Midterm Review Sheet Part 2: The questions

I am now editing this post to include answers. How cool is that? Disclaimer: These items do not limit what I can ask on this exam.

What are the rights and responsibilities of citizens in the United States?
A: Rights: right to freedom, right to make a decent living, right to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness
Responsibilities: Vote, pay taxes, serve in the army or defend the nation if necessary, aid in promoting the common good

What is the “common good?”
A: The common good is anything that is for the benefit of society in general. For example, you may not like to pay taxes because it takes away your money, but it's good for everyone to have roads, schools, hospitals and other things that may receive tax money--hence, taxes are for the common good. (Sarcastic comment: In theory anyway)

Democracy was not something dreamed up by Thomas Jefferson after eating a bad lot of his macaroni and cheese. It was founded in ideas from several earlier governments, including Greece, Rome, France, and England. Explain some of the ideas America borrowed from earlier governments, including ideas about citizenry, voting, and freedoms.
A: This question requires me to write a book. You may want to mention the origins of early democracy in Athenian Greece and the Roman Empire. Then, you can talk about the expansion of the rights of the people with the Magna Carta in England, and the ideas of "life, liberty, and equality," as arrived from France. Remember, most of the Founding Fathers had some direct connection with France, and that was the cool place to be in those days... there was definitely some ideas transferring back and forth.

What was the Magna Carta, and how did it come to be written? [Magna Carta trivia—a copy was just sold by H. Ross Perot and was bought by a fellow American Citizen to be placed in the National Archives. Who bought it, and how much was paid—this trivia could help you on your exam].
A: The Magna Carta, or "Great Charter," was the first major document to limit the power of the king--well, there was actually one that preceded this, the "Charter of Liberties" in 1100 that King Henry I voluntarily wrote to describe his powers. However, the Magna Carta was not voluntary. King John was forced to sign it in 1215, as his barons were afraid of overpowerful kings. It described taxation, the succession of the king (who came next) and of the Church (the Church of England) and took away the unlimited power of the king. The Constitution of the United States is based on this document.

How does one become a citizen of the United States? Draw a diagram/flow chart or write a paragraph to explain.
A: To become a citizen of the United States, you can be born in the US or on a US military base. You can also be born abroad but have an American parent. If you have to apply, then you will fill out the necessary paperwork and applications, then you must wait. You will go through an examination and an interview, then you will take an oath of citizenship. This is a textbook answer. The truth is that we will spend much more time discussing this issue second half of the year. It has become an extremely difficult issue for many people, and deserves much more time and discussion.

Compare the Articles of Confederation with the Constitution. Which did not work and why?
A: The Articles of Confederation were much weaker than the Constitution. They did not work because they did not give the Federal Government much power. Most people identified themselves with their states, and did not want one king replaced with an American king. So, they were a "confederation" which means that they would be associated but retain their own identity. The states could make their own treaties, trade agreements, money... it was very confusing when it came to paying back war debts, organizing trade, and deciding major issues that needed to be agreed upon. The Constitution solved those problems by giving the Federal government some real power, but balancing the state power as well by creating representation based on population in the House of Representatives and giving each state equal representation in the Senate. Also, it created limitations for power, gave individuals rights, and created a system of checks and balances so nobody could get out of control with their power.

What are the qualifications for those seeking the office of President of the United States? Explain how one or two candidates on your short list (the list of those you like) meet the qualifications and would make a good President.
A: This is an opinion question. You can't get it wrong unless you pick someone who is not qualified. To be President, you must be at least 35 years old, a natural born citizen of the US and have lived here for 14 years (so, you can't be a citizen who moved to another country and has only been back 3 years).

List three social institutions in society help people to become good citizens.
A: Pick any of the social institutions: church, family, work, school, clubs, organizations...

Discuss at least two of the Founding Fathers plans for creating a government of the United States (for example, Madison’s ideas…). What were the problems that the states had with some of the original plans and how were they resolved?
A: This answer could also be a book. Check yours and earlier notes for more details. You might discuss Washington and Madison's Federalist ideas, or Jefferson's desire to retain his freedoms. You could also discuss the compromises that went into making the Constitution, like the Great Compromise, the 3/5's compromise, or any issue that went into forming the union.

