to what the rule of law looks like within that nation. Students will collaboratively identify various essential and aspirational features of what the rule of law looks like to develop a universal definition of the rule of law. Students will then collaboratively research several nations to determine what the rule of law looks like within those nations and to compare those nations with that of the USA. Lastly, students will evaluate those nations to determine which nation is closest to their definition of the rule of law.
2) Students will be able to evaluate the extent to which historical experiences are or are not representative of the statement "All men are created equal." To achieve this objective, students will conduct a document-based analysis to compare and contrast various historical first-hand accounts on the concept of equality in America.
3) Students will evaluate the impact of the rule of law has developing economies to determine the extent to which law promotes the type of economic interactions that promote prosperity both individually and collectively.
Lesson Sequence:
1) Opening Week, Lesson 1: What is American government?
2) Unit 1, Lesson #1 -- What is the Rule of Law?
3) Unit 1, Lesson #2 -- What is equality in America?
4) Unit 1, Lesson #3 -- The Road to Prosperity
Unit Assessments:
Formative Assessment #1 – What is the Rule of Law quick write
Summative Assessment #1 – Unit Concept Assessment
Summative Assessment #2 – Class Debate; Is the Rule of Law necessary in a democracy?
Unit 1: Warm-ups:
Warm-up #1 08/14/18
1) Please read the below PDF and select (A) the key word and (B) one question or one concern you have about it.
Warm-up #1 08/14/18
1) Please read the below PDF and select (A) the key word and (B) one question or one concern you have about it.
| scanned_from_a_lexmark_multifunction_product08-14-2018-024151.pdf |
Warm-up #2 08/15/18
1) Please start by reading the definition of the noun "Community." Then, (A) define your community in your own words and (B) state how you see yourself within it.
1) Please start by reading the definition of the noun "Community." Then, (A) define your community in your own words and (B) state how you see yourself within it.
Warm-up #3 08/16/18
1) One thing you learned this week (in any class)?
2) One thing you need more help with (in any class)?
3) Define the concept "community."
Warm-up #4 08/20/18
1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast:
Link 1: www.cnn.com/cnn10
Warm-up #5 08/21/18
1) Using the IB Learner Profile below, (A) select the learner attribute you feel you best exemplify and the attribute you struggle the most with & (B) state why?
1) One thing you learned this week (in any class)?
2) One thing you need more help with (in any class)?
3) Define the concept "community."
Warm-up #4 08/20/18
1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast:
Link 1: www.cnn.com/cnn10
Warm-up #5 08/21/18
1) Using the IB Learner Profile below, (A) select the learner attribute you feel you best exemplify and the attribute you struggle the most with & (B) state why?
Warm-up #6 08/22/18
1) One strength you have as a writer?
2) One weakness you have as a writer?
Warm-up #7 08/23/18
1) One thing you learned this week (in any class)?
2) One thing you need more help with (in any class)?
3) Define the concept "internationally minded."
Warm-up #8 08/27/18
1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast:
Link 1: www.cnn.com/cnn10
Warm-up #9 08/28/18
1) Read through the four principles of the Rule of Law and develop a question around one part of the concept.
Warm-up #10 08/29/18
1) What makes a country secure?
2) What is the role of the individual vs. that of the government in making a nation secure?
Video Below:
1) What makes a country secure?
2) What is the role of the individual vs. that of the government in making a nation secure?
Video Below:
Warm-up #11 08/30/18
1) One thing you learned this week (in any class)?
2) One thing you need more help with (in any class)?
3) What do you see as the most essential part of the "Rule of Law" for a nation to have? And why?
Warm-up #12 09/04/18
1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast:
Link 1: www.cnn.com/cnn10
Warm-up #13 09/05/18
1) How do you see power relationships within your own community?
Link:
1) One thing you learned this week (in any class)?
2) One thing you need more help with (in any class)?
3) What do you see as the most essential part of the "Rule of Law" for a nation to have? And why?
Warm-up #12 09/04/18
1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast:
Link 1: www.cnn.com/cnn10
Warm-up #13 09/05/18
1) How do you see power relationships within your own community?
Link:
Warm-up #14 08/06/18
1) One thing you learned this week (in any class)?
2) One thing you need more help with (in any class)?
3) Define "popular sovereignty" in your own words.
Warm-up #15 09/10/18
1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast:
Link 1: www.cnn.com/cnn10
Warm-up #16 09/11/18
1) A common misconception about power is that:
A) It is always a visible phenomenon.
B) Not synonymous with a formalized authority
C) Hidden power is sometimes the most potent type.
D) None of the above
E) All of the above
2) Why are you correct?
Warm-up #17 09/12/18
1) With authority, how is the authority actually given?
A) Express
B) Implied
C) Both, expressed or implied
2) Why are you correct?
Warm-up #18 09/13/18
1) One thing you learned this week (in any class)?
2) One thing you need more help with (in any class)?
3) Which type of right appears the most within the Declaration of Independence?
Warm-up #19 09/17/18
1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast:
Link 1: www.cnn.com/cnn10
Warm-up #20 09/18/18
Please make sure that you do this warm-up in order.
Part 1:
1) Study the two secondary sources on Ho Chi Minh, list two takeaway facts about him that you have learned from the sources:
Source 1: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/ho_chi_minh.shtml
Source 2: www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=86&v=SJhcIzUYDL0
Part 2:
2) Read the Declaration of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (1945) and record the similarities between it and the US Declaration of Independence of (1776).
3) Considering the primary source and the two secondary sources, what have you learned about Ho Chi Minh and his relationship with the United States?
Warm-up #21 09/19/18
1) Select the quote that you feel best addresses your ideal concept of what the rule of law is. Be sure to justify your answer.
1) One thing you learned this week (in any class)?
2) One thing you need more help with (in any class)?
3) Define "popular sovereignty" in your own words.
Warm-up #15 09/10/18
1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast:
Link 1: www.cnn.com/cnn10
Warm-up #16 09/11/18
1) A common misconception about power is that:
A) It is always a visible phenomenon.
B) Not synonymous with a formalized authority
C) Hidden power is sometimes the most potent type.
D) None of the above
E) All of the above
2) Why are you correct?
Warm-up #17 09/12/18
1) With authority, how is the authority actually given?
A) Express
B) Implied
C) Both, expressed or implied
2) Why are you correct?
Warm-up #18 09/13/18
1) One thing you learned this week (in any class)?
2) One thing you need more help with (in any class)?
3) Which type of right appears the most within the Declaration of Independence?
Warm-up #19 09/17/18
1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast:
Link 1: www.cnn.com/cnn10
Warm-up #20 09/18/18
Please make sure that you do this warm-up in order.
Part 1:
1) Study the two secondary sources on Ho Chi Minh, list two takeaway facts about him that you have learned from the sources:
Source 1: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/ho_chi_minh.shtml
Source 2: www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=86&v=SJhcIzUYDL0
Part 2:
2) Read the Declaration of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (1945) and record the similarities between it and the US Declaration of Independence of (1776).
3) Considering the primary source and the two secondary sources, what have you learned about Ho Chi Minh and his relationship with the United States?
Warm-up #21 09/19/18
1) Select the quote that you feel best addresses your ideal concept of what the rule of law is. Be sure to justify your answer.
Warm-up #22 09/20/18
1) One thing you learned this week (in any class)?
2) One thing you need more help with (in any class)?
3) Of the key themes and concepts of Unit 1, which term do you need more help with?
Concepts: Community, Rule of Law, Republic vs. Direct Democracy, Property Rights, Liberty vs. Freedom, Power, & Authority.
1) One thing you learned this week (in any class)?
2) One thing you need more help with (in any class)?
3) Of the key themes and concepts of Unit 1, which term do you need more help with?
Concepts: Community, Rule of Law, Republic vs. Direct Democracy, Property Rights, Liberty vs. Freedom, Power, & Authority.
Unit 2: Separation of Powers and the Constitution
Unit Objectives and Scope:
Unit Big Idea/Universal Concept Connection: Compromise
Students will be able to understand, analyze, and then evaluate:
Part A: The 6 principles of the Constitution
Part B: The three branches of government
Course Essential Question: Essential Question #2: How do decisions about who is allowed to participate in government and how decisions are made shape the nature of government?
Daily Guiding Questions (AIMs):
Part A:
AIM Question: 1) What is the purpose of the structure of the US Constitution?
Part B:
AIM Question: 2) What is the right balance of power within good government?
Overview:
Unit 2 introduces students to the concept of divided government under the US Constitution. Through this unit of study, students will be able to analyze how the six principles of the constitution A) Popular Sovereignty, B) Limited Government, C) Separation of Powers, D) Checks and Balances, E) Judicial Review, and F) Federalism establish a system of both shared and separate governance within our federal system. In Part B of this unit, students will conduct a survey of the three branches of government to determine the scope and duties of each. Lastly, students will be measured by their ability to determine how decisions made within branch effect their own lives.
Lesson Sequence:
Part A: The 6 principles of the Constitution
Lesson 1) Unit 2, Lesson #1 -- The Declaration of Independence
Lesson 2) Unit 2, Lesson #2 -- The Six Principles of the Constitution
Lesson 3) Unit 2, Lesson #3 -- Constitutional Conflict and Compromise
Lesson 4) Unit 2, Lesson #4 – Federalist 10: Democratic Republic vs. Pure Democracy
Part B: The three branches of government
Lesson 4) Unit 2, Lesson #4 -- A Bicameral Congress
Lesson 5) Unit 2, Lesson #6 -- Presidential Leadership
Lesson 6) Unit 2, Lesson #7 – The Structure of US Court System
Unit Assessments:
Formative Assessment #1 – Quick write: Which principle of the constitution best protects individual rights? Which principle is the most problematic to it?
