Judicial Branch, Day 8 - Class Recap

I hope everyone enjoys their Winter Break! I will be heading back to Mexico again (I took this picture at Chichen Itza in 2011).

Hi everyone,

Our last day together before 2016! As such, it was a relatively easy day. Here's what happened today in class:

Learning Targets Addressed:

Knowledge LT 1: I can demonstrate an understanding of the interplay between citizens and their governments.
Knowledge LT 2: I can demonstrate an understanding of the role of governments in current issues.
Knowledge LT 5: I can demonstrate an understanding of the principles, structures, and functions of different levels of U.S. government.

Soundtrack: "Reelin' in the Years" by Steely Dan. Selected for today because the next time class meets, it will be a new year. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 12/17/15:
News Brief – Tristen W.
Review Feedback
12 Angry Men
Test Results

Homework: Read the blog. Turn in any late/incomplete work. Have a great, safe break! See you in 2015! Next news brief: Mr. Fritz

News Brief: Tristen W. had the news brief today and selected this story to talk about: CNN.com - What's in the 2,000-page bill Congress dropped in the middle of the night? This obviously relates to the government, as it is setting the budget for basically the entire federal government, meaning this is an enormous amount of money. It's also a huge debate, as Republicans and Democrats have to come together to figure it out, unless the government shuts down (which recently happened). Thanks, Tristen W!

I will be doing the next news brief, since there is such a long time between classes! I love following what is going on in the world, so it will be easy for me. I hope everyone continues to follow the news over break!

Review Feedback: Last class, I asked everyone about what was going well and what could be improved, both with the class and with me as a teacher. Here are the results to that feedback:

Google Drive - Government Class Feedback PowerPoint

It's always good to see this information and learn from it! Thanks for your honest feedback.

12 Angry Men: We watched the last hour of the movie today in class (I also passed out your scantron results from the Judicial Branch test). Here is a link to the film questions:

Google Drive - 12 Angry Men Film Questions

Such a classic movie! Rated in the Top 10 all time for a reason. A great way to end the class before break! Thanks for your focus and for the discussion after. See you next year! :-)

Judicial Branch, Day 7 - Class Recap

The exterior of the Colosseum in Rome. At the end of gladiator fights, the loser would famously be judged by the emperor. Photo taken summer 2014.

Dear class,

It is always great to see you in the morning! It helps brighten my day immensely. Here's what happened today in class:

Learning Targets Addressed:

Knowledge LT 2: I can demonstrate an understanding of the role of governments in current issues.
Knowledge LT 5: I can demonstrate an understanding of the principles, structures, and functions of different levels of U.S. government.

Soundtrack: "Money" by Pink Floyd. Selected for today because trials and lawyers cost a lot of money to run.

AGENDA 12/15/15:
Wildcat News Brief – Morris
Review
Judicial Branch Test
12 Angry Men

Homework: Read the blog. Turn in any late/incomplete work. Next news brief: Tristen W.

Wildcat News Brief: Morris had the news brief today and talked about this story: TIME.com - What to Know About the Historic ‘Paris Agreement’ on Climate Change. We talked about why this is such a big deal, why it may get some push back from people in the United States, and I showed a chart of global Carbon Dioxide emissions in 2011 to illustrate my point. Thanks, Morris! We also talked about last weekend, before moving on.

Tristen W. was assigned to do the next news brief.

If you missed class, or wanted to see Wildcat News again, here it is:

Review: This was actually intended to be more of a review about how the year has been going so far in Government class, rather than review for the test. The questions (which could be completed anonymously, if you wanted) were:

1) What do you like about this class?

2) What can this class (you, as the students) improve at doing?

3) What do you like about Mr. Fritz as a teacher?

4) What can Mr. Fritz improve at as a teacher?

I read these during the test, and appreciated your feedback. It's always good to hear about what is going well, and what can be improved on. I will put these answers into a PowerPoint to review with the class next time.

Judicial Branch Test: As promised, 40 questions, multiple choice. It is a busy end to the week, and I will hope to get these grades get entered ASAP.

12 Angry Men: After the test, we started watching one of the most critically acclaimed movies ever: 12 Angry Men (1957). This is a great way to wrap up the judicial branch unit, as we learn more about the jury process through watching this film. I know it is old and black and white, and I was glad to see that students were paying close attention. Here is the film note-taking assignment, if you missed class or lost your copy:

Google Drive: 12 Angry Men Film Questions

We will finish watching this next class, which is our last before break! See you then.