Explain the difference between the Federalists and the Anti-federalists at the time of the founding of the United States.
A: Federalists: Believed in a strong union with a federal gov't that had power. George Washington, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton... see the notes on this subject for more details.
Anti-Federalists: were afraid of a federal gov't with too much power. Thomas Jefferson, who wrote the Declaration of Independence was an anti-federalist.

Be able to use your Constitution to answer questions that may be posed about rights, interpretations, and qualifications for elected offices. Don't forget to review your Bill of Rights.
A: I will ask you what you can and can't do according to the Constitution, will ask you to look up things in the Bill of Rights, and other Constitutional trivia questions. You may use your Constitution if you bring it.

Make sure you bring your book. If you don't have it, you can't use your Constitution.

Midterm Review sheet

Vocabulary:

Market--a place where consumers buy and sell items
Socialization--the process of becoming a good citizen
goods--objects that are bought or sold
services--supplier of utilities or commodities--someone who does something for someone else provides services.
Government--runs a nation, creating order and stability for its citizens
social institution--a group to which a citizen can belong
Naturalization--the process of becoming a citizen
immigration--moving from one nation to another
migration--moving from place to place
Import--bringing things into a nation
export--sending things to other nations
alien--a citizen of one country who is living in another
Citizen--someone born in a country who enjoys all the rights belonging to a resident of that country
candidate--a person who runs for elected office
representative--a person elected to an office who speaks for his or her constituents (people)
Missouri Compromise--kept the slave state/free state balance in Congress. Allowed Missouri to be admitted as a slave state,
Maine as a free state, and told where slave and free states could exist
Great Compromise--created a bicameral Congress where the House of Representatives would be based on population and the
Senate membership would be equal for each state (as created by Roger Sherman of CT)
due process--the process you must receive under the law.
Rights of citizenship--free speech, life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness--they are too numerous to spell out here.
responsibilities of citizenship--vote, receive an education, work, pay taxes... they are also too numerous to be counted.
Jury--the people (peers) who decide the guilt or innocence of defendants in trials.
legislature--body of lawmakers
Parliament--English "Congress" comprised of the House of Commons and the House of Lords
Charter--the piece of paper giving permission to start a town, city, state, nation, colony, etc.
Constitution---the supreme law of our land. Cannot be trumped by other laws.
common good--things that are good for society at large
Federalist--believed in strong federal government. Examples: G. Washington, A. Hamilton, J. Madison
Anti-Federalist--believed in states rights and a weak federal government. Example: T. Jefferson.
Republican--political party that believes that the government should be limited in its power and leave people to their own devices. If people need help, the community should help them. The government would be best serving people if it stayed out of their way. These guys would be the Anti-federalists of old.
Democrat--party that believes that the government needs to step in and help people because the private sector cannot always be held responsible for this. These guys would be the Federalists of old.
Democrat

Walkout

You are seeing the characters develop in the movie and some real issues of rights emerge.

You may like to research the following:
Brown Berets
Black Panthers
Che Gueverra

These are people/groups involved in securing rights for certain people--Che, for example, is a hero to many for helping to secure rights for migrant workers. Many of these types of people and groups were tied to communism and separatist movements and followed by the FBI. As such, you will find a goldmine of declassified primary source documentation on the subjects at www.archives.gov, which is the United States National Archives.

You should be keeping a summary of the movie in your notebook for a notebook grade and writing down rights you feel have been violated.

Walkout

You will be seeing the film "Walkout," which is about a group of students in California organizing to achieve equal rights in education.

You will be asked to write a short summary of the film and note the following:
1. Which rights (according to the United States Constitution) are being violated (and by whom) in this film?
2. How do the students go about correcting the situation?
3. Who is right and who is wrong in this film--explain your opinion.
4. What happens to the students at the end?
5. What are the pros and cons for Paula in joining this movement? Would you join if you were in this situation?

We will be discussing rights, violation of rights, and the process of securing rights if you think that your cause is just. Remember poor Fred Koramatsu--he was right, too, and he did not have a very good outcome. We will discuss the issue of justice and how society responds when justice prevail--and when it doesn't.

