Declaration of Independence - 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:
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: "GDFR" by Flo Rida. Selected for today because it was "Going Down For Real" when the United States declared independence from Great Britain, in 1776.

AGENDA 2/10/15:
News Brief – Sophia
Debrief Forced Choice
European Influences
Declaration of Independence

Homework: Read the blog. Study for philosophy and European influences quiz next class. Next news brief: Ella (again) and Kayla.

News Brief: Sophia brought in the news brief today and selected this article to talk about: CNN.com - Same-sex couples wed in Alabama despite efforts to block them. Really interesting story, because it relates to the law in the United States. Basically, the state of Alabama's Chief Justice of the Supreme Court has told county officials there to not enforce the law that the United States Supreme Court said it needed to. We will learn about this later, but federal law usually trumps (is higher than) state law in the US. I showed the map in this article to check out the different counties in Alabama as far as where issuing of same sex marriage licenses is occurring: WashingtonPost.com - Judicial defiance in Alabama: Same-sex marriages begin, but most counties refuse.

A very interesting and relevant article! Thanks, Sophia! Ella and Kayla have the next news briefs.

Debrief Forced Choice: I enjoyed hearing thoughts about how the activity last week went. Generally, people liked hearing each other's thoughts and seeing where people stood on various issues. I will continue looking at your reflections and grade them for the communication target.

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: 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.

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