Judicial Branch, Day 6 - Class Recap

Students in class today said that they would be more likely to read the blog if I posted a selfie. So, here's one I took on a flight from Seattle to Tokyo in 2014, on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner with mood lighting. :-)

Dear class,

It was a mostly a review and study day in class, for the upcoming judicial branch test. Here's what happened today in class:

Learning Targets Addressed:

Knowledge LT 2: I can demonstrate an understanding of the role of governments in current issues.
Knowledge LT 5: I can demonstrate an understanding of the principles, structures, and functions of different levels of U.S. government.

Soundtrack: "Rockin' in the Free World" by Neil Young. Selected for today because the laws of our country are supposed to ensure freedom. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 12/11/15:
News Brief – Janet
The National Judiciary
Juries
Study Guide

Homework: Read the blog. Study for judicial branch test next class. Next news brief: Morris.

News Brief: Janet was not in class today, so we did not have a news brief, despite my best attempt to get students to talk about anything that was going on.

Morris was assigned to do the next news brief.

If you missed class, or wanted to see Wildcat News again, here it is:

The National Judiciary: To help with understanding the process for how the Supreme Court takes and decides cases, we watched these two videos:

These videos were pretty cheesy (and older), but did a good job of explaining what happens!

We then went through this in detail today - thoroughly reviewing the main concepts of the unit:

Google Drive: The National Judiciary Readings and Questions

Juries/Study Guide: Most of class was spent going over many questions about the judicial branch. I also passed out this study guide (the juries reading was on the back side) for preparation:

Google Drive: Judicial Branch Test Study Guide

Google Drive: Reading on Juries for Judicial Branch Test

One of the questions on the test will be (thanks for checking the blog!): In this case the U.S. Supreme Court declared that no one accused of a crime has to stand trial in any court in the land without benefit of counsel unless he or she specifically refuses it.
A. Dred Scott v Sanford C. Gideon v Wainwright
B. Plessy v Ferguson D. Brown v Board of Education

If you aren't sure, guess in the comments and I will tell you what the answer is!

See you next class, for the test! Then we will close before break by watching a movie about the judicial process. :-)

Judicial Branch, Day 5 - Class Recap

The flag of the United States, before the Holiday Bowl football game in 2008. Today, we had an interesting mock trial on saying the Pledge of Allegiance in class.

Hi everyone,

I really enjoyed the discussions and debates the mock trials brought up today, and I had the sense that most students did, too. Here's what happened today in class:

Learning Targets Addressed:

Knowledge LT 2: I can demonstrate an understanding of the role of governments in current issues.
Knowledge LT 5: I can demonstrate an understanding of the principles, structures, and functions of different levels of U.S. government.

Soundtrack: "GDFR" by Flo Rida. Selected for today because the class was finally participating in the mock trials, where it was going down for real.

AGENDA 12/9/15:
News Brief – Finn
Mock Trials
The National Judiciary
Work Time

Homework: Read the blog. Turn in citizenship paper and any other missing work! Next news brief: Janet.

News Brief: Finn had the news brief today and talked about this story: CNN.com - Donald Trump: Ban all Muslim travel to U.S. This story is of course very relevant to our government, as Trump is currently leading the Republican polls in his run for President. That said, I showed the class that his overall support in the country is actually probably around 8-10%, and that I felt the data showed it was very unlikely he would become President. Also, his proposal is almost certainly unconstitutional, as it discriminates on the basis of religion (which the First Amendment bans). An interesting conversation at the start of class!

Janet was assigned to do the next news brief.

Mock Trials: The majority of class was taken up by doing the mock trials for the three cases we had left from last class. We had a really excellent discussion on the issues: school segregation, drug searches at school, and saying the Pledge of Allegiance in class. Please complete the rest of your mock trial packet, if you did not in class! Here are the actual results of the cases, with audio of the arguments, if you are interested:

Case #1: Oyez.org - Morse v. Frederick

Case #2: Oyez.org - Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1

Case #3: Oyez.org - Safford Unified School District v. Redding

Case #4: Oyez.org - Elk Grove United School District v. Newdow

We just barely finished all the cases within the class! Thank you for participating in this - I thought it was a pretty cool activity and I was glad to see students engaged in trying to answer these important legal questions.

Next class, we will start wrapping up the Judicial Branch unit with an overview, then begin studying for the text next week.