Supreme Court Case and vocab

Today we discussed a Supreme Court case involving the Fourth Amendment, which can be found on pages 164-165 of your book.

Vocabulary and concepts:
warrant--permission to search a person or premises

en loco parentis-Latin for "in place of the parents." Please note that "loco" is the Latin root word for "place" or "location" and does not indicate insanity. This phrase means that school personnel are required to act in the place of parents in supervising students and keeping them safe.

Conservative interpretation of the Constitution--this means that whatever is written in the Constitution (or law) is what it means. This is not open to interpretation. If the Founding Fathers or Congress wanted to say something else, they'd have said it. A Constitutional conservative believes it is the job of Congress to make the laws, and we must follow and apply them as written exactly. The Constitution is to be taken literally.

Liberal interpretation of the Constitution--the Constitution must be interpreted using the intention of those who created the laws and the information available. It can be interpreted using information that was not available at the time.

The Constitution and the Amendments

We have gone through the sections of the Constitution a bit, but will be doing so more in detail when we cover each of the 3 branches of government. This will break up the joy and spread it out some.

Our Amendment projects are complete and presented.

For Review:
In your notebook, please make sure you either have your foldable which includes a BRIEF description of each of the articles and amendments. There is a class that did not do the foldable project. If you belong to this class, or did not do your foldable for another reason, then make sure that BEFORE THE MIDTERM EXAM you have included a short outline of the Constitution on your notebook.

Your summary should include:
-A short note about the purpose of each of the articles
-A short note about each amendment--this can be done as follows:

Article 1: Congress
-sets up the Senate and the House of Representatives, discusses qualifications and pay for each, and gives the powers.

Amendment 2:
-right to bear arms.

Notes on the Founding Fathers and Creation of the Constitution

We discussed the Founding Fathers, which someone advised were "boring." I gave you some notes, which you did not have to copy--I am reposting them here.

Who Decided What to Put in the Constitution?
Some interesting notes…

We have agreed that the Articles of Confederation did not work. It was difficult for the Federal government to collect taxes, and the states had their own interests in mind. They were not inclined to give power to a federal government that would replace the King. Hence, we see an ideological split. The Federalists believed that the Articles of Confederation were so flawed that they needed to be replaced. The Anti-Federalists felt that all decisions should be left to the states and “the People.”

“The People,” Federalist James Madison argued, did not truly exist. In a letter to Thomas Jefferson (a staunch Anti-federalist), Madison explained that there were so many social classes and interests that it was almost impossible to define “the people.”

Madison felt that the best government should be a government where the interests of the people were fractured and different. The best government should have a balance of power contained between the three branches of government, but that in the end, the federal government should have veto power over the states. He did not get his exact wish—Anti-federalists were too afraid that this closely resembled the situation that had existed before under the King. The Colonies could make laws for themselves but the King had absolute veto power. They were not excited to vote for a Constitution that held similar power.

There were many options that could have happened during the Constitutional Convention:
1. The states could have broken up into individual regions or “confederations.” A confederation is a union of states united for some reason—perhaps defense or economic reasons.
2. The states could have stayed together under the Articles, which would probably have meant that the government would have continued to be disorganized and eventually dissolve.
3. The Articles could have been amended in some fashion.
4. The Articles could have been thrown away (and the Constitution created with regional compromises) [This is what happened]
5. The new Constitution could have been created containing the strongest Federalist language, in effect exactly reproducing the situation the colonists left under the King.

What did we get in the new Constitution?

• A balance of power—a bicameral (two-part) legislature. One part, the House of Representatives, would be based on population, and the other, the Senate, would allow each state the same number of votes. The federal government did not get to veto the state laws in the Congress.
o The Anti-federalists wanted the Congress to be purely population-based (ie, the voice of “the people”) and the Federalists wanted each state to have the same power but to be trumped by the federal government (the federal gov’t would have the final veto power).
• An Executive branch with a President and Vice-President who would make sure the laws were carried out.
• A loosely-defined Judicial branch without a clearly spelled out role. The Supreme Court was created, but at the time it was never really clear whether they would have absolute power to check laws. They asserted this power in the case Marbury v. Madison later, but at the time of the creation of the Constitution, it was unclear.

