State and Local Government, Day 6 - Class Recap

Cannon Beach, Oregon. Photo taken in 2007.

Dear class,

Today was our last real work day in class, as far as new content to do (the State and Local packet). 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.

Soundtrack: "Pride (In the Name of Love)" by U2. Selected for today because the song is in large part about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and because today is PRIDE Friday at Westview. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 1/27/17:
News Brief – Ellie R.
State and Local Packet
Final Review
Work Time

Homework: Read the blog. Prepare for finals! Next news brief: Josh.

News Brief: Ellie R. had the news brief today but missed the start of class, so we talked generally about what is going on in the news, as well as updates on the finals schedule (yours is on Tuesday, February 7), before moving on.

State and Local Packet: After the news, I passed out this packet, which should be treated as a Study Guide for the State and Local government portion of the final test:

Google Drive - State and Local Government Reading/Questions

This reading went over all sorts of different aspects of State and Local governments. Important to know! We will review the material next class.

Final Review/Work Time: Most of class was designated as work time, since it was the last day to turn in any missing work from the semester for me before finals. I went over grades individually with every student in the class. I also passed out the final review sheet, here:

Google Drive - Government Semester Final Study Guide

Next class, we will play Jeopardy to review for the final, go over the study guide, and then there will be study time. Have a great weekend!

State and Local Government, Day 6 - Class Recap

My mom, Portland City Commissioner Amanda Fritz, came to talk with our class today!

Dear class,

Today was our last day before finals, so we decided to have my mom, Portland City Commissioner Amanda Fritz, come talk about her job, which counted as a Career Related Learning Experience towards graduation requirements! 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: "City of Blinding Lights" by U2. Selected for today because my mom asked for a U2 song as her soundtrack, and she works for the City of Portland, serving all you beautiful people. :-) Lyrics here.

AGENDA 1/21/16:

News Brief – Emma
Commissioner Fritz
CRLE Forms
Final Study Guide

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

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News Brief: Emma had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: Philly.com - Wave of bogus threats hits schools in four states. We talked about this story, and other recent school threats, as well as the importance of talking about and preparing for such a threat. I wonder if these events are happening more frequently because it is around finals time?

The next news brief was assigned to Lindsay, who kindly volunteered.

Commissioner Fritz: The next part of class was taken by my mom coming to talk about her experience as a Portland City Commissioner. It was great to have her in to talk with us, after we have talked so much about State and Local Government during the past few weeks! Thank you for your interest, focus, and questions! I'm glad that you got to meet my mom!

CRLE Forms: I'm also glad students completed one of the four CRLE forms you need to graduate! :-)

Final Study Guide: At the end of class, I passed out the final study guide for the test next week. 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

Next class (on Monday), we will play Jeopardy again to review for the test, then the rest of class will be used for studying again. Your final for this class is next Wednesday at 7:45 AM. See you next week!

Constitution Test Review - Class Recap

One of the questions on the review today had to do with Jay Z. Here he is in concert in London's Olympic Park. Photo taken July 2013.

Dear class,

I hope you enjoyed reviewing for your Constitution test today! Here's the recap for the day:

Learning Targets Addressed:
Knowledge LT 1: I can demonstrate an understanding of the interplay between citizens and their governments.
Knowledge LT 4: I can explain how different ideological movements and philosophies shape politics.
Knowledge LT 5: I can demonstrate an understanding of the principles, structures, and functions of different levels of U.S. government.

Soundtrack: “Breakfast at Tiffany's" by Deep Blue Something. Selected for today because the news brief was done by Tifani. Different spelling, same pronunciation! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 10/14/14:
News Brief - Tifani/Logan
Grades
Finish Bill of Rights
Jeopardy Review
Death Penalty

Homework: Read the blog! Study for Constitution test next class. Next news brief: Brad.

News Brief: Tifani had the news brief today and selected this article to talk about: USAToday.com - Protest resume in St. Louis over police shooting. In class, Tifani said this was about Michael Brown, the young man who was killed by a police office in Ferguson, Missouri earlier in the year. This is a new case in St. Louis. It is crazy to think about all of the gun violence and death in our country, that this event could happen so close to another police shooting.

Logan remembered to bring his article in today and selected this story: ABCNews.com - Newlywed With Cancer Picks the Day She Will Die. Another super interesting article that gets at the divisions of power and states rights. In Oregon, we passed a "Death With Dignity" law that allows people who are terminally ill (already going to die) to take their own lives with a doctor's prescription. This is obviously a very controversial issue and worth talking about. Thanks, guys! Brad stepped up to volunteer for the next news brief.

Grades: I went over how grades for progress report were calculated (they are posted by student ID number in class) and what students could do to improve them. First and foremost, that would be doing well on the Constitution test in class on Thursday! Let me know if you are at all confused about what to do in order to improve your grade.

