Week of 29 March 2010

This week we will be covering, well, not too much since it is only one day! We will be finishing up our movie, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. More importantly, we will all have a chance to rest and recuperate. After Spring Break we will be in the home stretch - 9 weeks until the EOC - no matter how you plan on spending your break, make sure you account for plenty of resting up.

When we get back from Spring Break, we will be working on the Executive branch in earnest (Unit 4B).

Week of 22 March 2010

This is officially the last full week before Spring Break. I understand that some families have had plans already made prior to March 29 being announced as a make-up day. As a result, it is my plan to not have any tests or quizzes on Monday, March 29. This week we will have a test on Unit 4A. It will either be on Wednesday, for periods 2 & 4, or Thursday for period 1. Please be sure you are prepared for that.

After the test we will watch a classic movie, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (watch the trailer below). Although this movie is quite old (1939) it does a fantastic job of illustrating the potential for corruption within Congress and political machines. We will then begin Unit 4B: Executive and Judicial Branches. I do not anticipate we will get too far in that unit as I do not want to do too much that will be forgotten over the break.

Week of 15 March 2010

Only two weeks to go before the end of the quarter! There will be a Unit 3 test this week, either Tuesday (period 4) or Wednesday (periods 1 & 2) - so please be prepared for that. I have included MANY more things on the Unit 3 webpage - more Vocabulary Games, links to websites about the information in the chapters, links to useful videos also pertaining to the information in the unit.

We will then begin studying about Political Parties and the Legislative Branch - Unit 4A. It is my intent to conduct this test before the end of the quarter, hopefully on Thursday, March 25. Keep up the good work (or catch back up - you can definitely do it!).

I am looking forward to a "normal week" for once!

Week of 8 March 2010

As mentioned on the "Home" page, this week will be a little different schedule wise, please refer to the "Home" tab above to read up on it.

In class, we will begin Unit 3: Voting & Elections (after we finish the movie). In this unit we will focus on Voting, its importance, qualification, and how to do it. Also, we will look at elections, the process, from campaigning to the actual election day.

Since the schedule is going to be off for each class this week due to testing, each period will end up in different places. Also on the agenda for this week is completing the Supreme Court Cases groups in periods 2 & 4, as well as peer evaluating your rewrites from Unit 1B Test.

In addition, I am planning to conduct a review session for Unit 3 on Thursday, however, since I am not sure how far we will have gotten into the unit by then, I am not sure if I will conduct a review session at all this week and instead hold off until Tuesday of next week. I will keep you updated here, on Twitter, and in the class.

Supreme Court Cases

I hope that everyone is enjoying the work we are doing regarding these Landmark Supreme Court cases involving the 1st Amendment. I am enjoying listening in on the group discussions in periods 2 & 4, and engaging in the class discussions in period 1. I hope that you are using these discussion to think more broadly about the 1st Amendment and possible questions regarding free speech and government regarding the establishment of a national religion. Through these discussions you should better understand the ideas and the approach of the government, the laws, and the precedents regarding these issue, and will therefore be better prepared to answer whatever questions may come your way on the End of Course exam regarding this topic.