Government, Day 2 - Class Recap

Winter time is coming! Photo taken outside my house in 2008.

Dear class,

It was so nice to see you all again today! A quick week, with Veterans Day in the middle. Again, I really enjoyed the discussion today. Here's what happened in class:

Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 17: I can explain how and why world societies organize themselves and how power is established and maintained.
Communication LT 1:  I can use language and  style that is appropriate to the content area.

Soundtrack: "Get Up, Stand Up" by Bob Marley. Selected for today because students were standing up for what they believed in, in terms of the Forced Choice questions. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 11/13/15:
News Brief – Daisy
Culture Presentations?
Forced Choice
Reflection

Homework: Read the blog. Catch up on any late/incomplete/missing work. Next news brief: Abigail

News Brief: Daisy had the news brief today and selected this story to talk about: BBC.com - Russia reveals giant nuclear torpedo in state TV 'leak'. The article makes the case that this leak was possibily not an accident, which would be interesting. Is Russia trying to intimidate us? We found Russia in our world maps and noted that a news brief was done on the story. Thanks, Daisy!

Abigail was selected to do the next news brief.

We also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):

BBCNews.com - One-minute World News

I also asked about the weekend and what people were up to, before moving on.

Culture Presentations?: This time was utilized by a few students that did not present last class. Thanks for doing this today, and for the attention and respect of the class.

Forced Choice: This is one of my favorite activities of the year. I had the class answer the following questions and choose YES or NO to each of them. Then, we split up the class so that two sides were facing each other. With each question, students moved to the side they felt best represented their opinion on the matter. These are difficult ethical questions and I am glad that we have the type of classroom culture that students feel able to talk about them! The questions were:

1. Giving up some of our rights (like our phones being searched without a warrant) is necessary for our own protection.
2. Everyone in the US should have the right to own guns if they want.
3. Private businesses should be able to choose to not employ people who have a sexual orientation they disagree with.
4. Marijuana should be legalized everywhere for recreational use.
5. Public schools should strictly enforce a standardized dress code.
6. Organized prayer in public schools should be allowed.
7. The government of a country should be able to make unpopular decisions.
8. Should the motto “In God We Trust” be removed from our currency?
9. I agree with the death penalty option for convicted murderers.
10. People in power are always corrupt in some way.

Today, we did questions 3, 4, 7, and 6. Lots of interesting questions and critical thinking! Thank you for your responses and participation. It was not possible to get to every hand that was up in every discussion, for which I apologize. I am glad that students were engaged!

As part of the discussion, I showed this website, which has a map of states with and without employment discrimination laws for orientation and gender identity: Mic.com - One Map Shows Where You Can Still Be Fired for Being Gay in 2015.

If you had any other articles or links to share to back up what you shared in class, please post them in the comments!

Reflection: With about 10 minutes left in class, we stopped the debate, so I could give the assignment, which is important, because we spent most of two days on this activity.

This will be completed next class: Write a one page reflection on the activity. What was the most difficult or controversial question for you? Why? How do these sorts of questions relate to the study of government?

If nothing was difficult for you to answer, maybe pick one that you felt most passionately about. We will do a short debrief on the activity next class, then move on to learning about the basics of government around the world.

Thanks! See you next class!

Government, Day 1 - Class Recap

On the roof of the Bundestag building in Berlin, Germany. This is where the government of Germany meets. Photo taken in 2013.

Hi everyone,

Welcome to a shortened week, with Veterans Day tomorrow! I really enjoyed the discussion today in class. I'm sure it was a nice change from all of the writing students have had to do in the last few days for the class! Here's what happened in class:

Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 17: I can explain how and why world societies organize themselves and how power is established and maintained.
Communication LT 1:  I can use language and  style that is appropriate to the content area.

Soundtrack: "The War Was in Color" by Carbon Leaf. The reason I chose this song for today is because it is all about a veteran describing war to his grandson. We have Wednesday off of school because of Veteran's Day and it is important that we honor the service of those in our armed forces. Lyrics (which I read part of in class) here.

AGENDA 11/10/15:
News Brief – Rachele
Culture Presentations
Forced Choice
Reflection

Homework: Read the blog. Turn in any late/missing/incomplete culture work (especially DBQs). Next news brief: Emily

News Brief: Rachele had the news brief today and selected an article about this story: NYTimes.com - Russia Says Stalled Arms Deal With Iran Is Signed and Active. We found the Iran in our world maps and noted that we did a news brief on the country. I also mentioned that the deal restricting Iran's nuclear weapons also means that Iran will have some sanctions relief in terms of the United States allowing Iran to have access to funding and ways to improve their economy.

Daisy was selected to do the next news brief.

We also watched the BBC World News one minute update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):

BBCNews.com - One-minute World News

I also asked about the weekend and what people were up to, before moving on.

