Humanities 12 Assignments
2015-2016 School Year (date indicates when assignment is due)
November 20th
Finish individual assignments for the week
Make progress on your Personal Learning Plan for Senior Project
November 16th
Read one of the three articles on yesterday’s blog and fill in the starter worksheet.
Turn in Individual Assignment sheet for group project
November 5th
*A More Perfect Union term paper
October 22nd
*In-class essay on the essential question
October 21st
*Email or turn in what constitutes beautiful work with your assigned roles for our group project
October 20th
Decide on your preferences for jobs in our group project. Follow the instructions on the sheet. If you haven't finished the Term Paper Topic Worksheet, do this as well.
October 19th
*Fill out the Term Paper Planning sheet I'm passing out. We're tentatively slated to start writing on Thursday of next week. I want you to give some advance thought to your topic and format and evidence so we can check in about this next week.
October 16th
*Two more paragraphs to write for homework in response to The Abolitionists. Good paragraphs, topic sentences, sharp grammar. Notice how all the questions I'm asking you wind back to our essential question. These paragraphs will be important once you sit down to write the script for your digital story.
People credit Dr. Martin Luther King with the quote that, "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice." But the original person to use those words was the 19th century abolitionist and Unitarian minister Theodore Parker. If you agree with this quote, what causes history to bend toward justice? What role do you see for yourself in this endeavor?
At the end of the film, Lincoln admits that rather than being a leader in the battle to end slavery, he was following the lead of the abolition movement. For example, Theodore Parker, the abolitionist minister, also originated the saying, “a government of the people, by the people, and for the people,” which Lincoln used in the Gettysburg Address. What lesson do you take away from learning about the abolition movement? How does this apply to today’s struggles to form a more perfect union?
October 15th
* Answer this question in your Conference Prep doc with a well-written paragraph with a clear topic sentence:
The Abolitionists were trying to clarify the moral choice the country was making with regards to slavery. What moral choice do you feel the country needs to confront today? In what large or small ways do you see yourself helping the country to confront this choice?
October 14th
*Answer the two questions about the documentary “The Abolitionists – Part I” below, each with a good solid paragraph with a topic sentence. You can watch this episode, with commercials, here. Post this in your Conference Prep Google doc. You are compiling paragraphs this week that you’ll study and improve in advance of your term paper. Next week we’re going to work on the “close level” of sentences, grammar, and punctuation, which is why I’m asking you to give your best attention to grammar and punctuation.
1. Christianity was a driving force behind the Abolitionists movement and one could argue that every social movement must have a spiritual aspect to be successful. At the same time, many churches of the time argued against the abolitionist cause. What sense of duty do your own spiritual beliefs imply, if any? How is this related to making America a more perfect union?
2. Angelina Grimke writes to William Lloyd Garrison to express her support for his work. This leads to a lifelong friendship and her direct involvement in the abolitionist movement, her speaking tour, meeting her husband, and the eventual publication of An Appeal to Christian Women of the South and American Slavery as It Is. Who is alive today that would you write a letter to? Whose public work do you respect that you would like to meet? This person and their work do not have to be political. What does this suggest about your own work to make America a more perfect union?
October 13th
*Read the project options. Choose one and write why you think it will be the most effective, what you’d add to or change from the basic description. Write a full paragraph in complete sentences in your Writing Conference Prep Google Doc. We’ll use this next week for some writing practice and instruction
October 12th
*Turn in the Constitutional Values Writing Packet
October 9th
*Constitutional Values Scavenger Hunt - Go to the Junior Exhibition "Voices of the Animas" and fill out this worksheet.
October 9th
*In Class - Write down the takeaways from the John Adams video
October 6th
*In Class - Do a freewrite about your vision for the Animas River in twenty years. Include the following:
Circle or underline the sentence in your vision that encapsulates your main point or thesis. Identify three examples that support your thesis. Write a forecasting statement that describes the three points you would talk about if you were going to write an essay using this thesis.
*In Class - Individual Mission Statement for our Group Project
October 5th
*Based on your response in the Google Survey, I will assign you one of the 11th Grade StoryCorps interviews to listen to. I will email you the link to your assignment on Friday afternoon. You will need to listen to the interview and fill out this worksheet. On Monday, we're going to use your notes to refine our story about pollution in the river and start to draft a mission for our action project.
October 2nd
Read the handout I give you on interests and come ready to jam in discussion
September 30th
Read the handout I give you on causes so your prepped for our activities on Wednesday meeting.
September 29th
Read the handout I give you on symbols and numbers and make sure that you have something marked down on the front your article handout from this past weekend for symbols and numbers.
September 28th
*Read an article related to your assigned group (legal, political, economic, or socio-cultural) and fill out the worksheet
September 24th
*Complete the worksheet on your group's perspective on the Animas River (political, economic, legal, or sociocultural)
September 23rd
*Post a seminar reflection on your DP. What stood out during this group discussion. To what degree did your understanding of federalism and your beliefs about the division of power between the states and the federal government shift.
*In-Class - Reflection on your DP about the personal value that guided where you chose to put yourself on our political map
*In-Class - Complete worksheet on Animas River stakeholders
September 22nd
*Participate in seminar about federalism and division of power between the federal and state governments
September 21st
*Homework includes watching a video, answering questions, and crafting a creative image for a class mural on decision-making. All the details are on this sheet. This is two separate assignments in the gradebook.
*In-Class - Starter on whether the United States more by consensus or majority rule
*In-Class - Seminar Preparation Worksheet
September 18th
*Go to this Google Sheet and type in something you want to know about mining pollution and the Animas River.
Sign-up for a writing conference with me in this Google Doc
September 16th
Read my email about what directions our top three or four issues might take us in. Be ready to give each a rating on a scale of 1 to 4. One = I have real problem with pursuing this issue; 2 = I have reservations but am willing to go along; 3 = I think this issue is interesting and will benefit the class; 4 = I’m genuinely excited about this option. We’ll take the temperature of the group tomorrow and then see if we can make a decision.
*In-Class - Answer question about how you prefer to provide feedback to your teachers.
September 15th
*1) Next week we'll decide what issue we're going to focus on as a class. They'll be some time to advocate for a particular issue. I want you to prepare. So, look at this summary from our discussion of youth issues in La Plata County. Look at the issue you identified on your DP reflection. Look at this sheet listing the potential criteria we think will make a good issue. Choose an issue and make an argument for why we should focus on it. This argument should be at least 250 words and have a thesis statement and at least two reasons why you believe this is the best issue to focus on.
2) Review the term paper assignment and come in with questions
*3) If you were in class on Friday, write a half page, a good solid paragraph in your DS Journal, about our experience trying to come up with a decision-making process for the class. If you were frustrated, channel that frustration into this paragraph. Out of frustration can come deep learning if you are willing to dig a bit. But that's on you.