Key Compromises:

The Great Compromise: divided the Congress into two branches, providing checks and balances.
• The Virginia Plan divided Congress into two groups both of which had the number of members based on population.
• The New Jersey Plan was an amending of the Articles of Confederation and had the number of representatives in Congress the same for each state.
The Great Compromise took one element from each plan and made a compromise—the Senate would have the same number of representatives from each state and the House would have membership based on populations. Furthermore, each slave would count as 3/5 of a person toward House membership (The Three-Fifths’ Compromise).


A Brief cast of characters:

George Washington: Fought the Revolutionary War. Was upset that ineffective supply lines and confusion between states almost lost the war. Suffered a devastating winter in Valley Forge when Colonists persisted in selling supplies to the British because the British paid in reliable currency.

Alexander Hamilton: Aid to GW who also saw the tragedy unfold in Valley Forge. Upset because there was no strong gov’t to insure that the Colonists were united in supplying the soldiers.

Thomas Jefferson: Wrote the Declaration of Independence, which gave a long list of complaints against the excessive government of the King, where he could veto any laws or assert any power over the local Colonial government.

James Madison: Young revolutionary thinker—a lawyer, in fact. Thought that the bigger the government, the better it would operate. Small local governments were often victim to partisanship (inter-community drama and fighting) and unfairness. Big governments would operate better. The bigger the better—the best chance for the US Gov’t would be to have the federal government able to override state governments and also to have more land, more people, and more government.

William Patterson: supported the New Jersey Plan which gave states equal representation in the Congress.

Presidential History

It is official. Barack Obama will be the 44th President of the United States.

We will discuss this in class, but (A Week) your Amendment Projects are still due tomorrow.

Constitution foldable (or book)

You are creating a foldable or book with elements of the Constitution. Your job is to summarize the Articles and the first 10 Amendments.

You must include:
1. Articles 1-7
2. The Bill of Rights (the first 10 Amendments)

If you are really inspired and want some extra credit, you can do all 27 Amendments.

Work smart, not hard--summarize the Article or Amendment.
Be colorful and neat.
Make sure everyone can enjoy your bullets and summaries--imagine you are creating your foldable to read to a class of 4th graders learning about the Constitution---keep it simple and effective.

You will later include these in your notebooks for use on the midterm exam, so the better your project, the more it will help later on!

F Week: Tuesday

We completed the Constitutional Scavenger Hunt. We will start a project, involving creating a foldable of the US Constitution that will eventually become part of your notebook.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, I will be away at a conference and you will do Section 3 of the Constitution Chapter in your notebook (questions/vocab) and continue to work on your foldables, which will be due Friday.

We will choose names to see who gets which Amendment for our Amendment Project!

Amendment Project

We chose amendments for our Amendment Project.

Amendment Project:
1. Explain your amendment
2. In what year was your amendment passed
3. Explain the reason your amendment was necessary
4. Find one Supreme Court case concerning your amendment. Tell us about the case and its importance.

Rules for a successful presentation
--Research should be done well in advance.
--Put the important things on note cards.
--Rehearse your presentations.

You may not read from computer printouts. Your notes must be hand-written or typed onto cards.

One helpful website for Supreme Court decisions:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/

Some helpful notes about the Amendments:
http://www.usconstitution.net/constamnotes.html

Feel free to look anywhere you find helpful, including the National Archives, which can be found at
http://www.archives.gov/

A WEEK DUE DATE: Wednesday, November 5th (the day after Election Day)

The Constitution

A Week:
On Tuesday we had a scavenger hunt--you had to find things in the Constitution.

You were given a list of events from the period of our nation's founding, which you had to put in order and include the dates.
If you were absent, please read pages 73-83 and put the events you find in order.

Today (Wednesday) we corrected your timelines as a class, and we discussed the founding of our nation.

Notes:
Remember that the first governing document of the United States was the Articles of Confederation. It did not work.