Summative Assessment #1 – Constitutional Principles Concept Assessment
Summative Assessment #2 – Separation of Powers Assessment
Unit Objectives and Scope:
Unit Big Idea/Universal Concept Connection: Compromise
Students will be able to understand, analyze, and then evaluate:
Part A: The 6 principles of the Constitution
Part B: The three branches of government
Course Essential Question: Essential Question #2: How do decisions about who is allowed to participate in government and how decisions are made shape the nature of government?
Daily Guiding Questions (AIMs):
Part A:
AIM Question: 1) What is the purpose of the structure of the US Constitution?
Part B:
AIM Question: 2) What is the right balance of power within good government?
Overview:
Unit 2 introduces students to the concept of divided government under the US Constitution. Through this unit of study, students will be able to analyze how the six principles of the constitution A) Popular Sovereignty, B) Limited Government, C) Separation of Powers, D) Checks and Balances, E) Judicial Review, and F) Federalism establish a system of both shared and separate governance within our federal system. In Part B of this unit, students will conduct a survey of the three branches of government to determine the scope and duties of each. Lastly, students will be measured by their ability to determine how decisions made within branch effect their own lives.
Lesson Sequence:
Part A: The 6 principles of the Constitution
Lesson 1) Unit 2, Lesson #1 -- The Declaration of Independence
Lesson 2) Unit 2, Lesson #2 -- The Six Principles of the Constitution
Lesson 3) Unit 2, Lesson #3 -- Constitutional Conflict and Compromise
Lesson 4) Unit 2, Lesson #4 – Federalist 10: Democratic Republic vs. Pure Democracy
Part B: The three branches of government
Lesson 4) Unit 2, Lesson #4 -- A Bicameral Congress
Lesson 5) Unit 2, Lesson #6 -- Presidential Leadership
Lesson 6) Unit 2, Lesson #7 – The Structure of US Court System
Unit Assessments:
Formative Assessment #1 – Quick write: Which principle of the constitution best protects individual rights? Which principle is the most problematic to it?
Summative Assessment #1 – Constitutional Principles Concept Assessment
Summative Assessment #2 – Separation of Powers Assessment
Unit 2: Warm-ups:
Warm-up #22 09/24/18
1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast:
Link 1: www.cnn.com/cnn10
Warm-up #23 09/25/18
1) Select one document, work of art, piece of music, building, or book that you feel has change human history in some way and state why.
Warm-up #24 09/26/18
Which fundamental political idea is expressed in the Declaration of Independence?
A) The government should guarantee every citizen economic security.
B) The central government and state governments should have equal power.
C) If the government denies its people certain basic rights, that government can be overthrown.
D) Rulers derive their right to govern from God and are therefore bound to govern in the nation’s best interest.
Warm-up #25 09/27/18
1) One thing you learned this week (in any class)?
2) One thing you need more help with (in any class)?
Warm-up #26 10/01/18
1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast:
Link 1: www.cnn.com/cnn10
Warm-up #27 10/02/18
Decide if each description below refers to the House of Representatives (H) or the Senate (S). Write the appropriate letter on the line before each statement.
1) ____ Branch in which members serve two-year terms
2) ____ Branch referred to as the "upper house."
3) ____ Branch in which members are required to be at least twenty-five years old.
4) ____ Branch whose members have the larger constituency.
5) ____ Branch in which the majority of work is done in committees.
Warm-up #28 10/03/18
Watch the film below in order to address the three warm-up questions.
1) What is a bill vs. that of a law?
2) Identify the parts a bill must travel through in order to become a law.
3) Which part do you feel would most likely prevent a bill from becoming a law?
Warm-up #29 10/04/18
1) How is the use of executive orders being critiqued here:
2) Does the commentary appear in support or against President Obama's use of executive orders and why?
1) How is the use of executive orders being critiqued here:
2) Does the commentary appear in support or against President Obama's use of executive orders and why?
Warm-up #30 10/09/18
1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast:
Link 1: www.cnn.com/cnn10
Warm-up #31 10/10/18
Explore the following three links and use each to fully address questions 1 & 2.
Link 1: http://archive.ipu.org/wmn-e/classif.htm
Link 2: www.cawp.rutgers.edu/women-us-congress-2017
Link 3: www.ncsl.org/legislators-staff/legislators/womens-legislative-network/women-in-state-legislatures-for-2016.aspx
1) Considering the data presented within the three links, how should we as a society address the issues Mrs. Albright exposes within her quote:
"We are very hip on the fact that America's always No. 1. On this we are not, in terms of the number of women in our legislative branches and obviously as head of state. We need to push on that. I hate to say this: It isn't all men's fault. I think some of it is our own attitude and approach. Some of it very healthy, that women want to make choices about their lives and how they want to spend their time, and what they value."
-- Madeleine Albright
2) With such a clear representation gap in American government, to what extent is our government truly representative of the people?
Warm-up #32 10/11/18
1) One thing you learned this week (in any class)?
2) One thing you need more help with (in any class)?
3) If you were to campaign against your legislator, and considering what you've learned about your figure, what would you say about them?
Warm-up #33 10/15/18
1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast:
Link 1: www.cnn.com/cnn10
Warm-up #34 10/16/18
1) How is the speaker of the House chosen?
2) What are the speaker's major responsibilities?
3) Who is the current speaker of the House?
Warm-up #35 10/17/18
Match the term with the statement regarding the business of Congress:
A) Quorum
B) Session
C) Term
D) Bipartisan
1)______ involving both major political parties.
2)______ The length of time a member of Congress is assigned to serve.
3) ______ The minimum number of members who must be present in order for a vote or an action to be taken in Congress.
4) _______ The official meeting of Congress for the purpose of conducting business proceedings.
Warm-up #36 10/18/18
1) One thing you learned this week (in any class)?
2) One thing you need more help with (in any class)?
3) Of the different members of Congress presented by the class, which individual speaks to you the most either individually and/or politically and why?
Warm-up #37 10/22/18
1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast:
Link 1: www.cnn.com/cnn10
Warm-up #38 10/23/18
1) Why was the Twenty-second Amendment passed?
Warm-up #39 10/24/18
The Constitution outlines requirements for the U.S. President involving age and birth. However, the American voting public seems to have some unwritten requirements as well. Americans seem to want to know everything there is to know about a candidate running for president. What are some "unwritten" requirements for a presidential candidate? What criteria are most important to the American public? Do you agree with the validity of these criteria? Why or why not?
Warm-up #40 10/25/18
1) One thing you learned this week (in any class)?
2) One thing you need more help with (in any class)?
3) The U.S. Constitution gives the legislative branch of the U.S. government the authority to make laws. The president does not write laws. However, the president does serve as the nation's chief legislator. What does this mean? Write two or three sentences in which you describe the president's legislative role.
Unit 3: Popular Sovereignty and US Elections
Unit Objectives and Scope:
Unit Big Idea/Universal Concept Connection: Consequences
Students will be able to understand, analyze, and evaluate:
Part A) The Structure and Scope of the US Election Process
Part B) Voting and individual participation
Course Essential Question: Essential Question #3: Why is citizen participation important in American government?
Daily Guiding Questions (AIMs):
Part A:
Part B:
Sequence/Activities:
Overview:
Unit 3 introduces students to the concept of the US election process. Students will conduct a unit long research project to teach the entire school about how US elections work. To achieve this objective, students will address the following lesson objectives:
Lesson Sequence: (Entire unit is built around one project-based assessment)
Unit #4 Summative Assessment -- Teaching the American Election Process
Day 1: Topic Selection and group proposal
Day 2 to 5: Research and prepare
Day 6: Rehearsal
Day 7: Shoot & Edit
Day 8: Monday, Nov. 7th -- Run/Prepare voting booths, ballots, etc.
Day 9: Election Day, Nov. 8th -- Mock Election
Day 10: Election counting and data comparison
Lesson Sequence:
Part A: The Structure and Scope of the US Election Process
Lesson 1) Unit 3, Lesson #1 -- How are US Elections Structured
Lesson 2) Unit 3, Lesson #2 – Analyzing US Election trends
Lesson 3) Unit 4, Lesson #3 – Reading about US Elections
Part B: Voting and individual participation
Lesson 3) Unit 3, Lesson #3 – Individual Participation in Elections
Assessment: -- Unit Assessment:
Formative Assessment #1 – Fairness within the US election system – quick write
Summative Assessment #1 – Election Concept Terms
Summative Assessment #2 – Elections Project
Students will work cooperatively to research:
Part I: Both American government classes will work together to research 5 different areas of the election and develop a 3 to 5-minute news style video clip explaining the each to the school. This news show will be 20 minutes in total length and be in a professional and journalistic format.
Part II: American government students will conduct and run our school-wide mock election on Tuesday, XXXXXXXXX. This includes all of the requirements of developing, collecting, recording, and reporting out all of the ballots for the school.
Unit Objectives and Scope:
Unit Big Idea/Universal Concept Connection: Consequences
Students will be able to understand, analyze, and evaluate:
Part A) The Structure and Scope of the US Election Process
Part B) Voting and individual participation
Course Essential Question: Essential Question #3: Why is citizen participation important in American government?
Daily Guiding Questions (AIMs):
Part A:
- AIM Question: How do American elections determine the kind of people who govern us?
Part B:
- AIM Question: Do elections make a real difference in what laws get passed?
Sequence/Activities:
Overview:
Unit 3 introduces students to the concept of the US election process. Students will conduct a unit long research project to teach the entire school about how US elections work. To achieve this objective, students will address the following lesson objectives:
- Objective: Students will be able to synthesize together the different parts of the American election with the goal of teaching all ACE Charter High School students about how American elections, and specifically the 2016 election, operate.
Lesson Sequence: (Entire unit is built around one project-based assessment)
Unit #4 Summative Assessment -- Teaching the American Election Process
Day 1: Topic Selection and group proposal
Day 2 to 5: Research and prepare
Day 6: Rehearsal
Day 7: Shoot & Edit
Day 8: Monday, Nov. 7th -- Run/Prepare voting booths, ballots, etc.
