CIVIL GOVERNMENT- JANUARY, 2020
DATE

ESSENTIAL FILES: INTERACTIVE CONSTITUTION, SIMPLE ENGLISH CONSTITUTION.

Activities and Assignments:

TUE

1/27

BELLRINGER: Get out a notebook! Quick learning opportunity at the start of the day- EXECUTIVE BRANCH- ELECTING THE PRESIDENT.

Objectives for the Day: Students will be learn the powers and roles of the President.

WORK DAY: OUR UPCOMING BIG PROJECT: Cabinet Secretary Press Conference Video Research Project. I have already assigned all of the different departments and the students that will be researching. There is a list of information you must cover in your video speech regarding your department on the assignment sheet. Make sure that you tackle EACH of these points as you write your speech! This assignment needs to be completed and submitted by THURSDAY at the END of class, as presentations will begin at that time.

MON

1/26

BELLRINGER: We spend a little bit of time reviewing some of the Republican testimony in the Impeachment Hearing from Saturday. (start at around 19:00 minutes.)

Objectives for the Day: Students will be learn the powers and roles of the President.

WORK DAY: OUR UPCOMING BIG PROJECT: Cabinet Secretary Press Conference Video Research Project. I have already assigned all of the different departments and the students that will be researching. There is a list of information you must cover in your video speech regarding your department on the assignment sheet. Make sure that you tackle EACH of these points as you write your speech! This assignment needs to be completed and submitted by next THURSDAY at the END of class, as presentations will begin at that time. I am willing to offer in-class time to complete this assignment, but if students are not taking advantage of that time, I will simply move forward with lectures.

FRI

1/24

BELLRINGER: First, a quick update on the IMPEACHMENT TRIAL from Mr. B. Then...

Mr. B. is a little irritated today. Why? Taxes, that's why! Please review the TAXING THE CANDY STORE THINKING SHEET.

Objectives for the Day: Students will be learn the powers and roles of the President.

LEARNING OPPORTUNITY TODAY: The Bureaucracy of the Executive Branch.

WORK DAY (if we have time): OUR UPCOMING BIG PROJECT: Cabinet Secretary Press Conference Video Research Project. I have already assigned all of the different departments and the students that will be researching. There is a list of information you must cover in your video speech regarding your department on the assignment sheet. Make sure that you tackle EACH of these points as you write your speech! This assignment needs to be completed and submitted by next THURSDAY at the END of class, as presentations will begin at that time. I am willing to offer in-class time to complete this assignment, but if students are not taking advantage of that time, I will simply move forward with lectures.

THU

1/23

BELLRINGER: No bellringers today, we have too much information to cover. Please get out your notebooks and get ready for the MOST pertinent lecture ever given at HHS.

Objectives for the Day: Students will be learn the powers and roles of the President.

LEARNING OPPORTUNITY TODAY: The Powers and Roles of the President.

WORK DAY:

  1. The Executive Powers NOTES Assignment: DUE AT THE END OF CLASS TODAY. This is a plain, old-fashioned, "look up information from a Primary Source document and summarize the information" type of assignment. Fortunately, the entirety of Article II is about a page and a half long. Please record your powers and summaries IN YOUR NOTEBOOK. I will be grading this assignment from there by the end of class today.
  2. OUR UPCOMING BIG PROJECT: Cabinet Secretary Press Conference Video Research Project. I have already assigned all of the different departments and the students that will be researching. There is a list of information you must cover in your video speech regarding your department on the assignment sheet. Make sure that you tackle EACH of these points as you write your speech! This assignment needs to be completed and submitted by next THURSDAY at the END of class, as presentations will begin at that time. I am willing to offer in-class time to complete this assignment, but if students are not taking advantage of that time, I will simply move forward with lectures.

If we need it, here is the link to The Bureaucracy of the Executive Branch.

TUE

1/21

BELLRINGER: As a starter for our upcoming unit, please complete the "What does the President do?" Thinking Sheet.

Objectives for the Day: Students will learn the basics of the Executive Branch of government, as evidenced participation in a lecture and completion of a Powers of the President assignment.

Lecture and Discussion: Introduction to the Executive Branch.

Follow up assignment: The Executive Powers NOTES Assignment: This is a plain, old-fashioned, "look up information from a Primary Source document and summarize the information" type of assignment. Fortunately, the entirety of Article II is about a page and a half long. Please record your powers and summaries IN YOUR NOTEBOOK. I will be grading this assignment from there. Due at the end of class on THURSDAY. 50 point assignment.

