Monday, April 27: Today students were given their roles for the Cabinet Simulation on Wednesday and studied their arguments. If absent, see Ms. Nay, preferably before Wednesday, to receive your assignment. Students then reviewed for the Executive Branch test on Friday.
In Class: Cabinet Simulation Prep Wednesday, April 29: Today was the Cabinet Simulation. Students presented their arguments to the 'President of the United States', trying to get the most funding for their department. With any remaining time, students began the Judicial Branch Unit. If absent, see Ms. Nay for an alternate assignment to make up the participation points. In Class: Cabinet Simulation Friday, May 1: Students began class by taking the Executive Branch Unit Test. If absent, come to a lab to make up test. Students then continued the introduction to the Judicial Branch. Students read about the judicial branch (Judicial Branch in a Flash) and participated in a quick review. They then had time to complete the review worksheet and crossword puzzle. Next was another quick active review. In any remaining time, students played Judicial Branch BINGO. In Class: Executive Branch Unit Test Homework: Judicial Branch in a Flash worksheet and crossword
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Tuesday, April 21: Students completed the "Money Doesn't Grow on Trees" Lesson and "Foreign Policy" Lesson.
Homework: Worksheets from both lessons Thursday, April 23: Today we reviewed what we know about the Executive Branch. Students were then introduced to the Cabinet Simulation, assigned a department and given information to craft an argument for why their department should have the most funding. Homework: Prepare arguments Monday, April 13: Today we voted as a Senate on which bills would be passed on to the House. Students then reported the Senate Simulation as if they were a journalist. Their report is due next class.
Homework: Reporting the Senate Simulation Wednesday, April 15: For the President, All in a Day's Work: Students learn about the powers and responsibilities of the President of the United States. As a class, we completed an anticipation activity about what the President can and cannot do. We then read the Play by the Rules page and discussed, checking for understanding as we go. The students then complete the worksheet activities. Due: Reporting the Senate Simulation In Class: Anticipation Activity, Worksheet Homework: Worksheet Friday, April 17: A Very Big Branch: As a class, we read the information about the Executive Branch, checking for understanding as we went. We then completed the Alphabet Soup activity as a class. Students were then given a worksheet to complete as a review. To end, students were to construct a sentence using the words President, executive, cabinet, and departments, and share it with a partner. Due: For the President Worksheet In Class: Very Big Branch Worksheet Homework: Very Big Branch Worksheet Tuesday, March 24: Today students were divided into their political parties to quickly discuss which bills their party will support. They were then divided into Senate Committees. They presented their bills to the committees and gave their advocacy speeches. The groups discussed the bills and decided on what changes they needed to make and which ones to send before the Senate as a whole. The bills chosen will present their advocacy speeches to the Senate next class.
Due: Official Bill Proposal, Advocacy Speech Homework: Fix and clean up advocacy speeches Thursday, March 26: The bills chosen by the committees were presented in class today. Students debated each bill and then voted on them. In any spare time, students started the "Reporting the Senate" assignment. In Class: Voting Tracker Homework: Reporting the Senate Monday, March 16: Students had the class period to work on their campaign posters and introductory speeches. These are due next class!
Due: State Research In Class: Campaign Poster & Introductory Speech Homework: Finish poster and speech for presentation next class Wednesday, March 18: Students gave their Introductory Speeches to the Senate today. They then started researching and writing their bill. Due: Campaign Poster & Introductory Speech In Class: Research and Write Bill Homework: Write Bill Friday, March 20: Students finished writing their bills today and wrote their Bill Advocacy Speeches. Due: Written Bill In Class: Bill Advocacy Speech Homework: Finish preparing Bill Advocacy Speech Tuesday, March 10: First we finished the Voting in Congress activity. Then students were given a worksheet to complete as they researched their chosen state for the Senate Simulation. Once completed, they started writing their Senate Introductory Speeches.
In Class: State Research, Introductory Speech Homework: State Research Thursday, March 12: Students played the LawCraft game on iCivics.org as practice for the simulation. We then reviewed for the test. In any remaining time, students worked on their introductory speeches. In Class: LawCraft Homework: State Research Monday, March 2: Today students took the Constitution Unit Test. They then reviewed what the Legislative Branch does with "Congress in a Flash", a reading and worksheet that is due next class.
In Class: Unit Test Homework: Congress in a Flash Wednesday, March 4: Today we discussed why we have a House and a Senate. Students were given the role of 'teacher' or 'student' and told to come up with a new cell phone policy. After a few rounds of voting, we came up with a compromise. Students then completed the Large vs. Small states worksheet. We concluded the simulation by having students make comparisons between how Congress works and the teacher vs. student voting process. With remaining time, students filled out what states they would be interested in representing in the Senate and took a political party quiz. Due: Congress in a Flash In Class: Simulation Participation Homework: Large vs. Small States Friday, March 6: Today we practiced voting in Congress. First they filled out their Congress Notetaking Booklet. They were then given scenarios and asked to vote on them. Due: Large vs. Small States In Class: Notetaking Booklet, Voting Guides Tuesday, February 24: Today we learned about federalism. We read about it as a class, and then students participated in a comparison activity. They then had a mini quiz, true/false questions about federalism. Lastly, they completed a worksheet about types of government.
In Class: Federalism worksheet (due next class) Thursday, February 26: Today we reviewed for our test on Monday on the Constitution. Homework: Study for test Monday Wednesday, February 18: Today we went over the Bill of Rights using a Prezi. Students then played Do I Have a Right on iCivics, then read the article "Free Speech vs. Technology".
Due: Articles of the Constitution worksheet In Class: iCivics game Homework: Finish reading and seminar questions Friday, February 20: Today we had a Socratic Seminar on the reading "Free Speech vs. Technology". Due: Socratic Seminar questions In Class: Seminar participation Monday, February 9: Class began with the Foundations of Government Unit Test. We then went over our country's initial government ideas, learning about the Articles of Confederation and the change to the Constitution.
In Class: Cause and Effect Cut & Paste (due next class) Wednesday, February 11: Today we took a pre-test about the Constitution to determine the areas we need to focus. Students then worked on the Drafting Board assignment on iCivics. Due: Cause and Effect Cut & Paste In Class: Drafting Board Friday, February 13: To be determined based on pre-test results |