The Political Spectrum - Class Recap

The African American Civil War Memorial in Washington, D.C. The soldiers are carrying guns, which relates to the Second Amendment! Photo taken in 2010.

Hi everyone,

We had another good day in class today about the Second Amendment to the Constitution and looked at the political spectrum. Here's what happened:

Learning Targets Addressed:

Knowledge LT 2: I can demonstrate an understanding of the role of governments in current issues.
Knowledge LT 4: I can explain how different ideological movements and philosophies shape politics.
Knowledge LT 5: I can demonstrate an understanding of the principles, structures, and functions of different branches of U.S. government.

Soundtrack: "Say It Right" by Nelly Furtado. Selected for today because I was hoping students would have right answers on the Constitution test, and because we are continuing to learn about the Bill of Rights. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 2/29/16:
News Brief - Renee
Constitution Test
Political Spectrum
Second Amendment

Homework: Read the blog! Next news brief: Chase.
--
News Brief: I had the news brief today (because Renee was absent) we so discussed the past weekend, and looked forward to tomorrow's "Super Tuesday" primary election, which will go a long way in determining the Democratic and Republican nominees for president.

Chase volunteered for the next news brief.

Constitution Test: As promised! I hope that this went well for everyone. I will try to have them entered in the gradebook ASAP. The first 10 questions were about the philosophy of U.S. Government, and the second 10 questions were about the branches of government/checks of power.

Political Spectrum: I went over the political spectrum in class, which was most of this PowerPoint:

Google Drive - Political Spectrum PowerPoint

Please be familiar with the various different philosophies on the political spectrum, and where they are on the line from left to right, in relation to each other!

Here's the link to the Political Compass test I showed at the end of the PowerPoint. Try it yourself!

Second Amendment: To continue our look at the Bill of Rights, we started watching the "Gun Nation" episode of the "30 Days" documentary series. I asked students to note Pro and Con arguments for gun rights. We will finish watching this next class, and move on to looking in depth at some of the other amendments.

The Constitution, Day 2 - Class Recap

NOTE: There will be no blog recap for the 2/25 class meeting, since most students were preparing for the Smarter Balanced assessments in the Computer Lab, so we did not have a regular class.

Fireworks over Niagara Falls, in 2009. 

Hi everyone,

Thanks for continuing to work on getting to know the Constitution better! I know it may not be the most fun part of class, but it is so important for knowing the foundations of how our government works! Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets Addressed: 
Knowledge LT 2: I can demonstrate an understanding of the role of governments in current issues.
Knowledge LT 5: I can demonstrate an understanding of the principles, structures, and functions of different branches of U.S. government.

Soundtrack: "Don't Speak" by No Doubt. Selected for today because we were talking about the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which is partially about freedom of speech. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 2/23/16:
News Brief - Khail K.
Review Constitution
The Bill of Rights
The First Amendment

Homework: Read the blog! Prepare for Constitution test on Monday by studying the handout answers! Smarter Balanced preparation for most juniors is next class. Forecasting is Thursday, so have your forms filled out! Next news brief: Renee (Monday).

News Brief: Khail K. had the news brief today and selected this story to talk about: CNN.com - NSA surveillance bill passes after weeks-long showdown. We talked about how this law has a direct relationship with the first question in Forced Choice that we did, and we also talked about how Apple has been asked to break into an iPhone that was used by one of the shooters in San Bernardino.

I also passed back graded work from so far in the year, which included news briefs, forced choice reflections, and the philosophy quiz. There will be an opportunity to retake the philosophy target in the Constitution quiz.

I had an update about what is going on in the presidential nomination process. For this, I showed these links:

NYTimes.com - 2016 Primary Results and Calendar

RealClearPolitics.com - Clinton vs. Trump Head to Head

We talked about the ongoing process and today's Nevada Republican caucus. Renee was selected for the next news brief.

