State and Local Government, Day 6 - 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 finish presenting and 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 6/1/16:
News Brief – Alex J.
Senior Finals
Junior Study Time
State and Local Presentations

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

News Brief: Alex J. had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: CNN.com - EgyptAir Flight 804: 'Black box' signals detected, French investigators say. We talked a little bit about this story, and tried to make some tenuous connections to the United States government involvement. Thanks, Alex J! Sophie 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 2016!

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

Thanks everyone, and especially all of the seniors!

State and Local Government, Day 5 - 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 5/26/16:
News Brief – Michael
Elections/Prep Time
State and Local Presentations
Study Guide

Homework: Read the blog. Start studying for the final! All late work is due by today at the latest (not including the State and Local Project). Next news brief: Alex J. (no write up needed, just story)

News Brief: Michael had the news brief today, but did not do it, so I filled in and selected an article about this story to talk about: CNN.com - Trump on Obama critique: 'When you rattle someone, that's good'. This was about President Obama talking with world leaders, who have expressed shock at Donald Trump and the possibility that he will be the next president of the United States. The story has been updated with a response from Mr. Trump.

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

Elections/Prep Time: After the news brief, I showed the ASB elections videos for the juniors and sophomore in the class, to vote for student leadership next year. Students voted electronically for the first time! Thanks for participating in democracy! After this, we had some time to prep for the state and local presentations.

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.

Study Guide: The end of class was devoted to checking out the study guide I passed out for final (this was mostly to help out the seniors, who are taking the final next class, on Wednesday):

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! Have a great long weekend!

State and Local Government, Day 4 - Class Recap

Another beautiful place in our amazing State of Oregon: the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival in Woodburn. Photo taken in 2015.

Dear class,

Busy times! Seniors have about a week left in class with us, and today was our last day of in class work on the State and Local project. 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: "Battlefield" by Jordin Sparks. Selected for today because the end of the year can feel like a series of battles. Keep working hard, everyone! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 5/24/16:
Wildcat News Brief – Quinn
#StandUpFG
State/Local Project
Computer Lab N210

Homework: Read the blog. Your State/Local final project is due to be turned in and presented next class! Seniors: your final for the class is next Wednesday! Next news brief: Michael.

Wildcat News Brief: Quinn had the news brief today, but was not in class today, so we moved on to talking about the weekend.

We also watched Wildcat News for the day:

#StandUpFG: After the news brief, we had a great in class discussion about the #StandUpFG walk out at Westview last Thursday, which was related to a banner at Forest Grove High School being hung that said "Build The Wall" (allegedly, it was up for a couple of minutes before it was taken down). As part of this section, we talked about freedom of speech issues at school, student activism, responding to people you do not agree with, and the Westview administration response. Here's the news story that I showed:

KGW.com - 'Build A Wall' banner sparks countywide protest, student reportedly apologizes

I also showed part of Dr. Franco's response to the students that protested, as well as some of the tweets that were posted about the walk out. We then had a really interesting conversation about all of these issues. Thanks, everyone!

State/Local Project: We kept working on this project, which is a two page paper, with at least three MLA citations, about a local issue that you care about. Here's the handout:

Google Drive: State and Local Government Final Project

We went through this together again, and then went to the computer lab.

Computer Lab N210: The rest of class was spent in the computer lab, working on researching for the State and Local project and writing about an issue that you care about in our local community. Next class, you will be presenting about your problem and turning your paper in. Thanks for your hard work, everyone!