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 actual class for the semester (as it was our scheduled final, next class will be a study hall). 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 6/20/17:

News Brief – Justin
Final Test
Reflection
School's Out

Homework: Read the blog (if you want)! Have a great summer! Let me know if I can help you at any point in the future! :-)

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News Brief: Justin 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 - The tour company that took Otto Warmbier to North Korea halts trips for Americans. 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 Friday at 3:00 PM).

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!

School's Out: The end of class was set aside for study time.

Thank you all so much for being so wonderful to work with. If I don't see you next class on Thursday, take care of yourselves and I hope to see you around! Have a great summer! :-)

Finals Prep - Class Recap

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

Hi everyone,

One more week until our last class together before semester finals and I say goodbye to everyone! 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: "Talk" by Coldplay. Selected for today because we continued talking about the role of government through playing Jeopardy. Lyrics here. 

AGENDA 6/16/17:

News Brief – Mante
Jeopardy Review
Finals Questions?
Study Time

Homework: Read the blog! Study for your final test! Finals are next class, on Tuesday. Next news brief: Justin.

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News Brief: Mante had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: CNN.com - Judge finds Michelle Carter guilty of manslaughter in texting suicide case. This is a tragic case that sets some precedent in regards to having someone implicated in pushing someone else to suicide. I talked about how important it is to take care of each other and ourselves with thinking about what happened in this story.

The next news brief was assigned to Justin.

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

Google Drive - Government Jeopardy Final Review

Congratulations to Team 2 for coming out on top of the competition! I hope everyone had fun playing.

Finals Review: Here it is (at least, the first page), if you missed class or wanted to see it again:

Google Drive - Government Semester Final Study Guide

See you on Tuesday, for finals! Have a great weekend!

State and Local Government, Day 8 - Class Recap

The Painted Hills in Central Oregon. Photo taken in May of 2017.

Hi everyone,

One more class until finals, next week! As such, I did not introduce any new content and I allowed students to work on whatever they wanted as we watched a documentary in class. 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: "So Many Tears" by 2Pac. Selected for today because the documentary was about the tearing apart of America by political lines.

AGENDA 6/14/17:

News Brief – AJ
Oregon Occupation
Finals Prep
Questions?

Homework: Read the blog! Study for your final test! Next news brief: Mante.

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News Brief: AJ had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: CNN.com - Republican House Whip Steve Scalise, congressional staffer shot in Virginia shooting. This was breaking news as of this morning, and so we tried to understand what happened with this event.

The next news brief was assigned to Mante.

Oregon Occupation: This is a PBS Frontline documentary that just came out a couple of weeks ago, on what happened with the recent occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Eastern Oregon, and what the protest is about in regards to wanting local control over federal lands. Here it is to watch it again (or if you missed class) you are interested:

PBS.org - Frontline: American Patriot

I hope you found this interesting!

Finals Prep/Questions: Here it is (at least, the first page), if you missed class or wanted to see it again:

Google Drive - Government Semester Final Study Guide

See you on Friday, for Jeopardy review, before finals next week!

State and Local Government, Day 7 - 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: "Summertime Sadness" by Lana Del Rey and Cedric Gervais. Selected for today because it is almost summer, but we unfortunately still have plenty of work to do for finals! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 6/12/17:
Wildcat News Brief – Priya
Lift Ev'ry Voice
Discussion
Study Time

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

Wildcat News Brief: Priya had the news brief today and selected an article about this story: Politico.com - Schumer invites Trump to testify before Senate. We discussed what has been happening with the ongoing Russia investigation and the latest news from President Trump on Twitter, before moving on to check in about what we have been up to outside of class.

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

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:

OPB.org - Portland Civil Rights: Lift Ev'ry Voice

Here is the worksheet that goes along with the documentary:

Google Drive: Lift Ev'ry Voice Documentary Questions

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. Next class, we will be watching another documentary and also studying, before playing Jeopardy to review on Friday.

State and Local Government, Day 6 - Class Recap

Rowena Crest Viewpoint, near Moiser, Oregon. Photo taken in 2016.

