The Constitution, Day 2 - Class Recap

Fireworks over Niagara Falls, in 2009. 

Hi everyone,

Thanks for continuing to work on getting to know the Constitution better! I know it may not be the most fun part of class, but it is so important for knowing the foundations of how our government works! Here's what we did 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 branches of U.S. government.

Soundtrack: "Don't Speak" by No Doubt. Selected for today because we were talking about the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which is partially about freedom of speech. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 9/30/16:
Wildcat News Brief - Ellie R.
The Constitution
The Bill of Rights
The First Amendment

Homework: Read the blog! Prepare for Constitution test next class by studying the handout answers! Next news brief: Asher.

Wildcat News Brief: Today's article was brought in by Ellie R, who selected this story: NYTimes.com - Angered by 9/11 Victims Law, Saudis Rethink U.S. Alliance. We discussed this interesting look at checks and balances in the United States government at work, as President Obama vetoed this law, then, for the first time in his time as President, he had his veto over ridden by the Legislative Branch. Lots to talk about with this story, Thanks Ellie R! We also checked in about the upcoming weekend and Asher volunteered to do the next news brief.

We also watched Wildcat News for the day:

The Constitution: We continued looking at the Constitution packet we started working on through Google Classroom and Kami last class, which had the Bill of Rights as a part of the last couple of pages (we will work on that section more next week - just focus on knowing the answers to the first two pages).

Please make sure to study the entire packet for the test next class. If you missed class the last two times, here it is to download and fill out by reading the Constitution:

Google Drive: Understanding the Constitution Handout

As I said, here's the reward for checking the blog: a (tough, because I did not specifically ask you this in class) question from the Constitution test:

All of the following are included in the Preamble to the Constitution EXCEPT _____________.
a. establish justice c. the pursuit of happiness
b. provide for the common defense d.  promote the general welfare

The Bill of Rights: The first ten amendments to the Constitution are called the Bill of Rights. To start this part of class, I showed this clip from The Daily Show, looking at what some people working for FOX News had to say in regards to the Bill of Rights and the Boston Marathon bomber.

We ran out of time after this, so we will come back to looking in depth at the Bill of Rights next class. See you then!

The Constitution, Day 1 - Class Recap

The World War I Memorial Stonehenge replica in Goldendale, Washington, overlooking the Columbia River Gorge and Mt. Hood. Photo taken in 2015!

Hi everyone,

I enjoyed hearing about your new countries today in class, as we continued to look at the basics of how the United States government works and specifically, the Constitution. Here's what happened today:

Learning Targets:
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: "Power [Radio Edit]" by Kanye West. Selected for today because "no one man should have all that power" when it comes to government, which the Constitution made sure of!

AGENDA 9/28/16:
News Brief – Nick
The First Debate/Share Nations
The Constitution
Bill of Rights

Homework: Read the blog. Next news brief: Ellie R.

News Brief: Today's news brief was brought in by Nick, who selected an article about this story to talk about: CNN.com - The first presidential debate in under 2 minutes. We watched this video and discussed the first presidential debate of the general election, which was Monday night between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. It was interesting to hear different student perspectives on it! I also showed the latest FiveThirtyEight.com projection map for what the current polls are suggesting will happen on Election Day in November.

Thanks, Nick! Ellie R. was selected for the next news brief.

Share Nations: Again, this was creating your own nation, which is a break away of some of the western states from the United States. In groups of 2 or 3, this was the assignment, which were presented in class: 

Google Drive - Creation of a Nation Assignment

I enjoyed listening to these presentations and hearing about your proposed ideas for what a new country should look like! Thank you for your effort on this. I know we spent a large part of class on this, and I just thought it was a fun way to look at what our ideal governments might look like. I also really loved the flags, which I will aim to have up on the walls soon!

The Constitution: Next, I directed students back to our Google Classroom page to click on this handout/worksheet, which looks at different aspects of what makes up the United States Constitution:

Google Drive - Constitution and Bill of Rights Handout

We barely had a chance to start this in class, after learning about how to open this and edit it using the Kami software for the Chromebooks. If you want to continue to work on completing this outside of class, here is a copy of the Constitution to look at. Next class, we'll have some time to work on this together, before going over the answers, as it is a study guide.

Please keep this packet, as you will be using it to study for an upcoming test on the Constitution.