Day 9: Election Day, Nov. 8th -- Mock Election
Day 10: Election counting and data comparison
Lesson Sequence:
Part A: The Structure and Scope of the US Election Process
Lesson 1) Unit 3, Lesson #1 -- How are US Elections Structured
Lesson 2) Unit 3, Lesson #2 – Analyzing US Election trends
Lesson 3) Unit 4, Lesson #3 – Reading about US Elections
Part B: Voting and individual participation
Lesson 3) Unit 3, Lesson #3 – Individual Participation in Elections
Assessment: -- Unit Assessment:
Formative Assessment #1 – Fairness within the US election system – quick write
Summative Assessment #1 – Election Concept Terms
Summative Assessment #2 – Elections Project
Students will work cooperatively to research:
Part I: Both American government classes will work together to research 5 different areas of the election and develop a 3 to 5-minute news style video clip explaining the each to the school. This news show will be 20 minutes in total length and be in a professional and journalistic format.
Part II: American government students will conduct and run our school-wide mock election on Tuesday, XXXXXXXXX. This includes all of the requirements of developing, collecting, recording, and reporting out all of the ballots for the school.
Unit 3: Warm-ups
Warm-up #41 10/29/18
1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast:
Link 1: www.cnn.com/cnn10
Warm-up #42 10/30/18
1) State two arguments for the electoral college:
2) State two arguments against the electoral college:
3) Which side to you fall on and why?
Warm-up #43 10/31/18
1) What does FAFSA stand for:
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=107&v=1c1gNefSw78
Warm-up #44 11/01/18
1) One thing you learned this week (in any class)?
2) One thing you need more help with (in any class)?
3) What is one question that you have about the structure of the electoral college and/or popular vote elections?
Warm-up #45 11/05/18
1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast:
Link 1: www.cnn.com/cnn10
Warm-up #46 11/06/18
1) Please follow the link and answer my poll question:
Link: https://pollev.com/johnmiddleto240
Warm-up #47 11/07/18
1) Please follow the link and answer my poll question:
Link: https://pollev.com/johnmiddleto240
Warm-up #48 11/08/18
1) One thing you learned this week (in any class)?
2) One thing you need more help with (in any class)?
3) Using the ideological test that we completed as your guide, what did you learn about your own views vs. that of the rest of the nation?
Warm-up #49 11/15/18
1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast:
Link 1: www.cnn.com/cnn10
Warm-up #50 11/19/18
1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast:
Link 1: www.cnn.com/cnn10
Warm-up #51 11/20/18
1) This Thanksgiving 2018, what are some things you are thankful for and why?
Unit 4: Federalism
Unit Big Idea/Universal Concept Connection: Conflict
Students will be able to evaluate the extent that federalism creates:
Part A) Structures in Governance
Part B) Conflicts in Governance
Course Essential Question: Essential Question #4: Does Federalism work? Evaluate the decision-making process that involves local, state, and federal governments.
Daily Guiding Questions (AIMs):
Part A:
AIM Question: How are conflicts both created and solved due to Federalism?
Part B:
AIM Question: How would you adapt federalism to account for some of the conflicts it creates?
Sequence/Activities:
Overview:
This unit of student asks students to analyze the basic structure of federalism in the United States across the (A) Federal, (B) State, and (C) Local level. The desired results for this unit are for students to evaluate how our nation divides up governmental powers amongst the federal, state, and local level to promote localized governance, devise cultural traditions and debates, and to limit the power of any one level of government. Students are asked to understand the specific roles and responsibilities of each power, analyze significant policy and legal issues that appear within federalism (such as Gun Control, Health Care, Education policy, Abortion, Marriage, Immigration, and Tax structure), and lastly evaluate the conflicts between powers that are created due to federalist structures. Students will be exposed to a historical look at issues that have developed between the federal, state, and local governments, in addition to conflicts between the Federal State and tribal governments as a result of federalism. Students will be asked to study the role of the individual citizen within federalism (such as voting, taxes, jury service, and military service). Students will study supplemental case study texts to understand two major federalism Supreme Court cases: McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) and United States v. Lopez (1995) to determine how the court system has defined the relationships between the states and the federal government over time. Students will then be asked to apply those primary sources to the overarching theme of the unit – federalism.
Lesson Sequence:
Part A: Structures in Governance
Lesson 1) What is Federalism – A More Perfect Unit Film Analysis
Lesson 2) Tax Policy
Lesson 3) Local Governance under federalism
Part B: Conflicts in Governance
Lesson 4) Federalism and Indian Relations
Lesson 5) Federalism Case Study
Unit Assessments:
Formative Assessment #1 – Quick write: To what extent do you encounter issues related to federalism within your own life?
Summative Assessment #1 – Federalism Concept Assessment
Summative Assessment #2 – Case Study Analysis and Presentation
Unit Big Idea/Universal Concept Connection: Conflict
Students will be able to evaluate the extent that federalism creates:
Part A) Structures in Governance
Part B) Conflicts in Governance
Course Essential Question: Essential Question #4: Does Federalism work? Evaluate the decision-making process that involves local, state, and federal governments.
Daily Guiding Questions (AIMs):
Part A:
AIM Question: How are conflicts both created and solved due to Federalism?
Part B:
AIM Question: How would you adapt federalism to account for some of the conflicts it creates?
Sequence/Activities:
Overview:
This unit of student asks students to analyze the basic structure of federalism in the United States across the (A) Federal, (B) State, and (C) Local level. The desired results for this unit are for students to evaluate how our nation divides up governmental powers amongst the federal, state, and local level to promote localized governance, devise cultural traditions and debates, and to limit the power of any one level of government. Students are asked to understand the specific roles and responsibilities of each power, analyze significant policy and legal issues that appear within federalism (such as Gun Control, Health Care, Education policy, Abortion, Marriage, Immigration, and Tax structure), and lastly evaluate the conflicts between powers that are created due to federalist structures. Students will be exposed to a historical look at issues that have developed between the federal, state, and local governments, in addition to conflicts between the Federal State and tribal governments as a result of federalism. Students will be asked to study the role of the individual citizen within federalism (such as voting, taxes, jury service, and military service). Students will study supplemental case study texts to understand two major federalism Supreme Court cases: McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) and United States v. Lopez (1995) to determine how the court system has defined the relationships between the states and the federal government over time. Students will then be asked to apply those primary sources to the overarching theme of the unit – federalism.
Lesson Sequence:
Part A: Structures in Governance
Lesson 1) What is Federalism – A More Perfect Unit Film Analysis
Lesson 2) Tax Policy
Lesson 3) Local Governance under federalism
Part B: Conflicts in Governance
Lesson 4) Federalism and Indian Relations
Lesson 5) Federalism Case Study
Unit Assessments:
Formative Assessment #1 – Quick write: To what extent do you encounter issues related to federalism within your own life?
Summative Assessment #1 – Federalism Concept Assessment
Summative Assessment #2 – Case Study Analysis and Presentation
Unit 4: Warm-ups
Warm-up #52 11/26/18
1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast:
Link 1: www.cnn.com/cnn10
Warm-up #53 11/27/18
1) What issues relating to federalism do you notice?
2) How might federalism actually help during this natural disaster?
Warm-up #52 11/26/18
1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast:
Link 1: www.cnn.com/cnn10
Warm-up #53 11/27/18
1) What issues relating to federalism do you notice?
2) How might federalism actually help during this natural disaster?
Warm-up #54 11/28/18
1) Taking the issue that we saw yesterday with Harborside:
a) What are the criminal conflicts shown:
b) What are the economic conflicts shown:
c) What are the social conflicts shown:
Warm-up #55 11/29/18
1) One thing you learned this week (in any class)?
2) One thing you need more help with (in any class)?
3) Using this film as your guide, explain one issue that federalism creates:
Warm-up #56 12/03/18
1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast:
Link 1: www.cnn.com/cnn10
1) Taking the issue that we saw yesterday with Harborside:
a) What are the criminal conflicts shown:
b) What are the economic conflicts shown:
c) What are the social conflicts shown:
Warm-up #55 11/29/18
1) One thing you learned this week (in any class)?
2) One thing you need more help with (in any class)?
3) Using this film as your guide, explain one issue that federalism creates:
Warm-up #56 12/03/18
1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast:
Link 1: www.cnn.com/cnn10
Unit 5: The Bill of Rights and Civil Liberties
Unit Objectives and Scope:
Unit Big Idea/Universal Concept Connection: Power
Students will be able to understand, analyze, and then evaluate the how American Law deals with issues of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties through the following issues:
Part A: The Bill of Rights and Equal Protection under the law
Part B: Relevant issues of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties in American law
Course Essential Question: Essential Question #5: To what extent is the US Constitution equitable?
Daily Guiding Questions (AIMs):
Part A:
AIM Question: What does, and from whom, the Bill of Rights protect?
Part B:
AIM Question: In what specific ways are civil rights and civil liberties being challenged by 21st Century issues?
Sequence/Activities:
Overview:
Through Unit 5, students will conduct evaluate modern issues relation to civil rights and civil liberties in the 21st Century. Students will explore case study topics ranging from: the court system, race and civil rights, equal rights, equal protection under the law, majority rule vs. minority rights, democratic values, landmark civil rights cases, and the role of the media in shaping public opinion. Students will analyze primary sources, including MLK’s Letter from Birmingham Jail (1963) and case briefs from Loving v. Virginia (1967) and Roe v. Wade (1973) to evaluate how the concept of equal protection under the law often leads to a conflict between the State and an individual’s personal rights. Students will conclude this unit of study by answering a series of constitutional issues statements to demonstrate that they can link specific Constitutional amendments to legal scenario questions.
