Executive Branch, Day 2 - Class Recap

Inside the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C. Photo taken in 2010.

Hi everyone,

Today, we heard from Deputy Scott Haley, our Student Support Officer here at Westview, and also went through more introduction to the Executive Branch. Here's what happened today in class:

Learning Targets Addressed:
Knowledge LT 1: I can demonstrate an understanding of the interplay between citizens and their governments.
Knowledge LT 3: I can demonstrate an understanding of how individuals and non-governmental institutions interact with each other and the government in shaping politics.
Knowledge LT 5: I can demonstrate an understanding of the principles, structures, and functions of different levels of U.S. government.

Soundtrack: "Born in the U.S.A" by Bruce Springsteen. Selected for today because the song is typically seen as representing patriotic themes, but a closer look at the lyrics (as we did in class) show that the song is really about a deep dissatisfaction with American culture and government.

AGENDA 10/31/17:
News Brief – Christian
Deputy Haley
CRLE Forms
Review Legislative Test

Homework: Read the blog. Next news brief: Srey.

News Brief: Christian had the news brief today and selected an article about this story: CNN.com -  What you need to know about the Manafort, Gates indictment.

This was an interesting story, and I wish we could have discussed this more in class, but since Deputy Haley was coming, I made it somewhat short.

Srey was selected to do the next news brief.

Deputy Haley: Much of the rest of class was devoted to Scott Haley, who is the officer here at Westview. Scott talked about his experience with being the Student Support Officer here this year. Hopefully, you enjoyed hearing him talk with the class, because I definitely did!

CRLE Forms: As a part of the guest speaker coming in, students filled out a Career Related Learning Experience form (I believe you need to have 4 of these completed as a graduation requirement). I did turn all of these into the counseling office for anyone that did it.

Review Legislative Test: We did not have time to get to this today, but your grades are in StudentVUE, and we will come back to this next class.

Thanks, everyone!

Executive Branch, Day 1 - Class Recap

The White House, in Washington, D.C., where the President (the head of the Executive Branch of the United States government) lives. Photo taken in 2011.

Hi everyone,

Today was the Legislative Branch test in class, as well as the start of our unit on the Executive Branch. Here's what happened today in class:

Learning Targets Addressed:
Knowledge LT 1: I can demonstrate an understanding of the interplay between citizens and their governments.
Knowledge LT 3: I can demonstrate an understanding of how individuals and non-governmental institutions interact with each other and the government in shaping politics.
Knowledge LT 5: I can demonstrate an understanding of the principles, structures, and functions of different levels of U.S. government.

Soundtrack: "Thriller" by Michael Jackson. Selected for today because it will soon be Halloween! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 10/27/17:
News Brief – Ernesto
Legislative Test
Executive Branch Overview
The Presidency
Questions for Deputy Haley

Homework: Read the blog. Next news brief: Christian.

News Brief: Ernesto had the news brief today, but was not in class, so I filled in and selected an article about this story to talk about in class: CNN.com - Republican tax plan faces big hurdles ahead of 2018. We discussed this story for a bit and the challenges regarding tax reform. Christian was drawn as the next news brief.

We also checked in about the weekend and what people were up to, before moving on.

Legislative Test: I was generous in the lead up to this, as I went over basically the exact questions from the test and gave some study time before I passed it out. I should have grades for it available by next class (fingers crossed).

Executive Branch Overview: The next part of class was learning about the Executive Branch. Here are the answers to the sheet I passed out to start the unit:

Google Drive - Executive Branch Overview Notes

As part of going through this, I explained that the 2000 and 2016 Presidential Election was decided by the Electoral College, not the popular vote. We will look more into this soon.

The Presidency: Here is the reading that we ended class with. It is not homework to complete (unless you missed class), but be familiar with the basics, as a future test will be based on it!

