Last Day of Semester - Class Recap

Congratulations, everyone! You are done with Government for this semester! Photo taken at Niagara Falls in 2010.

Dear class,

I really loved being your teacher this semester! You all were fantastic at working hard and keeping class an enjoyable place to come to in the morning. Thank you! Here's what happened in class today:

Learning Targets Addressed:

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

Soundtrack: "Thankful" by Kelly Clarkson. I always choose this song for the last soundtrack of a class I am teaching, because I remain so thankful for all of you! I read part of the lyrics at the start of class.

AGENDA 1/27/16:
News Brief – Lili
Divided States of America
Appreciation

Homework: Have a great rest of the year! Consider forecasting for Diversity and Social Justice next year! Say hi to me in the halls! :-)

News Brief: Lili had the news brief today and selected an article about President Trump's tweets regarding military service. Here's a recent story about that: CNN.com - Donald Trump, who never served in the military, goes after Senate veterans.

I hope that you are continuing to follow the news, especially with the upcoming votes for the presidential nomination this year!

Divided States of America: The rest of class was spent continuing to watch the recent documentary from Frontline/PBS. Here it is to watch if you wanted to see all the way until the end.

PBS.org - Frontline: Divided States of America

Appreciation: Thank you all so much for your hard work! See you around! Be informed and educated citizens! :-)

Finals - Class Recap

One more step on the bridge to the second semester, completed! Photo taken in New Zealand in 2014.

Dear class,

Today was finals for your period! I hope they went well and that you are looking forward to our last day together on Thursday. Here's what happened in class today:

Learning Targets Addressed:

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

Soundtrack: "Lucky Star" by Madonna. Selected for today because I searched for "luck" in my iTunes and this is one song that came up, for good luck on finals. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 2/7/17:
News Brief – Alessandra
Final Test
Reflection
Divided States of America

Homework: Read the blog! Good luck on the rest of your finals! See you next class! Next news brief: Lili.

News Brief: Alessandra had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: Politico.com - Trump's travel ban: What's next in the legal fight? We talked about this continuing story in terms of the judicial branch interacting with the executive branch. Today, the travel ban (which has been stopped for the time being) goes before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Definitely interesting to continue to follow!

Final Test: This was 100 questions, multiple choice. I think it took a bit longer to complete than in past years, but that is okay. I am looking forward to seeing how everyone did! Grades are due by February 21, I believe. I will likely have them entered later this week, however.

Reflection: As the test was winding to a close, I passed out a final reflection prompt, about how the class went, what you learned, and what you will remember (if anything) five years from now. I always enjoy reading these, as well.

Divided States of America: Next class, we will be finishing by watching the rest (or as much as we can) of this documentary about what is going on with our political system. Here it is again if you want to review or watch ahead:

PBS.org - Frontline: Divided States of America

Thanks everyone! See you next class for one more day together! :-)

Finals Prep, Day 2 - Class Recap

It was announced yesterday that Jay Z and Beyonce are expecting twins, so here's a picture I took of him in London in 2013.

Hi everyone,

Today was the last day before finals, next week! As such, I did not introduce any new content and I allowed students to work on whatever they wanted as we watched a documentary in class. 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: "So Many Tears" by 2Pac. Selected for today because the documentary was about the tearing apart of America by political lines.

AGENDA 2/2/17:

News Brief – Shanye
Divided States of America
Finals Prep
Questions?

Homework: Read the blog! Study for your final test! Next news brief: Alessandra

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News Brief: Shayne had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: CNN.com - Berkeley: 'Masked agitators' sparked violence before Milo Yiannopoulos talk. As I said in class, there is SO MUCH news right now with the federal government, that it is hard to keep track of. We discussed this story, along with the nomination that President Trump made to the Supreme Court, and various other stories, before moving on.

The next news brief was assigned to Alessandra.

Divided States of America: This is a PBS Frontline documentary that just came out a couple of weeks ago, on how politics (especially involving President Obama and President Trump) have really divided our country. We watched a fair amount of Part 1 today in class (again, students also had this time to study anything they wanted to), and might finish up the rest after finals. Here it is to watch if you are interested:

PBS.org - Frontline: Divided States of America

I hope you found this interesting!

Finals Prep/Questions: Here it is (at least, the first page), if you missed class or wanted to see it again:

Google Drive - Government Semester Final Study Guide

See you on Tuesday, for finals! Have a great weekend!