If you were frustrated, think about why. What does that suggest about how a government should make decisions? What does it suggest about what you feel about education? How important is efficiency? How important is it that everyone is heard? Did you feel heard? If you checked out and didn't feel like contributing, why? Was that just this day and this topic or does it suggest a larger belief about politics and community governance? How did this experience challenge the norms, expectations of a classroom (face 3)? How did it challenge the paradigm of education (face 4)?
This reflection could be central to your digital story and be open to the possibility that your perspective on this experience could change over time.
If you weren't in class today, you'll have the opportunity to do a similar assignment next week.
September 9th
*Read either the Declaration of Independence or Common Sense and answer the corresponding Reading Questions
September 8th
Read and annotate a news article from the last five years for your issue group. Email one another so you don't do the same article.
*Finish your college essay
*In-Class - Post thoughts on your DP about our discussion on the four faces of power.
September 4th
Bring in a draft of your college essay.
September 3rd
Work on your college essay and decide how you want to divide up 100 percent among the criteria we choose for the essay. Here is the list of criteria that we decided upon (PDF or MS Word). Divide 100 points using these categories. Organization has to have a minimum of 20 points (you can give it more) and mechanics has to have a minimum of 15 points. You can give some of the categories zero.
September 2nd
Choose a prompt for your college essay
Choose and use an invention or outlining strategy and come prepared to talk about whether it was useful
September 1st
*Look at the data from your assigned section for the Development Assets Survey. Look at your section for 2008, 2014, and Animas High School. What do you notice? What has changed? Write a summary paragraph in this Google document to help us put together a picture of what's happening with youth in our region.
*In-Class - Post on your DP what you think would be a compelling issue for young people in La Plata County.
*In-Class - Take the writing personality survey
August 31st
*Add a Humanities 12 page to your DP, refine your freewrites on your political philosophy, and someone who has helped make America a more perfect union. Post your refined reflection on your DP.
*Read The Market and the Polis by Deborah Stone and be prepared to answer the Four Corners statements on Monday
*In-Class - Post on your DP your reaction to our discussions about the market and the polis
*In-Class - Post your initial answer to our essential question in your DS Journal. How will I contribute to making America a more perfect union?
August 28th
*Read the syllabus, note questions, and have parents sign the final page. You’ll turn in this page for points.
* In Class - Writing assignment: At least a half a page on what success looks like for you this year in your writing. What do you want to get better at? What is your focus? At the end of the year, what will make you happy as a writer?
November 20th
Finish individual assignments for the week
Make progress on your Personal Learning Plan for Senior Project
November 16th
Read one of the three articles on yesterday’s blog and fill in the starter worksheet.
- Article about the seven-year struggle against the Keystone XL oil pipeline that Obama just rejected
- Article about the rise of the modern conservative movement in the 1960s
- Article about the rise of the Tea Party movement (Part 1 and Part 2)
Turn in Individual Assignment sheet for group project
November 5th
*A More Perfect Union term paper
October 22nd
*In-class essay on the essential question
October 21st
*Email or turn in what constitutes beautiful work with your assigned roles for our group project
October 20th
Decide on your preferences for jobs in our group project. Follow the instructions on the sheet. If you haven't finished the Term Paper Topic Worksheet, do this as well.
October 19th
*Fill out the Term Paper Planning sheet I'm passing out. We're tentatively slated to start writing on Thursday of next week. I want you to give some advance thought to your topic and format and evidence so we can check in about this next week.
October 16th
*Two more paragraphs to write for homework in response to The Abolitionists. Good paragraphs, topic sentences, sharp grammar. Notice how all the questions I'm asking you wind back to our essential question. These paragraphs will be important once you sit down to write the script for your digital story.
People credit Dr. Martin Luther King with the quote that, "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice." But the original person to use those words was the 19th century abolitionist and Unitarian minister Theodore Parker. If you agree with this quote, what causes history to bend toward justice? What role do you see for yourself in this endeavor?
At the end of the film, Lincoln admits that rather than being a leader in the battle to end slavery, he was following the lead of the abolition movement. For example, Theodore Parker, the abolitionist minister, also originated the saying, “a government of the people, by the people, and for the people,” which Lincoln used in the Gettysburg Address. What lesson do you take away from learning about the abolition movement? How does this apply to today’s struggles to form a more perfect union?
October 15th
* Answer this question in your Conference Prep doc with a well-written paragraph with a clear topic sentence:
The Abolitionists were trying to clarify the moral choice the country was making with regards to slavery. What moral choice do you feel the country needs to confront today? In what large or small ways do you see yourself helping the country to confront this choice?
October 14th
*Answer the two questions about the documentary “The Abolitionists – Part I” below, each with a good solid paragraph with a topic sentence. You can watch this episode, with commercials, here. Post this in your Conference Prep Google doc. You are compiling paragraphs this week that you’ll study and improve in advance of your term paper. Next week we’re going to work on the “close level” of sentences, grammar, and punctuation, which is why I’m asking you to give your best attention to grammar and punctuation.
1. Christianity was a driving force behind the Abolitionists movement and one could argue that every social movement must have a spiritual aspect to be successful. At the same time, many churches of the time argued against the abolitionist cause. What sense of duty do your own spiritual beliefs imply, if any? How is this related to making America a more perfect union?
2. Angelina Grimke writes to William Lloyd Garrison to express her support for his work. This leads to a lifelong friendship and her direct involvement in the abolitionist movement, her speaking tour, meeting her husband, and the eventual publication of An Appeal to Christian Women of the South and American Slavery as It Is. Who is alive today that would you write a letter to? Whose public work do you respect that you would like to meet? This person and their work do not have to be political. What does this suggest about your own work to make America a more perfect union?
October 13th
*Read the project options. Choose one and write why you think it will be the most effective, what you’d add to or change from the basic description. Write a full paragraph in complete sentences in your Writing Conference Prep Google Doc. We’ll use this next week for some writing practice and instruction
October 12th
*Turn in the Constitutional Values Writing Packet
October 9th
*Constitutional Values Scavenger Hunt - Go to the Junior Exhibition "Voices of the Animas" and fill out this worksheet.
October 9th
*In Class - Write down the takeaways from the John Adams video
October 6th
*In Class - Do a freewrite about your vision for the Animas River in twenty years. Include the following:
- the biology and chemistry of your desired Animas
- how people are using the river
- amenities and land uses along its course
- how is the pollution from mining being handled
- how is pollution on the lower Animas being handled
Circle or underline the sentence in your vision that encapsulates your main point or thesis. Identify three examples that support your thesis. Write a forecasting statement that describes the three points you would talk about if you were going to write an essay using this thesis.
*In Class - Individual Mission Statement for our Group Project
October 5th
*Based on your response in the Google Survey, I will assign you one of the 11th Grade StoryCorps interviews to listen to. I will email you the link to your assignment on Friday afternoon. You will need to listen to the interview and fill out this worksheet. On Monday, we're going to use your notes to refine our story about pollution in the river and start to draft a mission for our action project.