Lesson Sequence:
Part A: What is economics
Lesson 1) The structure and purpose of the Bill of Rights – “It’s a Free Country”
Lesson 2) Bill of Rights Inquiry Investigation – Individual Student Research Project
Lesson 3) Primary Source Analysis – Eminent Domain
Lesson 4) Primary Source Analysis – MLK’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (1963)
Part B: Economic Systems
Lesson 5) What are Civil Rights vs. Civil Liberties?
Lesson 6) Case Study Analysis – Major Civil Rights cases
Unit Assessments:
Formative Assessment #1 – Quick write: What do you see as the America's greatest civil rights or civil liberties challenge over the next 25 years and why?
Summative Assessment #1 – Bill of Rights and Civil Liberties Concept Terms Assessment
Summative Assessment #2 – Legal Analysis questions assessment
Unit Objectives and Scope:
Unit Big Idea/Universal Concept Connection: Power
Students will be able to understand, analyze, and then evaluate the how American Law deals with issues of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties through the following issues:
Part A: The Bill of Rights and Equal Protection under the law
Part B: Relevant issues of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties in American law
Course Essential Question: Essential Question #5: To what extent is the US Constitution equitable?
Daily Guiding Questions (AIMs):
Part A:
AIM Question: What does, and from whom, the Bill of Rights protect?
Part B:
AIM Question: In what specific ways are civil rights and civil liberties being challenged by 21st Century issues?
Sequence/Activities:
Overview:
Through Unit 5, students will conduct evaluate modern issues relation to civil rights and civil liberties in the 21st Century. Students will explore case study topics ranging from: the court system, race and civil rights, equal rights, equal protection under the law, majority rule vs. minority rights, democratic values, landmark civil rights cases, and the role of the media in shaping public opinion. Students will analyze primary sources, including MLK’s Letter from Birmingham Jail (1963) and case briefs from Loving v. Virginia (1967) and Roe v. Wade (1973) to evaluate how the concept of equal protection under the law often leads to a conflict between the State and an individual’s personal rights. Students will conclude this unit of study by answering a series of constitutional issues statements to demonstrate that they can link specific Constitutional amendments to legal scenario questions.
Lesson Sequence:
Part A: What is economics
Lesson 1) The structure and purpose of the Bill of Rights – “It’s a Free Country”
Lesson 2) Bill of Rights Inquiry Investigation – Individual Student Research Project
Lesson 3) Primary Source Analysis – Eminent Domain
Lesson 4) Primary Source Analysis – MLK’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (1963)
Part B: Economic Systems
Lesson 5) What are Civil Rights vs. Civil Liberties?
Lesson 6) Case Study Analysis – Major Civil Rights cases
Unit Assessments:
Formative Assessment #1 – Quick write: What do you see as the America's greatest civil rights or civil liberties challenge over the next 25 years and why?
Summative Assessment #1 – Bill of Rights and Civil Liberties Concept Terms Assessment
Summative Assessment #2 – Legal Analysis questions assessment
Unit 5: Warm-ups
Warm-up #57 12/04/18
1) What is one constitutional right that you hold most dear? Why? What? How?
Warm-up #58 12/05/18
1) Read the text of the 14th Amendment: What does it say? What does it mean?
Link: https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/amendments/amendment-xiv
Warm-up #59 12/06/18
1) Read the texts of the 15th and 24th Amendments: What does each say? What does each mean?
2) Compare and Contrast each:
Warm-up #57 12/04/18
1) What is one constitutional right that you hold most dear? Why? What? How?
Warm-up #58 12/05/18
1) Read the text of the 14th Amendment: What does it say? What does it mean?
Link: https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/amendments/amendment-xiv
Warm-up #59 12/06/18
1) Read the texts of the 15th and 24th Amendments: What does each say? What does each mean?
2) Compare and Contrast each:
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Unit 6: Active Democracy
Unit Objectives and Scope:
Unit Big Idea/Universal Concept Connection: Community
Students will be able to understand, analyze, and evaluate:
Part A) Activating your political voice.
Course Essential Question: Essential Question #6: Which issues are you most passionate about and why?
Daily Guiding Questions (AIMs):
Part A:
AIM Question 1: What is your role within our democracy?
Sequence/Activities:
Overview:
Unit 6 is a capstone unit within American Government. Through it, students are asked to research a modern constitutional issue of their choosing to evaluate their individual role in promoting and protecting it within an active democracy. The objective for this project is for students to both gain a better understanding across all sides of an issue that is relevant to them, but to also gain a more political voice along the way. Students will conduct the unit long research project and then present their findings at ACE’s annual constitution fair.
Activity Outline:
ACE Constitutional Fair Project
Objective: Students will be able to research a current geopolitical issue with the stated goal of being able to evaluate how that specific issue is challenging the current meaning of the Constitution with a 21st-century context.
Essential Question #6: Which issues are you most passionate about and why?
Graded Project Sections:
1) Positional Statement – Developing a researched point-of-view
2) The Process – Interview Questions for an expert in the area
3) The Product -- Visual Representation Board
4) The Presentation -- Constitutional Fair Presentation, Date XXXXXXXXXXXX
Steps and Directions:
Step 1: Topic and partner selection (Only groups of 1 to 2 students). You must have this approved by Mr. Middleton. You may not change your topic once it is selected and you may not work in a group larger than two students.
Step 2: Position argument -- Before you begin researching your topic, develop a point-of-view statement and a thesis argument about your constitutional issue. Present your topic idea to the entire class via a project proposal.
Step 3: Presents qualitative and quantitative factual support that is cited correctly using MLA formatting.
Step 4: Visual Tri-fold Board. Your board should address the following specific areas: (A) Why does your topic matter within a 21st Century context, (B) What specific amendment(s) does your issue relate to and how (C) Opposing viewpoints for both sides of the debate and how you feel your audience should think about the issue, (D) Why is your issue controversial? & (E) your point of view. Explain the basis for the controversy. Can you relate the controversy to American values and government principles?
Grading:
Learning Goal 1: Position argument (Project aim) -- 5 points
Learning Goal 2: Datasets (Factual support) -- 5 points
Learning Goal 3: The visual product representation (tri-fold board) -- 10 points
Learning Goal 4: Advocacy (Constitutional Fair Participation) -- 10 points
30 points total
Unit Objectives and Scope:
Unit Big Idea/Universal Concept Connection: Community
Students will be able to understand, analyze, and evaluate:
Part A) Activating your political voice.
Course Essential Question: Essential Question #6: Which issues are you most passionate about and why?
Daily Guiding Questions (AIMs):
Part A:
AIM Question 1: What is your role within our democracy?
Sequence/Activities:
Overview:
Unit 6 is a capstone unit within American Government. Through it, students are asked to research a modern constitutional issue of their choosing to evaluate their individual role in promoting and protecting it within an active democracy. The objective for this project is for students to both gain a better understanding across all sides of an issue that is relevant to them, but to also gain a more political voice along the way. Students will conduct the unit long research project and then present their findings at ACE’s annual constitution fair.
Activity Outline:
ACE Constitutional Fair Project
Objective: Students will be able to research a current geopolitical issue with the stated goal of being able to evaluate how that specific issue is challenging the current meaning of the Constitution with a 21st-century context.
Essential Question #6: Which issues are you most passionate about and why?
Graded Project Sections:
1) Positional Statement – Developing a researched point-of-view
2) The Process – Interview Questions for an expert in the area
3) The Product -- Visual Representation Board
4) The Presentation -- Constitutional Fair Presentation, Date XXXXXXXXXXXX
Steps and Directions:
Step 1: Topic and partner selection (Only groups of 1 to 2 students). You must have this approved by Mr. Middleton. You may not change your topic once it is selected and you may not work in a group larger than two students.
Step 2: Position argument -- Before you begin researching your topic, develop a point-of-view statement and a thesis argument about your constitutional issue. Present your topic idea to the entire class via a project proposal.
Step 3: Presents qualitative and quantitative factual support that is cited correctly using MLA formatting.
Step 4: Visual Tri-fold Board. Your board should address the following specific areas: (A) Why does your topic matter within a 21st Century context, (B) What specific amendment(s) does your issue relate to and how (C) Opposing viewpoints for both sides of the debate and how you feel your audience should think about the issue, (D) Why is your issue controversial? & (E) your point of view. Explain the basis for the controversy. Can you relate the controversy to American values and government principles?
Grading:
Learning Goal 1: Position argument (Project aim) -- 5 points
Learning Goal 2: Datasets (Factual support) -- 5 points
Learning Goal 3: The visual product representation (tri-fold board) -- 10 points
Learning Goal 4: Advocacy (Constitutional Fair Participation) -- 10 points
30 points total
Unit 6: Warm-ups
Warm-up #60 12/10/18
1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast:
Link 1: www.cnn.com/cnn10
Warm-up #61 12/11/18
1) In what ways could you use data (both qualitative and quantitative) to make your topic's arguments for you? Consider what good data and bad data might look like for your topic. Consider what the reader is going to takeaway from the data that you use.
Warm-up #62 12/12/18
1) Develop for your topic:
A) An Ethos argument
B) A Pathos argument
C) A Logos argument
Warm-up #60 12/10/18
1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast:
Link 1: www.cnn.com/cnn10
Warm-up #61 12/11/18
1) In what ways could you use data (both qualitative and quantitative) to make your topic's arguments for you? Consider what good data and bad data might look like for your topic. Consider what the reader is going to takeaway from the data that you use.