The Bill of Rights: We did not get to the Bill of Rights today, so we will look more in depth at this next class. Thanks for your hard work today! I really appreciate your attendance in class and focus!

Creation of a Nation - Class Recap

Crater Lake, which is Oregon's only National Park. Maybe a symbol of your new nation? Photo taken in August 2014.

Hi wonderful students,

Great to see you all again today! It was a quiz and work day in class. Here's what happened today:

Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 2: I can demonstrate an understanding of the role of governments in current issues.
Knowledge LT 4: I can explain how different ideological movements and philosophies shape politics.

Soundtrack: "If I Ruled the World" by Nas and Lauryn Hill. Selected for today because you were creating your own countries today in class!

AGENDA 9/26/16:
News Brief – Josh
Philosophy Quiz
Articles of Confederation
Creation of a Nation

Homework: Read the blog. Be ready to finish the Creation of a Nation activity next class. Bring a device able to access the internet to see the Constitution. Watch the debate tonight at 6:00 PM! Next news brief: Nick.

News Brief: Josh had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: NYTimes.com - Presidential Debate: What to Watch For as Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump Face Off. We talked for a while in class about the debate tonight, as well as the current state of the race. Very interesting time for government in the United States!

Nick was selected for the next news brief.

Philosophy Quiz: I haven't read the responses yet, but basically, if you knew the four philosophers from the first reading, and knew the basics of the European influences reading, you should have been fine. If you need to take this, please come find me before or after school.  I will grade these and get them back to you as soon as I can - it will count as an assessment opportunity for LT7.

Articles of Confederation: Next up, we had a brief lecture in class about the early foundations of the United States government and some of the forms of government in the world. The Articles of Confederation was the first way that the country was organized, and we looked at how it was not good enough to really keep the states together in any coherent way. Here's the reading notes that I passed out in class:

Google Drive: Forms of Government and Articles of Confederation Handout

We will continue to investigate the first U.S. government in the future!

Creation of a Nation: The last activity we did today in class was to start thinking about creating your own nation, which is a break away of some of the western states from the United States. In groups of 2 or 3, this is the assignment, which we will finish working on next class and present. Again, I want every group to make a flag for their new country, because flags are awesome. Please see the document for specifics as to what each group member should do.

Google Drive - Creation of a Nation Assignment

Next class, we will continue with this and then move on to studying the Constitution. Please try to have a device that is able to access it. Thanks! See you next class!

Philosophy of Government, Day 4 - Class Recap

The Parthenon, which is a part of the Acropolis in Athens. We learned today about Greek democracy influencing the United States government! Photo taken in July, 2014.

Dear class,

Even though it was more of a work day today, it was nice to see everyone and learn a bit more class content! Here's what happened today:

Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 2: I can demonstrate an understanding of the role of governments in current issues.
Knowledge LT 4: I can explain how different ideological movements and philosophies shape politics.

Soundtrack: "GDFR" by Flo Rida. Selected for today because after United States declared independence from the United Kingdom, it was going down for real.

AGENDA 9/22/16:
News Brief – Ireland
Reflection
European Influences
Declaration of Independence
Study for Philosophy Quiz

Homework: Read the blog. Study for philosophy and European influences quiz next class. Next news brief: Josh.

News Brief: Ireland brought in the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: CNN.com - Charlotte police chief: Shooting video won't be made public. We talked in class for a bit about this story and the importance of following along with and understanding what happens with the police and the Black Lives Matter movement.

A very interesting and relevant article! Thanks, Ireland. Josh has the next news brief.

Reflection: At the start of class, I gave students some more time to finish the Forced Choice reflection that we started at the end of last class, after the debates. Here is the prompt again: Write a one page reflection on the activity. What was the most difficult or controversial question for you? Why? How do these sorts of questions relate to the study of government?

European Influences: In order to progress up to the Declaration of Independence, we first had to look at some of the key ideas that influenced the foundation of our country. This was a four page reading and some associated questions, that I gave work time in class for, then we talked about it together. If you missed class, or lost your copy, here they are again to see:

Google Drive - European Influences on the United States Government Reading

Google Drive - European Influences Reading Questions

Use this reading and your answers to study for the upcoming quiz!

Declaration of Independence: This was pretty fun. We looked at the Declaration of Independence (which is what started the United States) and tried to put the first couple of paragraphs of it into our own words, like a break up letter. These were pretty funny - thanks for your effort! Next time, we will look into the document with more detail, check out the Articles of Confederation, then try and create your own new country, using the information that you've learned about so far in class.