October 2nd
Read the handout I give you on interests and come ready to jam in discussion
September 30th
Read the handout I give you on causes so your prepped for our activities on Wednesday meeting.
September 29th
Read the handout I give you on symbols and numbers and make sure that you have something marked down on the front your article handout from this past weekend for symbols and numbers.
September 28th
*Read an article related to your assigned group (legal, political, economic, or socio-cultural) and fill out the worksheet
September 24th
*Complete the worksheet on your group's perspective on the Animas River (political, economic, legal, or sociocultural)
September 23rd
*Post a seminar reflection on your DP. What stood out during this group discussion. To what degree did your understanding of federalism and your beliefs about the division of power between the states and the federal government shift.
*In-Class - Reflection on your DP about the personal value that guided where you chose to put yourself on our political map
*In-Class - Complete worksheet on Animas River stakeholders
September 22nd
*Participate in seminar about federalism and division of power between the federal and state governments
September 21st
*Homework includes watching a video, answering questions, and crafting a creative image for a class mural on decision-making. All the details are on this sheet. This is two separate assignments in the gradebook.
*In-Class - Starter on whether the United States more by consensus or majority rule
*In-Class - Seminar Preparation Worksheet
September 18th
*Go to this Google Sheet and type in something you want to know about mining pollution and the Animas River.
Sign-up for a writing conference with me in this Google Doc
September 16th
Read my email about what directions our top three or four issues might take us in. Be ready to give each a rating on a scale of 1 to 4. One = I have real problem with pursuing this issue; 2 = I have reservations but am willing to go along; 3 = I think this issue is interesting and will benefit the class; 4 = I’m genuinely excited about this option. We’ll take the temperature of the group tomorrow and then see if we can make a decision.
*In-Class - Answer question about how you prefer to provide feedback to your teachers.
September 15th
*1) Next week we'll decide what issue we're going to focus on as a class. They'll be some time to advocate for a particular issue. I want you to prepare. So, look at this summary from our discussion of youth issues in La Plata County. Look at the issue you identified on your DP reflection. Look at this sheet listing the potential criteria we think will make a good issue. Choose an issue and make an argument for why we should focus on it. This argument should be at least 250 words and have a thesis statement and at least two reasons why you believe this is the best issue to focus on.
2) Review the term paper assignment and come in with questions
*3) If you were in class on Friday, write a half page, a good solid paragraph in your DS Journal, about our experience trying to come up with a decision-making process for the class. If you were frustrated, channel that frustration into this paragraph. Out of frustration can come deep learning if you are willing to dig a bit. But that's on you.
If you were frustrated, think about why. What does that suggest about how a government should make decisions? What does it suggest about what you feel about education? How important is efficiency? How important is it that everyone is heard? Did you feel heard? If you checked out and didn't feel like contributing, why? Was that just this day and this topic or does it suggest a larger belief about politics and community governance? How did this experience challenge the norms, expectations of a classroom (face 3)? How did it challenge the paradigm of education (face 4)?
This reflection could be central to your digital story and be open to the possibility that your perspective on this experience could change over time.
If you weren't in class today, you'll have the opportunity to do a similar assignment next week.
September 9th
*Read either the Declaration of Independence or Common Sense and answer the corresponding Reading Questions
September 8th
Read and annotate a news article from the last five years for your issue group. Email one another so you don't do the same article.
*Finish your college essay
*In-Class - Post thoughts on your DP about our discussion on the four faces of power.
September 4th
Bring in a draft of your college essay.
September 3rd
Work on your college essay and decide how you want to divide up 100 percent among the criteria we choose for the essay. Here is the list of criteria that we decided upon (PDF or MS Word). Divide 100 points using these categories. Organization has to have a minimum of 20 points (you can give it more) and mechanics has to have a minimum of 15 points. You can give some of the categories zero.
September 2nd
Choose a prompt for your college essay
Choose and use an invention or outlining strategy and come prepared to talk about whether it was useful
September 1st
*Look at the data from your assigned section for the Development Assets Survey. Look at your section for 2008, 2014, and Animas High School. What do you notice? What has changed? Write a summary paragraph in this Google document to help us put together a picture of what's happening with youth in our region.
*In-Class - Post on your DP what you think would be a compelling issue for young people in La Plata County.
*In-Class - Take the writing personality survey
August 31st
*Add a Humanities 12 page to your DP, refine your freewrites on your political philosophy, and someone who has helped make America a more perfect union. Post your refined reflection on your DP.
*Read The Market and the Polis by Deborah Stone and be prepared to answer the Four Corners statements on Monday
*In-Class - Post on your DP your reaction to our discussions about the market and the polis
*In-Class - Post your initial answer to our essential question in your DS Journal. How will I contribute to making America a more perfect union?
August 28th
*Read the syllabus, note questions, and have parents sign the final page. You’ll turn in this page for points.
* In Class - Writing assignment: At least a half a page on what success looks like for you this year in your writing. What do you want to get better at? What is your focus? At the end of the year, what will make you happy as a writer?
2014-2015 School Year
* corresponds to a grade in the grade book
April 28th
Use the talks listed on this page as a place to start. Settle on one and take 20 minutes or so. Get out the SP talk rubric that I pass out in class. Now, watch the whole thing and use the rubric to rate different aspects of the talk.
April 27th
*Any outstanding Pass/Fail assignments - old SPAM forms, Outline, Bibliography, Deep Reading, etc.
April 24th - In Class
*Complete Senior Project Paper
April 23rd - In Class
*Peer Critique Form III
April 22nd - In Class
*Peer Critique Form II
April 21st- In Class
*Peer Critique Form I
Comma Skill Exercise
Due April 17th
Rough draft of your senior project essay
April 16th - In Class
In-Text Citation Exercise
April 15th - In Class
Reading for Questions Exercise
April 13th - In Class
Skill Exercise - Topic Sentences
Due April 13th
*Refined outline of your senior project essay
Due April 3rd
*SPAM-2 form signed by your advisor
*Revisions of your True Wealth proposal
Due March 30th
*Senior Project - Evidence that you have actively read three additional sources, bringing your total for academic sources up to eight. Evidence consists of notes summarizing the main points, filling out this worksheet, or a conference in which you talk to me about the articles and how they relate to your central question.
Due March 20th
*Senior Project - Bibliography of 5 academic sources that you have actively read
Due March 17th
* True Wealth Exhibition - Follow the guidelines on this sheet to be prepared for exhibition. Create a visual.
Due March 16th
*Senior Project - Deep Reading Assignment - This includes annotated text with a key, definitions of 5-10 vocabulary words, three paragraphs describing the relationship of text to your research question, and evidence of having "actively read" two other academic sources. Evidence consists of notes summarizing the main points, filling out this worksheet, or a conference in which you talk to me about the articles and how they relate to your central question.