Google Drive - The Presidency Reading

These are the questions that go along with the reading:

Google Drive - The Presidency Questions

Questions for Deputy Haley: At the end of class, we made some questions for Scott Haley, who is the officer here at Westview. Next class, Scott will come in and answer your questions, and talk about his experience with being the Student Support Officer here. In the past, this has been an awesome experience in learning more about law enforcement (directly related to the Executive Branch) and filling out a Career Related Learning Experience form (I believe you need to have 4 of these completed as a graduation requirement). I am looking forward to it! See you next class.

Legislative Branch, Day 5 - Class Recap

Today's town hall had various students running for office. Here's a very real candidate: my mom, running for Portland City Council in 2012!

Dear class,

Another interesting day, especially with the town hall meeting, which I really enjoyed! Here's what happened today in class:

Learning Targets Addressed:
Knowledge LT 1: I can demonstrate an understanding of the interplay between citizens and their governments.
Knowledge LT 3: I can demonstrate an understanding of how individuals and non-governmental institutions interact with each other and the government in shaping politics.

Knowledge LT 5: I can demonstrate an understanding of the principles, structures, and functions of different levels of U.S. government.

Soundtrack: "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus. Selected for today because we are studying US government, and also, because it is Halloween soon. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 10/25/17:
News Brief – Avery
Washington's Gridlock
Town Hall
Review for Test

Homework: Read the blog. Review for Legislative test, which is next class. Here are some resources to help you with this:

The second page of this handout, charting how a bill becomes a law, will be on the test. You will need to fill in the blanks with what happens on each side of Congress, then what happens when it gets to the President.

You will need to know: the political spectrum (from left to right: radical, liberal, moderate, conservative, reactionary). the number of representatives in each branch of Congress, and the eligibility requirements for them. The leaders in both the Senate (Vice President) and the House (Speaker of the House).

Next news brief: Ernesto.

News Brief: Avery had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: TheHill.com - Senate Republicans push Trump to join ObamaCare talks. We discussed this story as well as the continued fight over what to do with the Obamacare insurance markets, which start "open enrollment" next month. Thanks, Avery!

Ernesto has the next news brief. We also checked in about what students were up to outside of class before moving on.

Washington's Gridlock: I think this is an important story to learn about, with why many people are very frustrated with the United States government, in that not much of consequence seems to get done. Here is the reading we did in class:

Google Drive - Washington's Gridlock Presentation

Here is the assignment that went with the reading:

Google Drive - Washington's Gridlock Assignment

As part of the assignment, I talked about redistricting and gerrymandering contributing to inaction in Congress. Here's an interesting article about the most gerrymandered congressional districts in America. Also, I showed part of this hilarious video of Patton Oswalt on Parks and Recreation, using the filibuster as a tactic to stop the local city council from voting on an issue:

Furthermore, I showed this real life example of Senator Paul Ryan (KY) using the filibuster tactic in the Senate:

We also took a look at the approval ratings over time for President Trump and Congress.

Town Hall: I really liked this! We had three candidates (Bara, Tyler, and Grace) in front of the class, representing their own views. Everyone else in the class was responsible for writing questions for the candidates in class, representing different non-governmental organizations and advocacy groups for some important issues in the country - education, jobs and the economy, immigration, the environment, healthcare. This hits LT3: I can demonstrate an understanding of how individuals and non-governmental institutions interact with each other and the government in shaping politics.

The three candidates talked about their own views on the issues, and then tried to think on their feet to answer questions from the various groups around the class.

Here was the assessment I used for LT3, after the Town Hall:

Google Drive - Town Hall Review Questions

If you missed class today, please do your best to try and complete these questions using your own opinions and thoughts. Some students were not able to finish in class, so please get this in to me as soon as possible.

Review for Test: Please study for the legislative branch test (some multiple choice, some fill in the blank, some short answer) and let me know if you have any questions I can answer about it. Look above in the homework section for links that will help, along with this study guide:

Google Drive - Legislative Branch Test Study Guide

Thanks! See you on Friday!

Legislative Branch, Day 4 - Class Recap

As part of the Legislative simulation today in class, I played the role of the President of the United States. Here I am in front of the White House, where the President lives in Washington, D.C. in 2010 (when I had a beard!).