Study for Philosophy Quiz: Study for the philosophy quiz next class! You will need to know the ideas of the four philosophers we talked about in class, how their ideas influence the U.S. government, and the three European influences that impacted our government.

Thanks for your work and effort in class, and for doing your homework in reading the blog! :-)

Philosophy of Government, Day 3 - Class Recap

European Influences Reading

This is what the inside of the United States Capitol building dome looks like, in Washington, D.C. The Capitol is where Congress meets to debate legislation!

Hi everyone,

Today, we wrapped up the Forced Choice activity, which took most of class. There were some really valuable discussions and insights that were shared about how we think the world should operate! Here's the class recap for the day:

Learning Targets: 
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.

Knowledge LT 2: I can demonstrate an understanding of the role of governments in current issues.
Knowledge LT 4: I can explain how different ideological movements and philosophies shape politics.

Soundtrack: "Get Up, Stand Up" by Bob Marley. Selected for today because you were asked to stand up and move around for what you believed in, as related to the debate. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 9/20/16:
Wildcat News Brief – Amber
Forced Choice
Reflection
European Influences

Homework: Read the blog. The next news brief is assigned to Ireland.

News Brief: Amber selected an article about this story to talk about today: OregonLive.com - Oregon Congress members introduce 'No Lead in School Water' bill. We talked about the recent lead crisis in public schools here in the Portland area, and the process for getting this bill into law (and why it might face criticism from people who think we already pay too much in taxes for schools). Thanks, Amber! Ireland, you are next up.

We also watched the Wildcat News together (even though apparently it was really supposed to be shown in Community). Here it is to see if you missed class or wanted to see it again:

Forced Choice: Again, a continuation of the activity that we started last class. This time, we hit a variety of questions from 4-10, here:

1. Giving up some of our rights (like our phones being listened to without a warrant) is necessary for our own protection.
2. The Second Amendment means that everyone in the US has the right to have any firearms that they want.
3. Same-sex marriage should be legal everywhere and government officials should have to recognize marriages that they are against on religious grounds.
4. Marijuana should be legalized everywhere for recreational use.
5. Public schools should strictly enforce a standardized dress code.
6. Organized prayer in public schools should be allowed.
7. The government of a country should be able to make decisions that the majority of the people do not support.
8. Should the motto “In God We Trust” be removed from our currency?
9. I agree with the death penalty for convicted murderers.
10. Colin Kaepernick should be able to take a knee during the national anthem if he wants and not face any team or legal consequences.

I had the class answer the questions and choose YES or NO to each of them. Then, we split up the class so that two sides were facing each other. With each question, students moved to the side they felt best represented their opinion on the matter.

Today's class was interesting! One of the discussion points had to do with the cost of the Death Penalty, and I said it costs the taxpayers of Oregon roughly 10 times more to prosecute death penalty cases, over a murder without a death penalty possibility. Here is a link to that article: OregonLive.com - Can Oregon Afford the Death Penalty?

Super interesting!

Reflection: The prompt at the end of class (the rest of the time was just for writing) was this: Write a one page reflection on the activity. What was the most difficult or controversial question for you? Why? How do these sorts of questions relate to the study of government?

The learning target that is being assessed for this one is: Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.

 If you didn't finish today in class, we will devote a bit of time at the start of next class to finishing and then moving on to talk more about European Influences in the US government, as well as our Declaration of Independence. Thanks, everyone!

Philosophy of Government, Day 2 - Class Recap

Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This is where the United States Constitution was debated and signed. We did some debating today in class and will continue to do so next time!

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the excellent discussions today in class and for reading the blog! Here's what happened:

Learning Targets: 
Knowledge LT 2: I can demonstrate an understanding of the role of governments in current issues.
Knowledge LT 4: I can explain how different ideological movements and philosophies shape politics.

Soundtrack: “I Think of You" by Renaissance. Selected for today because 1) the philosophers we are talking about did a lot of thinking, and 2) the renaissance was an important period for changing views about how government should work. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 9/16/16:

News Brief – Amber
Finish Notes

Philosopher Reading

Forced Choice

Homework: Read the blog! Next news brief: Connery.