Review Constitution: We continued looking at the Constitution packet I passed out last class, which had the Bill of Rights as a part of the last couple of pages. Please make sure to study the Constitution portion done for the test on Monday. If you missed class the last two times, here it is to download and fill out by reading the Constitution:

Google Drive: Understanding the Constitution Handout

As I said, here's the reward for checking the blog: a (tough, because I did not specifically ask you this in class) question from the Constitution test:

All of the following are included in the Preamble to the Constitution EXCEPT _____________.
a. establish justice c. the pursuit of happiness
b. provide for the common defense d.  promote the general welfare

The answer would be C.

Bill of Rights: We will come back to the Bill of Rights, since we were not able to have the time to look at them all, yet. We started with the first one!

The First Amendment: The end of class was given to Mr. Schmidt, our student teacher, to look at how the First Amendment impacts students at school. He went through this PowerPoint, and we discussed each case. Students also had a packet (pick up one in class only):

Google Drive - First Amendment Case Study PowerPoint

We looked at some specific examples of cases where students had questions about how far their rights go. We ended by looking at the famous "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" case, which we will continue to discuss next class. Thanks for your hard work! We will pick up with Smarter Balanced preparation next class!

The Constitution, Day 1 - Class Recap

The World War I Memorial Stonehenge replica in Goldendale, Washington, overlooking the Columbia River Gorge and Mt. Hood. Photo taken in 2015!

Hi everyone,

I enjoyed hearing about your new countries today in class, as we continued to look at the basics of how the United States government works and specifically, the Constitution. Here's what happened today:

Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 2: I can demonstrate an understanding of the role of governments in current issues.
Knowledge LT 5: I can demonstrate an understanding of the principles, structures, and functions of different branches of U.S. government.

Soundtrack: "Power [Radio Edit]" by Kanye West. Selected for today because "no one man should have all that power" when it comes to government, which the Constitution made sure of!

AGENDA 2/19/16:
News Brief – Mo
Share Nations
The Constitution
Computer Lab N210

Homework: Read the blog. Next news brief: Khail K.

News Brief: Mo had the news brief today and selected this article to talk about: OregonLive.com - Oregon House passes minimum wage hike after turbulent debate, sending it to Kate Brown. We talked about the dramatic effect this will have on people that work minimum wage jobs (which many of the students in class do), and why some Republicans and Democrats might disagree with this new law. We also discussed the Republican primary in South Carolina tomorrow, along with the Democratic caucus in Nevada. It will be interesting to see what happens!

Khail K. volunteered for the next news brief.

Share Nations: Again, this was creating your own nation, which is a break away of some of the western states from the United States. In groups of 2 or 3, this was the assignment, which I had a few groups present in class: 

Google Drive - Creation of a Nation Assignment

I enjoyed listening to these presentations and hearing about your proposed ideas for what a new country should look like! Thank you for your effort on this.

The Constitution: Next, I passed out this handout/worksheet, which looks at different aspects of what makes up the United States Constitution:

Google Drive - Constitution and Bill of Rights Handout

We completed this in class by going to the computer lab. If you want to continue to work on completing this outside of class, here is a copy of the Constitution to look at.

Please keep this packet, as you will be using it to study for an upcoming test on the Constitution.

Creation of a Nation - Class Recap

Crater Lake, which is Oregon's only National Park. Maybe a symbol of your new nation? Photo taken in August 2014.

Hi wonderful students,

Great to see you all again today! It was a quiz and work day in class. Here's what happened today:

Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 2: I can demonstrate an understanding of the role of governments in current issues.
Knowledge LT 4: I can explain how different ideological movements and philosophies shape politics.

Soundtrack: "If I Ruled the World" by Nas and Lauryn Hill. Selected for today because you were creating your own countries today in class!

AGENDA 2/17/16:
News Brief – Kate
Philosophy Quiz/Read Letters
Articles of Confederation
Creation of a Nation

Homework: Read the blog. Be ready to finish the Creation of a Nation activity next class. Next news brief: Mo.

News Brief: Kate had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: CNN.com - Barack Obama: I don't think Donald Trump will be President. We discussed this article, as well as the upcoming primary in South Carolina this weekend.

We also talked about Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia passing away over the weekend. This is a HUGE story for the United States government. We talked for a while in class about why Scalia's death is important for the Supreme Court, the presidential nomination race, and a host of issues that might end 4-4 now, instead of 5-4 on one side or the other.

Mo was selected for the next news brief.