Due March 9th
*Outline Assignment # 4
*Final True Wealth Proposal
March 5th - In Class
*Self-Assessment and Peer Critique Forms
Due March 5th
At least one section of your proposal for peer critique and to turn in for my feedback
Due February 27th
*Meet with your advisor and turn in SPAM-1 form with your advisor's signature
Due February 17th
*Turn in Outline Assignment # 3
February 13th - In Class
Read the Economic Policy Proposal Overview document for questions, concerns, or needed clarifications. This is Option 3 for your project.
*Draft an email letter to your Senior Project Advisor. Use Matt's SPAM-1 document as a guide.
Due February 13th
Read about our final two economists: Milton Friedman and Herman Daly
*Find the tab with your name on it in this Google Doc and create a pie chart showing which of the six economists you've been exposed to you agree with most. Divide 100 percentage points among the six economists and give a reason for your division. The chart to the right will display the breakdown of your beliefs. We'll do a quick survey of the class on Friday.
Due February 12th
Finish Three Great Economist reading by reading the section on John Maynard Keynes.
*Journal entry on one thing that makes sense to you and one thing you can see an argument against in the Keynes reading
Read this article on Community Land Trusts and the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative. Remember we watched the video about these guys.
*Journal entry on one takeaway from this land trust article.
Due February 11th
Read the Karl Marx section in Three Great Economists.
*Journal entry - What is one idea or concept from Karl Marx that you agree with or at least understand the logic of the argument? What is one idea or concept that you can argue against? These can be the same. Like Smith's ideas, I want you to think about Marx's economics arguments from different points of view,
February 10th - In Class
Read the Adam Smith section in Three Great Economists.
*Journal entry - What is one idea or concept from Adam Smith that you agree with or at least understand the logic of the argument? What is one idea or concept that you can argue against? These can be the same. I want you to think about Smith's ideas from different points of view,
Due February 10th
*Journal entry seminar reflection (5 points formative) – Write a paragraph answering these two questions:
· What is your definition of resilience?
· What specific comments or exchanges in the seminar contributed to your understanding of this concept and how it applies to our local economy?
Read Outline Assignment # 3 and come with any questions or concerns tomorrow.
Due February 9th
* Read this article on the connection between resilience and justice. Answer these two questions in your journal:
* Send me a seminar question related to resilience you want to discuss by Sunday evening at 9 p.m.
Due February 6th
*Annotate the article from Grist and the excerpt from The Resilience Imperative and answer these questions in your journal:
· What is the difference between a robust solution and an optimal solution?
· Which of the seven principles of resilience outlined in The Resilience Imperative do you think is most important? Which principle do you not understand?
*Email me your Senior Project and Abstract - Remember the abstract is 3-5 sentences of why you are interested in your question, how you came to the question, and what you expect to find.
February 5th - In Class
*Journal Entry - What do you need to know more about to move forward on your issue or project idea? We'll use this journal entry to think of questions to ask Laura Lewis Marchino from Region 9.
Due February 3rd
Read the section of Quest for the Golden Circle and my notes from Rocky Mountain Boomtown that you picked up on the way out of class. Note one fact or event that relates to economic development of the Durango area and take note on one other thing you think is important about our history. We are going to build an economic timeline tomorrow, so you understand where this community has come from and where it's going.
February 2nd - In Class
* Journal Entry - Which of the three economic development projects in the PBS video on Detroit do you feel strongest about. Why?
Due February 2nd
* Outline Assignment # 2 - Now's the time to switch business ideas if you've fallen out of love with your product or service. If you choose the business proposal option, this outline will help get a good chunk of your project work behind you.
Due January 30th
Read the Business Proposal Overview and bring in any questions, concerns, or needs about this project option
Due January 28th
*Journal Entry - What's the best size for my business? Is it better to produce as an artisan or go big and capture economies of scale?
Fill out the sustainable business inventory for your business. Imagine how you could green up your business.
January 27th - In Class
*Journal Entry - What do you think is the right size for your business? Should it be small and more like artisan production like Zia Taqueria or Keagan's gun engraving or should it be mass-produced so it can be made and sold cheaply like Taco Bell or cars?
Due January 27th
*Reading Questions on the Zia Taqueria article.
Due January 23rd
Read article on Zia Taqueria (Parts 1 and Part 2).
* Bring in your research question for Senior Project
January 21st and 22nd - In Class
*Journal entry - What conditions will impact the long-term supply and demand for the product or service you entered into the tournament on Monday.
*Journal entry - How elastic is your product or service? How does will consumers respond to changes in price or changes in their own income? Is your product or service more of a luxury or more of a necessity?
Due January 20th
*Outline Assignment I - Follow the guidelines in the outline assignment overview. If you can't think of something, use the outline to answer one of the questions on the Assignment 1 sheet. Remember to use my DP and your journal as a resource to find evidence and examples.
Due January 16th
*Bring in the topic you want to research for senior project
January 15th - In Class
* Journal entry - Choose a value to sell to Durango (e.g. utility, satisfaction, happiness, freedom, community). What is product or service that embodies that value you could market within our community.
January 14th - In Class
*Journal entry - Choose something that's made an impression in our discussion and debate about the affordability of La Plata County, labor, wages, and consumer culture.
Due January 13th
*Identify two products that cost less than $500 that you can buy in Durango that would contribute to your well-being
*Bring in an example of advertisement to 16-30 year-olds from a local media outlet. Bring in the hard copy or have it ready to show on your computer
January 8th - In Class
*Journal entry - Coming out of our discussion and debate about economic questions and the different definitions of economics, write about something you feel is true. Give a justification.
Due January 8th
*Find a job and annual salary for your avatar
Read "An Explanatory Note" from Freakonomics
*Journal entry - Read handout "Different Ways to Think about Economics" and write your own definition of economics and a rationale/justification in your Google Doc journal
January 7th - In Class
*Finish the resume for your economic avatar
January 6th - In Class
*Creating a profile for your economic avatar
January 5th - In Class
*Journal entry - Write about your hopes for semester II
*Journal entry - What constitutes "wealth"? What does "wealth" mean to you?
*Journal entry - What are sources of wealth in La Plata County and the Four Corners?
Due December 11th
*Text of your speech on one of the bills before the Model Senate. There will not be a formal peer review, but I will be available to give you feedback in class on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Get the speech assignment here. Get copies of the bills under Student Resources.
Due December 4th
*Final bills turned in by the end of class. A selection committee will review these bills during lunch and choose two for consideration by our Model Senate.
Due December 3rd
*Finish a draft of your bill by the end of class and give to another pair of senators. They (and you) will take these bills home and provide feedback using the peer review sheet.
Due December 1st
*Senator Sports Card. Here is a basic overview, Matt's specific instructions, and examples. Bring in your finished card ready to laminate on Monday. Email me with questions!
