December 10

Today we talked about the powers of the president and the checks on that power. Then we went to the computer land and did the following:

1. Take the Conservative or Liberal Quiz:
http://www.voteiq.com/match/liberal-conservative-first-set

2. Learn about the DREAM Act:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/12/dream-act.html

3. Learn about the Utah Compact: http://media.bonnint.net/slc/2488/248841/24884160.pdf

4. Email your senator with your opinion about the DREAM Act:
Orrin Hatch: http://hatch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Offices.Contact

Mike Lee: http://www.mikelee2010.com/contact

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Choose your own assignment

1. How do the president’s salary and responsibilities compare to those of a CEO in the private sector? Make a chart with the following headings: Name, Company Name, Responsibilities, Salary, Bonuses, Travel, Health Care, Housing, Miscellaneous. Use the internet to find information about the top five CEOs in the United States and complete the chart. Do you think the president’s compensation is equal to the job’s responsibilities?

2. The Constitution only gives the Vice President two duties, neither of which requires much time. What does Joe Biden do as Vice President? Research the daily life of V.P. (Biden) as well as his major accomplishments and create a comic illustrating his role in our government. Comic must have at least 6 squares with captions explaining the images. Use color and take time to make it visually appealing.

3. What is an average day like for the president? Use the internet to research this question and create a children’s book with at least 6 pages to illustrate your findings. Each page must have text and a picture. Incorporate at least 2 of the powers of the president clearly into your project.

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November 30

Today we finished Mr. Smith and then started our Unit on the executive branch by learning about the presidents of the United States. You were given an assignment at the end of class. With a partner you need to write 5 questions about 1 topic addressed by President Obama. Give your survey to 30 people. Keep track of gender and age. Analyze your results and create a chart to illustrate the results to present to the class on Monday.

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November 23

Today we watched Mr. Smith...

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November 19

Today we finished our Mock Congress. Great job!

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November 17

2nd Day of Mock Congress...we will finish our floor time next time and then finish "Mr. Smith..."

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November 15th

Today was our first day of Mock Congress. If you missed class this day, you may need to do an extra project to make up for what you miss.

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November 11

Today we took our test on Congress. If you missed class, you will need to take your test on Monday in the testing center. (u-23 @ 7:00am)

Also, make sure that you bring 5 copies of your bill, one with a cover sheet, on Monday. If you forget to do this, you will have a hard time getting your bill passed and earning a good score on the Congress. Remember that dressing up is also a way to earn points.

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November 9

Today we were fortunate enough to have Representative Herrod come and speak to the class. Your assignment for next time is to comment (with your name) on 4 bills.

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November 5

Today we did a peer review on our rough drafts of our bills. Then we learned about the committees and staff of Congress. Go through the ppt if you were absent.

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Revised Bills

Email me the revised copy of your bill by Monday evening.
aprilrockwood@gmail.com

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Nov. 3

Today we had a party meeting, learned about the powers of congress and how to influence congress, and email our representatives about our bill ideas. If you were absent, review the Powers of Congress ppt and then email your representive. Bcc me on the email so I can give you credit for it: aprilrockwood@gmail.com

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Nov. 1

Today we spent the day in the computer lab researching our bills. Use the research guide posted under assignments.

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Representatives' Email Addresses

Chris Herrod: cherrod@utah.gov
Dean San Pei: dsanpei@utah.gov
Becky Lockhart: blockhart@utah.gov
Keith Grover: keithgrover@utah.gov
Francis Gibson: fgibson@utah.gov (Springville)

Curt Bramble: curt@cbramble.com
Mark Madsen: mmadsen@utahsenate.org(Springville)

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October 28

Today we finished talking about the Senate, learned about a bill becoming a law and then started watching Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

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October 26--Bill Idea

Post your bill idea by clicking on the comment link on this post. Include your names and your idea. This needs to be posted by midnight tonight. Today in class we learned about the House and Senate and had another party caucus.

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October 22

Today we organized political parties, started working on platforms, and then learned about the general organization of Congress. Go over Congress overview ppt.

