Monday, June 18, 2018

Semester Finals - Class Recap


Sunset over Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, Hawaii. It was a great semester, everyone! Thank you for your hard work! Photo taken in 2011.

Hi everyone,

Today was our last day of actual class for the semester (as it was our scheduled final, next class will be a study hall). We had our final test, reflection on the year, and then talked about life for a while. Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets: 
Knowledge LT 1: I can demonstrate an understanding of the interplay between citizens and their governments.
Knowledge LT 5: I can demonstrate an understanding of the principles, structures, and functions of different levels of U.S. government.
Research LT 5: I can effectively conduct and apply research.

Soundtrack: "Thankful" by Kelly Clarkson. Selected for today because I always choose this song for the last day of class, since I am so thankful to get to teach you all. Thank you! Lyrics (some of which I read aloud in class) are here.

AGENDA 6/18/18:
News Brief – Lucas
Final Test
Reflection
School's Out

Homework: Read the blog (if you want)! Have a great summer! Let me know if I can help you at any point in the future! :-)
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News Brief: Lucas had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: CNN.com - 'We will not apologize': Trump DHS chief defends immigration policy. We discussed this story for a bit in class, before moving on.

I talked in class about the importance of following the news and trying to stay up to date with what is happening in your city, state, country, and world. Knowledge is power! Try to stay plugged in to what is going on, if you can!

Final Test: As promised, this was a cumulative multiple choice final on the work we have done this semester. I anticipate having the grades submitted later this week (final grades are due on Wednesday at 3:00 PM).

Reflection: The last part to the test was a reflection short answer about how the semester went in Government - what you learned, what you will put into practice in your life, and what you will remember five years from now. I look forward to reading these!

School's Out: The end of class was set aside for study time.

Thank you all so much for being so wonderful to work with. If I don't see you tomorrow on the last day of finals, take care of yourselves and I hope to see you around! Have a great summer! :-)

Thursday, June 14, 2018

State and Local Government, Day 8 - Class Recap


Delicate Arch in Utah. A bridge between this semester and next! Photo taken in 2014.

Hi everyone,

Our last class together before semester finals was today, so we did some preparation! Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets: 
Knowledge LT 1: I can demonstrate an understanding of the interplay between citizens and their governments.
Knowledge LT 5: I can demonstrate an understanding of the principles, structures, and functions of different levels of U.S. government.

Soundtrack: "Final Hour" by Lauryn Hill. Selected for today because we are in our final hours before finals! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 6/14/18:
News Brief – Syd
Finish Lift Ev'ry Voice
Jeopardy Review
Study Time

Homework: Read the blog! Study for your final test! Finals are next class, on Monday. Next news brief: Lucas.
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News Brief: Syd had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: CNN.com - New York attorney general sues Trump Foundation. We talked about this story and a little bit about what else is happening with the government.

The next news brief was assigned to Lucas.

Finish Lift Ev'ry Voice: We finished watching an excellent recent documentary from OPB, called Lift Ev'ry Voice. If you want to watch again, share, or get caught up, it is here:


Here is the worksheet that goes along with the documentary:


I think it is super important that we understand our own history regarding race in Portland, especially as I think there are some common assumptions that are just not true. As such, I was glad to see that almost everyone was glued to this in class. Thanks for your focus and willingness to learn about our own history! It was great to hear student responses after the film about what they learned.

Jeopardy Review: Due to the shortened schedule today for our class, we did not get to this. Too bad! I know you will all be well prepared by Monday.

Study Time: Here is the Study Guide that I passed out in class, if you missed class or wanted to see it again:


See you on Monday, for finals! Good luck on all of them! :-)

Tuesday, June 12, 2018

State and Local Government, Day 7 - Class Recap


The famous "White Stag" building sign in downtown Portland. Photo taken over Winter Break, 2015.

Hi everyone,

It is a busy last week before finals week! Here's what happened in class:

Learning Targets Addressed:
Knowledge LT 1: I can demonstrate an understanding of the interplay between citizens and their governments.
Knowledge LT 5: I can demonstrate an understanding of the principles, structures, and functions of different levels of U.S. government.
Research LT 5: I can effectively conduct and apply research. 

Soundtrack: "Summertime Sadness" by Lana Del Rey and Cedric Gervais. Selected for today because it is almost summer, but we unfortunately still have plenty of work to do for finals! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 6/12/17:
News Brief – Sofia
Finish S+L Presentations
Lift Ev'ry Voice
Discussion

Homework: Read the blog. Continue studying for finals! Next news brief: Syd.

News Brief: Sofia had the news brief today and selected an article about this story: CNN.com - Trump's new world order. We watched a bit of this video before moving on to check in about what we have been up to outside of class.

Finish State and Local Presentations: We completed this in class today! Thanks to everyone for your effort on this. If you have not already, please submit an electronic copy of your paper on Google Classroom, or a physical copy to me in person, by the end of this week.

Lift Ev'ry Voice/Discussion: As I tried to point out today, there is a LOT of history in our own community of racism, that I think students do not typically know about. But, there is a reason that Portland is one of the whitest major cities in the United States. A few links for curious students to check out:




I also wanted to be sure that we talked about the laws that prevented people of color from owning property in places like Lake Oswego and throughout Oregon. Here is an example:


We also watched the first 4 minutes or so of this video, to help set the stage for the main documentary we wanted to show in class:



Lift Ev'ry Voice: For the rest of class, we started watching an excellent recent documentary from OPB, called Lift Ev'ry Voice, and ended class about 38 minutes in. If you want to watch again, share, or get caught up, it is here:


Here is the worksheet that goes along with the documentary:


I think it is super important that we understand our own history regarding race in Portland, especially as I think there are some common assumptions that are just not true. As such, I was glad to see that almost everyone was glued to this in class. Thanks for your focus and willingness to learn about our own history! We will finish this next class and then prepare for the final!