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!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
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!
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!
Thursday, October 23, 2008
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)
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)
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
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].
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].
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
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.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
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.
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.
Friday, October 10, 2008
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.
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.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
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.
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.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
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.
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.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
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.
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.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
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?
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]
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]
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
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.
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.
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