Warm-up #62 12/12/18
1) Develop for your topic:
A) An Ethos argument
B) A Pathos argument
C) A Logos argument
Warm-up #63 12/13/18
1) Please follow the link and answer my poll question:
Link: https://pollev.com/johnmiddleto240
1) Please follow the link and answer my poll question:
Link: https://pollev.com/johnmiddleto240
2017 American Government Material
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Unit 1: Warm-ups Warm-up #1 08/15/17 1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast: Link 1: www.cnn.com/cnn10 Warm-up #2 08/16/17 1) A common misconception about power is that: A) It is always a visible phenomenon. B) Not synonymous with a formalized authority C) Hidden power is sometimes the most potent type. D) None of the above E) All of the above 2) Why are you correct? Warm-up #3 08/17/17 1) With authority, how is the authority actually given? A) Express B) Implied C) Both, expressed or implied 2) Why are you correct? Warm-up #4 08/21/17 1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast: Link 1: www.cnn.com/cnn10 Warm-up #5 08/22/17 1) Do you feel you relate to our laws or not? And why? Warm-up #6 08/23/17 1) Law is not: Warm-up #7 08/24/17 1) To what extent is there a connection between a nation's economic status and the rule of law? Give an example to prove your point. Warm-up #8 08/28/17 1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast: Link 1: www.cnn.com/cnn10 Warm-up #9 08/29/17 1) What makes a country secure? 2) What is the role of the individual vs. that of the government in making a nation secure? Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2pDHgvWuDU&index=27&list=PL3nFGrtbkwqRqcwa4Ke7U-TwnxWO4RY8c Warm-up #10 08/30/17 1) How do you see power relationships within your own community? Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MeEd8Nl9a4&list=PL3nFGrtbkwqRqcwa4Ke7U-TwnxWO4RY8c&index=28 Warm-up #11 09/05/17 1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast: Link 1: www.cnn.com/cnn10 Warm-up #12 09/06/17 1) Compare and contrast a direct vs. a representative democracy. Warm-up #13 09/07/17 1) Select the quote that you feel best addresses your ideal concept of what the rule of law is. Be sure to justify your answer. Warm-up #13 09/11/17
1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast: Link 1: www.cnn.com/cnn10 Warm-up #14 09/12/17
Use the graph below to answer question #1 1) Which data point surprises you the most and why? 2) Considering the 15th anniversary of 9/11 and the fact that it is a general election year, what have you noticed about how Americans talk about diversity and equality within national conversation? Link: http://www.npr.org/2016/09/07/492413599/sept-11-marked-turning-point-for-muslims-in-increasingly-diverse-america 
Warm-up #15 09/13/17
1) The Iraq and Afghanistan wars are now America's longest. In your opinion, what is the proper way to care for the Veterans of these wars? Warm-up #16 09/14/17 1) What issues relating to the rule of law do you see within the Rohingya crisis within Myanmar? Which cost surprises you the most about the total cost of 9/11 and why? LInk: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/09/08/us/sept-11-reckoning/cost-graphic.html?_r=1& 1) What does the term equality mean to you? 2) What does the term liberty mean to you? Warm-up #17 09/18/17 1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast: Link 1: www.cnn.com/cnn10 Warm-up #17 1) On the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty appears a sonnet, "The New Colossus," by Emma Lazarus. It reads, in part, "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to..." Yearning to what? A. breathe free B. live free C. prosper at their own hand D. begin anew Warm-up #18 Follow the link to record your answer. Please also write it on your warm-up document. 1) The Constitution -- State one word that comes to mind. Link: PollEv.com/free_text_polls/adnKPy5cgYCqXc3/web Warm-up #19 09/15/16 1) Describe one conflict within the Constitution: 2) Describe one compromise within the Constitution: Warm-up #20 09/19/16 1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast: 2) Please respond to one specific statement from President Obama: Link 1: http://www.cnn.com/studentnews/ Link 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ed-_KJ4fE0g Warm-up # 1) In what specific was does this image address the concepts from the previous class? 2) Much of the theoretical underpinnings and rhetoric of the Declaration of Independence were drawn heavily from. A) Adam Smith B) John Locke C) Thomas Hardy D) Karl Marx E) John Milton Warm-up # 1) Who are the individuals within this painting? 2) What do you think it is trying to say about the belief system of the culture and time that created it? 3) Compare and contrast it with the image of King James I from the previous class: 
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Unit 1: Lesson Documents Unit 1, Lesson 1: What is equality in America? Objective: Students will be able to evaluate the extent to which their own life experience's are or are not representative of the statement "All men are created equal." Students will conduct a document based analysis, as well as a personal reflection statement to compare and contrast the various opinions and forms of equality in America. Essential Question: What does equality in America specifically look like to you? 
Unit 1, Lesson 2: What is Liberty in America?
Objective: Students will be about to evaluate how the concept of individual interpretation has shaped, and continues to shape, the development of liberty in America. Essential Question: Determine the role of a government in ensuring liberty and equality is a protected right for its citizens:
Unit 1, Lesson 3: What is democracy within my own community research project?
Objective: Students will be able to apply their understanding of democracy in America through the development of a "People on the Streets" style research project. Students will conduct a series of interviews with community members within their community to identify the similarities and differences between their own personal democratic experience and that of other members of their community. Students will present their findings in a portfolio presentation and through the development of a personal website. Essential Question: To what extent does my community demonstrate the democratic experience? Unit 1, Lesson 4: Liberty: Blows must Decide
Objective: Students will be able to construct and formulate a historical event narrative of the events leading up the writing of the US Declaration of Independence with the stated goal of being able to evaluate the level that legal vs. constitutional rights played in the development of the DOI. Essential Question: Why did the interactions between the American Colonies and the British Empire from 1774 to 1776 lead to the writing of the US Declaration of Independence? Unit 1, Lesson 5: Natural vs. Legal Constitutional Rights within the US Declaration of Independence
Objective: Students will be able to assess the influences of natural and legal constitutional rights within the development and writing of the US Declaration of Independence. Students will conduct a document-based analysis of the to determine how Jefferson's arguments demonstrate a synthesis of both types of law, as well as the philosophical undercurrents of prior political thinkers. Essential Question: In what ways does natural and legal constitutional rights appear within the US Declaration of Independence? | ||||||||
Unit 2: The Constitution
Unit Objectives and Scope:
Unit 2 requires the students to complete a detailed document based analysis of the US Constitution, to understand each of its 27 Amendments, and to analyze some of the legal issues behind the development of specific constitutional amendments. Students will begin this unit by understanding the 6 basic principles of the US Constitution: Popular sovereignty, limited government, separation of powers, checks and balances, judicial review, and federalism. Students will establish an understanding of each of those 6 concepts by participating in various direct instruction lessons and through reading of the primary text. Students will then conduct a document based analysis of the Articles of Constitution to establish how each of those 6 concepts appears within the Constitution. Lastly, students will use these concepts to conduct a primary and secondary source research project on a modern constitutional issue. Students will be assessed based off their individual abilities to connect the constitutional interpretations to their own value system.
Unit Study Guide:
Unit Objectives and Scope:
Unit 2 requires the students to complete a detailed document based analysis of the US Constitution, to understand each of its 27 Amendments, and to analyze some of the legal issues behind the development of specific constitutional amendments. Students will begin this unit by understanding the 6 basic principles of the US Constitution: Popular sovereignty, limited government, separation of powers, checks and balances, judicial review, and federalism. Students will establish an understanding of each of those 6 concepts by participating in various direct instruction lessons and through reading of the primary text. Students will then conduct a document based analysis of the Articles of Constitution to establish how each of those 6 concepts appears within the Constitution. Lastly, students will use these concepts to conduct a primary and secondary source research project on a modern constitutional issue. Students will be assessed based off their individual abilities to connect the constitutional interpretations to their own value system.
Unit Study Guide:
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Unit 2: Warm-ups
Warm-up #17 09/18/17 1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast: Link 1: www.cnn.com/cnn10 Warm-up #19 09/19/17 1) Select one document, work of art, piece of music, building, or book that you feel has change human history in some way and state why. Be ready to share-out with the sub. Warm-up #20 09/20/17 Which fundamental political idea is expressed in the Declaration of Independence? A) The government should guarantee every citizen economic security. B) The central government and state governments should have equal power. C) If the government denies its people certain basic rights, that government can be overthrown. D) Rulers derive their right to govern from God and are therefore bound to govern in the nation’s best interest. Warm-up #21 09/21/17 Do this warm-up in the correct order. First use the link below to answer question one, then use Link 2 and the video to answer question two: Link 1: historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5139/ Question 1: What similarities do you notice between the US Declaration of Independence of (1776) and Declaration of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (1945) made by Ho Chi Minh? Be ready to share out. Link 2: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/ho_chi_minh.shtml Video: Question 2: What do the secondary sources do to your idea of who Ho Chi Minh was? How do they conflict with speech from Ho Chi Minh from 1945?