Founders such as George Washington felt that it was necessary to form a government with a stronger central power. George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and friends did not become Federalists by accident. Remember, they were centrally involved in the winter at Valley Forge--a winter when the Continental troops were starving to death and freezing in the middle of America's best farmland. Farmers were selling their goods to the British soldiers because the British paid in pounds sterling (solid currency) while the American's paid in currency that was not trusted.

In order to save the army and the war effort, Washington had to take hard measures.
-he sent Gen. Nathaniel Greene to "buy" what little food was left from American farmers (the "selling" was forced).
-he strengthened up discipline in the army and gave lifetime half-pay pensions to officers who promised to stay for the rest of the war rather than going home at the end of their term.
-he restricted other liberties in order to gain control of the army and countryside.

Washington didn't like curtailing liberties, but he felt that short-term suffering would be better than tyranny under the British if they won the war. [Big hint: we will connect this issue to an opinion question about politics and the situation today--is it necessary to lose liberties during national emergencies?]

Washington developed the mindset that a strong national government was necessary--he saw what happened when the army was disorganized and supply lines didn't work.

The key question in forming this new government would be how to balance the powers to create an effective government. The founders were not thinking about "democracy" and "freedom" in the purest sense--they were too busy trying to create a government that would last. [Remember--the Europeans were STILL waiting for the whole darned thing to fall apart].

Schoolhouse Rock

In every period but 7A, we have watched these cartoons. Your homework was to analyze your favorite and tell why it was accurate or inaccurate. Place this in your notebook.

F Week: Tuesday

See notes already posted about the history of democracy and the Declaration.

Yesterday we began the "English to English" translation of the Declaration, and you were asked to translate 10 complaints into our English at the end of class and for homework.

Happy 3 day weekend

Today, period 6 had reading period and period 7 discussed the Roosevelt essay. If you were absent, please get a copy from me, as I cannot find a link to her essay online.

Otherwise, no homework for the long weekend.

Can a Woman Ever be President of the United States?

Today in period 7 Civics, we will address this topic. Eleanor Roosevelt felt that a woman could not be President and wrote an essay on the subject. We will read and analyze her thoughts on this topic. We may need more time to discuss this controversial topic, so I will have you note the main ideas from our discussion in your notebook so no one forgets over the long weekend and week at health/PE.

What went Wrong with the Articles?

The Colonists were tired of wars and tired of the king. Nobody wanted a new American king--you all know someone who gets a little bit of power and then becomes terrible. You know the kid who used to work with you at Stop & Shop or Daves, and then gets to be the Head Bagger, only to boss you around, make you get the carts, and make your job miserable...

The colonists were afraid of the same thing. Therefore, the Articles of Confederation, the first main Law of the Land, were loosely structured to give the power to the states and not the federal government. The problem was that the states did not all have the same interests--there were slave states and free states, big states and small states, industrial states and agricultural states, and the list goes on.

Trying to coordinate to pay back the war debt, build a national infrastructure, set up a system of banking and do other things for the welfare of the nation became nearly impossible. Try this at home--invite 13 of your friends to your house where you will meet up at a certain time, decide on a restaurant and decide which movie (you all have to go to the same one) at the Patriot Cinema. Odds are, one person will be 5 hours early, one will be late, someone will hate whatever restaurant you choose, and you will never get to decide on a movie. Now, multiply the effects of this by 13 states controlling the entire population of the nation.

Remember, the British and the French were waiting on the horizon for this new "experiment in democracy" to fall apart. They were certain it would, and they would be available to carve up the resulting colonies--think about the rest of the world. This was the middle of the Age of Colonization, and there was no continent (except Antarctica and maybe the polar icecap) that was untouched by the effects of European colonization.

Your mission in class and for homework today will be to:

--List reasons why the Articles of Confederation did not succeed.
--Explain why Shay's rebellion occurred and what effect this had on the colonists realizing the Articles were ineffective.
--Define "federalist" and "antifederalist" interests.

Put the following answers in your notebook. If you were asleep or absent today, the book contains some information around pages 80-85.

