Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Semester Finals - Class Recap


Sunset over Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, Hawaii. It was a great semester, everyone! Thank you for your hard work! Photo taken in 2011.

Hi everyone,

Today was our last day of class for the semester. We had our final test, reflection on the year, and then talked about life for a while. 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.
Research LT 5: I can effectively conduct and apply research.

Soundtrack: "Thankful" by Kelly Clarkson. Selected for today because I always choose this song for the last day of class, since I am so thankful to get to teach you all. Thank you! Lyrics (some of which I read aloud in class) are here.

AGENDA 1/30/18:
News Brief – Tyler
Final Test
Reflection
Study Time

Homework: Read the blog (if you want)! Let me know if I can help you at any point in the future! :-)
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News Brief: Tyler had the news brief today but was not in class, so I filled in and selected an article about this story to talk about: CNN.com - Train carrying Congress members hits truck. We discussed this horrific story for a bit in class, before moving on.

I talked in class about the importance of following the news and trying to stay up to date with what is happening in your city, state, country, and world. Knowledge is power! Try to stay plugged in to what is going on, if you can!

Final Test: As promised, this was a cumulative multiple choice final on the work we have done this semester. I anticipate having the grades submitted later this week (final grades are due on Monday at 8:00 AM, but I anticipate having them done before then).

Reflection: The last part to the test was a reflection short answer about how the semester went in Government - what you learned, what you will put into practice in your life, and what you will remember five years from now. I look forward to reading these!

Study Time: The end of class was set aside for study time.

Thank you all so much for being so wonderful to work with. Take care of yourselves and I hope to see you around! Have a great rest of the year! :-)

Monday, January 29, 2018

Finals Prep - Class Recap


Delicate Arch in Utah. A bridge between this semester and next! Photo taken in 2014.

Hi everyone,

Our last class together before semester finals was today, so we did some preparation! 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: "Final Hour" by Lauryn Hill. Selected for today because we are in our final hours before finals! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 1/29/18:
News Brief – Zoe
Jeopardy Review
Surveys
Study Time

Homework: Read the blog! Study for your final test! Finals are next class, on Wednesday. Next news brief: Tyler.
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News Brief: Zoe had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: NYTimes.com - Andrew McCabe Steps Down at F.B.I. in Widely Expected Move. We talked about this story and a little bit about what else is happening with the government.

The next news brief was assigned to Tyler.

Jeopardy Review: Another fun session of Jeopardy with the class! This was to review content for the final, next class. If you want to see the slides again, here they are:


Congratulations to Team 1 for coming out on top of the competition! I hope everyone had fun playing.

Surveys: At the end of class, it was study time, as well as helping some of my Diversity and Social Justice students out by taking some of their surveys for their final project. Here are the surveys:




Google Forms - Jay's Survey

Google Forms - Katelyn's Survey

Study Time: Here is the Study Guide that I passed out in class, if you missed class or wanted to see it again:


See you on Wednesday, for finals! Good luck on all of them! :-)

Thursday, January 25, 2018

State and Local Government, Day 8 - Class Recap


The famous "White Stag" building sign in downtown Portland. Photo taken over Winter Break, 2015.

Hi everyone,

It is a busy last week before finals week! Here's what happened in class:

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: "A Change is Gonna Come" by Sam Cooke. Selected for today because of the connection to the Civil Rights Movement in the lyrics.

AGENDA 1/25/18:
News Brief – Marian, Kayla, and CJ
Lift Ev'ry Voice
Discussion
Study Time

Homework: Read the blog. Continue studying for finals! Next news brief: Zoe.

News Brief: Marian had the news brief today and selected an article about this story: BBC.com - President Trump predicts 'tremendous increase' in UK-US trade.

CJ also brought in a news brief and selected an article about this story: NYTimes.com - Trump Says He Is Open to a Path to Citizenship for ‘Dreamers’.

Finally, Kayla talked about this story, as well: NYTimes.com - School Shooting in Kentucky Was Nation’s 11th of Year. It Was Jan. 23.

Thanks for the interesting conversation, everyone! Zoe has the next news brief (no write up required).

Lift Ev'ry Voice/Discussion: We finished watching an excellent recent documentary from OPB, called Lift Ev'ry Voice. If you want to watch again, share, or get caught up, it is here:


Here is the worksheet that goes along with the documentary:


I think it is super important that we understand our own history regarding race in Portland, especially as I think there are some common assumptions that are just not true. As such, I was glad to see that almost everyone was glued to this in class. Thanks for your focus and willingness to learn about our own history! It was great to hear student responses after the film about what they learned.

Study Time: The rest of class was devoted to study time for the upcoming final next week. Here is the study guide for the final (part multiple choice, part short answer reflection) that I passed out in class:


Next class, we will be playing Jeopardy to review these concepts and then have one last study session before finals. Thanks for your effort here!