Due November 21st
*Packet 3 for Model Senate
Due November 19th
*Take home questions devised by the other committee. Climate change senators (Environment & Public Works committee) answered questions on immigration. Immigration reform senators (Judiciary Committee) answered questions on climate change.
Due November 18th
*Finish filling out your senator's position on climate change and immigration reform in packet 1 and finish answering the questions on Welcome to Shelbyville in packet 3.
Due November 17th
*Read Getting to Maybe from The New Yorker and answer questions in packet 2
Due November 14th
*Read Not Legal, Not Leaving from Time Magazine and answer the question in packet 2
Due November 13th
*Fill in the note sheet in your notebook packet on episode six of Years of Living Dangerously
Due November 12th
*On Wednesday, we’re going to construct a timeline of climate change policy and politics. Look at the following table. It lists four different timelines of climate-related events (PBS, BBC, NYTimes, Global Warning) and a period of time for you to investigate. Use your assigned timeline to identify the three most important events during your time period. Write these on the timeline in your notebook.
November 11th - November 21st - In Class
*I'll be passing out packets of worksheets for you to take notes on and engage the material. I'll collect these over the next week and a half to do a quick check on your engagement with the material. Each packet will be worth five formative points.
November 5th - In Class
*Filled out Passport Worksheet for the Civics Scavenger Hunt
November 3rd - In Class
*Reactions and questions in response to the "Taking the Hill" documentary that we watched in class. We compiled these in a Google Doc I shared with the class
Due October 31st
*Bring FOUR copies of your draft college essay for peer review. This is worth 20 points for the community learning portion of your grade.
*Finish posting your First Amendment Materials to your DP
Due October 28th
Bring to class a college essay prompt for college essay boot camp. If you have already written your essay(s), have more than one prompt, or whatever else, bring whatever you have and be ready to get moving on your college apps!
Due October 26th by 5 p.m. via email
*Final draft of your First Amendment essay
Due October 25th by the end of class
Outline of your paper
Peer annotated draft of your essay
Peer review worksheet
Reaction to peer comments (at least 150 words)
Due October 23rd
Rough draft of your First Amendment essay
Due October 21st
*Post your video to the ahshumanities12 You Tube Channel.
October 8th - In Class
* Issue Group Presentations
Fill out the FAMP Planning Worksheet
Due October 8th
*Complete the First Amendment questionnaire in preparation for dividing into groups.
Due October 7th
*Learning Journal # 2 - What First Amendment freedom do you value most? What degree of restriction on this freedom would you tolerate and why? What restriction or suppression on this freedom would cause you to go to court? Explain your reasoning and provide an example. Full-credit answers will likely be around 300 words or one page double-spaced.
*Finish test corrections
*Continue finishing your issue group presentations
October 3rd - In Class
*Seminar on the Citizen's United decision, money in politics, and the freedom to petition
Due October 6th
*Make sure you're caught up through Question 9 in your First Amendment Posts. Here is the list of questions.
October 2nd - In Class
*Fill out the Freedom of Religion Survey
*Group work: Top five things grappling with the ultimate questions adds to society.
October 1st - In Class
*Reflection on whether "Freedom of the Press" is redundant. Since we already have freedom of speech, do we need freedom of the press? Does the press deserve special protection?
September 29th - In Class
*Fill out worksheet "What kind of organizer are you?"
September 26th - In Class
Each group used the Issue Group Workplan to divide up tasks and get working on the group presentation, which will happen in class on October 7th.
September 24th and 25th - In Class
Work on the When Does Free Speech Go To Far? handout passed out in class. This will help you decide where you are on different issues. We will then talk about corresponding court cases in class.
Due September 23rd
*Go to the Google Doc on current events that I've created and add your name next to the events that you are interested in discussing. Add issues that are not part of the list.
September 19th - In Class
*Seminar on First Amendment freedoms in the Middle East and the U.S. role in spreading these freedoms across the world.
Work with Issue Groups to finish research and create a map of your issue. This handout has examples.
Due September 19th
*Read your assigned article on the ISIS situation and enter the main and/or supporting points into the Google Doc for seminar prep.
September 17th & 18th - In Class
*Seminar on the Patriot Act
Work with Issue Groups to review resources and fill out this worksheet
September 16th - In Class
Fill out ranking sheet for First Amendment
*Read one pro/con article on the Patriot Act and fill out the graphic organizer
*Work in groups to construct an argument
Due September 16th
Read Matt's excellent summary of the Patriot Act
September 15th - In Class
Work in your issue groups on your vision. Finish answering the first question on this worksheet.
*Write in Google Doc about about the balance between civil liberties and national security
September 12th - In Class
*Test on the Constitution
September 10th - In Class
Answer practice questions for test, one of which involved reading and analyzing this article.
September 9th - In Class
*Participate in Supreme Court Confirmation Hearing.
September 8th - In Class
*Work in small groups and promote an amendment to add to the Constitution.
Due September 8th
Choosing a political figure to research - The acting in Friday's class will be a prelude to next Wednesday when we'll be acting out a Supreme Court confirmation hearing. To prepare for this activity, you'll need to choose someone to role play. You can choose someone from this list of historically significant people. Or you can choose someone else. But the person must have some statement of their political values in the public record. This weekend look at the list and try to choose who will research. You will role play this person on Wednesday. You'll have some time in class to research the person you choose on Monday. And I will provide supporting material then.
*Learning Journal - Here are the specifics for the first learning journal assignment. No word count, but full credit means covering everything in the description and writing in complete sentences.
September 5th - In Class
*Street Law Skits - Small group work designing creative ways to present issues related to search and seizure by police.
September 4th - In Class
*Seminar Discussion on Rights - Discussion on the effectiveness of rights as an organizing principle for our society and a political strategy to create change.
Due September 4th
Read Odyssey by Aldo Leopold from Sand County Almanac
Read Should nature be able to take you to court? by Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow
Annotate with an eye to the question of whether we should claim the natural world has rights
September 3rd - In Class
*Class Survey
*Feedback discussion about the class
* Claiming of rights - Discussion of a current issue and the strongest possible to claim to rights
September 2nd - In Class
*Federalism discussion - Sorting yourself along a spectrum of whether you believe in states' rights or federal power.
Due September 2nd
*Structure of Government - Claim a question on the Google document about government that I will share with you. There are twenty students in our class and twenty questions. One student. One question. Research the answer on the Internet and put the answer on the Google Doc by Tuesday morning. We'll then have a convenient study guide moving forward about the structure of government.
The Democratic Debate - Read part of Chapter 15 (pages 338-345 and pages 353-359) - I emailed scans of these pages out to the class because the file is too big to upload.
*Pros and Cons of States Rights - Post your answer to the question on the Federalism Google Doc.
August 29th - In Class
*Values discussion - Division of values underlying the constitution into core, supporting, peripheral and a ranking of which values are most strongly expressed in the document.
*Seminar - Whole group seminar on which of these values will be most important in the 21st century.