Judicial Branch, Day 4 - Class Recap

A panorama of the aftermath of the first game in the Western Conference Finals, as the Portland Timbers beat Dallas 3-1. This weekend, Portland plays in a one game MLS Cup championship, in Columbus, Ohio, and I will be there! I apologize for missing two classes out of the last three, and this is obviously an opportunity I did not want to pass up. :-)

Dear class,

It was so good to see everyone again today! I appreciated your work ethic and ability to focus, once we really started diving into the new material. Here's what happened in class:

Learning Targets Addressed:

Knowledge LT 2: I can demonstrate an understanding of the role of governments in current issues.
Knowledge LT 5: I can demonstrate an understanding of the principles, structures, and functions of different branches of U.S. government.

Soundtrack: "Ordinary People" by John Legend. Selected for today because the Supreme Court cases you learned about today were all brought forward by ordinary people. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 12/3/15:
News Brief – Jace
Grades
Mock Trial Prep
Trials?

Homework: Read the blog. Look at your grade (updated in Student VUE and on the back wall by ID number in the room) and improve it, if possible! Next news brief: Ezrie.

News Brief: Jace was not in class today, so instead, we talked about the shooting yesterday in San Bernardino, which is where Jon was born and Hector has family (it sounds like both did not have anyone they know of effected). As part of this section, I showed this tweet, with a calendar of every mass shooting (as defined by 4+ victims, including the shooter) in the United States so far this year.

We also checked in about the weekend, Thanksgiving break, and what was going on outside of class.

I assigned Ezrie to do the next news brief.

Grades: After the news brief, I talked about the recent update to the grades in class, including the Cabinet Project grades. Hopefully you know exactly where you are as far as your grade (the grades are also updated online and on the back wall by student ID number). If you have any questions, please see your report card comments, or come see me before school, after school, or during lunch. Thanks!

Mock Trial Prep: The rest of the class was devoted to starting the mock trial process, which I always love. It is pretty complicated to explain, though! If you missed class, I would suggest you download and print off these documents, so that you will at least have some idea for next class (when you will finish preparing):

Google Drive: Mock Trial Preparation Forms

Google Drive: Mock Trial - Case #1 

(choose a side to be a lawyer for, and fill out the legal brief pages for that side)

Google Drive: Mock Trial - Case #3

(if you missed class, you will be the judge for this case. Fill out the second page of forms for this case)

The observation forms at the end of the packet are for when we actually do the activity in class, next Wednesday.

The plan for Monday is this:

1) First half of class will be spent completing the Mock Trial forms for their cases, and being ready to present them/do the mock trial on Wednesday.

2) Second half of class will be in N210 Computer Lab, finishing up with the Citizenship Paper assignment:

Google Drive: Citizenship Paper Assignment

Please have both the mock trial forms and citizenship paper assignment ready to turn in on Wednesday. Thank you! I appreciate your understanding! :-)

Citizenship Paper - Class Recap

My dad took this photo of me at a "Turkey Bowl" on Thanksgiving, in 2011. I hope you enjoyed your break!

Hello everyone,

Welcome back from your Thanksgiving break! Thanks for doing your homework and checking in on the blog to see what we are up to. Here's what should have happened in class today (I was out at a district wide professional development conference):

Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 1: I can demonstrate an understanding of the interplay between citizens and their governments.

Soundtrack: _____ (silence - sorry!)

AGENDA 12/1/15:
News Brief – Laila
Citizenship Paper
Computer Lab N210
Work Time

Homework: Read the blog. Complete any missing work and have it ready to turn in. See the back wall or StudentVUE for updated grades! Next news brief: Jace.

News Brief: Lalia had the news brief today and hopefully remembered to do it. :-)

Update: she did, and Jace was selected (or volunteered) to do the next one!

Citizenship Paper: Because I was out for class today, the assignment for the day was introduced before break, which is this:

Google Drive: Citizenship Paper Assignment

Basically, in order to continue to assess the Knowledge LT of citizens and their government, this is sort of a one day assignment. You will be researching in N210 Computer Lab and writing your response. I anticipate that you will be able to finish in one class, so please either complete it in class and hang on to it, or finish it as homework after class, so this Thursday, when I see you next, you can turn it in to me.

Computer Lab N210/Work Time: The rest of the time in class was supposed to be work time for the citizenship paper and on any missing work that needed to be revised or turned in. I'm sure everyone was good for the sub, so thank you! I will be back tomorrow (Wednesday), so see you then! :-)