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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:
Communication LT 5: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
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.
Soundtrack: "Better Together" by Jack Johnson. Selected for today because of the results of the Scotland independence referendum, which sided with the United Kingdom, instead of independence. "Better Together" was the slogan of the NO campaign, which won. Lyrics here.
AGENDA 9/19/14:
News Brief – Chloe
- Scotland
Debrief Forced Choice
European Influences
Declaration of Independence
Homework: Read the blog. Study for possible philosophy and European influences quiz next class. Next news brief: Enrique.
News Brief: Chloe brought in the news brief today and selected this article to talk about: NYTimes.com - Congress Gives Final Approval to Aid Rebels in Fight With ISIS. We had a good conversation about why the United States is interested in fighting ISIS, and why President Obama asked Congress for approval of his plan. This totally related to talking today about the different branches of the United States government!
I also wanted to be sure to address the election in Scotland, where the people there were electing to see if they wanted to become their own country, away from the rest of the United Kingdom and Great Britain. This was such an interesting event to me, especially as a British citizen! It was sort of like if the State of Washington was holding an election to become their own country, away from the United States. I played a video message from my friend Matthew Lumby, who was in Glasgow, Scotland to watch the result! Here's the full version of both videos that I played in class - the day of the election and the day after.
Matthew's message was cut a bit short at the end, so he sent me a text message to say: "Hope you have a good day and check the results at around 10 PM your time tonight."
How cool is that? Technology, globalization, elections, teaching, and friends are awesome. Combining all at once? Epic.
Debrief Forced Choice: I collected the forced choice reflections and will look over them to assess what the class got out of the activity. It will be assessed for the Communication learning target in class, so it's the first graded assignment for everyone. Please make sure you have this turned in, if you missed class today! I enjoyed hearing thoughts about how the activity went.
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:
Use this reading and your answers to study for the upcoming quiz!
Declaration of Independence: At the end of class, 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.
Have a great weekend, everyone! Thanks for your work and effort in class, and for doing your homework in reading the blog! :-)
is there any other things that will be on the quiz besides info on hobbes, locke, rousseau, montesquieu, and the european influences??
ReplyDeleteHi there! Those are the main points, yes. What ideas they are known for, how it impacted the US government, and European influences, like Rome, Greece, and England. Thanks for checking the blog! See you tomorrow!
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