News Brief: Before the news brief, we watched Wildcat News for the day. Here it is if you wanted to see it again, or missed it the first time:

Today's news brief was assigned to Amber, who kindly wrote to me last night to say she had an appointment during class, so she will be presenting next class.

Connery was assigned the next news brief.

Finish Notes/Philosopher Readings: After reviewing the PowerPoints from last class, I passed out this reading about the four philosophers and a handout to answer with the reading, that asked you to summarize the different ideas for the purpose of government, the role of government in people's lives, and ideas that are included in the current U.S. government. Here they are again if you lost your copy or missed class today:

Google Drive: Philosophers of Government Reading

Google Drive: Philosophers of Government Handout

We went over the answers in class and reviewed who Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau were and what they thought about the role of government. Keep these answers to review for an upcoming test!

Forced Choice: One of my favorite activities of the year. I had the class answer the following questions and choose YES or NO to each of them. Then, we split up the class so that two sides were facing each other. With each question, students moved to the side they felt best represented their opinion on the matter. The questions were:

1. Giving up some of our rights (like our phones being listened to without a warrant) is necessary for our own protection.
2. The Second Amendment means that everyone in the US has the right to have any firearms that they want.
3. Same-sex marriage should be legal everywhere and government officials should have to recognize marriages that they are against on religious grounds.
4. Marijuana should be legalized everywhere for recreational use.
5. Public schools should strictly enforce a standardized dress code.
6. Organized prayer in public schools should be allowed.
7. The government of a country should be able to make decisions that the majority of the people do not support.
8. Should the motto “In God We Trust” be removed from our currency?
9. I agree with the death penalty for convicted murderers.
10. Colin Kaepernick should be able to take a knee during the national anthem if he wants and not face any team or legal consequences.

We only made it through question 2 today, so I will pick and choose next class as to which questions we will discuss and debate, before writing a reflective piece about the experience. I love these discussions and I think we did a great job of following the Ground Rules that we established at the beginning of the year. Thank you for your participation! Be ready to keep talking next time. If you have any further thoughts, please post them in the comments!

Philosophy of Government, Day 1 - Class Recap

The ball of yarn that we used in class today for the Class Unity Activity! Thanks for participating in this!

Dear class,

I enjoyed getting to know you all a bit better today! We had a productive time with the yarn activity and learning more about the philosophy of government. 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 4: I can explain how different ideological movements and philosophies shape politics.

Soundtrack: "Comin' From Where I'm From" by Anthony Hamilton. Because today, we talked about where we are from and how we got to be at Westview, via our family background. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 9/14/16:
News Brief - Carrington
Finish Fear
Class Unity Activity
Philosophy

Homework: Read the blog and post a comment (if you have not already). Amber has the next news brief.

News Brief: Carrington had the news brief today and selected this article to talk about: CNN.com - US B-1 bombers fly over South Korea in show of force. We discussed various aspects of what is going on with the United States government in relation to North Korea, including our relationship with South Korea, China, and Japan. Lots going on here and an important story to follow!

Amber kindly volunteered to do the next news brief.

Finish Fear: This was left over from last class, in talking about September 11, 2001, and what fear does to people. Thank you to those who shared their stories in class! It's good to try and process what happened after 9/11 with the US government in context.

Class Unity Activity: I always love this, for many reasons. One, because I love hearing about how everyone came to be in our classroom. Two, because of how the yarn connects us all. Three, because it helps the class (and me) learn names and a little about each other! Thank you for participating in this. It can get lengthy, I know, but I value it so much more than just lecturing for that time. :-)

Philosophy: After the activity, we watched this video (which had a LOT of concepts, I know) as another introduction to Government:

Quick, for sure, but good at asking some of the questions we will be looking into and stating the importance of government.

I wanted to start looking at some of the philosophers of government during the Enlightenment period. Here's the PowerPoint we went through (we only did slides 6-8 today - just focus on those for now):

Google Drive: Philosophers of Government PowerPoint

Again, please review and be responsible for knowing the basics of what Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and Montesquieu thought about government.

Finally, we ended class with going over the political spectrum in class, which was most of this PowerPoint:

Google Drive - Political Spectrum PowerPoint

Please be familiar with the various different philosophies on the political spectrum, and where they are on the line from left to right, in relation to each other!

Here's the link to the Political Compass test at the end of the PowerPoint. Try it yourself!

