Learning target:
· We can name differences between federalists and anti-federalists
· We can name the immediate events that influenced the writing of our Constitution
· We appreciate how our system /of government compares with others
1. Opening - We’re going to start today with this clip from the episode of John Adams that some watched last Thursday. This is the moment when the delegates to the first Continental Congress voted for independence from Britain. Notice that there isn’t wild celebration. It’s really a “now what?” moment for them. Figuring out what self-government actually meant in practice was full-on, seat-of-the-pants, improvisation.
Given the opportunity on Friday to jump off the cliff toward self-governance of our class, the group decided to step back from a revolutionary moment. It’s important to realize that most revolutions do not go well. The French Revolution ended in the dictatorship of Napolean. The Russian Revolution resulted in a totalitarian state. The promise of the American Revolution has almost come crashing down several times. So, caution can be wise. What pushed the colonists over the edge to vote for Independence? Think a strong dose of idealistic, enlightenment philosophy, the writing of Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson and others, the response of the King and Parliament, and especially, the death of their countryman on the battlefield.
2. DS Journal Entry - Reflecting again on Friday, what did our class need to take that next step toward self-governance: time, background, trust, examples of what the class would or could look like? Pick one thing you think our class needed to step into that revolutionary moment and write about it in your DS Journal. This is the first activity today.
3. Class Constitution – Regardless, you did establish some principles and norms that we have been using to govern our class. I have tried to codify them into a class constitution that will hopefully suffice for the time being. I’ll share this with you.
4. Origins of the U.S. Constitution – So, those guys in the film said “yes” to independence, then what happened. We’ll spend the rest of the time before break learning what happened. It’s not a story of everyone holding hands and singing “kumbaya.” In fact, we can look to this period in history for the origins of our modern political parties and the issues that still drive U.S. politics today. We’ll jigsaw some information and work together to highlight what you “need to know” about this period in our history. You’ll share out from small groups what’s essential and post on your DP your personal takeaways. This is all fertile territory for your term paper. The reading material I'll give you is from a book called The Democratic Debate that a friend of mine who teaches U.S. Government at SUNY-New Paltz uses with his classes. You can read the full chapter here. The Democratic Debate - Chapters 1 & 2
Break
5. Forced Choice – After break, we’ll do a forced choice to see where you stand on some of these issues. Are you a federalist or an anti-federalist? This will be important for some activities we’ll do in a couple of weeks.
6. Honors – Let me know if you want to do honors by tomorrow. The material we’ll be reading/watching in honors will add a rich layer to your understanding of the material.
7. Group Project – The rest of the time today we’ll work on deciding about our group project. We’ll use scored voting to whittle our ideas down to three or four choices. Everyone will have an opportunity to advocate for their ideas and interests before we make a final decision, hopefully tomorrow.
Homework due Wednesday, 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.
· We can name differences between federalists and anti-federalists
· We can name the immediate events that influenced the writing of our Constitution
· We appreciate how our system /of government compares with others
1. Opening - We’re going to start today with this clip from the episode of John Adams that some watched last Thursday. This is the moment when the delegates to the first Continental Congress voted for independence from Britain. Notice that there isn’t wild celebration. It’s really a “now what?” moment for them. Figuring out what self-government actually meant in practice was full-on, seat-of-the-pants, improvisation.
Given the opportunity on Friday to jump off the cliff toward self-governance of our class, the group decided to step back from a revolutionary moment. It’s important to realize that most revolutions do not go well. The French Revolution ended in the dictatorship of Napolean. The Russian Revolution resulted in a totalitarian state. The promise of the American Revolution has almost come crashing down several times. So, caution can be wise. What pushed the colonists over the edge to vote for Independence? Think a strong dose of idealistic, enlightenment philosophy, the writing of Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson and others, the response of the King and Parliament, and especially, the death of their countryman on the battlefield.
2. DS Journal Entry - Reflecting again on Friday, what did our class need to take that next step toward self-governance: time, background, trust, examples of what the class would or could look like? Pick one thing you think our class needed to step into that revolutionary moment and write about it in your DS Journal. This is the first activity today.
3. Class Constitution – Regardless, you did establish some principles and norms that we have been using to govern our class. I have tried to codify them into a class constitution that will hopefully suffice for the time being. I’ll share this with you.
4. Origins of the U.S. Constitution – So, those guys in the film said “yes” to independence, then what happened. We’ll spend the rest of the time before break learning what happened. It’s not a story of everyone holding hands and singing “kumbaya.” In fact, we can look to this period in history for the origins of our modern political parties and the issues that still drive U.S. politics today. We’ll jigsaw some information and work together to highlight what you “need to know” about this period in our history. You’ll share out from small groups what’s essential and post on your DP your personal takeaways. This is all fertile territory for your term paper. The reading material I'll give you is from a book called The Democratic Debate that a friend of mine who teaches U.S. Government at SUNY-New Paltz uses with his classes. You can read the full chapter here. The Democratic Debate - Chapters 1 & 2
Break
5. Forced Choice – After break, we’ll do a forced choice to see where you stand on some of these issues. Are you a federalist or an anti-federalist? This will be important for some activities we’ll do in a couple of weeks.
6. Honors – Let me know if you want to do honors by tomorrow. The material we’ll be reading/watching in honors will add a rich layer to your understanding of the material.
7. Group Project – The rest of the time today we’ll work on deciding about our group project. We’ll use scored voting to whittle our ideas down to three or four choices. Everyone will have an opportunity to advocate for their ideas and interests before we make a final decision, hopefully tomorrow.
Homework due Wednesday, 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.