Culture Presentations: Because I wanted to give as much time in class last time to writing the DBQ, we did not have the time for presentations (for the students who chose to do a presentation for the culture project). I enjoyed everyone that went today! Thank you for your effort in crafting great presentations and visuals.

Forced Choice: This is one of my favorite activities of the year. I had the class answer the following questions and choose YES or NO to each of them. Then, we split up the class so that two sides were facing each other. With each question, students moved to the side they felt best represented their opinion on the matter. These are difficult ethical questions and I am glad that we have the type of classroom culture that students feel able to talk about them! The questions were:

1. Giving up some of our rights (like our phones being searched without a warrant) is necessary for our own protection.
2. Everyone in the US should have the right to own guns if they want.
3. Private businesses should be able to choose to not employ people who have a sexual orientation they disagree with.
4. Marijuana should be legalized everywhere for recreational use.
5. Public schools should strictly enforce a standardized dress code.
6. Organized prayer in public schools should be allowed.
7. The government of a country should be able to make unpopular decisions.
8. Should the motto “In God We Trust” be removed from our currency?
9. I agree with the death penalty option for convicted murderers.
10. People in power are always corrupt in some way.

We only made it through question 2 today, so I will pick and choose next class as to which questions we will discuss and debate, before writing a reflective piece about the experience.

In class today, Jonathan F. asked about overall break in rates in the United States. I said I would look up that information, which I am going to assume meant robbery (meaning that people were home at the time). Here is the data for 2014:

FBI.gov - 2014 Crime in the United States: Robbery

It looks like robbery rates have decreased recently, though there were still 325,802 reported in the United States last year.

I love these discussions and I think we did a great job of following the Ground Rules that we established at the beginning of the year.

Thank you for your participation, everyone! Be ready to keep talking next time.

Culture Day 10, Class Recap

I am going to bet that many students wrote that one of the ways culture both reflects and shapes society is through religion. This is a church in Budapest, Hungary, in 2013. I just loved the lighting here! No special effects!

Dear class,

Hooray! You are finally done with the DBQ final essay for the culture unit (if you were able to complete it in class)! I really appreciated how focused everyone seemed to be today in class, and I am excited to start looking into how everyone did. Here's what happened in class:

Learning Targets:
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Critical Thinking LT 1: I can explain multiple perspectives and viewpoints.
Knowledge LT 15: I can explain how culture both reflects and shapes society.
Behavior LT 1:  I can manage my responsibilities as a student.

Soundtrack: "Get Ready for This" by 2 Unlimited. Intended as a pump up song to write the DBQ essay today in class! Here's a link to the version I played in class, from ESPN's "Jock Jams" CD.

AGENDA 11/6/15:
News Brief - Lisa
Write Essay
Culture Project
Turn In Unit Work

Homework: Read the blog. If you did not turn in your culture unit work today (or missed class), you need to get all of this in to me as soon as possible. Enjoy your weekend if you are done with everything! Here is the culture unit work:

1) Surface culture worksheet (National Geographic photos PowerPoint)
2) Cornell Notes on Culture definitions/iceberg PowerPoint
3) Nacirema writing (neatly written or typed, 200 words minimum)
4) Exchange student presentation notes (optional to include)
5) Time for School Notes/Answers
6) Culture Project (include the assignment/rubric from this, even if you are doing a presentation/visual)
7) Culture unit checklist and self-assessment form. (this should be stapled on the top)

Next news brief: Rachele.

News Brief: Lisa the news brief today and chose an article about this story to talk about: CNN.com - 15 die when militants lay siege to hotel with bombs and guns in Somalia. We found Somalia on our world maps (in Africa) and I talked about how the country has basically been in a state of anarchy (without a functioning government) for a long time. I also referenced the movie Black Hawk Down, and we will talk more about that incident in the coming weeks. Thanks, Lisa!

Rachele volunteered to do the next news brief.

We also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):

BBCNews.com - One-minute World News

Write Essay: Today was almost entirely devoted to writing the essay portion of the culture DBQ. We began this process last class, with this handout going through the steps to writing a DBQ:

Google Drive - How to Write a Document Based Question 

We had about an hour in class to be writing, with finishing up the document analysis, and writing the essay. About half the students were able to finish in class, and the rest took the DBQ home to finish this weekend.

Culture Project: We did not have time in class to present or talk about the Culture Project, though I am very excited next class to hear from students who did a presentation or visual to talk briefly about! If you did not finish this, please do so ASAP and turn it in with the rest of your culture unit work.

Turn in Culture Unit Work: See above, in the homework section, for a list of everything that should be turned in as a part of the culture unit.

Remember to have this check list completed and stapled on the front, as well:

Google Drive - Culture Unit Checklist and Self-Assessment

I will go through these as a collection of evidence from the unit. The DBQ is a different and separate score. If you finished this all today, great! If you have not, please do so ASAP, as we will move on to a new unit next class, after any culture project presentations and visuals are shared! :-)

Have a great weekend!