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,

Welcome to your Spring Break! We checked in about what we were up to and went over 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: "Represent" by Weezer. Selected for today because we started learning about who your representatives in Congress are. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 3/23/18:
News Brief – Noah
Review Quiz
Oregon Reps in Congress
Work Time

Homework: Read the blog. Finish the Oregon representatives handout. Have a great Spring Break! Next news brief: Mr. Fritz.

News Brief: Noah had the news brief today and selected this article to talk about: CNN.com - Trump threatens to veto $1.3 trillion spending bill over immigration. We talked for a while about President Trump's veto threat and why he ultimately signed the bill today.

After the news brief, we talked about what we were up to over Spring Break. I will be heading to Hawaii for most of it!

I will have the next news brief, as we have the week off.

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 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 (it is also on Google Classroom):

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 on Chromebooks and on paper copies (if needed), working on the Oregon representatives handout.

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

Bill of Rights Quiz and Legislative Overview - Class Recap

Please note: there will be no class recap posted for the day of March 21, as most juniors in class will be taking Smarter Balanced assessments. As such, the rest of class was more of a study hall. We will get back to regular class on Friday, March 23.

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 3/19/18:
News Brief - Abby K.
Bill of Rights Quiz
Legislative Branch Overview
Work Time

Homework: Read the blog. Study how a bill becomes a law handout! SBAC testing next class (Wednesday). Next news brief (Friday): Noah.

News Brief: Abby K. had the news brief today and selected an article about this story: NYTimes.com - Andrew McCabe’s Firing: Here’s What You Need to Know. We talked about this story for a bit at the start of class, including why it is that McCabe would be fired two days before he retired.

Thanks, Abby K. The next news brief will be done on Friday, as most students in the class have Smarter Balanced testing on Wednesday.

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 3/15/18:
News Brief - Oviya
Summarize Rights
Jeopardy Review
Study Time

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: Abby K.

News Brief: Oviya selected this article to talk about for his news brief today: CNN.com - A generation raised on gun violence sends a loud message to adults: Enough. We talked about this article for a while, and how it relates to our government and the student protest yesterday. We also talked about what we were up to outside of class.

Abby K. was assigned to do the next news brief. Thank you!

Summarize Rights: We went through and summarized the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution for the upcoming Bill of Rights quiz.

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. We will do this later in the year, too!

Study Time: The rest of class was used for studying and/or retakes of tests or quizzes. I think this was used productively in class, so we may continue to do this. Thanks for your focus today!  One question from the quiz, for checking the blog, is: What is one power of the judicial branch listed in the Constitution? 

Be ready for the quiz next class, please! See you then!

The Rest of the Bill of Rights - Class Recap

Jay Z's song "99 Problems" is in part about the Fourth Amendment protections that we talked about today in class.

Hi everyone,

Welcome back from your weekend! We had a good time going through the rest of the Bill of Rights today in class. 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 3/13/18:
News Brief - Jackson K.
Fourth Amendment
Pleading the Fifth
Bill of Rights Review

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

News Brief: Jackson K. had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: WashingtonPost.com - Trump ousts Tillerson, will replace him as secretary of state with CIA chief Pompeo. We talked about this story for a while at the start of class, going through what the latest shakeup in the executive branch means.

Oviya was assigned to do the next news brief.

Fourth Amendment: Because I want to get done with the Bill of Rights, today we looked through the details of Amendments 4-10 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 (Illinois v. McArthur), which basically said that police can have time to get a search warrant while a suspect is waiting. Lots of good questions and thoughts here, too!

Pleading The Fifth: I showed this clip to introduce the Fifth Amendment:

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.

Bill of Rights Review: At the end of class, I showed the TIME overview videos for Amendment 3, since we were wrapping up rights of the accused today in class. During this time, I had students write down the Amendments in their own words, for future use in class. Here's a link to the Fourth Amendment one:

Time.com - Your Fourth Amendment Right to Privacy

I thought these did a nice job of explaining the history of each amendment, as well as how they are relevant today. Watch the other ones, if you want to go over them all again! See you next class!

Rights of the Accused - 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 3/9/18:
News Brief - Joshua
Review Constitution Test
Gun Nation
Rights of the Accused

Homework: Read the blog! Next news brief: Jackson K.
--
News Brief: Joshua had the news brief today, but was not in class, so I filled in and selected an article about this story to talk about with the class: CNN.com - Trump and Kim: Where will they meet and what will they say?. We discussed this story and the potential impacts. I also fielded some questions about the possible meeting.

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

Jackson K. was selected for the next news brief.

Review Constitution Test: This was from last class. I passed back the tests, which had the grades marked on the top of each side. If this test went poorly, never fear, because there will be a retake in a few classes on the Bill of Rights and the branches of government. Please make sure to review the material!

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. I enjoyed our conversation afterwards. Thanks for your participation with this, everyone!

Rights of the Accused: To end class, we started looking at the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution. I then passed out this packet, which was about various different cases regarding privacy and rights:

Google Drive - Fourth Amendment Protections Packet

Before the end of class, we started the 8 cases. We ended there for the week, and will pick back up next time there. Thanks, everyone. :-)

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: "Be Prepared" from The Lion King. 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.

AGENDA 3/7/18:
News Brief - Carlos
Constitution Test
Political Spectrum
Second Amendment

Homework: Read the blog! Next news brief: Joshua.
--
News Brief: Carlos had the news brief today and selected this story to talk about with the class: CNN.com - Top economic adviser Gary Cohn leaves White House in wake of tariff rift. We discussed this story for a bit in class.

We also talked a bit about what we were up to outside of class, before moving on.

Joshua was selected 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 and let me know what you get!

Second Amendment: We will go into this in depth next class. See you then!

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: "Don't Speak" by No Doubt. Selected for today because the First Amendment states that people have the freedom of speech. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 3/5/18:
News Brief - Emily W.
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: Carlos.

News Brief: Today's article was brought in by Emily W, who selected this story: OregonLive.com - Oregon officials agree to reduce the use of hotels as temporary homes for foster children. We discussed this recent story in terms of what is happening and why the Oregon state government would make this law. Thanks, Emily W! We also checked in about the last weekend and Carlos was assigned 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 complete this handout:

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!

The Constitution, Day 1 - Class Recap

One of my favorite photos from the total eclipse over Oregon in August of 2017! 

Hi everyone,

Thanks for continuing to work on getting to know the Constitution better! 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: "Friday I'm In Love" by The Cure. Selected for today for the obvious reason that tomorrow is Friday! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 3/1/18:
News Brief - Crystal
Finish Sharing Nations
The Constitution
The Bill of Rights

Homework: Read the blog! Keep studying the Constitution handout answers for an upcoming quiz! Next news brief: Emily W.

News Brief: Crystal was not in class today, so I filled in and selected this story: CNN.com - Dow plummets more than 500 points after Trump announces tariffs. We discussed this story from today and talked about the impact that the government can have on the economy. We also checked in about the upcoming weekend and Emily W. volunteered to do the next news brief.

Finish Sharing Nations: This was left over from our last class. Thank you for sharing your ideas for new countries, as well as your flags! I will put them up in the room for us to admire. :-)

The Constitution: Next, we tied the creation of a nation activity into the creation of our own United States Constitution by watching this Crash Course video:

Lots of similar themes as you were having to decide in the creation of your own country!

With that, 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 started this in class and will continue working on it next class. 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.

We ran out of time after this, so we will come back to looking in depth at the Bill of Rights next class. See you then!