FRI

1/17

YOU HAVE A TEST TODAY!

OBJECTIVES FOR TODAY:  Today, we will be assessing our learning during our third UNIT of Civil Government class. Arrive early, stay late, leave happy!

TEST TODAY!

You will need to LOG IN to your school Google account be able to access the test. DO NOT CLICK TO SUBMIT until you are completely done with your test. Make sure to check your work, as it is possible to leave a question blank and this will count against you when grading.

HERE IS THE LINK TO THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH UNIT THREE TEST.

WHEN YOU COMPLETE YOUR TEST, PLEASE WORK ON The Executive Powers NOTES Assignment: This is a plain, old-fashioned, "look up information from a Primary Source document and summarize the information" type of assignment. Fortunately, the entirety of Article II is about a page and a half long. Please record your powers and summaries IN YOUR NOTEBOOK. I will be grading this assignment from there. Due at the end of class on THURSDAY. 25 point assignment.

THU

1/16

BELLRINGER: Please form into your LEFT/RIGHT Chamber and prepare for Floor Action.

FLOOR DEBATE on the "BILL TO LAW" SIMULATION.

STUDENTS must play the role of their political party and attempt to bring about their WIN CONDITION at all times!

  • LIBERALS:
    • Are interested in equality and fairness in education, all students should have equal access to the resources needed to become successful in life.
    • Believes that increased funding will enhance educational opportunities for students.
    • Interested in education addressing social issues and opportunities.
  • CONSERVATIVES:
    • Are interested in success in education based upon merit, students who work hard in school will be successful in life, regardless of access to resources.
    • Believes that more efficient funding and resource allocation will enhance educational resources for students.
    • More interested in education that strongly prepares students for success in future careers or higher education pursuits.

IF/WHEN WE COMPLETE FLOOR ACTION:

  1. Please complete the BILL TO LAW WIN CONDITION REVIEW SHEET. Be descriptive or you WILL NOT receive credit.
  2. Work on your UNIT THREE: LEGISLATIVE BRANCH TEST STUDY GUIDE. TEST IS COMING TOMORROW. I highly recommend some studying and completion of Study Guides for most students.
  3. If nobody is doing any studying or anything, we will work on Lecture and Discussion: Introduction to the Executive Branch.

LINKS TO OUR LECTURE SLIDESHOWS FOR THIS UNIT:

Much of the material for this unit test came from in-class assignments completed in your notebook. Please refer to these for answers on your Study Guide:

TUE

1/14

BELLRINGER: WANT SOME EXTRA CREDIT? Watch the Democratic Debates tonight and, using a Google Document, write 10 Twitter-sized comments on the debate as you watch. Share this document with Mr. B. for up to 20 points of extra credit.

Please form into your LEFT/RIGHT Chamber and prepare for Floor Action.

FLOOR DEBATE on the "BILL TO LAW" SIMULATION.

STUDENTS must play the role of their political party and attempt to bring about their WIN CONDITION at all times!

  • LIBERALS:
    • Are interested in equality and fairness in education, all students should have equal access to the resources needed to become successful in life.
    • Believes that increased funding will enhance educational opportunities for students.
    • Interested in education addressing social issues and opportunities.
  • CONSERVATIVES:
    • Are interested in success in education based upon merit, students who work hard in school will be successful in life, regardless of access to resources.
    • Believes that more efficient funding and resource allocation will enhance educational resources for students.
    • More interested in education that strongly prepares students for success in future careers or higher education pursuits.

IF WE COMPLETE FLOOR ACTION, I would like to see all students working on UNIT THREE: LEGISLATIVE BRANCH TEST STUDY GUIDE. Test coming FRIDAY. I highly recommend some studying and completion of Study Guides for most students.

MON

1/13

BELLRINGER: Let's consider a bill in committe right now. Please complete the "Protecting Older Workers" Thinking Sheet.


WORK DAY: Committees will meet regarding their bills. You should be working on whether or not you need to give a favorable report on your bills, amend your bills or pigeonhole them. You will be completing the COMMITEE SUMMARY SHEET for each bill in your committee. Please have these completed today, if at all possible. You need to be acting your PARTY and executing your WIN CONDITION, as best you can during this process.