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Oct. 20 Partner SIgn up

Today we introduced our Mock Congress and then looked at the candidates running for election in our district. By midnight on Friday you need to sign up with a partner for the Mock Congress. Do that by commenting on this post with both of your names. Only 1 person needs to complete this.

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October 18

Unit 2 Test and Folders due:

Unit 2 Guide
Constitution Cheat Sheet
Photo Essay

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October 12

Constitution Bowl!!!!

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October 8

Today was the college fair, so everybody missed this class. Nothing to make up.

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October 6th

Today we learned about judicial review and finished discussing federalism. Next time is our Constitution Bowl and then the test after fall break. Your photo essay is also due the Monday after fall break. See judicial review ppt. and federalism ppt.

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October 4

Today we introduced the Constitutional Photo Essay Assignment and spent a liitle time in class working on this. We then talked about 5 ways to informally change the Constitution and started learning about the specifics of federalism. See ppt.

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September 30

Today we learned the 27 amendments to the Constitution. Go through your copy of the Constitution and make sure you know all of them.

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Sept. 28

Today we talked about Federalist 10 and the Large Republic Theory, as well as filters of consent and the electoral college. These are the last few slides on the Structures ppt. We also handed out the Constitution Bowl packets.

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Sept. 24

Today we talked about the rest of the structures in the Constitution. Finish going through the Constitution Over view ppt.

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Sept. 22nd

Today we started learning about the Constitution. We learned what each of the articles is about, what the preamble says and started talking about structure. We learned about limited government, separation of powers, and checks and balances. Go over the Constitution overview ppt to this point. Fill out the Constitution Cheat Sheet.

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Sept. 13

Finished watching Rudy. Passed off INvictus. Turned in folders.

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Sept. 20

Today we took our test and turned in our folders. Test corrections will be available during intervention on Thursday in my room. If you missed the test, you can take it during collaboration Monday morning in the testing center in U-23.

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Sept. 16

Today we talked about ratification of the constitution. Look at the ratification ppt and make sure you know some of the arguments for each side. We also did a test review for the test next time. make sure you have the following papers in your folder ready to turn in:

Disclosure Doc.
Unit 1 Guide
Types of Gov.
Power Paragraph
Leading to Rev/English Hist.
Articles of Confed.

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Sept. 14

Today we finished going over the constitutional convention. Just fill in the remainder of the blue sheet by going through the rest of the Articles ppt.

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Sept. 10th

Today we talked about the Articles of Confederation and the beginning of the Constitutional Convention. Fill out the Articles handout with the ppt.

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Sept. 8th

Today we learned about the English tradition that brought the rule of law to America, as well as briefly discussing the U.S. history that led us to our first government in the United States. Look at History ppt. Remember that your Rule of Law/Human Predicament assignment is due next time in class.

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Sept. 3

Today we talked about the rule of law. Your homework for next time is to find a modern news story that illustrates a violation of one of the principles of the rule of law. Print the article and briefly describe what principle is being violated and how. Then find a modern news story that illustrates one part of the human predicament. Print the article and brielf describe what stage of the human predicament is being illustrated and why. This will be due in class on Sept. 10th. Please type your responses. If absent, go through the rule of law ppt.

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Sept. 1

Today we went over the types of gov. GO throught the ppt and fill out the Types of Gov handout that goes with it.

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August 30th

Today we talked about the purposes of government, the theories of where governments came from and the different types of legitimacy. GO over the Purposes ppt. if you were absent. We also signed up for current events.

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August 26

Today we started by filling out a notecard using the information found in the Intro to Gov ppt. Then we discuss immigration for our current event and took the citizenship test. We handed out disclosure documents and went over them. You have 3 assignments to complete:
1. Comment on the blog post below
2. Obtain a folder for class
3. Get your disclosure document signed

If you were absent, go over the ppt, take the citizenship test and fill out a notecard to turn in to me next time.

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Welcome Back!

First Assignment: To show that you have found this blog and know how to access it, comment on this post. Click the comment button, write your name and period and submit. It will not show up immediately because I have to moderate it.

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