Philosophy Quiz/Read Letters: Because I'm a nice guy, I gave the class about five minutes to study for this (even though it was homework to do so). I haven't read the responses yet, but basically, if you knew the four philosophers from the first reading, and knew the basics of the European influences reading, you should have been fine. If you need to take this, please come find me before or after school.  I will grade these and get them back to you as soon as I can.

After the quiz, we heard some of the "break up letters" that students wrote looking at the Declaration of Independence. These were pretty funny - thanks for participating in this.

Articles of Confederation: Next up, we had a brief lecture in class about the early foundations of the United States government and some of the forms of government in the world. The Articles of Confederation was the first way that the country was organized, and we looked at how it was not good enough to really keep the states together in any coherent way. Here's the reading notes that I showed in class:

Google Drive: Forms of Government and Articles of Confederation

Please know the basics here for future use!

Creation of a Nation: The last activity we did today in class was to start thinking about creating your own nation, which is a break away of some of the western states from the United States. In groups of 2 or 3, this is the assignment, which we will finish working on next class and present. Again, I want every group to make a flag for their new country, because flags are awesome. Please see the document for specifics as to what each group member should do.

Google Drive - Creation of a Nation Assignment

Next class, we will continue with this and then move on to studying the Constitution. Thanks! See you next class!

Declaration of Independence - Class Recap

The Parthenon, which is a part of the Acropolis in Athens. We learned today about Greek democracy influencing the United States government! Photo taken in July, 2014.

Dear class,

Even though it was more of a work day today, it was nice to see everyone and learn a bit more class content! Here's what happened today:

Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 2: I can demonstrate an understanding of the role of governments in current issues.
Knowledge LT 4: I can explain how different ideological movements and philosophies shape politics.

Soundtrack: "GDFR" by Flo Rida. Selected for today because it was Going Down For Real when the United States declared independence from Great Britain.

AGENDA 2/12/16:
News Brief – Monet
Finish Forced Choice
European Influences
Declaration of Independence

Homework: Read the blog. Study for philosophy and European influences quiz next class. Next news brief: Kate.

News Brief: Monet brought in the news brief today and selected this article to talk about: NYTimes.com - Supreme Court’s Blow to Emissions Efforts May Imperil Paris Climate Accord. We discussed the recent Paris climate agreement, how the Supreme Court justices ruled (in a preliminary way) 5-4 against some of the ways the Obama administration has tried to cut carbon emissions (some states sued).

A very interesting and relevant article! Thanks, Monet! Kate has the next news brief.

Finish Forced Choice: I wanted to give the class time to finish the debate from last class (even though I usually don't like spending parts of three days on it). The questions were:

1. Giving up some of our rights (like our phones being listened to without a warrant) is necessary for our own protection.
2. The Second Amendment means that everyone in the US has the right to have any weapons that they want.
3. Private businesses should have the right refuse service on religious grounds (like a bakery not making a cake for a same sex wedding).
4. Marijuana should be legalized everywhere for recreational use.
5. Public schools should strictly enforce a standardized dress code.
6. Organized prayer in public schools should be allowed.
7. The government of a country should be able to make decisions that the majority of the people do not support.
8. Should the motto “In God We Trust” be removed from our currency?
9. I agree with the death penalty for convicted murderers.
10. People in power are always corrupt in some way.

The prompt after the activity was this: Write a one page reflection on the activity. What was the most difficult or controversial question for you? Why? How do these sorts of questions relate to the study of government? What did you think of this activity?

The learning target that is being assessed for this one is: Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.

If you did not finish this one page reflection in class, please treat it as homework. Thank you!

European Influences: In order to progress up to the Declaration of Independence, we first had to look at some of the key ideas that influenced the foundation of our country. This was a four page reading and some associated questions, that I gave work time in class for, then we talked about it together. If you missed class, or lost your copy, here they are again to see:

Google Drive - European Influences on the United States Government Reading

Google Drive - European Influences Reading Questions

Use this reading and your answers to study for the upcoming quiz!