Dear class,

I enjoyed the bill simulation today! As usual, there was also a lot of work in going through information about the Legislative Branch. Thank you for your focus and effort! Here's the recap for today:

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 levels of U.S. government.

Soundtrack: "Rhapsody in Blue" by Leonard Bernstein. Selected for today because the legislative process is long, like this song. No lyrics, but listen here.

AGENDA 10/23/17:
News Brief – Emma
Review Congress Work
Legislative Simulation
Washington's Gridlock

Homework: Read the blog. Continue looking at the Washington's Gridlock presentation and related questions. Next news brief: Avery.

News Brief: Emma had the news brief today and selected this story to talk about: OregonLive.com - Drenching rain floods Tillamook. There was a record amount of rain on Saturday, so we talked about how the government might help in terms of clean up and rescue efforts.

Avery was randomly selected for the next news brief. We also checked in about the weekend and anything interesting happening before moving on.

Review Congress Work: The past two classes, we have been working on these handouts. First, Oregon reps in Congress:

Google Drive - Oregon Representatives in Congress Assignment

We also looked at the demographics of the current representatives in congress:

Google Drive - 115th Congress Profile Assignment

Here is a link to the website/pdf document that has the answers:

FAS.org - Membership of the 115th Congress: A Profile

We went through most of the answers as a class, then I told students to keep them to prepare for the upcoming Legislative Branch test.

Legislative Simulation: Again, I really liked this. I split up the class into the House of Representatives and Senate (which had less students in it, because that's how it really works), then again into different committees. I then passed out all the ideas for bills that students gave me at the end of last class, to debate. The committees debated the ideas for bills, then chose what they thought was the best one to propose to their chamber of Congress, by answering these questions:

What are you proposing?
Who will it impact?
When will it begin or end?
Where (which states) will be impacted?
Why should this bill pass?
How much will it cost?

After the full House and full Senate debated the two bills that were put forward by the committees, they chose one bill each to vote on and send over to the other part of Congress.

Both sections of Congress debated the bills, changed them, then voted on them, sending them back to the other side (this would now be the conference committee). Eventually, we had a few bills pass into law! So good! Here was one example from class:

Acting as President of the simulation, I signed the bill into law, with the pen that Governor Kate Brown used to sign the highway safety legislation that was enacted after my dad was killed in 2014.

Washington's Gridlock: I think this is an important story to learn about, with why many people are very frustrated with the United States government, in that not much of consequence seems to get done. Here is the presentation I started in class:

Google Drive - Washington's Gridlock Presentation 

Here are the questions that go along with the article:

Google Drive - Washington's Gridlock Questions

As part of the article, we will talk about redistricting and gerrymandering contributing to inaction in Congress. Here's an interesting article about the most gerrymandered congressional districts in America.

We will finish this up next class. Thank you very much!

Legislative Branch, Day 3 - Class Recap

The office of Speaker of the House, which is currently controlled by Republicans, and Representative Paul Ryan from Wisconsin. Photo taken in 2010.

Hi everyone,

It was basically another work/prep day for our legislative branch unit today in class! Here's the recap for today:

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 levels of U.S. government.

Soundtrack: "Represent" by Weezer. Selected for today because we were continuing to look at Oregon's Representatives in Congress. Get it? Lyrics here.

AGENDA 10/19/17:
News Brief – Nic
Finish Oregon Reps
115th Congress
Create Bills

Homework: Read the blog. Create a bill if you did not in class. Finish the Oregon representatives handout and the 115th Congress profile. Next news brief: Emma.

News Brief: Nic had the news brief today and talked about this story: CNN.com - What we know and don't know about the deadly Niger attack. We discussed what happened as a part of the reaction to these deaths and President Trump's phone calls with relatives.

Emma volunteered for the next news brief. We also checked in briefly about the weekend, before moving on.

Finish Oregon Reps: At the start of the class, we were working on the Oregon representatives handout, as well as the 115th Congress paper and creating bills. Here is the handout that I passed out last class:

Google Drive - Oregon Representatives in Congress Handout

The main point here is to know who our representatives are and what they believe. It is important that we know who represents us in Congress, and what their ideas are!