See you on Friday! :-)

September 11, 2001 - Class Recap

This is part of N591UA, which operated United Flight 93 on September 11th, 2001, and was hijacked for possible use against the White House. Instead, a passenger revolt forced down the plane into a field in Pennsylvania. A part of my 9/11 story is that I once flew on that exact same plane, from Portland to Chicago in 1996. Check out my FlightMemory map of lifetime flights.

Hello wonderful students,

Today, I tried to make sure everyone learned about the basics of the major events of September 11th, 2001, which happened 15 years ago on Sunday. Sometimes, I just want to focus on the moment! Here's the class recap for today:

Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 2: I can demonstrate an understanding of the role of governments in current issues.
Knowledge LT 4: I can explain how different ideological movements and philosophies shape politics.

Soundtrack: “Wake Me Up When September Ends" by Green Day. Selected because we discussed the events of September 11th, 2001 today in class. Lyrics (which some may argue directly relate to the War on Terror) here.

AGENDA 9/12/16:
News Brief - Takumi
Introduction Video
Citizenship
September 11th, 2001
Fear

Homework: Read the blog recap! Post a comment if you have not. Next news brief: Carrington.

News Brief: Takumi had the news brief today and chose this story to talk about: CNN.com - Former top CIA official: Putin wants Trump to win. We talked about this story and why Putin might want Trump to win, as well as an update on the election. This was a great news brief to start us off - thanks Takumi!

Carrington was randomly selected to do the next news brief. Any article/story about anything happening inside the United States government in the past two weeks, please.

Introduction Video/Citizenship: To start looking at our government, I played this video of high school students trying to answer questions about social studies:

We laughed at some of the responses, then I flipped the script and had the class try and citizenship test!

Here was the pre-test that I passed out in class. All sorts of good questions about how the U.S. government is structured and works.

Google Drive: United States Government Citizenship Test

It was fun to look and see what everyone knows to start the class! Thanks for following along.

September 11th, 2001: To start this section, I asked students to do a free write for about 5 minutes on the following questions:

What do you know about September 11th, 2001? What have you heard about it? Do you remember anything? What have you learned before, in class, or from parents? How did the U.S. Government change after 9/11?

After the free write time, we shared responses as a class and I told my story about September 11th. I was starting my Sophomore year at Wilson High School in Portland. It was definitely a day I will remember for the rest of my life. To drive home the point as to what the day was like, I showed this video in class, which was a timeline of the day:

From there, I moved on to discussing how September 11th, 2001 came about.

Fear: We talked about in class about FEAR. To start to look at how fear played a role after September 11th, I showed a couple of videos:

This is United States Secretary of State Colin Powell addressing the United Nations about the "weapons of mass destruction" that the U.S. government thought was in Iraq. It turned out that there were not any such weapons.

This video contains a montage of President George W. Bush and many of the key figures in his government repeating words in speeches that sounded pretty scary.

The last bit to class was another free write. This time, it was about fear in our lives. 

The prompt was: write about a time in which you experienced fear and how you felt. What did you want to do in that moment?

I wanted to make the connection between the fear much of America felt after 9/11. In fact, one of the ways that the government might have helped keep people fearful (or ready) is by making a threat level color coded system.:

In the entire history of the threat level system (which ended under President Obama), the threat level never went below Elevated - meaning we were supposed to be at "significant risk of terrorist attacks," constantly.

We will continue to investigate the role that the government plays in our lives throughout the semester.

We finished with the free write on fear, and will talk about them together next class. Thanks for your focus and participation today, everyone!

Introduction Day - Class Recap

The White House in Washington, D.C., 2011.

Hello everyone,

Thank you for doing your homework and visiting the blog! As I said in class, I think this is a really helpful resource for students, staff, and parents to be able to follow along with what is happening. After every class, I will write up a recap and post it. Most of the time, your only homework will be to read over the blog and be prepared for what is coming next in class. With that, let's get started!

Soundtrack: "Changes" by 2Pac. I always choose this song to start off a new class with, because I like the idea of our room being somewhat different from your other experiences in high school. This song also has all sorts of lyrics that relate to Government, like the line "instead of a War on Poverty, they got a War on Drugs, so the police can bother me." Check out the full lyrics here.

AGENDA 9/8/16:
Introductions/Attendance
Syllabus/Grades
The Blog
Letter to Class/Mr. Fritz
Create Ground Rules
News Briefs

Homework: Check the blog and post a comment! Next news brief: Takumi.