Articles of Confederation

Today we will effectively skip the Revolutionary War--suffice to say the Colonists won. No one expected this, and no one in Europe expected the fledgling democracy to last. The British and French were waiting on the horizon to carve up the new nation when it crumbled into disaster.

The Founding Fathers knew this, and they set about creating a set of documents to govern the nation without creating a strong federal government that would take the place of the king...

This first attempt was (insert scary movie music here) the Articles of Confederation.

History of Freedom

Lecture Notes

We discussed the fact that our idea of freedom and government evolves from ideas taken from Greece, Rome, the signing of the Magna Carta in England, and the Enlightenment.

Greece: representative government--republic
Rome: rights for citizens, right to trial by jury, senate
Magna Carta: limited the power of the monarch and created Parlaiment in England.
The Enlightenment: developed the ideas of liberty, equality, and brotherhood.

Even so, the Founding Fathers' definition of freedom was not as "free" as what we expect today. We will analyze this concept by studying our national documents.

We began by discussing the Declaration of Independence, which was, in effect, a giant laundry-list of complaints sent to the King in England. Imagine, the King has just paid for the protection of the colonists during the French and Indian War. He feels entirely justified in taxing the colonists to pay back the war debt. We are examining the writing of the Declaration from the point of view of the colonists and the king.

Homework: Analyze the complaints listed in the Declaration. Explain several (I have given you a specific number in class) in your notebook providing an "English to English" translation.

Make up test--citizenship

If you have not taken the test for the Citizenship unit (Vinny, Corey, Kyle G, and anyone else I have missed) you may answer the following questions in an essay or complete paragraphs and email your answers or submit it to me before next Friday:

1.What is the process of becoming a citizen of the United States?
2. Why does it seem that the issue of citizenship is so controversial today?
3. What is "active citizenship" and how can you show active citizenship?
4. What are the rights and responsibilities of becoming a citizen?
5. According to page 55 of your book, there are seven "social roles" that a person plays in society. Which do you think are the most important and why? Which ones do you play in society?
6. How did your Island in the Sea resemble a real nation? What types of things did you do that real nations do?

Founding Documents of the United States.

This week we will look at the founding of the United States. We will discuss the views of the Founding Fathers at the time of the Revolutionary War, and we will look at the history of where they formulated some of these ideas. The republican ideas they used to create this nation were not dreamed up over a bowl of hot oatmeal or even over a beer in a pub. They came from a long history of such ideas that evolved from the Greek and Roman Empire, to the signing of the Magna Carta in England, through the Enlightenment.

Highlights of this unit:
--the true meaning of the Declaration of Independence, including a bonus "English to English translation."
--an exciting lecture about the first attempt at governing this nation: The Articles of Confederation and Why They Failed.
--the Constitution and Bill of Rights

The following link will provide you with a copy of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights:
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/charters.html

The following link will send you to the actual Articles of Confederation. Click on "document transcript" for a typed copy.
http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=3

[Note: Cut and paste the links--they don't seem to be working...thank you to Claudia for pointing this out. Archives.gov is the United States National Archives]

Homework: Period 6 & 7 F

Both classes have finished the Island project and have turned in their written responses to the disasters that befell their nations. In real life, countries are forced to deal with crises, and leaders either rise to the occasion or the people suffer. You have dealt with war, famine, economic troubles, sanctions, and other issues. Most of you tried very hard to come up with solutions and make treaties that helped your nations,.

Homework: Read pages 46-58, sections 1-3. You may answer the questions at the end of the section or take notes on each section outlining the main ideas. Hint: there is a test on Friday in which you will be able to use your notebook.

F Week Presentations

We are still awaiting the remaining presentations due to our water main break and now our fire alarm. They will take place today, Tuesday, unless there is a snow day or tornado or poltergeist in the building or something... We will then respond to the disasters presented to your islands and compare and contrast the job you did with the job that happens in the United States every day.

Active Citizenship

President Bill Clinton challenged Americans to redefine citizenship as "active citizenship." He said that in addition to paying taxes, being informed voters who vote, and following the laws, each citizen needs to leave the community better than he or she found it.