Warm-up #22 09/25/17 1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast: Link 1: www.cnn.com/cnn10 Warm-up #23 09/26/17 1) Which three principles are not part of the six basic governmental principles within the US Constitution: A) Checks and Balances G) Judicial Review B) Peerage H) Federalism C) Popular Sovereignty I) Limited Government D) Meritocracy E) Separation of Powers F) Access Warm-up # 24 09/27/17 1) Which Article of the Constitution best supports your principle? 2) How? Warm-up #25 09/28/17 To what extent does your principle of the Constitution help the document adapt to changing times and why? Warm-up #26 10/02/17 1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast: Link 1: www.cnn.com/cnn10 Warm-up #27 10/03/17 1) When you look at Picasso's Guernica, what do you see? Link: http://www.bbc.com/news/av/39722841/understanding-picassos-guernica 
Warm-up #28 10/04/17 1) How do you see conflict in your own life? 2) How do you see compromise in your own life? Warm-up #29 10/05/17 1) Which of the following is true about checks and balances within the US Constitution? a) The requirement that states lower the drinking age to 21 as a condition to receive funds under the Federal Highway Grant b) Allow media criticism during election cycles c) The Supreme Courts ability to overturn a lower courts decision d) The requirement that federal court appointments be approved by the Senate Warm-up #30 10/10/17 1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast: Link 1: www.cnn.com/cnn10 Warm-up #31 10/11/17 1) Compare and Contrast the House of Representatives with the Senate: Warm-up #32 10/12/17 1) The Constitution as originally ratified in 1788 included which provision regarding majoritarian democracy? a. Election of members of the House of Representatives b. Election of members of the Senate c. Election of the President d. Ratification of treaties e. Confirmation of presidential appointments Warm-up #33 10/16/17 1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast: Link 1: www.cnn.com/cnn10 Warm-up #34 10/17/17 Decide if each description below refers to the House of Representatives (H) or the Senate (S). Write the appropriate letter on the line before each statement. 1) ____ Branch in which members serve two-year terms 2) ____ Branch referred to as the "upper house." 3) ____ Branch in which members are required to be at least twenty-five years old. 4) ____ Branch whose members have the larger constituency. 5) ____ Branch in which the majority of work is done in committees. Warm-up #35 10/18/17 1) The presiding officer of the House of Representatives is the: A. Vice president B. Majority leader C. Majority whip D. Speaker Warm-up #36 10/19/17 1) Explore the following three links and use each to fully address questions 2 and 3. Link 1: http://archive.ipu.org/wmn-e/classif.htm Link 2: www.cawp.rutgers.edu/women-us-congress-2017 Link 3: www.ncsl.org/legislators-staff/legislators/womens-legislative-network/women-in-state-legislatures-for-2016.aspx 2) Considering the data presented within the three links, how should we as a society address the issues Mrs. Albright exposes within her quote: "We are very hip on the fact that America's always No. 1. On this we are not, in terms of the number of women in our legislative branches and obviously as head of state. We need to push on that. I hate to say this: It isn't all men's fault. I think some of it is our own attitude and approach. Some of it very healthy, that women want to make choices about their lives and how they want to spend their time, and what they value." -- Madeleine Albright 3) With such a clear representation gap in American government, to what extent is our government truly representative of the people? Warm-up #38 10/23/17 1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast: Link 1: www.cnn.com/cnn10 Warm-up #39 10/24/17 1) What is a bill vs. that of a law? 2) Using the "How a Bill becomes a Law" video, identify the parts a bill must travel through in order to become a law. 3) Which part do you feel would most likely prevent a bill from becoming a law? Warm-up #40 10/25/17
1) How is the use of executive orders being critiqued here: 2) Does the commentary appear in support or against President Obama use of executive orders and why? 3) Follow the two links and look for trends or questions that you have regarding the history of executive orders.
Link: www.presidency.ucsb.edu/data/orders.php Link: www.ranker.com/list/bold-executive-orders-by-presidents/mike-rothschild Warm-up #41 10/26/17
Decide if each description below refers to the House of Representatives (H) or the Senate (S). Write the appropriate letter on the line before each statement. 1) ____ Chamber in which a bill of revenue (a tax) originates 2) ____ Chamber in which an official can be impeached 3) ____ Chamber in which an impeached official can be tried 4) ____ Chamber in which the vice president can break a tie vote 5) ____ Chamber that can approve presidential appointees Warm-up #42 10/30/17 1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast: Link 1: www.cnn.com/cnn10 Warm-up #43 10/31/17 1) Please follow the link to answer the live poll question: Link: PollEv.com/free_text_polls/osIIaPtZl0ndjyI/web Warm-up #44 11/01/17
Analyze your group's rubric and use it to answer the following two questions. 1) One kudo that stood out to you: 2) One suggestion that stood out to you: 3) What did you learn about your figure from your rubric? Warm-up #45 11/02/17 1) Using the event of Hurricane Katrina as your guide, what is the correct balance of clean-up and recovery responsibility charged to the State and Federal levels of government? Who should pay for what? Warm-up #47 11/06/17
1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast: Link 1: www.cnn.com/cnn10 Warm-up #48 11/07/17 Which of the following is true about the federal system? A) It operates under a system of unified sovereignty. B) It places all power under the control of the federal government. C) It balances power between the federal and state governments. D) It puts most of the power in the legislative branch. Warm-up #49 11/08/17
Which of the following is NOT true about the way the federal system has developed in the United States? A) The Supreme Court's constructions of federalism have changed over time. B) The authority of state governments has expanded significantly. C) The complexity of the levels of government working together has increased. D) It has become more confusing for citizens to determine what their rights are. Warm-up #50 11/09/17 1) How does this story address federalism? 2) How does this story highlight some major benefits of federalism? 3) How does this story highlight some major negatives within federalism? Link: http://www.npr.org/2012/03/30/149094135/lone-star-state-of-mind-could-texas-go-it-alone?ps=rs Warm-up #51 11/13/17 1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast: Link 1: www.cnn.com/cnn10 Warm-up #52 11/14/17 Please follow the link below to answer the warm-up question. Please just write Poll Everywhere on your warm-up document. Link: https://pollev.com/JOHNMIDDLETO240 Warm-up #53 11/15/17 1) What are some of the inherent powers of tribal self-government? 2) How might some of these inherent powers lead to conflict between tribal governments and the outside communities (not just the federal government)? Warm-up #54 11/16/17 1) How do you see "deculturalization" in American schools today? Or do you and why? Warm-up #55 11/20/17 1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast: Link 1: www.cnn.com/cnn10 Warm-up #56 11/21/17 1) This Thanksgiving 2017, what are some things you are thankful for and why? Warm-up #57 11/27/17 1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast: Link 1: www.cnn.com/cnn10 Warm-up #58 11/28/17 1) What does infograph below tell us about how states are choosing to establish their tax policies on marijuana? 2) What issues do you see from this data? 
Warm-up #59 11/29/17
1) Expressed powers are not: 2) Give an example of an implied power within our community: Warm-up #60 11/30/17
1) What themes do you notice within the image below? 
Warm-up #61 12/11/2017
1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast: Link 1: www.cnn.com/cnn10 Warm-up #62 12/12/2017 1) Please write out one question that you have for Ms. Ochoa: Warm-up #63 12/19/2017 1) After reviewing the attached link, who in your mind should determine the long term/legal status of land? IE one, the current generation, or the generations yet to come. Link: www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/12/08/climate/bears-ears-monument-trump.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fpolitics&action=click&contentCollection=politics®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=46&pgtype=sectionfront Warm-up #64 12/20/2017 1) Read the attached link and determine if this an issue we as a society need to address via a change to our laws: Link: http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/12/mass-shootings-mother-jones-full-data/ Warm-up #64 12/22/2017 1) The word of 2017 was tribalism. Scan through the images below, what takeaways do you have from the collection?
Warm-up #65 Use the attached PDF entitled "Exclusion Laws -- California" to answer the following questions: 1) What is this document? 2) When and where is it from? 3) What does this tell you about equal rights within California's history? Warm-up #65 1) Define equal protection under the law as granted within the 14th Amendment: Link to amendment: http://kids.laws.com/14th-amendment 2) To what extent does affirmative action confuse the 14th Amendment? Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saslKV1nDLw&feature=youtu.be Warm-up #66 1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast: Link 1: www.cnn.com/cnn10 
Warm-up #47 11/07/16 1) Create a KLW chart for our election video. (Know, Want to know, & Learned) Link 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bb6Adt8A-U Warm-up #48 11/08/16 1) As an academic, what do you think is going to happen this evening? Warm-up #49 11/09/16 1) Biggest surprise from last night and why? Warm-up #50 11/10/16 1) Pick a dream career: 2) Identify from your flashcard which specific skill/trait best aligns you to that dream career: Warm-up #51 11/14/16 1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast: 2) Please respond to one specific statement from President Obama: Link 1: http://www.cnn.com/studentnews/ Link 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQceTiBoOEY Warm-up #52 11/15/16 1) In what specific ways is a pen and paper helpful during an interview? 2) Research your color. Warm-up #53 11/16/16 1) Research one posted online job description of your dream career. Then tell me about the essential skills and experiences necessary for it. Write the link and title as well. Warm-up #54 11/17/16 Select something you've either created, led, designed, or worked on that you could include within a portfolio. 1) What is it? 2) Why did you pick it? 3) What does it tell the interviewer about you? Warm-up #55 11/28/16 1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast: 2) Please respond to one specific statement from President Obama: Link 1: http://www.cnn.com/studentnews/ Link 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIZDdnyMYr0 Warm-up #56 11/29/16 Watch the video below on biohacking and answer the two analysis questions below: 1) What potential concerns do you see with this type of "hacking"? 2) In light of those concerns, what should the role of the government be in regulating this new practice? Warm-up #57 11/30/16
Please write a thank you email to the Camarillo Chamber of Commerce member(s) who interviewed you yesterday. Address within your email: 1) A simply thank you statement 2) Two important personal reflections/takeaways you gained from the process 3) Invite the individuals back to ACE for our Spring Showcase in the Spring. Date:__05/05/17__ Warm-up #58 12/01/16 1) Using the Constitution USA film as your guide, or any current constitutional debate that you are familiar with, explain how a specific modern constitutional issue is challenging your sense of right and wrong. I.E. Freedom of religion within a public space, gun ownership, privacy and age of the internet. Please write your answer with as many specific examples as you can. Warm-up #60 12/07/2016 Use the attached PDF entitled "Exclusion Laws -- California" to answer the following questions: 1) What is this document? 2) When and where is it from? 3) What does this tell you about equal rights within California's history? Warm-up #61 12/12/2016
1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast: 2) Please respond to one specific statement from President Obama: Link 1: http://www.cnn.com/studentnews/ Link 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CW6NbZvR_w Warm-up #62 12/13/2016 1) Read the attached link and identify how this is a current issue under the 2nd Amendment: Link: http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/10/19/449972015/appeals-court-affirms-state-gun-control-laws-passed-after-sandy-hook-shooting Warm-up #63 12/14/2016 1) Define equal protection under the law as granted within the 14th Amendment: Link to amendment: http://kids.laws.com/14th-amendment 2) To what extent does affirmative action confuse the 14th Amendment? Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saslKV1nDLw&feature=youtu.be Warm-up #64 12/15/2016 1) Identifiy a issue or topic that you feel needs to be addressed through the development of a new law. Warm-up #28 A Day 11/09/2015 1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast: 2) Please respond to one specific statement from President Obama: Link 1: http://www.cnn.com/studentnews/ Link 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9mSTKUWS7U Warm-up #29 A Day 11/16/2015 1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast: 2) Please respond to one specific statement from President Obama: Link 1: http://www.cnn.com/studentnews/ Link 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWc_aHqaPeE Warm-up #30 A Day 11/18/2015 1) Do political advertisements work? What evidence do you have that supports your opinion? 2) Describe one that resonates with you. What was it? How did it relay its message? Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPW00i5CH6E Warm-up # 31 A Day 11/20/2015 Link: 1. Video Clip: The Cost of Campaigns (12 min.)
