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...