We review the RULES OF THE GAME regarding our BILL TO LAW SIMULATION. We discuss Political Parties and Win Conditions.

Student Party Committee

Sidney

L

Academics

Logan

L

Athletics

Alex

C

Environment

Edsel

C

Academics

Jaymon

C

Environment

Kyle

L

Athletics

Helen

L

Environment

Bri

C

Athletics

Caleb*

L

Academics

Alyssa

C

Rules

Hector 

L

Athletics

Blake

C

Rules
Brittany C Rules

UPCOMING TEST (this week)- Here is the UNIT THREE: LEGISLATIVE BRANCH TEST STUDY GUIDE. As usual, Mr. B. will be offering a 10 percent extra credit score if you handwrite a completed study guide for the test. Hard copies are available.

FRI

1/10

FOR TODAY: More than half of the class gone for Basketball. We spend some time watching the House of Representatives in action. We also print our UNIT THREE: LEGISLATIVE BRANCH TEST STUDY GUIDE and begin to work on those today.

LINKS TO OUR LECTURE SLIDESHOWS FOR THIS UNIT:

Much of the material for this unit test came from in-class assignments completed in your notebook. Please refer to these for answers on your Study Guide:

THU

1/9

BELLRINGER: We watch a clip from a classic movie about the introduction of bills into Congress: Mr. Smith Introduces a Bill.


FIRST PART OF CLASS: Please finish putting together your Bill for the "Highland Bill to Law" Simulation. Please spend 10-15 minutes reviewing your bill. Is there anything that you need to change? Add? Take out? Is your formatting all appropriate? Do you have at least a couple of findings to explain your bill and its meaning? Have you discussed all of the financial impacts of your bill?

When you are satisfied that you have created the very best bill you can, please PRINT 4 copies of your bill.

We review the RULES OF THE GAME regarding our BILL TO LAW SIMULATION. We discuss Political Parties and Win Conditions.

At the start of the second half of class, we will be submitting our bills into the hopper. They will be reviewed by our Speaker (Caleb) and assigned to committees. Once all bills have been assigned to committee, committees will meet and review each bill. General discussion regarding bills.

Student Party Committee

Sidney

L

Academics

Logan

L

Athletics

Alex

C

Environment

Edsel

C

Academics

Jaymon

C

Environment

Kyle

L

Athletics

Helen

L

Environment

Bri

C

Athletics

Caleb*

L

Academics

Alyssa

C

Rules

Hector 

L

Athletics

Blake

C

Rules
Brittany C Environment

UPCOMING TEST (next week)- Here is the UNIT THREE: LEGISLATIVE BRANCH TEST STUDY GUIDE. As usual, Mr. B. will be offering a 10 percent extra credit score if you handwrite a completed study guide for the test. Unlike earlier tests, much of the information for this exam was included in various classroom assignments, so make sure you cover all required information. I will be posting links to classroom lectures tomorrow!

TUE

1/7

BELLRINGER: We complete and discuss the "Teen Gets Kicked out of Prom" Thinking Sheet.

FOR TODAY: Let's start out the year doing something fun, for a change. Like playing a game. Can we do that? Sure! Why not?

HOW TO LOG IN AND PLAY: We will be using the award winning icivics.org website to play a couple of games this semester. Here is a sheet with your login information. Log in to icivics.org with your USERNAME and password. Once you log in, click on your CLASSES button. Please note that you have an assignment in the game called LAWCRAFT. If you receive any Flash Error messages, click the LOCK ICON at the front of your URL and unlock Flash (or follow instructions in the popup or see me for help). There are instructions or you can just start playing and figure things out as you go.

YOUR ASSIGNMENT: Please PASS a bill by Friday at 5:00 p.m. as a 50 point assignment. You can attempt to pass multiple bills, if you wish. The student that passes a bill which cannot be vetoed with this HIGHEST MARGIN OF VICTORY will receive 25 extra credit points on the upcoming Civil Government test. They will also receive a beverage of their choice from Mr. B.

UPCOMING TEST (next week)- Here is the UNIT THREE: LEGISLATIVE BRANCH TEST STUDY GUIDE. As usual, Mr. B. will be offering a 10 percent extra credit score if you handwrite a completed study guide for the test. Unlike earlier tests, much of the information for this exam was included in various classroom assignments, so make sure you cover all required information!