Learning Target:
We'll start today with a few bits of housekeeping.
Senior Retreat - Friday is Senior Retreat. The 12th grade faculty will meet you at the trailhead for Animas City Mountain at the top of 32nd Street at 9 a.m. Bring a notebook, writing utensil, water, lunch, and sunscreen. We'll be hiking up to the top of the mountain and discussing senior project at the top, have lunch, and hike down. You'll be released from school by 2:00 p.m.
Nameless Papers - There were several nameless papers turned in yesterday. I need to know who they belong to. I will show you this spreadsheet. If you don't have an "X" next to one worksheet, and you turned it in, come find your paper and write your name.
Place on the Map - Several people didn't get to place themselves on the political map. I will pass back these sheets. Put a star where you are on the map. I want to compile these to show where people are at in our class
With this housekeeping out of the way. We'll divide into two groups. One group will seminar. The other group will go into the Commons with a short list of tasks.
1) Read and annotate this article and this article from High Country News on the Animas River spill. We will use this tomorrow and I will give you credit for annotations on these articles.
2) Take the Google Survey on Reflection that I shared with you last night
3) Make a panel for a mural of the Animas River for us to put up in our classroom. Almost every panel needs to have the river in. Some will have mountains. Some will have mesas. A few should have buildings for Silverton, Durango, Aztec, and Farmington. We will potentially add text and labels to this mural as we progress through the project
For seminar, our driving question is what at the root of your and other people’s fundamental beliefs about federalism. Remember the differences between Federalists and Anti-Federalists:
Human Nature: People are basically selfish (federalist) vs. virtuous (anti-federalist)
Scale of political life: Bigger is better (federalist) vs. small republics are better (anti-federlist)
Role of representatives: Refine public views (federalist) vs. mirror people’s goals (anti-federalist)
Separation of powers: Check the House of Representatives (federalist) vs. check the President and Senate (anti-federalist)
Purpose of government: Protect freedom, especially property (federalist) vs. Protect political freedom
Stability and change: Stability found in reverence for Constitution (federalist) vs. revolutionary spirit to prevent corruption (anti-federalist)
Once you are done with those things, finish any missing homework, such as the questions on the Animas River, finishing your image on decision-making, and signing up for a writing conference. Then you can have work time. This could include starting to revise your essay or creating a plan for revision to bring to conference.
We'll switch groups halfway through the morning. Your homework will be to do a seminar reflection, so the first group can get started with this once they are done.
Homework due Wednesday, September 23rd
Seminar Reflection to post on your DP - What parts of the discussion made the greatest contribution to your thinking about federalism and your own political beliefs. Use the handouts from yesterday to help you think about how you felt before seminar and how the discussion changed or reinforced your views. Post this on your DP.
- We can identify the fundamental political beliefs
- We can understand at least one counterargument to our beliefs
We'll start today with a few bits of housekeeping.
Senior Retreat - Friday is Senior Retreat. The 12th grade faculty will meet you at the trailhead for Animas City Mountain at the top of 32nd Street at 9 a.m. Bring a notebook, writing utensil, water, lunch, and sunscreen. We'll be hiking up to the top of the mountain and discussing senior project at the top, have lunch, and hike down. You'll be released from school by 2:00 p.m.
Nameless Papers - There were several nameless papers turned in yesterday. I need to know who they belong to. I will show you this spreadsheet. If you don't have an "X" next to one worksheet, and you turned it in, come find your paper and write your name.
Place on the Map - Several people didn't get to place themselves on the political map. I will pass back these sheets. Put a star where you are on the map. I want to compile these to show where people are at in our class
With this housekeeping out of the way. We'll divide into two groups. One group will seminar. The other group will go into the Commons with a short list of tasks.
1) Read and annotate this article and this article from High Country News on the Animas River spill. We will use this tomorrow and I will give you credit for annotations on these articles.
2) Take the Google Survey on Reflection that I shared with you last night
3) Make a panel for a mural of the Animas River for us to put up in our classroom. Almost every panel needs to have the river in. Some will have mountains. Some will have mesas. A few should have buildings for Silverton, Durango, Aztec, and Farmington. We will potentially add text and labels to this mural as we progress through the project
For seminar, our driving question is what at the root of your and other people’s fundamental beliefs about federalism. Remember the differences between Federalists and Anti-Federalists:
Human Nature: People are basically selfish (federalist) vs. virtuous (anti-federalist)
Scale of political life: Bigger is better (federalist) vs. small republics are better (anti-federlist)
Role of representatives: Refine public views (federalist) vs. mirror people’s goals (anti-federalist)
Separation of powers: Check the House of Representatives (federalist) vs. check the President and Senate (anti-federalist)
Purpose of government: Protect freedom, especially property (federalist) vs. Protect political freedom
Stability and change: Stability found in reverence for Constitution (federalist) vs. revolutionary spirit to prevent corruption (anti-federalist)
Once you are done with those things, finish any missing homework, such as the questions on the Animas River, finishing your image on decision-making, and signing up for a writing conference. Then you can have work time. This could include starting to revise your essay or creating a plan for revision to bring to conference.
We'll switch groups halfway through the morning. Your homework will be to do a seminar reflection, so the first group can get started with this once they are done.
Homework due Wednesday, September 23rd
Seminar Reflection to post on your DP - What parts of the discussion made the greatest contribution to your thinking about federalism and your own political beliefs. Use the handouts from yesterday to help you think about how you felt before seminar and how the discussion changed or reinforced your views. Post this on your DP.