Introductions/Attendance: At the start of class, I introduced myself and how the agenda on the whiteboard works. I am absolutely delighted to be your teacher at Westview this year!

I took attendance and tried to ask everyone how they wanted me to address them. It will take me some time, but eventually, I will know everyone's names, I promise!

Syllabus/Grades: I know that this is not the most exciting content in class. I wanted to make sure to go over some of the real key points to the syllabus (like where I am, how to contact me, how your grade is decided, and the need to bring a binder to class). Here are electronic copies of the syllabus and rubrics:

Google Drive: Westview Government Syllabus 2016-17

The rubrics that will be used for the course and grades:

Google Drive: Westview Government Learning Targets and Rubrics 2016-17

If you or your parents have any questions about any of this, please let me know!

The Blog: As part of the syllabus, I introduced this website: the class blog! This is seriously so important for your success in this class. If you are staying up to date on here, reviewing what happened in class to get ready for the next meeting, and asking questions if you need help, I guarantee that you will be more successful than if you do not. Make sure to leave a comment at least once (the easiest homework assignment of all time for most students, I believe), so I know you are able to!

Letter to Class/Mr. Fritz: After the syllabus talk was done, I passed out a letter that I wrote to the class, explaining all about who I am and what sort of expectations I have. Hopefully, most of it was interesting information! I like passing these out and signing them all individually. To me, it represents that I really am interested in everyone in my class.

After reading the letter aloud, I asked everyone to write back to me in a similar sort of fashion. I gave a bunch of possible questions to answer as prompts and about 30 minutes or so to complete the assignment. I LOVE reading these and writing back to everyone! Thank you for your effort - I can't wait to learn a little bit more about who you are!

Create Ground Rules: Ahh, yes. The awkward process. This was painfully slow for your class! The rules that you came up with and agreed to as an entire class are:

1) Respect Others
2) Try to Keep an Open Mind
3) Participate Actively
4) Be Responsible
5) Be Positive

I will be working to make sure everyone, including myself, is following the ground rules! Thank you for participating in this exercise.

News Briefs: This is the current event style assignment that everyone will do at least once. If you have had a previous class of mine, it is a little different - you actually have a write up to do. Here's a link to the format for the write up (it is also on the left side of this website, under the Ground Rules):

Google Drive - Government Current Event Forms

I selected Takumi to do the first News Brief, due at the start of next class.

Because we had some time at the end of class, I talked a little bit about the upcoming Presidential election, and showed this chart of the likelihood of who will win: FiveThirtyEight.com - 2016 Election Forecast. I think this semester will be a particularly interesting one to be in Government class for! Thanks for your effort today. See you next week!

Welcome to the Blog!

The dawn of a new day and semester over Westview!

Hello everyone,

Welcome to the Government blog for my Period 4 class at Westview during the 2015 fall semester! Before I begin with posting updates via class recaps, let me give you a little introduction to this website.

First off, comments can be made on any post by anyone, and they can be anonymous (though I would really prefer that you leave your name, so that I can follow up with you in person) by selecting "Name/URL" on the right, underneath the comment box. Please try to use good spelling and grammar in your comments! I have to approve the comments before they are posted, so don't worry if you don't see your comment right away.

Secondly, because I will be putting up the class agenda and homework, as well as any interesting links (after class has met), I will attempt to give you ways to download the relevant files and documents you may have missed in class or would be interested in seeing again for your homework (or just because). For instance, here is the syllabus that I passed out in class.

Google Drive: Westview Government Syllabus 2016-17

Here is a link to the rubrics that will be used for the course and grades:

Google Drive: Westview Government Learning Targets and Rubrics 2016-17

Finally, to contact me personally (other than leaving a comment - which I may or may not see immediately), please e-mail me at luke_fritz@beaverton.k12.or.us - this can always be found by clicking on "View My Complete Profile" on the right, where my picture is, then clicking on "Email" on the left sidebar. I will get back to you ASAP! Again, please use grammatically correct language and spelling, to the best of your ability. It really is appreciated and will go a long way for you in the future!

I know it might be a lot to take in, but hopefully we will all get used to it! I envision this blog as a place where you will be able to come to converse with your classmates and me, as well as get all the latest assignments, updates from class, and further information.

If you have any questions or comments, please never hesitate to let me know!

Welcome again - thanks for visiting. Please bookmark this site and come back soon! :-)