Due August 29th
*Research on Constitutional Value - You will research the importance of a particular value to the Constitution (on your own or with a partner), filling out the research worksheet and bringing it to class.
August 28th - In Class
*Seminar - Fishbowl seminar on what values are important to our constitution.
Due August 28th
*Value of Federalists & Anti-Federalists - What values did the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists respectively bring into the Constitutional Convention? Post your answer in the current Google doc, the same one you used for Wednesday's reflection on the two newspaper articles.
Due August 27th
Read Article comparing Ferguson and Los Angeles - Read: about shooting in Los Angeles
Read Article about Captain Johnson
*Values in Response to Crisis - What values are present in the response of the LAPD and Captain Johnson to civil discord and unrest? Give evidence from the text of the two articles and post your answer in the Google doc.
*Shay's Rebellion Worksheet - Answer questions on and turn in during class
August 26th - In Class
* Checks and Balances Exercise
Due August 26th
*Comments on other's posts - Read other people's responses on the Google Doc about what issue will be most important over the next 100 years. Try to select a few people you do not work with that often, and comment on their blogs. Consider: what did you find interesting about their posts? Was your interpretation of the question different? How so? Say something positive, say something thoughtful.
Read Chapters 1 & 2 from The Democratic Debate
Watch the following 44 minute video on Shay’s Rebellion:
August 25th - In Class
*Discussion about qualities that go into a good FAMP video
*Constitutional Jeopardy
Due August 25th
Read and annotate First Amendment Media Project Overview.
*Most Important Issues of the Next 100 years - Add your entry to the Google Doc.
August 22nd - In Class
*Identifying constitutional issues related to the events in Ferguson
Due August 22nd
*Review and sign the syllabus with the signature of your parent or guardian
Read and watch the videos on the PBS News Hour’s Timeline of Events in Ferguson. Note: You do not have to watch the entire press conference about the autopsy but it’s good to realize what they’re talking about. Feel free to follow the links throughout this page to get more detailed information.
Also watch this video in which they gathered comments from community members:
*Constitutional Issues Raised by Ferguson - Answer the following question in the posted Google Doc. “What Constitutional issues are raised by the events in Ferguson?”
August 21 - In Class
*Lego Exercise - Discussion of analysis, synthesis, presentation, and collaboration
*Journal - In-class journal on senior year and what you want to get out of the class
* corresponds to a grade in the grade book
April 28th
Use the talks listed on this page as a place to start. Settle on one and take 20 minutes or so. Get out the SP talk rubric that I pass out in class. Now, watch the whole thing and use the rubric to rate different aspects of the talk.
April 27th
*Any outstanding Pass/Fail assignments - old SPAM forms, Outline, Bibliography, Deep Reading, etc.
April 24th - In Class
*Complete Senior Project Paper
April 23rd - In Class
*Peer Critique Form III
April 22nd - In Class
*Peer Critique Form II
April 21st- In Class
*Peer Critique Form I
Comma Skill Exercise
Due April 17th
Rough draft of your senior project essay
April 16th - In Class
In-Text Citation Exercise
April 15th - In Class
Reading for Questions Exercise
April 13th - In Class
Skill Exercise - Topic Sentences
Due April 13th
*Refined outline of your senior project essay
Due April 3rd
*SPAM-2 form signed by your advisor
*Revisions of your True Wealth proposal
Due March 30th
*Senior Project - Evidence that you have actively read three additional sources, bringing your total for academic sources up to eight. Evidence consists of notes summarizing the main points, filling out this worksheet, or a conference in which you talk to me about the articles and how they relate to your central question.
Due March 20th
*Senior Project - Bibliography of 5 academic sources that you have actively read
Due March 17th
* True Wealth Exhibition - Follow the guidelines on this sheet to be prepared for exhibition. Create a visual.
Due March 16th
*Senior Project - Deep Reading Assignment - This includes annotated text with a key, definitions of 5-10 vocabulary words, three paragraphs describing the relationship of text to your research question, and evidence of having "actively read" two other academic sources. Evidence consists of notes summarizing the main points, filling out this worksheet, or a conference in which you talk to me about the articles and how they relate to your central question.
Due March 9th
*Outline Assignment # 4
*Final True Wealth Proposal
March 5th - In Class
*Self-Assessment and Peer Critique Forms
Due March 5th
At least one section of your proposal for peer critique and to turn in for my feedback
Due February 27th
*Meet with your advisor and turn in SPAM-1 form with your advisor's signature
Due February 17th
*Turn in Outline Assignment # 3
February 13th - In Class
Read the Economic Policy Proposal Overview document for questions, concerns, or needed clarifications. This is Option 3 for your project.
*Draft an email letter to your Senior Project Advisor. Use Matt's SPAM-1 document as a guide.
Due February 13th
Read about our final two economists: Milton Friedman and Herman Daly
*Find the tab with your name on it in this Google Doc and create a pie chart showing which of the six economists you've been exposed to you agree with most. Divide 100 percentage points among the six economists and give a reason for your division. The chart to the right will display the breakdown of your beliefs. We'll do a quick survey of the class on Friday.
Due February 12th
Finish Three Great Economist reading by reading the section on John Maynard Keynes.
*Journal entry on one thing that makes sense to you and one thing you can see an argument against in the Keynes reading
Read this article on Community Land Trusts and the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative. Remember we watched the video about these guys.
*Journal entry on one takeaway from this land trust article.
Due February 11th
Read the Karl Marx section in Three Great Economists.
*Journal entry - What is one idea or concept from Karl Marx that you agree with or at least understand the logic of the argument? What is one idea or concept that you can argue against? These can be the same. Like Smith's ideas, I want you to think about Marx's economics arguments from different points of view,
February 10th - In Class
Read the Adam Smith section in Three Great Economists.
*Journal entry - What is one idea or concept from Adam Smith that you agree with or at least understand the logic of the argument? What is one idea or concept that you can argue against? These can be the same. I want you to think about Smith's ideas from different points of view,
Due February 10th
*Journal entry seminar reflection (5 points formative) – Write a paragraph answering these two questions:
· What is your definition of resilience?
· What specific comments or exchanges in the seminar contributed to your understanding of this concept and how it applies to our local economy?
Read Outline Assignment # 3 and come with any questions or concerns tomorrow.
Due February 9th
* Read this article on the connection between resilience and justice. Answer these two questions in your journal:
- In our area, where is there a deficit of trust? What kind of development project might remedy this situation? Look at the examples in the article.
- Of the twelve economic development strategies on our list, which would Fairchild most approve of?
* Send me a seminar question related to resilience you want to discuss by Sunday evening at 9 p.m.
Due February 6th
*Annotate the article from Grist and the excerpt from The Resilience Imperative and answer these questions in your journal:
· What is the difference between a robust solution and an optimal solution?
· Which of the seven principles of resilience outlined in The Resilience Imperative do you think is most important? Which principle do you not understand?