Finish Bill of Rights: We finished our look at this handout:

Google Drive - Rights of the Accused

I wanted to be clear about what the Bill of Rights says and does. Review that sheet and the Bill of Rights for the test on Thursday, along with the philosophers that influenced the U.S. government and the Constitution.

Jeopardy Review: Speaking of review, here is a link to the PowerPoint game we played to review in class. Many of the questions are taken directly from the Constitution test (with the obvious exception of the "Mr. Fritz" and "The Class" categories):

Google Drive: Constitution Jeopardy Review

I hope you had fun with this, because I always do. Congratulations to Team 2 for winning!

Death Penalty: At the end of class, I gave some time to study, then we talked about this article:

Google Drive: New York Times Upfront - The Death Penalty Debate

Basically, I wanted to go over the Eighth Amendment protections here that relate to the death penalty. It is also interesting that the many states have the death penalty, whereas most industrialized countries do not. In any case, it's worth thinking about the debate.

Thanks for another good class - see you on Thursday! Be ready! :-)

State and Local Government, Day 5 - Class Recap

Today, we played a game of Jeopardy in class. This weekend is the championships of another kind of game: the French Open. This is a picture I took in Paris at the French Open last year, when Rafael Nadal won.

Dear class,

Welcome to your last weekend of the 2013-14 school year at Westview! I had a lot of fun playing Jeopardy review with everyone! Here's the class recap for today:

Learning Targets:
SS.HS.CR.ALT.03: I can apply understanding of ideas and concepts to a new context or problem.
SS.HS.RE.ALT.05: I can effectively conduct and apply research.
SS.HS.KN.ALT.01: I can demonstrate an understanding of the interplay between citizens and their governments.
SS.HS.KN.ALT.02: I can demonstrate an understanding of the role of governments in current issues.
SS.HS.CO.ALT.05: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.

Soundtrack: “My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark" by Fall Out Boy. Selected because it is pump up song for playing Jeopardy. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 6/6/14:
News Brief
Council Presentations
Jeopardy Review
Study Time

Homework: Review notes and material for in class final on Wednesday. Read the blog! Last news brief: Cam.

News Brief: We did not have the news brief today, due to a student forgetting. Next time!

Council Presentations: Everyone that did not present last class did so today. Thanks again for your work and effort on this, everyone! I enjoyed them a lot.

Jeopardy Review: This is definitely my favorite way to prepare for an upcoming test. Again, the first four categories contain questions that will actually be on the semester final. The final will be 100 multiple choice questions. Here is the PowerPoint again to review, if you want:

Google Drive - Government Semester 2 Final Review Jeopardy PowerPoint

There are obviously questions on the final that are not on the review, and the review does not have the answers.

Study Time: The rest of time in class was given as study time. There were all sorts of handouts in the room available to study from and I am happy to answer questions at any time!

See you next week! Our final is from 9:30-11:00 on Wednesday!

Constitution Review - Class Recap

The view from the top of the Washington Monument, looking down the National Mall towards the United States Capitol. Picture taken in 2010.

Hi everyone,

I don't know about you, but I had fun today with our Jeopardy review game, in preparation for the Constitution test next class!

Learning Targets Addressed:
SS.HS.KN.ALT.05: I can demonstrate an understanding of the principles, structures, and functions of different levels of U.S. government.
SS.HS.CO.ALT.05: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.

Soundtrack: “All I Wanna Do" by Sheryl Crow. Selected for today because I was hopeful we were going to have some fun in class. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 3/19/14:
News Brief
Juvenile Rights
Jeopardy Review
Study Time

Homework: Study for the Constitution test next class! Read the blog! Next news brief: Austin.

News Brief: Micah selected this story to talk about today: CNN.com - Pro-Russians storm Ukrainian navy base in Crimea; deadline set. Thanks, Micah! Remember that the current event write up form is a link under the Ground Rules in the upper right corner of the blog.

Juvenile Rights: For this section, we talked about this article about whether or not life imprisonment for juvenile offenders as old as 13 violate the 8th Amendments protections against "cruel and unusual punishment" - New York Times Upfront - Locked Away Forever.

This certainly prompted some interesting discussion in class!

Jeopardy Review: I always enjoy this activity. Congratulations to Team Blue, who won the game and the taffy! If you missed class, or wanted to see the game again, it is here:

Google Drive - Constitution Jeopardy Review

If you have any questions about this, or what the test (40 questions, multiple choice) looks like, please let me know!

Study Time: With a test on the basics of the Constitution coming up next class, I am hoping that you will use in class time, as well as some out of class time, to study for it.

See you on Friday!