Declaration of Independence: This was pretty fun. We looked at the Declaration of Independence (which is what started the United States) and tried to put the first couple of paragraphs of it into our own words, like a break up letter. These were pretty funny - thanks for your effort! Next time, we will look into the document with more detail, check out the Articles of Confederation, then try and create your own new country, using the information that you've learned about so far in class.

At the end of class, I provided some time to study for the philosophy quiz next class. You will need to know the ideas of the four philosophers we talked about in class, how their ideas influence the U.S. government, and the three European influences that impacted our government.

Thanks for your work and effort in class, and for doing your homework in reading the blog! :-)

Philosophy of Government, Day 3 - Class Recap

This is what the inside of the United States Capitol building dome looks like, in Washington, D.C. The Capitol is where Congress meets to debate legislation!

Hi everyone,

Today, we continued with the Forced Choice activity, which took most of class. There were some really valuable discussions and insights that were shared about how we think the world should operate! Here's the class recap for the day:

Learning Targets: 
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.

Knowledge LT 2: I can demonstrate an understanding of the role of governments in current issues.
Knowledge LT 4: I can explain how different ideological movements and philosophies shape politics.

Soundtrack: "Get Up, Stand Up" by Bob Marley. Selected for today because you were asked to stand up and move around for what you believed in, as related to the debate. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 2/10/16:
News Brief – Hannah/Jen
Forced Choice
Reflection

Homework: Read the blog. The next news brief is assigned to Monet.

News Brief: Jen and Hannah both had news briefs today. Jen started us off with this story: DailyMail.com - Obama seeks cybersecurity boost to replace 'ancient' tech. We discussed the importance of security online, especially as other countries try to hack the US. I also said that even though this is what President Obama is proposing as a part of the budget, Congress never just passes all of what the president wants.

Hannah selected this article to talk about: NYTimes.com - Open Carry Laws Could Increase Gun Violence. This was a continuation of our debate about the Second Amendment last class, as we talked about various implications of having more guns visible.

As part of the news brief, I showed the blog, and also the latest updates from New Hampshire primaries, with Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders winning. I talked about what might happen next, as a part of this.

Finally, I noticed on Twitter that today is the day that Charles Montesquieu died in 1755. Considering we were just talking about him, I thought it was worth noting.

Forced Choice: Again, a continuation of the activity that we started last class. This time, we hit a variety of questions from 3-10, here:

1. Giving up some of our rights (like our phones being listened to without a warrant) is necessary for our own protection.
2. The Second Amendment means that everyone in the US has the right to have any weapons that they want.
3. Private businesses should have the right refuse service on religious grounds (like a bakery not making a cake for a same sex wedding).
4. Marijuana should be legalized everywhere for recreational use.
5. Public schools should strictly enforce a standardized dress code.
6. Organized prayer in public schools should be allowed.
7. The government of a country should be able to make decisions that the majority of the people do not support.
8. Should the motto “In God We Trust” be removed from our currency?
9. I agree with the death penalty for convicted murderers.
10. People in power are always corrupt in some way.

I had the class answer the questions and choose YES or NO to each of them. Then, we split up the class so that two sides were facing each other. With each question, students moved to the side they felt best represented their opinion on the matter.

Today's class was interesting! One of the discussion points had to do with the cost of the Death Penalty, and I said it costs the taxpayers of Oregon roughly 10 times more to prosecute death penalty cases, over a murder without a death penalty possibility. Here is a link to that article: OregonLive.com - Can Oregon Afford the Death Penalty?

Super interesting!

We did not have time to finish or get to the reflections today, but we will next class. Thanks, everyone!

Philosophy of Government, Day 2 - Class Recap

Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This is where the United States Constitution was debated and signed. We did some debating today in class and will continue to do so next time!

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the excellent discussions today in class and for reading the blog! Here's what happened:

Learning Targets: 
Knowledge LT 2: I can demonstrate an understanding of the role of governments in current issues.
Knowledge LT 4: I can explain how different ideological movements and philosophies shape politics.