115th Congress: The next new piece from today was this handout, looking at the demographics of the current representatives in congress:

Google Drive - 115th Congress Profile Assignment

Here is a link to the website/pdf document that has the answers:

FAS.org - Membership of the 115th Congress: A Profile

I hope this helps! We went through the answers to these questions in class.

Create a Bill: This was in preparation for next class, when we will be doing a simulation of Congress. To start this off, I showed this recently released look behind the scenes as the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) was passed in 2010:

Here were the questions I wanted you to answer in your personal bill proposals:

1. What are you proposing?
2. Who will it impact?
3. When will it begin or end?
4. Where (which states) will be impacted?
5. Why should this bill pass?
6. How much will it cost?

Bring these in next class, please! Thanks for your work on this! See you next class, when we will simulating the legislative process!

Legislative Branch, Day 2 - Class Recap

This image of the US Capitol Building is actually the background for this blog! Photo taken in 2010.

Dear class,

Today, we talked your Bill of Rights Quiz scores! We also started up with looking at the Oregon congressional delegation. Here's the recap for today:

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 levels of U.S. government.

Soundtrack: "Abc" by The Jackson 5. Selected for today because counting 1-2-3 of the Amendments in the Bill of Rights would have helped last class on the quiz! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 10/17/17:
News Brief – Mr. Fritz
Review Quiz
Oregon Reps in Congress
Work Time

Homework: Read the blog. Continue working on the Oregon representatives handout (we will have a bit of time next class to finish/review). Next news brief: Nic.

News Brief: I had the news brief today (due to Kayla being out) and selected this article to talk about: NYTimes.com - Senators Reach Deal to Fund Subsidies to Health Insurers. We talked about this article and the issue of what is going on with the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) and what President Trump has done to stop as much of it as possible.

Nic was randomly selected for the next news brief.

Review Quiz: After the news, we talked about the Bill of Rights test from last class. We went through the answers together. If you need to retake this (or any other quiz/test), let's figure out a time outside of class to do this. Updated grades are posted online on StudentVUE.

Oregon Representatives: Next, it was time to learn more about who serves Oregon as representatives in Congress at the federal level. Here is the handout that I passed out in class/was on Google Classroom for students to edit using Kami:

Google Drive - Oregon Representatives in Congress Handout

The main point here is to know who our representatives are and what they believe. It is important that we know who represents us in Congress, and what their ideas are!

Work Time: For the rest of the class, we were working with the Chromebooks in class on the Oregon representatives handout.

Thanks for your work on this! See you next class, when we will be creating legislation of our own!

Bill of Rights Quiz and Legislative Overview - Class Recap

The United States Capitol Building, which is where Congress (the Legislative Branch of the US) meets. Photo taken in 2011.

Hi everyone,

Another quiz today! I hope it went well for everyone. Thanks again for your hard work! We also got started with a unit on the legislative branch. Here's what happened today:

Learning Targets Addressed:
Knowledge LT 1: I can demonstrate an understanding of the interplay between citizens and their governments.
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 levels of U.S. government.

Soundtrack: "At the Beginning" from Anastasia. Selected for today because we are the start of a new unit: the Legislative Branch. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 10/13/17:
News Brief - David
Bill of Rights Quiz
Legislative Branch Overview
Work Time

Homework: Read the blog. Study how a bill becomes a law handout! Next news brief: Kayla.

News Brief: David had the news brief today and selected an article about this story: CNN.com - Trump: We cannot aid Puerto Rico 'forever'. We checked in about this story, and some of the specifics as to what is happening with the response to the recent hurricanes.

Thanks, David! Kayla has the next news brief.

We also checked in about the weekend and what people were up to, before moving on.

Bill of Rights Quiz: We prepared for this the past few classes, as well as a bit during class today, before the quiz. Thank you for giving your best effort on this! We will go over the results together next class.