Warm-up # 32 A Day 11/23/2015 1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast: 2) Please respond to one specific statement from President Obama: Link 1: http://www.cnn.com/studentnews/ Link 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOcQl-3cAGI Warm-up # 33 A Day 11/30/15 1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast: 2) Please respond to one specific statement from President Obama: Link 1: http://www.cnn.com/studentnews/ Link 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wY4u7F2ujNQ Warm-up # 34 A Day 12/02/15 1) John Adams spoke in favor of “arms in the hands of citizens, to be used at individual discretion … in private self-defense.” Which side of the gun control debate is more likely to cite this quote? 2) John Adams spoke in favor or “arms in the hands of citizens, to be used at individual discretion … in private self-defense.” How might individuals on the other side of the gun control debate respond to this quotation? Warm-up # 35 A Day 12/07/15 1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast: 2) Please respond to one specific statement from President Obama: Link 1: http://www.cnn.com/studentnews/ Link 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHyB8fLiEMs Warm-up # 36 A Day 12/09/15 1) Why does the Constitution give the power to regulate trade among the States to the Federal Government? 2) Why do you think the Constitution has been amended so infrequently since 1789? Warm-up # 37 A Day 12/10/15 1) The Preamble to the Constitution begins with the words “We the People.” Was every person living in the United States in 1789 included in that collective “We”? 2) The Preamble to the Constitution begins with the words “We the People.” Which, if any, of the 27 amendments to the Constitution corrected the situation of exclusion from the collective “We”? Helpful Link: http://www.annenbergclassroom.org/page/a-guide-to-the-united-states-constitution Warm-up #38 A Day 12/11/15 1) Define equal protection under the law as granted within the 14th Amendment: Link to amendment: http://kids.laws.com/14th-amendment 2) To what extent does affirmative action confuse the 14th Amendment? Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saslKV1nDLw&feature=youtu.be Warm-up #39 A Day 12/14/15 1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast: 2) Please respond to one specific statement from President Obama: Link 1: http://www.cnn.com/studentnews/ Link 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwoXppkTnng Warm-up # 40 A Day 12/16/15 Develop a list of questions that you have about how the Federal government and the States interact with each other. Try to develop multiple question across different levels of critical thinking. Be ready to share your questions. You have 5 minutes! |
Unit 2: Lesson Documents
Unit 2, Lesson 1: The 6 Basic principles of the Constitution Objective: Students will be able to understand how the Articles of the U.S. Constitution outline 6 basic principles for our government to be structured with. Students will then determine the extent to which specific articles demonstrate those 6 principles and how those principles shape the rule of law and government within the US. Essential Question: In what ways does the U.S. Constitution outline the rule of law and governance within both the federal government and amongst the States? Unit 2, Lesson 2: Constitutional Conflict and Compromises
Objective: Students conduct a document based analysis to evaluate the extent to which the constitution was written to account for both historical as well as future political and governmental conflicts. Essential Questions: How is a sense of fear and distrust of a strong centralized government addressed within the US Constitution? Unit 2, Lesson 3: The Amendment Process
Objectives: Students will be able to determine how the structure and language of the US Constitution establishes fundamental principles of individual rights. Students will then be able to analyze specific issues within the constitution to research how individual interpretations are changing the meaning of law. Essential Questions: How is the Bill of Rights being challenged by 21st century issues? Unit 2, Lesson 4: Regulations and the Power of the Collective State
Objectives: Students will be able to use current event issues to define the concept of Eminent Domain and to understand which specific part of the US Constitution grants governmental bodies the right to use it. Students will then be able to understand how city and county planners use Eminent Domain within redevelopment planning with the stated goal of being able to evaluate the impacts this concept can have on the private-to-public relationship. Essential Question: Who should decide when a neighborhood should be torn down, gotten rid of, or rebuilt? What do you see as the proper role of private residents, business interest groups, city planners, and other community members within this debate? Unit 2, Lesson 5: Constitutional Issue Platform Assessment
Objective: Students will be able to research a current constitutional issue of their choosing to develop a political action platform around that issue. Students will be able to analyze how current case law and voter demographic trends are shaping current laws surround their issue with the stated goal of being able to understand the best way to solve the issue legally. Students will create an action platform surrounding the issue and present their research to the class within a town hall forum presentation. Essential Question: How is the U.S Constitution a living document? | ||
Unit 3: Federalism
Unit Objectives and Scope:
This unit asks students to analyze the basic structure of federalism in the United States. The desired results for this unit of study are for the students to understand how our nation divides up governmental powers among the federal, state, and local level. Students are asked to understand the specific roles and responsibilities of each power, analyze significant policy and legal issues that appear within federalism (such as Gun Control, Health Care, Education policy, Abortion, Marriage, Immigration, and Tax structure), and lastly evaluate the conflicts between powers that is significant within federalism structures. Students will be exposed to a historical look at issues that have developed between the federal government and tribal governments as a result of federalism. Students will be asked to study the role of the individual citizen within federalism (such as voting, taxes, jury service, and military service). Students will use our supplemental texts to understand several major federalism Supreme Court cases, such as Marbury v. Madison, McCulloch v. Maryland, Gibbons v. Ogden, United States v. Lopez, and Printz v. United States. Students will use our primary text to understand the unit’s two key academic concepts: the Supremacy Clause and the Commerce Clause. Students will then be asked to apply those two concepts to an individual research essay where students are asked to demonstrate they understand the specific roles and responsibilities that each power has, and how those roles and responsibilities can lead to conflict.
Unit Study Guide:
Unit Objectives and Scope:
This unit asks students to analyze the basic structure of federalism in the United States. The desired results for this unit of study are for the students to understand how our nation divides up governmental powers among the federal, state, and local level. Students are asked to understand the specific roles and responsibilities of each power, analyze significant policy and legal issues that appear within federalism (such as Gun Control, Health Care, Education policy, Abortion, Marriage, Immigration, and Tax structure), and lastly evaluate the conflicts between powers that is significant within federalism structures. Students will be exposed to a historical look at issues that have developed between the federal government and tribal governments as a result of federalism. Students will be asked to study the role of the individual citizen within federalism (such as voting, taxes, jury service, and military service). Students will use our supplemental texts to understand several major federalism Supreme Court cases, such as Marbury v. Madison, McCulloch v. Maryland, Gibbons v. Ogden, United States v. Lopez, and Printz v. United States. Students will use our primary text to understand the unit’s two key academic concepts: the Supremacy Clause and the Commerce Clause. Students will then be asked to apply those two concepts to an individual research essay where students are asked to demonstrate they understand the specific roles and responsibilities that each power has, and how those roles and responsibilities can lead to conflict.
Unit Study Guide:
| gov_unit_3_federalism_study_guide.pdf |
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Unit 3: Warm-ups and nightly homework assignments
Warm-up #34 A Day 12/01/14 and B Day 12/02/14 1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast: 2) Please respond to one specific statement from President Obama: Link 1: http://www.cnn.com/studentnews/ Link 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnilkdlOrBI Homework # 1 Due A Day 12/03 and B Day 12/05 Read section 4.1 and complete the section 4.1 assessment, questions 1-6. Please be sure to turn in a hard copy of this assignment. Warm-up #35 A Day 12/03/14 and B Day 12/04/14 1) Summarize federalism in your own words: 2) Read the following quotation from Thomas Jefferson and assess how his words still apply today. "Were we directed from Washington when to sow and when to reap, we should soon want for bread." Warm-up #36 B Day 12/05/14 1) Think of a specific issue within the State of California that you believe is created by federalism. Use that issue to answer the following questions: A) What is the issue? B) Why is it important to you? C) Yes or no, do you think other states would care about your issue and why? Warm-up #37 A Day 12/08/14 and B Day 12/09/14 1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast: 2) Please respond to one specific statement from President Obama: Link 1: http://www.cnn.com/studentnews/ Link 2: Warm-up #38 A Day 12/10/14 and B Day 12/11/14 1) How does this story address federalism? 2) How does this story highlight some major benefits of federalism? 3) How does this story highlight some major negatives within federalism? Link: http://www.npr.org/2012/03/30/149094135/lone-star-state-of-mind-could-texas-go-it-alone?ps=rs Warm-up #39 A Day 12/12/14 The Constitution also provides that: "The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States" -- Article IV, Section 2, Clause 1 1) What does this clause do? 2) Provide at least two examples of how the Privileges and Immunities Clause has affected your life or might do so in the future. Warm-up #40 A Day 12/15/14 and B Day 12/16/14 1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast: 2) Please respond to one specific statement from President Obama: Link 1: http://www.cnn.com/studentnews/ Link 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrKs6b0rJuE Warm-up #41 A Day 12/17/14 and B Day 12/18/14 1) What is one part of Federalism that frustrates you? 2) For the issue described in #1, develop a solution to that issue. Warm-up #42 B Day 12/19/14 1) What makes a story newsworthy? Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVwHCGAr_OE Warm-up #43 A Day 01/05/15 and B Day 01/06/15 1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast: 2) Please respond to one specific statement from President Obama: Link 1: http://www.cnn.com/studentnews/ Link 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWNVvavePMc Warm-up #44 A Day 01/07/15 and B Day 01/08/15 1) Compare and contrast a rider with a poison pill: Warm-up #45 A Day 01/09/14 Using the poverty and census data that we looked at during our last class, please answer the following questions: 1) What are some of the common themes that you noticed within each individual document? Between the two documents? 2) What are some major differences within each individual document? Between the two? 3) Taking our data sets into consideration, what do you see as the state of poverty within America? Warm-up #46 A Day 01/12/15 and B Day 01/13/15 1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast: 2) Please respond to one specific statement from President Obama: Link 1: http://www.cnn.com/studentnews/ Link 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59_GYoJHCXg Warm-up #47 A Day 01/14/15 and B Day 01/15/15 Link: http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-01-08/publish-or-not-publish-its-tough-question-charlie-hebdo-cartoons 1) How should we balance the rights of individuals with common good? 2) Are censorship and democracy compatible? |
Unit 3: Lesson Documents
Lesson #1 What is Federalism in America? Objective: Students will be able to understand why government at the federal, state, and local levels act the way do by analyzing how the divisions of the U.S. government under the Constitution influence government action in specific ways
Lesson #2 Federalism Court Case Analysis
Objective: Students will be able to connect the Commerce Clause, Supremacy Clause, the elastic clause, and the 10th and 14th Amendments together to evaluate how the divisions within American Federalism create governmental conflict.