Dear class

I enjoyed talking with everyone about their projects today, and also our work with analyzing how race has impacted our state and local government, especially in Portland. Here's what happened in class today:

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: "Coming Home" by Mat Kearney. Selected for today because it is a song about Oregon. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 6/8/17:
News Brief – Mary
State and Local Presentations
Lift Ev'ry Voice
Discussion

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

News Brief: Mary had the news brief today and selected an article about this story: CNN.com - James Comey testifies: Live updates. This was still a developing story in class, so I tried to summarize what the former FBI director said in his testimony in Congress today.

State and Local Presentations: We finished presenting these! Woo hoo! If you have not turned in the corresponding paper, please do so ASAP, as I will be grading these soon.

Lift Ev'ry Voice: With our last few days before the final, I wanted to focus on how our state and local community has acted with regards to race - specifically, the black community in Portland. To start, I showed this article that (while pretty long) does a great job at going into detailed history here:

Gizmodo.com - Oregon Was Founded As a Racist Utopia

We then watched the first part of an excellent recent documentary from OPB, called Lift Ev'ry Voice. We still have about 40 minutes next class to watch, but if you want to watch again, share, or get caught up, it is here:

OPB.org - Portland Civil Rights: Lift Ev'ry Voice

Here is the worksheet that goes along with the documentary:

Google Drive: Lift Ev'ry Voice Documentary Questions

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. I'm looking forward to finishing it up next time and discussing it!

See you next week, everyone!

State and Local Government, Day 5 - Class Recap

Today was the sunset for the seniors in our class! I am wishing them all the best and success in life! Photo taken in 2007, over California.

Dear class,

Another disjointed day today, due to the seniors needing to take their finals in class, and rest of the class just using the class as a study period, before more State and Local Government presentations. Here's what happened in class today:

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: "Good Life" by OneRepublic. Selected for today because of the seniors last day! On with the rest of their life soon! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 6/6/17:
News Brief – Terra
Senior Finals
Study Time
State and Local Presentations

Homework: Read the blog. Continue studying for finals! Thank you, seniors! Next news brief: Mary.

News Brief: Terra had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: CNN.com - 14 arrested as the many extremes of Portland collide in protest. We talked a little bit about this story and the continuing reaction in our community to the MAX train murders recently. Mary has the next news brief.

Senior Finals: During this time, seniors were taking their final in class. Thanks for respecting their time and effort with being quiet! I hope they went well for the seniors! I am grateful for their effort this semester and I am wishing them all the best! Keep in touch, class of 2017!

Study Time: The rest of class (as seniors were taking the test) was devoted to reviewing for the final. Here's the study guide I passed out for that:

Google Drive - Government Semester Final Study Guide

Students who were in class also got a more detailed study guide on the back side of this. Come see me if you missed class for this. Thank you!

State and Local Presentations: We will continue with these as we have time to do so! Next class, we will have students who have not presented their projects yet talk about what they did, in terms of identifying a problem, coming up with solutions, and implementing the solution.

Thanks everyone, and especially all of the seniors!

State and Local Government, Day 4 - Class Recap

Something I care a lot about in our local community is supporting the Portland Thorns women's professional soccer team. I helped paint this banner for the start of last season! Photo taken in 2015.

Hi everyone,

Today was almost entirely devoted to State and Local Project Presentations. Here's what happened in class today:

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: "I Want It That Way" by Backstreet Boys. Selected for today because students were presenting on what they wanted to have happen in the state/local government. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 6/2/17:
News Brief – Priya
Elections/Prep Time
State and Local Presentations
Study Guide

Homework: Read the blog. Start studying for the final! All late work is due by next Friday. Next news brief: Terra.

News Brief: Priya had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: CNN.com - Why do we even have White House press briefings?. This was about the daily press briefing that the White House does, and whether or not it should continue. Priya did a great job of summarizing the pros and cons!

We also checked in about the weekend, before moving on.

Prep Time: After the news brief, we had some time to prep for the state and local presentations as I set up.

State and Local Presentations: Thank you for your work and for the class in focusing and respecting the presentations. It was good to see the thought and effort put into these and making possible solutions! I enjoyed hearing all about the ideas for possible solutions in our state and local community! If you have not presented yet, you will be asked to do so next class, probably after the seniors are done with their tests.

Thank you! Have a great weekend!