Legislative Branch Overview/Work Time: This was a handout that went through some of through some of the specifics of the legislative process, like what the legislative branch does and who makes it up. Please review the flow chart on page two, specifically. You will eventually be tested on that and we are going to work through that process together in a simulation later this week:

Google Drive - How a Bill Becomes a Law Handout

Before we did some review, I showed this old Schoolhouse Rock classic:

I also showed a Washington, D.C. license plate and talked about "taxation without representation."

We kept going with the handout until we stopped at trustee and delegate styles of legislators. Please make sure to review this handout! Thank you!

Bill of Rights Review - Class Recap

The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, D.C. FDR was named as one of the Presidents in Final Jeopardy today!

Dear class,

I had a lot of fun reviewing the Bill of Rights with you today! Please be studying the content for the quiz next class, along with the structure of the U.S. government. Here's the recap for the day:

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: “American Pie" by Don McLean. Selected for today because we were talking more about American government, and this song famously contains lots of references to American culture. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 10/11/17:
News Brief - Alexis/Seraiah
Bill of Rights
Jeopardy Review
Crash Course

Homework: Read the blog! Keep reviewing the Bill of Rights for the quiz next class (be able to write down what each Amendment in the Bill of Rights is, and an example, as well as checks/balances/powers of the federal government). Next news brief: David.

News Brief: Alexis and Seraiah both had the news brief today. Seraiah selected an article about this story to talk about: CNN.com - Bodycam footage shows Utah police shoot man as he runs away. We talked in class about ongoing questions of police brutality and also the use of video cameras to document events like this. I highly recommend reading the article to learn more about the actual case.

Alexis brought in an article about this story to talk about: CNBC.com - Trump's approval ratings drop in every state. With this, I showed a trendline from FiveThirtyEight.com about President Trump's approval/disapproval rating since the election. I talked about how polarized it seems like America is in terms of really liking or disliking the president, with not a lot of people in the middle.

David was selected for the next news brief.

Bill of Rights: To review the Bill of Rights (and in some cases, learn about for the first time, since we ran out of time last class), I had students write the summaries of the amendment titles from this website, as I then gave examples of how the amendments could be used today. You will need to do exactly this for next class!

Jeopardy Review: I always really enjoy this, and today was no exception. I split the class into three groups, and then we played this version of PowerPoint Jeopardy to review the material we have learned so far in class:

Google Drive - Constitution/Bill of Rights Jeopardy Review

This probably will be difficult to replicate on Google Drive, but you can at least see the questions to study from. Our big winners today were Group 3. We will do this later in the year, too!

Crash Course Rights: We did not get to this in class, so I might start next class with it for review before the quiz. See you then!

Rights of the Accused - Class Recap

Rays of the sun streaming through the flag of the United States, over the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Picture taken in 2011.

Hi everyone,

Welcome back from your weekend! I am still looking forward to the week, of course. Here's the recap for the day:

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: “99 Problems (Clean)" by Jay Z. Selected for today because it discusses the various protections that the Bill of Rights offers. Lyrics (which are decidedly NOT clean, but Rap Genius does offer some interesting interpretations of what they mean) here.

AGENDA 10/9/17:
News Brief - Seraiah
Review Constitution Quiz
Gun Nation Debrief
Rights of the Accused

Homework: Read the blog! Keep reviewing the Bill of Rights for upcoming quiz (on Friday). Take the Political Spectrum test if you want. Next news brief: Alexis.

News Brief: Seraiah had the news brief today, but was not in class at the start, so I filled in and selected this story to talk about: CNN.com - The price tag for Pence's trip to Indianapolis. A very interesting story involving the anthem protests and taxpayer funded travel for government officials, as well!

Alexis was assigned to do the next news brief.

I also discussed Oregon's declaration of today as Indigenous People's Day. The slideshow I went through can be found here:

Google Drive - Indigenous People's Day in Oregon

Hopefully this was informative and interesting to you!

Fourth Amendment: Because I want to get done with the Bill of Rights, today we looked through the details of the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 8th Amendments. We continued going through a packet of individual U.S. Supreme Court cases that helped set the scope of the Fourth Amendment. That packet is here:

Google Drive - Fourth Amendment Protections Handout

We finished the case on the last page today, which basically said that police can have time to get a search warrant while a suspect is waiting.