Our activity in class was to brainstorm about ways that we can do just that so that when opportunities approach us, we can improve our community. If everyone makes that commitment, the community and nation will be a better place!

Freedom

Today in class we discussed our projects. We decided it is, in fact, easier to complain about people who run a country than it is to design a country with a perfect balance of rights and responsibilities.

We examined the issue of "rights vs. responsibilities" in American society. We will discuss each right more closely, as well as each responsibility, but we were in general agreement that it's impossible to have rights without putting some effort into the "responsibility" column.

Ideas we will discuss:
--the definition of "freedom" today is not the same as "freedom" was at the time of the Founding Fathers. We will discuss how the idea of freedom has evolved and changed.
--we will discuss the history and origins of the idea of "freedom" on which America was founded.
--we will discuss how the civilizations of Greece, Rome, England and France strongly influenced the government we have today.
--we will discuss areas of opportunity to exercise our rights and freedoms and ways to carry out our responsibilities as American citizens.

Homework: (quiz grade) On Friday at 9PM, Senators Obama and McCain will take part in their first debate. I would like you to grab some popcorn and watch this debate. In your notebook, write at least three good points each participant makes, and at least points on which they were corrected. If you cannot watch this debate on Friday for reasons beyond your control, pick up a newspaper article on Saturday and read the article about it, watch the clips that will be posted on Youtube, or go to cnn.com and search for news stories about the debate which will lead you to clips of the highlights.

Chapter 3 notes and homework

September 22 (A Week Homework) September 29 (F Week Homework) Outline the following sections in your notebook OR answer the questions at the end of each section.


Chapter 3: The Meaning of Citizenship Notes
Pages 46-59

Section 1: Who is a Citizen?
-a person born in the US or its territories.
-a person who pledges his or her allegiance (loyalty) to the US
-a child with at least one parent who was an American citizen at their time of birth.
-a child who is under the age of 18 when his or her parents become citizens.

Naturalization: the process of becoming a US citizen.
Step 1: Application—immigrants must submit an application to the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
Step 2: Examination—applicant must prove that his is 18 or older, has lived in the US for at least 5 years and in the state of residence for 3 years, has a good moral character, is loyal to the principles of the US Constitution, can read, write, and speak English, and knows about the US government and history.
Step 3: Hearing—the applicant appears before a citizenship court for an interview. The court responds to the application, and the new citizen is sworn in and given a certificate of citizenship.

A US citizen holds the “office of citizen” for life.

Section 2: The Rights, Duties, and Responsibilities of Citizens:
Rights:
-vote
-freedom of speech
-practice religion
-receive a fair trial
-expect protection from the government when traveling abroad
-other rights as listed in the US Constitution

Responsibilities/Duties:
-obey laws
-serve in the army if necessary
-serve on a jury if necessary
-pay taxes
-go to school
-do all that is necessary for the “common good.”


Section 3: Citizenship and Our Other Roles in Society:

The Seven Social Roles of citizens:
Self
Friend
Social group member
Family member
Consumer
Citizen
Worker/student

People act differently when they are in different situations. Roles in life change and evolve. How do you fit into each of the social roles listed above? What happens when your social roles conflict?

Wrapping up "The Island in the Sea"

A Week: You have presented your islands and received a disaster that tested your island nations.
F Week: You have yet to receive your disaster due to that day off last Friday. You will receive yours next Monday.

The purpose of this unit was to force you to consider the complex decisions that go into running a nation--everyone's a critic, but it's difficult to be in charge of major decisions that affect people's lives, the economy, and the well-being of an entire nation.

We will next begin the study of American citizenship--what it means, and the responsibilities that you must accept to be a good citizen of the United States.

F Week Presentations

Hello, F Week.

Your week will look like this:

Monday--Tuesday: Work on your Island in the Sea project with your teammates.
Wednesday: Finish up any last touches and rehearse your presentation.
Thursday: Present to group--presentations will be 2-5 minutes, and will be exciting. You will tell us about your island--when you are done we should understand the island culture, climate, geography, economic system, and anything else you feel is important.
Friday: Disaster day. You will need to respond to and deal with some situation which will will unfold on your island. Your group will write up a solution. Your response will be graded separately from this project as a whole.

