Mr. Fritz's Westview Government Period 4 Blog: declaration of independence

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Friday, February 12, 2016

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.

Finish Forced Choice: I wanted to give the class time to finish the debate from last class (even though I usually don't like spending parts of three days on it). 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 weapons that they want.
3. Private businesses should have the right refuse service on religious grounds (like a bakery not making a cake for a same sex wedding).
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. People in power are always corrupt in some way.

The prompt after the activity 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? What did you think of this activity?

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 did not finish this one page reflection in class, please treat it as homework. Thank you!

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.

At the end of class, I provided some time to 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! :-)

Thursday, September 24, 2015

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:
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: "Tom Sawyer" by Rush. Selected for today because it was one of my dad's favorite songs, and he was killed one year ago today. Thank you, everyone, for being so kind and understanding that this was a very difficult day for me. Lyrics here. Memorial tribute that I wrote last year and delivered at my dad's memorial is here (it talks a little about Tom Sawyer).

AGENDA 9/24/15:
News Brief – Katie
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: Ian.

News Brief: Katie brought in the news brief today and selected this article to talk about: CNN.com - Women embrace, criticize #ShoutYourAbortion. This brought up a very interesting discussion about how Planned Parenthood has come under more scrutiny, especially from Republicans, after the release of some edited videos recently that appeared to show the organization selling fetus parts. We also talked about how the United States government may shut down next week over this issue, because Republicans do not want to vote for any funds for Planned Parenthood (even though, by federal law, no federal funds go towards providing abortions). President Obama will almost certainly veto any attempt to block Planned Parenthood funding, because of all the other women's health services the organization provides. Lots going on here!

A very interesting and relevant article! Thanks, Katie! Ian has the next news brief.

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: At the end of class, I provided some time to 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! :-)

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

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! :-)

Friday, September 19, 2014

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: "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
~~Articles of Confederation~~
~~Creation of a Nation~~

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:

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.

Have a great weekend, everyone! Thanks for your work and effort in class, and for doing your homework in reading the blog! :-)

Friday, February 21, 2014

Declaration of Independence - Class Recap

The Statue of Liberty and Lower Manhattan, New York City. Photo taken in 2011.

Hi everyone,

Another "short" week done! Thanks for participating today and for the fun in constructing your new governments. Here's what we did today:

Learning Targets Addressed:
SS.HS.KN.ALT.04: I can explain how different ideological movements and philosophies shape politics.
SS.HS.CO.ALT.05: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.

Soundtrack: “Just Dance” by Lady Gaga & Colby O’Donis. Selected because of MORP this weekend! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 2/21/14:
News Brief
Declaration of Independence
Creation of a Nation

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

News Brief: Hailey had the news brief today and needs to email me her report with the link for credit.

Declaration of Independence: To start this section, I played Morgan Freeman's introduction in this video:

Then, I passed out a copy of the text of the Declaration of Independence, and asked students to get into groups of two and summarize the first bit of it (up until "He has refused his Assent to Laws") in your own words. We went over this as a class, then looked at the specific reasons outlined to revolt against the King.

Creation of a Nation: Of course, it is not enough to merely declare independence - a new country had to be formed from scratch! There were all sorts of issues with the Articles of Confederation, which formed the first U.S. Government. We looked into some of those, then I had students break up into groups of 4 to start the new nation project. Next class, we will keep working on this some more. The elements required are:

1. A Declaration of Independence (explaining 6-8 reasons for separating the western United States from the rest of the country).

2. A new national flag that symbolizes what your nation stands for. Include a description of all the symbols and colors.

3. A paragraph summary of what influences you used in creating your new constitution.

4. A new Constitution with responses to the following questions: What purpose will this government serve? How will the government be organized? How will you ensure that the government is run correctly? What if it becomes corrupt? What will be done to give each state a fair voice? If there will be voting, who is eligible to vote? Who is eligible to run for office? Is there one person in charge? What powers does that person have, and what happens if they abuse their powers? How much say does each state have in how it governs its own citizens?

Let me know if you need any help with directions on this! Have a great weekend - see you on Tuesday!