Pleading The Fifth: I showed this clip to introduce the Fifth Amendment (starting at 5:10 in to the video):

CC.com - Chappelle's Show: Pleading the Fifth

This led to another handout, going through the rights of the accused in the United States. I know it was a heavy day of handouts and readings, so I appreciate your focus and effort in looking at these together!

Google Drive - Rights of the Accused Handout

We went over the case studies and had some more good discussion about various student questions. See you next class! We will have some fun with Jeopardy!

Second Amendment - Class Recap

Inside the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C. Photo taken in 2010.

Dear class,

Thanks for checking in on the blog! We continued looking at the Bill of Rights together today, and diving into what the main ones mean.

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 5: I can demonstrate an understanding of the principles, structures, and functions of different branches of U.S. government.

Soundtrack: "Viva la Vida" by Coldplay. Selected for today for the philosophy of government because the song talks about a king. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 10/5/17:
News Brief - Yovanka
Constitution Quiz
Gun Nation
Rights of the Accused

Homework: Read the blog! Next news brief: Seraiah.
--
News Brief: Yovanka had the news brief today and selected this story to talk about with the class: ABCNews.go.com - Mother who refused to bring son's vaccinations up to date sentenced to 7 days in jail. We discussed this story and had an interesting discussion in class about the role of the government in public health and making people get vaccinated. Thanks, everyone!

We also talked a bit about the upcoming weekend, before moving on.

Seraiah volunteered for the next news brief.

Constitution Quiz: As promised! I hope that this went well for everyone. I will try to have them graded and entered later today. The first 10 questions were about the philosophy of U.S. Government, the second 10 questions were about the branches of government/checks of power, and the last 10 questions were about the Bill of Rights.

Gun Nation: This was the "Gun Nation" episode of the "30 Days" documentary series. I asked students to note Pro and Con arguments for gun rights, as well as what students thought should happen now with gun rights in America. I think this episode does a really good job of looking at both sides of the debate, and is pretty powerful. We will debrief this next class!

Rights of the Accused: We did not get to this in class, due to time. We will next time! Have a great weekend, everyone.

The Constitution, Day 2 - Class Recap

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: "Runnin' Down a Dream" by Tom Petty. Selected for today because of Mr. Petty passing away yesterday at the age of 66. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 10/3/17:
News Brief - Gibelli
Bill of Rights
The First Amendment
Tinker v. Des Moines

Homework: Read the blog! Prepare for Constitution test next class by studying the handout answers! Next news brief: Yovanka.

News Brief: Today's article was brought in by Gibelli, who selected this story: OregonLive.com - Oregon's new distracted driving law takes effect Oct. 1: what you need to know. We discussed this recent story in terms of what is allowed and why the Oregon state government would make this law. Thanks Gibelli! We also checked in about the last weekend and Yovanka volunteered to do the next news brief.

The Bill of Rights/First Amendment: The first ten amendments to the Constitution are called the Bill of Rights. To start this part of class, I showed this clip from The Daily Show, looking at what some people working for FOX News had to say in regards to the Bill of Rights and the Boston Marathon bomber.

We continued looking at the Constitution packet we started working on through Google Classroom and Kami last class, which had the Bill of Rights as a part of the last couple of pages.

Please make sure to study the entire packet for the test next class. 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

Tinker v. Des Moines: This was about the First Amendment protections, and I had students take notes on their Chromebooks as I went through this PowerPoint on some interesting cases that relate to student rights:

Google Drive - First Amendment Case Studies

We looked at some specifics of the cases, including the speech in the Bethel case and an article about the reaction from 2009 when the Westview Prowl student newspaper published an article about sex on campus.

After going through the PowerPoint, I asked students to open this document on Google Classroom and work on the answers using Kami:

Google Drive - Tinker v. Des Moines and Texas v. Johnson Cases

We went through these interesting cases and answers as a class - know them for future reference, please! See you next class!