Soundtrack: “I Think of You" by Renaissance. Selected for today because 1) the philosophers we are talking about did a lot of thinking, and 2) the renaissance was an important period for changing views about how government should work. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 2/8/16:

News Brief – Jen
Government Overview

Philosopher Reading

Forced Choice

Homework: Read the blog! Next news brief: Hannah

News Brief: Jen was absent from class today, so I discussed the upcoming New Hampshire primary (tomorrow!) and looked at who is currently favored to win on fivethirtyeight.com projections. We also talked about the weekend and the Super Bowl commercials.

Hannah volunteered to do the next news brief.

Government Overview: To start class, we went through the philosophy PowerPoint we did not get to last class, due to the length of the yarn activity. I wanted to start looking at some of the philosophers of government during the Enlightenment period. Here's the PowerPoint we went through (we only did slides 6-8 today - just focus on those for now):

Google Drive: Philosophers of Government PowerPoint

Again, please review and be responsible for knowing the basics of what Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and Montesquieu thought about government.

The next part was stemming off of the PowerPoint on the four philosophers we are studying. I wanted students to think in their own minds about the role of government. The questions, to answer on a blank sheet of paper and keep for later, are:

1. What is the purpose of government?

2. What does a government do?

3. What role should the government play in people’s lives?

4. What do you know about the structure of the United States government? Draw a web!

I had a few students randomly answer the questions with the class, and we talked about what the general viewpoint was.

Philosopher Readings: I passed out this reading about the four philosophers and a handout to answer with the reading, that asked you to summarize the different ideas for the purpose of government, the role of government in people's lives, and ideas that are included in the current U.S. government. Here they are again if you lost your copy or missed class today:

Google Drive: Philosophers of Government Reading

Google Drive: Philosophers of Government Handout

We went over the answers in class and reviewed who Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau were and what they thought about the role of government. Keep these answers to review for an upcoming test!

Forced Choice: One of my favorite activities of the year. I had the class answer the following questions and choose YES or NO to each of them. Then, we split up the class so that two sides were facing each other. With each question, students moved to the side they felt best represented their opinion on the matter. The questions were:

1. Giving up some of our rights (like our phones being listened to without a warrant) is necessary for our own protection.
2. The Second Amendment means that everyone in the US has the right to have any weapons that they want.
3. Private businesses should have the right refuse service on religious grounds (like a bakery not making a cake for a same sex wedding).
4. Marijuana should be legalized everywhere for recreational use.
5. Public schools should strictly enforce a standardized dress code.
6. Organized prayer in public schools should be allowed.
7. The government of a country should be able to make decisions that the majority of the people do not support.
8. Should the motto “In God We Trust” be removed from our currency?
9. I agree with the death penalty for convicted murderers.
10. People in power are always corrupt in some way.

We only made it through question 2 today, so I will pick and choose next class as to which questions we will discuss and debate, before writing a reflective piece about the experience. I love these discussions and I think we did a great job of following the Ground Rules that we established at the beginning of the year. Thank you for your participation! Be ready to keep talking next time. If you have any further thoughts, please post them in the comments!

Philosophy of Government, Day 1 - Class Recap

The ball of yarn that we used in class today for the Class Unity Activity! Thanks for participating in this!

Dear class,

I enjoyed getting to know you all a bit better today! We had a productive time with the yarn activity and learning more about the philosophy of government. Here's what happened in class today:

Learning Targets Addressed: 

Knowledge LT 2: I can demonstrate an understanding of the role of governments in current issues.
Knowledge LT 4: I can explain how different ideological movements and philosophies shape politics.

Soundtrack: "Comin' From Where I'm From" by Anthony Hamilton. Because today, we talked about where we are from and how we got to be at Westview, via our family background. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 2/4/16:
News Brief - Brandt
Citizenship Scores
Class Unity Activity
Philosophy

Homework: Read the blog and post a comment (if you have not already). Jen has the next news brief.

News Brief: Brandt had the news brief today and selected this article to talk about: FOXNews.com - Ammon Bundy: Oregon refuge 'belongs to the people'. What a great article to start us off on this semester! This directly impacts our state and the relationship with federal government.  Brandt did a fantastic job of knowing about the story and demonstrating how to do a news brief! Thanks, Brandt!

Jen was randomly selected to do the next news brief.

We also checked in about the upcoming weekend and what people were up to.