*Email me your Senior Project and Abstract - Remember the abstract is 3-5 sentences of why you are interested in your question, how you came to the question, and what you expect to find.
February 5th - In Class
*Journal Entry - What do you need to know more about to move forward on your issue or project idea? We'll use this journal entry to think of questions to ask Laura Lewis Marchino from Region 9.
Due February 3rd
Read the section of Quest for the Golden Circle and my notes from Rocky Mountain Boomtown that you picked up on the way out of class. Note one fact or event that relates to economic development of the Durango area and take note on one other thing you think is important about our history. We are going to build an economic timeline tomorrow, so you understand where this community has come from and where it's going.
February 2nd - In Class
* Journal Entry - Which of the three economic development projects in the PBS video on Detroit do you feel strongest about. Why?
Due February 2nd
* Outline Assignment # 2 - Now's the time to switch business ideas if you've fallen out of love with your product or service. If you choose the business proposal option, this outline will help get a good chunk of your project work behind you.
Due January 30th
Read the Business Proposal Overview and bring in any questions, concerns, or needs about this project option
Due January 28th
*Journal Entry - What's the best size for my business? Is it better to produce as an artisan or go big and capture economies of scale?
Fill out the sustainable business inventory for your business. Imagine how you could green up your business.
January 27th - In Class
*Journal Entry - What do you think is the right size for your business? Should it be small and more like artisan production like Zia Taqueria or Keagan's gun engraving or should it be mass-produced so it can be made and sold cheaply like Taco Bell or cars?
Due January 27th
*Reading Questions on the Zia Taqueria article.
Due January 23rd
Read article on Zia Taqueria (Parts 1 and Part 2).
* Bring in your research question for Senior Project
January 21st and 22nd - In Class
*Journal entry - What conditions will impact the long-term supply and demand for the product or service you entered into the tournament on Monday.
*Journal entry - How elastic is your product or service? How does will consumers respond to changes in price or changes in their own income? Is your product or service more of a luxury or more of a necessity?
Due January 20th
*Outline Assignment I - Follow the guidelines in the outline assignment overview. If you can't think of something, use the outline to answer one of the questions on the Assignment 1 sheet. Remember to use my DP and your journal as a resource to find evidence and examples.
Due January 16th
*Bring in the topic you want to research for senior project
January 15th - In Class
* Journal entry - Choose a value to sell to Durango (e.g. utility, satisfaction, happiness, freedom, community). What is product or service that embodies that value you could market within our community.
January 14th - In Class
*Journal entry - Choose something that's made an impression in our discussion and debate about the affordability of La Plata County, labor, wages, and consumer culture.
Due January 13th
*Identify two products that cost less than $500 that you can buy in Durango that would contribute to your well-being
- Examples might include "coffee," "skis," "tuition," "health care."
- The whole product must cost less than $500; you can't make a partial payment on something else.
- Think about the quality of what you buy. You can get a used bike and have lots left over or you can get a pretty good bike by using the whole amount.
*Bring in an example of advertisement to 16-30 year-olds from a local media outlet. Bring in the hard copy or have it ready to show on your computer
January 8th - In Class
*Journal entry - Coming out of our discussion and debate about economic questions and the different definitions of economics, write about something you feel is true. Give a justification.
Due January 8th
*Find a job and annual salary for your avatar
Read "An Explanatory Note" from Freakonomics
*Journal entry - Read handout "Different Ways to Think about Economics" and write your own definition of economics and a rationale/justification in your Google Doc journal
January 7th - In Class
*Finish the resume for your economic avatar
January 6th - In Class
*Creating a profile for your economic avatar
January 5th - In Class
*Journal entry - Write about your hopes for semester II
*Journal entry - What constitutes "wealth"? What does "wealth" mean to you?
*Journal entry - What are sources of wealth in La Plata County and the Four Corners?
Due December 11th
*Text of your speech on one of the bills before the Model Senate. There will not be a formal peer review, but I will be available to give you feedback in class on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Get the speech assignment here. Get copies of the bills under Student Resources.
Due December 4th
*Final bills turned in by the end of class. A selection committee will review these bills during lunch and choose two for consideration by our Model Senate.
Due December 3rd
*Finish a draft of your bill by the end of class and give to another pair of senators. They (and you) will take these bills home and provide feedback using the peer review sheet.
Due December 1st
*Senator Sports Card. Here is a basic overview, Matt's specific instructions, and examples. Bring in your finished card ready to laminate on Monday. Email me with questions!
Due November 21st
*Packet 3 for Model Senate
Due November 19th
*Take home questions devised by the other committee. Climate change senators (Environment & Public Works committee) answered questions on immigration. Immigration reform senators (Judiciary Committee) answered questions on climate change.
Due November 18th
*Finish filling out your senator's position on climate change and immigration reform in packet 1 and finish answering the questions on Welcome to Shelbyville in packet 3.
Due November 17th
*Read Getting to Maybe from The New Yorker and answer questions in packet 2
Due November 14th
*Read Not Legal, Not Leaving from Time Magazine and answer the question in packet 2
Due November 13th
*Fill in the note sheet in your notebook packet on episode six of Years of Living Dangerously
Due November 12th
*On Wednesday, we’re going to construct a timeline of climate change policy and politics. Look at the following table. It lists four different timelines of climate-related events (PBS, BBC, NYTimes, Global Warning) and a period of time for you to investigate. Use your assigned timeline to identify the three most important events during your time period. Write these on the timeline in your notebook.
November 11th - November 21st - In Class
*I'll be passing out packets of worksheets for you to take notes on and engage the material. I'll collect these over the next week and a half to do a quick check on your engagement with the material. Each packet will be worth five formative points.
November 5th - In Class
*Filled out Passport Worksheet for the Civics Scavenger Hunt
November 3rd - In Class
*Reactions and questions in response to the "Taking the Hill" documentary that we watched in class. We compiled these in a Google Doc I shared with the class
Due October 31st
*Bring FOUR copies of your draft college essay for peer review. This is worth 20 points for the community learning portion of your grade.
*Finish posting your First Amendment Materials to your DP
Due October 28th
Bring to class a college essay prompt for college essay boot camp. If you have already written your essay(s), have more than one prompt, or whatever else, bring whatever you have and be ready to get moving on your college apps!
Due October 26th by 5 p.m. via email
*Final draft of your First Amendment essay
Due October 25th by the end of class
Outline of your paper
Peer annotated draft of your essay
Peer review worksheet
Reaction to peer comments (at least 150 words)
Due October 23rd
Rough draft of your First Amendment essay
Due October 21st
*Post your video to the ahshumanities12 You Tube Channel.
October 8th - In Class
* Issue Group Presentations
Fill out the FAMP Planning Worksheet
Due October 8th
*Complete the First Amendment questionnaire in preparation for dividing into groups.
