State and Local Government, Day 3 - Class Recap

Another beautiful place in our amazing State of Oregon: the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival in Woodburn. Photo taken in 2015.

Dear class,

Busy times! Today was our last day of in class work on the State and Local project. Here's what happened in class today:

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: "Battlefield" by Jordin Sparks. Selected for today because the end of the semester can feel like a series of battles. Keep working hard, everyone! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 1/10/18:
News Brief – Marie
State/Local Project
Work Time
Grade Check

Homework: Read the blog. Your State/Local final project is due to be turned in and presented next class! Next news brief: Jacqueline, Kayla, Ernesto, CJ, Erick, and Calvin.

News Brief: Marie had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: NYTimes.com - Trump Appears to Endorse Path to Citizenship for Millions of Immigrants. I showed the video from this story to the class and talked about how President Trump is saying two incompatible things about the Dream Act and his desire for a border wall to be paid for by the government.

We also talked about what students were up to outside of class. I spent the evening last night with President Obama's Official Photographer, Pete Souza, who was at a book talk in Portland! I brought in his book to share with students who were interested in seeing some behind the scenes photos of the presidency.

State/Local Project: We kept working on this project, which is a two page paper, with at least three MLA citations, about a local issue that you care about. Here's the handout:

Google Drive: State and Local Government Final Project

We went through this together again, and then continued working on it in class.

Work Time/Grade Check: The rest of class was spent working on Chromebooks, researching for the State and Local project and writing about an issue that you care about in our local community as I checked in with students about grades again. Next class, on Friday, you will be presenting about your problem and turning your paper in. Thanks for your hard work, everyone!

State and Local Government, Day 2 - Class Recap

As we continue to work in class on the State and Local project, here is a picture I took last year of Oregon's only National Park: Crater Lake.

Hi everyone,

Today was our second work day in class on the State and Local government project. I also updated everyone on what needed to be done as we approach finals. 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 6: 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.
Critical Thinking and Reasoning LT 3: I can apply understanding of ideas and concepts to a new context or problem. 

Soundtrack: "Coming Home" by Mat Kearney. Selected for today because this is a song about Oregon (played after the first quarter at Oregon Ducks football home games). Lyrics here.

AGENDA 1/8/17:
News Brief – Jacqueline
Citing Sources
State/Local Project
Work Time

Homework: Read the blog. Turn in your Citizenship Paper on Google Classroom if you have not yet! Continue working on your State/Local final project (due to be presented on Friday). Next news brief: Marie.

News Brief: Jacqueline had the news brief today, but forgot her binder, so I filled in and selected an article about this story to talk about: CNN.com - Sources: Oprah Winfrey 'actively thinking' about running for president. This was an interesting article to talk about today, as the Golden Globes were last night and Oprah had a very powerful speech.

Marie has the next news brief.

Citing Sources: Because so many students seemed to stumble on this part with the Citizenship Paper, and because the State and Local project has it as a requirement as well, I spent some time in class going over how to cite sources in MLA format. Some links that may help with this:

Purdue OWL - MLA Works Cited: Electronic Sources 

Purdue OWL - MLA In-Text Citations: The Basics

EasyBib.com

A works cited page at the end of your research paper is a requirement, as is utilizing in-text citations. EasyBib really helps with the works cited page for electronic resources!

State/Local Project: The final assignment for the unit is this project, which is a two page paper, with at least three MLA citations, about a local issue that you care about. It will be due on Friday in class, and you will be asked to give a short (like a minute or two) presentation. Here's the handout:

Google Drive: State and Local Government Final Project

We went through this together, and then had work time in class.

Work Time: The rest of class was spent on Chromebooks, working on researching for the State and Local project and writing about an issue that you care about in our local community. When I was checking in with students, it appeared that most had a great start as far as selecting issues and beginning to work on the project. Next class, we will be have our last in class day to continue working. Please let me know if you have any questions about what to do! See you on Wednesday!

State and Local Government, Day 1 - Class Recap

The beach at Puerto Vallarta, on Christmas Eve, 2015.

Dear class,

Welcome back from Winter Break! Today, I introduced the last major assignment of the year, with the State/Local government project. 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 6: 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.
Critical Thinking and Reasoning LT 3: I can apply understanding of ideas and concepts to a new context or problem. 

Soundtrack: "Welcome Back" by Ma$e. Selected for today for obvious reasons. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 1/4/18:
News Brief – Mr. Fritz
Welcome Back
State/Local Government
Project Work

Homework: Read the blog. Turn in any missing/incomplete work - especially the Citizenship Paper from last class if you did not finish. Next news brief: Jacqueline.

News Brief: I had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: CNN.com - Sessions to nix Obama-era rules leaving states alone that legalize pot. This was a story that just came out this morning, which could potentially have impacts on the state of Oregon, as we have legalized recreational marijuana.

I also talked about the reason I was absent from school just before Winter Break started: my uncle and aunt were killed in a bus accident in Mexico that made the news, here: WashingtonPost.com - Americans among 12 killed in bus crash during Mexican cruise excursion. After my dad's death, I became even closer with my Uncle Andy and Aunt Jody, so their deaths are especially hard to fathom, as well. The memorial service for both of them is this Saturday in Olympia, Washington. It was a very challenging break, for sure. I appreciate everyone's kindness and understanding during this time.

Jacqueline was selected to do the next news brief.

Unit Overview: Today, we started our work with State and Local government unit (our last main one before the end of the semester). To begin, I had students do a simple fill-in-the-blank overview of the main concepts. The completed form is here:

Google Drive: State/Local Government Completed Overview

This was meant as a general overview. We will get into some specifics in the coming days.

State/Local Project: The final assignment for the unit is this project, which is a two page paper, with at least three MLA citations, about a local issue that you care about. It will be due in a few days (we have at least the next two days in class to be working on it), and you will probably be asked to give a short (like a minute or two) presentation. Here's the handout:

Google Drive: State/Local Government Project

I went through the assignment in depth in class, and talked about possible issues for students to research. Basically, go with something you are interested in! It's really up to you - just run it by me, first! The rest of the class was spent working on the Chromebooks, researching for the State and Local assignment, I think most students are set with knowing what their problem is and how to research it. We will continue doing this next class. Thanks!