Lesson #3A Federalism Debate
Objective: Students will be able to analyze and evaluate a specific issues (IE immigration reform) under federalism and note how that issue is complex due to States' Rights vs. Federal Rights Issues. Students will then be able to communicate arguments for and against their topic in an academic way.
Lesson #3B Federalism and Immigration
Objective: Students will analyze Albert Einstein’s Declaration of Intention and identify how the document demonstrates Article I, sections 8-10 of the Constitution in action. Students will also select a big idea of the Constitution that is contained within the document. Big ideas include: civic responsibility, checks and balances, enumerated power, implied power, separation of powers, federalism and representative government.
Lesson #5 How a Bill Becomes a Law
Objectives: Students will be able to explain the process by which a bill becomes a law through the legislative and executive branches of government. Students will be able to discuss the importance of committees and how they differ in the House of Representatives and Senate. Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nKyihoV9z8
Lesson #5 Constitution USA film analysis "Federalism"
Lesson #6 American Indian Law
Objective: Students will be able to assess the varied interpretations of tribal sovereignty within the Courts over time, and how specific decisions alter what "inherent" powers Indian tribes currently have. Essential Questions: 1) Determine what inherent powers Indian nations have today: 2) To what extent are Indian nations able to establish "Self Governance" instead of "Self Determination" within the US?
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Unit 4: The Election Process and Separation of Powers
Unit Objectives and Scope:
Unit 4 exposes students to the workings of the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Branches. The desired results for this unit of study are for students to understand the academic concepts of Implied, Expressed, and Inherent Powers, and the specific roles and responsibilities of the three branches of the federal government. Students will understand and analyze the specific roles and responsibilities of each of the three branches through a critical reading of Article I, II, and III of the US Constitution. Unit 4 begins with a class reading of Baron de Montesquieu’s The Spirit of the Laws (1748), with a specific focus on his arguments for divided power. After students have an understanding of the historical context and philosophical viewpoints that the Framers used to develop the three branches of government, students will conduct a comparison analysis of the three branches within a modern context. Students will use both direct instruction and the primary text to understand the specific parts of the Legislative branch, with a focus on the academic concepts of: The House of Representatives, US Senate, Bicameralism, Expressed Power, Implied Power, Inherent Power, a congressional committee, the specific steps of how a Bill becomes a Law, and impeachment power. Students will then use the same instructional methods to understand the specific duties of the Executive branch, with a focus on the academic concepts of: Commander in Chief, Chief Executive, Chief Diplomat, Part Leader, National Leader, Ceremonial Head of State, Manager of the Economy, and Presidential Mandate. Students will conduct a historical analysis of several major former Presidents (Washington, John Adams, Lincoln, FDR, Nixon, Reagan, George W. Bush, etc.) to determine how each American President interprets Presidential Mandates differentially. Students will then read our supplemental texts Machiavelli’s The Prince (1532) and Aristotle’s Politics, Book 1 (unknown) to conduct an individual research essay on the different types of leadership strategies and to then evaluate how individual presidents have demonstrated those specific attributes of leadership during their terms of office. Lastly, students will use direct instruction and a document based analysis of Bush v. Gore 531 U.S. 98 (2000) to understand the specific duties of the judicial branch. Students are asked to understand the academic concepts of judicial activism, judicial review, and judicial restraint and to then apply those understandings to an analysis of both the Per Curiam and the dissenting opinions within Bush v. Gore.
Unit Study Guide:
Unit Objectives and Scope:
Unit 4 exposes students to the workings of the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Branches. The desired results for this unit of study are for students to understand the academic concepts of Implied, Expressed, and Inherent Powers, and the specific roles and responsibilities of the three branches of the federal government. Students will understand and analyze the specific roles and responsibilities of each of the three branches through a critical reading of Article I, II, and III of the US Constitution. Unit 4 begins with a class reading of Baron de Montesquieu’s The Spirit of the Laws (1748), with a specific focus on his arguments for divided power. After students have an understanding of the historical context and philosophical viewpoints that the Framers used to develop the three branches of government, students will conduct a comparison analysis of the three branches within a modern context. Students will use both direct instruction and the primary text to understand the specific parts of the Legislative branch, with a focus on the academic concepts of: The House of Representatives, US Senate, Bicameralism, Expressed Power, Implied Power, Inherent Power, a congressional committee, the specific steps of how a Bill becomes a Law, and impeachment power. Students will then use the same instructional methods to understand the specific duties of the Executive branch, with a focus on the academic concepts of: Commander in Chief, Chief Executive, Chief Diplomat, Part Leader, National Leader, Ceremonial Head of State, Manager of the Economy, and Presidential Mandate. Students will conduct a historical analysis of several major former Presidents (Washington, John Adams, Lincoln, FDR, Nixon, Reagan, George W. Bush, etc.) to determine how each American President interprets Presidential Mandates differentially. Students will then read our supplemental texts Machiavelli’s The Prince (1532) and Aristotle’s Politics, Book 1 (unknown) to conduct an individual research essay on the different types of leadership strategies and to then evaluate how individual presidents have demonstrated those specific attributes of leadership during their terms of office. Lastly, students will use direct instruction and a document based analysis of Bush v. Gore 531 U.S. 98 (2000) to understand the specific duties of the judicial branch. Students are asked to understand the academic concepts of judicial activism, judicial review, and judicial restraint and to then apply those understandings to an analysis of both the Per Curiam and the dissenting opinions within Bush v. Gore.
Unit Study Guide:
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Unit 4: Warm-ups and nightly homework assignments
Warm-up #43 A Day 01/05/15 and B Day 01/06/15 1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast: 2) Please respond to one specific statement from President Obama: Link 1: http://www.cnn.com/studentnews/ Link 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWNVvavePMc |
Unit 4: Lesson Documents
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Unit 5: Comparative Governments
Unit Objectives and Scope:
Unit 5 closes American government and therefore the students are expected to apply their understandings of the key concepts of America’s governmental structure to analyses of several other types of governmental systems. Students will focus on conducting a series of comparative analyses on the major differences and similarities between the U.S. and the case study nations of France, Germany, South Korea, North Korea, China, and the United Kingdom. The desired results for this unit of study are for the students to gain an understanding that specific governmental systems, like representative democracies, have common similarities. Once those similarities are identified within a governmental system, an understanding of how a practicing nation works can easily be inferred. Students will read the supplemental texts 1984 (1948) by George Orwell and The Communist Manifesto (1848) by Karl Marx and Fredrich Engels to identify specific tenets within communist systems and then conduct a case study on the differences between the two Korean nations. The unit will close with students conducting a collaborative project-based research analysis on a specific 21st Century issue (International Terrorism, International Trade, Globalization, World Health, Child Labor, Global Warming, etc.) and proposing a solution to their specific issue.
Unit Study Guide:
Unit Objectives and Scope:
Unit 5 closes American government and therefore the students are expected to apply their understandings of the key concepts of America’s governmental structure to analyses of several other types of governmental systems. Students will focus on conducting a series of comparative analyses on the major differences and similarities between the U.S. and the case study nations of France, Germany, South Korea, North Korea, China, and the United Kingdom. The desired results for this unit of study are for the students to gain an understanding that specific governmental systems, like representative democracies, have common similarities. Once those similarities are identified within a governmental system, an understanding of how a practicing nation works can easily be inferred. Students will read the supplemental texts 1984 (1948) by George Orwell and The Communist Manifesto (1848) by Karl Marx and Fredrich Engels to identify specific tenets within communist systems and then conduct a case study on the differences between the two Korean nations. The unit will close with students conducting a collaborative project-based research analysis on a specific 21st Century issue (International Terrorism, International Trade, Globalization, World Health, Child Labor, Global Warming, etc.) and proposing a solution to their specific issue.
Unit Study Guide:
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Unit 5: Warm-ups and nightly homework assignments
Warm-up #43 A Day 01/05/15 and B Day 01/06/15 1) Please respond to one specific story from the CNN Student News broadcast: 2) Please respond to one specific statement from President Obama: Link 1: http://www.cnn.com/studentnews/ Link 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWNVvavePMc |
Unit 5: Lesson Documents
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