Due October 7th
*Learning Journal # 2 - What First Amendment freedom do you value most? What degree of restriction on this freedom would you tolerate and why? What restriction or suppression on this freedom would cause you to go to court? Explain your reasoning and provide an example. Full-credit answers will likely be around 300 words or one page double-spaced.
*Finish test corrections
*Continue finishing your issue group presentations
October 3rd - In Class
*Seminar on the Citizen's United decision, money in politics, and the freedom to petition
Due October 6th
*Make sure you're caught up through Question 9 in your First Amendment Posts. Here is the list of questions.
October 2nd - In Class
*Fill out the Freedom of Religion Survey
*Group work: Top five things grappling with the ultimate questions adds to society.
October 1st - In Class
*Reflection on whether "Freedom of the Press" is redundant. Since we already have freedom of speech, do we need freedom of the press? Does the press deserve special protection?
September 29th - In Class
*Fill out worksheet "What kind of organizer are you?"
September 26th - In Class
Each group used the Issue Group Workplan to divide up tasks and get working on the group presentation, which will happen in class on October 7th.
September 24th and 25th - In Class
Work on the When Does Free Speech Go To Far? handout passed out in class. This will help you decide where you are on different issues. We will then talk about corresponding court cases in class.
Due September 23rd
*Go to the Google Doc on current events that I've created and add your name next to the events that you are interested in discussing. Add issues that are not part of the list.
September 19th - In Class
*Seminar on First Amendment freedoms in the Middle East and the U.S. role in spreading these freedoms across the world.
Work with Issue Groups to finish research and create a map of your issue. This handout has examples.
Due September 19th
*Read your assigned article on the ISIS situation and enter the main and/or supporting points into the Google Doc for seminar prep.
September 17th & 18th - In Class
*Seminar on the Patriot Act
Work with Issue Groups to review resources and fill out this worksheet
September 16th - In Class
Fill out ranking sheet for First Amendment
*Read one pro/con article on the Patriot Act and fill out the graphic organizer
*Work in groups to construct an argument
Due September 16th
Read Matt's excellent summary of the Patriot Act
September 15th - In Class
Work in your issue groups on your vision. Finish answering the first question on this worksheet.
*Write in Google Doc about about the balance between civil liberties and national security
September 12th - In Class
*Test on the Constitution
September 10th - In Class
Answer practice questions for test, one of which involved reading and analyzing this article.
September 9th - In Class
*Participate in Supreme Court Confirmation Hearing.
September 8th - In Class
*Work in small groups and promote an amendment to add to the Constitution.
Due September 8th
Choosing a political figure to research - The acting in Friday's class will be a prelude to next Wednesday when we'll be acting out a Supreme Court confirmation hearing. To prepare for this activity, you'll need to choose someone to role play. You can choose someone from this list of historically significant people. Or you can choose someone else. But the person must have some statement of their political values in the public record. This weekend look at the list and try to choose who will research. You will role play this person on Wednesday. You'll have some time in class to research the person you choose on Monday. And I will provide supporting material then.
*Learning Journal - Here are the specifics for the first learning journal assignment. No word count, but full credit means covering everything in the description and writing in complete sentences.
September 5th - In Class
*Street Law Skits - Small group work designing creative ways to present issues related to search and seizure by police.
September 4th - In Class
*Seminar Discussion on Rights - Discussion on the effectiveness of rights as an organizing principle for our society and a political strategy to create change.
Due September 4th
Read Odyssey by Aldo Leopold from Sand County Almanac
Read Should nature be able to take you to court? by Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow
Annotate with an eye to the question of whether we should claim the natural world has rights
September 3rd - In Class
*Class Survey
*Feedback discussion about the class
* Claiming of rights - Discussion of a current issue and the strongest possible to claim to rights
September 2nd - In Class
*Federalism discussion - Sorting yourself along a spectrum of whether you believe in states' rights or federal power.
Due September 2nd
*Structure of Government - Claim a question on the Google document about government that I will share with you. There are twenty students in our class and twenty questions. One student. One question. Research the answer on the Internet and put the answer on the Google Doc by Tuesday morning. We'll then have a convenient study guide moving forward about the structure of government.
The Democratic Debate - Read part of Chapter 15 (pages 338-345 and pages 353-359) - I emailed scans of these pages out to the class because the file is too big to upload.
*Pros and Cons of States Rights - Post your answer to the question on the Federalism Google Doc.
August 29th - In Class
*Values discussion - Division of values underlying the constitution into core, supporting, peripheral and a ranking of which values are most strongly expressed in the document.
*Seminar - Whole group seminar on which of these values will be most important in the 21st century.
Due August 29th
*Research on Constitutional Value - You will research the importance of a particular value to the Constitution (on your own or with a partner), filling out the research worksheet and bringing it to class.
August 28th - In Class
*Seminar - Fishbowl seminar on what values are important to our constitution.
Due August 28th
*Value of Federalists & Anti-Federalists - What values did the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists respectively bring into the Constitutional Convention? Post your answer in the current Google doc, the same one you used for Wednesday's reflection on the two newspaper articles.
Due August 27th
Read Article comparing Ferguson and Los Angeles - Read: about shooting in Los Angeles
Read Article about Captain Johnson
*Values in Response to Crisis - What values are present in the response of the LAPD and Captain Johnson to civil discord and unrest? Give evidence from the text of the two articles and post your answer in the Google doc.
*Shay's Rebellion Worksheet - Answer questions on and turn in during class
August 26th - In Class
* Checks and Balances Exercise
Due August 26th
*Comments on other's posts - Read other people's responses on the Google Doc about what issue will be most important over the next 100 years. Try to select a few people you do not work with that often, and comment on their blogs. Consider: what did you find interesting about their posts? Was your interpretation of the question different? How so? Say something positive, say something thoughtful.
Read Chapters 1 & 2 from The Democratic Debate
Watch the following 44 minute video on Shay’s Rebellion:
August 25th - In Class
*Discussion about qualities that go into a good FAMP video
*Constitutional Jeopardy
Due August 25th
Read and annotate First Amendment Media Project Overview.
*Most Important Issues of the Next 100 years - Add your entry to the Google Doc.
August 22nd - In Class
*Identifying constitutional issues related to the events in Ferguson
Due August 22nd
*Review and sign the syllabus with the signature of your parent or guardian
Read and watch the videos on the PBS News Hour’s Timeline of Events in Ferguson. Note: You do not have to watch the entire press conference about the autopsy but it’s good to realize what they’re talking about. Feel free to follow the links throughout this page to get more detailed information.
Also watch this video in which they gathered comments from community members:
*Constitutional Issues Raised by Ferguson - Answer the following question in the posted Google Doc. “What Constitutional issues are raised by the events in Ferguson?”
August 21 - In Class
*Lego Exercise - Discussion of analysis, synthesis, presentation, and collaboration
*Journal - In-class journal on senior year and what you want to get out of the class