Citizenship: To start looking at our government, I played this video of high school students trying to answer questions about social studies:

We laughed at some of the responses, then I flipped the script and had the class try and citizenship test!

Here was the pre-test that I passed out in class. All sorts of good questions about how the U.S. government is structured and works.

Google Drive: United States Government Citizenship Test

Thanks for your focus and participation on this! I enjoyed going through the answers with everyone in class, as we learned a little more about the basics of the United States government.

Class Unity Activity: I always love this, for many reasons. One, because I love hearing about how everyone came to be in our classroom. Two, because of how the yarn connects us all. Three, because it helps the class (and me) learn names and a little about each other! Thank you for participating in this. It can get lengthy, I know, but I value it so much more than just lecturing for that time.

That was it for the day, as we ran out of time after the activity! Thanks again - see you next week!

Introduction Day - Class Recap

The White House in Washington, D.C., 2011.

Hello everyone,

Thank you for doing your homework and visiting the blog! As I said in class, I think this is a really helpful resource for students, staff, and parents to be able to follow along with what is happening. After every class, I will write up a recap and post it. Most of the time, your only homework will be to read over the blog and be prepared for what is coming next in class. With that, let's get started!

Soundtrack: "Changes" by 2Pac. I always choose this song to start off a new class with, because I like the idea of our room being somewhat different from your other experiences in high school. This song also has all sorts of lyrics that relate to Government, like the line "instead of a War on Poverty, they got a War on Drugs, so the police can bother me." Check out the full lyrics here.

AGENDA 2/2/16:
Introductions/Attendance
Syllabus/Grades
The Blog
Letter to Class/Mr. Fritz
Create Ground Rules
News Briefs

Homework: Check the blog and post a comment! Next news brief: Brandt.

Introductions/Attendance: At the start of class, I introduced myself and how the agenda on the whiteboard works. I am absolutely delighted to be your teacher at Westview this semester!

I took attendance and tried to ask everyone how they wanted me to address them. It will take me some time, but eventually, I will know everyone's names, I promise!

Syllabus/Grades: I know that this is not the most exciting content in class. I wanted to make sure to go over some of the real key points to the syllabus (like where I am, how to contact me, how your grade is decided, and the need to bring a binder to class). Here are electronic copies of the syllabus and rubrics:

Google Drive: Westview Government Syllabus 2015-16

The rubrics that will be used for the course and grades:

Google Drive: Westview Government Learning Targets and Rubrics 2015-16

If you or your parents have any questions about any of this, please let me know!

The Blog: As part of the syllabus, I introduced this website: the class blog! This is seriously so important for your success in this class. If you are staying up to date on here, reviewing what happened in class to get ready for the next meeting, and asking questions if you need help, I guarantee that you will be more successful than if you do not. Make sure to leave a comment at least once (the easiest homework assignment of all time for most students, I believe), so I know you are able to!

Letter to Class/Mr. Fritz: After the syllabus talk was done, I passed out a letter that I wrote to the class, explaining all about who I am and what sort of expectations I have. Hopefully, most of it was interesting information! I like passing these out and signing them all individually. To me, it represents that I really am interested in everyone in my class.

After reading the letter aloud, I asked everyone to write back to me in a similar sort of fashion. I gave a bunch of possible questions to answer as prompts and about 20 minutes or so to complete the assignment. I LOVE reading these and writing back to everyone! Thank you for your effort - I can't wait to learn a little bit more about who you are!

Create Ground Rules: Ahh, yes. The awkward process. This was painfully slow for your class! The rules that you came up with and agreed to as an entire class are:

• Respect Others

• Be Responsible

• Be Open Minded

• Ask for Help When Needed

• Participate

I will be working to make sure everyone, including myself, is following the ground rules! Thank you for participating in this exercise.

News Briefs: This is the current event style assignment that everyone will do at least once. To introduce why this is so important, we talked about last night's Iowa caucuses, in the nomination process for president. If you have had a previous class of mine, it is a little different - you actually have a write up to do. Here's a link to the format for the write up (it is also on the left side of this website, under the Ground Rules):

Google Drive - Government Current Event Forms

Brandt volunteered to do the first News Brief, due at the start of next class. Thanks, everyone! See you next class!