Good luck, and may the best island nations survive.

A Week Presentations

A Week will be presenting their Islands on Friday, September 13.

Presentations will
-be two to five minutes long
-be exciting and informative
-tell us all about the countries, governments, economies, and citizens.

The "international community" will discuss which Islands look like the strongest nations and when we return we will have international disputes and national emergencies to plan for.

Island in the Sea

A new island has been discovered in the middle of the ocean. You (and your friends) are being given the responsibility of creating a government, deciding who will be able to become a citizen, and ruling your citizens responsibly. You must create an economy based on some type of trade, skill-based labor, or manufacturing. You must deal responsibly with other nations.

Create:
1. A name and flag for your nation.
2. A government--what type of government will you choose to govern your people?
3. What type of economic system will your government create and promote?
4. How strong a military will you need, and how will you fund, create, and deploy your military?
5. What industry, skills, or trade will your country engage in to create wealth?
6. What types of services will you offer your citizens?
7. What are the laws of your nation?
8. How will your nation prepare for emergencies?
9. What type of infrastructure will your government create, and how will it tax its citizens to fund it?

Be prepared for the international community to throw curve balls at your government. Be prepared for uprisings, international disputes, natural or economic disaster, and make sure your government is ready for anything that might befall it!

Citizenship and Government

In this unit, we will discuss the concept of American citizenship. We will discuss requirements, duties, and responsibilities of being an American citizen. We will also discuss the history of citizenship in America and citizenship today.

This is a time where the topic of citizenship is debated fiercely, especially in Rhode Island.

You will start by thinking about government and citizenship by creating your own

...Island in the Sea

Homework: Period 7A (9/4)

Read section One, pages 46 and 47, and complete questions 1-4 in your notebook.

The Citizenship Test

Both A and F weeks have completed a "quiz" race. It's actually an old version of the citizenship test. The point of that test was that many people who have lived in America their whole lives do not even know the basic facts about the founding of the nation.

We'll learn the basic facts, but what we want to do most of all is learn about the government so we know how to access it and how to use it when necessary.

The next week or so will be dedicated to citizenship. What makes a good citizen? What are the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. If you were the leader of some island out in the ocean, and you could take whoever you wanted, make whatever laws you wanted, and make it successful in whatever way you wanted, what would you do? What kind of government would you want to rule your citizens? How would you want your country to operate?

More on "Your Island in the Sea" as class unfolds...

Welcome to Civics

Welcome to Civics.

This class is designed to help you learn about the government and learn how to make it work for you. We will be discussing local, state, and national government. You will learn how bills become laws, who decides if laws are Constitutional, and how to change laws you don't like.

You will learn the background of why the government works the way it does, and how to cause change when necessary.

This Civics class will be a "how to" type of class. You will learn the background information necessary, but you will also be connecting that information to interesting things that you, personally, care about.

The grades:
-Homework 20%
-Classwork 20%
-Assessments (projects, tests) 40%
-Notebook 20%

I may give a quiz at any time just to make sure you're paying attention. I may check your agenda to make sure you have it correctly filled out--that could be a notebook grade. I may give a quiz or a test where you can use your notebook. The possibilities are endless.

We will do some individual projects and some projects in groups. We will have debates, discussions, and many other activities.

The Rules:
--Everyone must be on time and ready for class--bring your book every day, your notebook, agenda, pen/pencil, etc...
--Everyone must be respectful of everyone else in the class. We will discuss many things about which you have strong beliefs. You may disagree, but you must always do so respectfully.
--You must respect the classroom. Do not leave garbage, stick stuff under the desks, write on desks...
--Use classroom materials with respect. In the past people have ruined a lot of the materials I have supplied to the class, so I stopped supplying materials. I am feeling generous again, thanks to the back to school sales I found this year. Please use and return the classroom colored pencils, rulers, scissors, and other materials and return them where they go. I have supplied you with a bulletin board near the door for notices, and a pile of recyclable scrap paper. If you use these supplies nicely, they'll last the year. If not, you will have to supply your own things.

I am looking forward to this class!