2013-14 - AP Government and Politics Daily Items
In Class Today:
May 15, 2014 - Day 75
American President - Day 2 - Roles of the President. Assignment: Summarize the roles of the president from day 2 of viewing.
May 13, 2014 - Day 74
AP Government Exam debriefing. Reviewed the roles of the President. American President Day 1. Assignment: Summarize the roles of the president from the day 1 viewing.
May 9, 2014 - Day 73
Vocabulary Quiz over Latin Legal Terms, reviewed difficult questions from 1999 multiple choice practice, 20 min. silent study session from review sites on class web page. Assignment: Prepare for Tuesday!!!!!
May 7, 2014 - Day 72
Open question period, Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Press, 1999 Practice Multiple Choice. Assignment: REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!!!
May 5, 2014 - Day 71
Analyzed 14th Amendment, in depth discussion of Gitlow v. New York and the federalization of the bill of rights. Attempted practice FRQ #3 from 2001 on Google Drive only to be thwarted by a technological glitch. Assignment: REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW previous notes and course content.
May 1, 2014 - Day 70
Completion of the public policy presentations. Explanation of monetary vs. fiscal policy. Reading quiz check up questions, Read silently the Bill of Rights. Civil liberties notes and discussion. Assignment: Read and take quality reading notes over pp. 113-125. Prepare for a reading check up quiz. Create flashcards for the following terms: civil liberties, civil rights, clear and present danger doctrine, de facto segregation, de jure segregation, double jeopardy, due process clause, equal protection clause, eminent domain, establishment clause.
April 29, 2014 - Day 69
Quiz over 25 Supreme Court cases (from the flashcards), Open question session on court cases. Reviewed Free Response questions #1 (2011) and #3 (2012). Used College Board website rubric, Q&A section to debrief on questions. Assignment: Read carefully to understand pp. 100-112 in the text for next class.
April 25, 2014 - Day 68
Presentations on U.S. Public Policy - Assignment: Review Supreme Court Case Flashcards.
April 23, 2014 - Day 67
Class shortened to 40 minutes for Mock Crash Assembly. Reviewed Cost-Benefit Analysis - Assignment: written notes on Taxing and Spending, additional Supreme Court Case flashcards: Barron v. Baltimore (1933), Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier (1988), In Re Gault (1967), and Munn v. Illinois (1877).
April 21, 2014 - Day 66
Cost- Benefit Analysis - Assignment: Finish notes by writing them into your notebook. Research your chosen public policy and be prepared to share with the group on Friday.
April 16, 2014 - Day 65
Judiciary Test
April 14, 2014 - Day 64
Reviewed Supreme Court cases, "How the Supreme Court Works notes, and Judicial Activism. Assignment: Test over Supreme Court next class. Court case flash cards due: Gideon v. Wainwright 1963, Miranda v. Arizona 1966, Bakke v. Board of Regents 1978, Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission 2008, McCulloch v. Maryland 1819.
April 10, 2014 - Day 63
My Big Campus Quiz on Federal Courts, Video: A Conversation on the Constitution with John G. Roberts, Jr. on the Origin, Nature, and Importance of the Supreme Court. Supreme Court Lecture notes. Assignment: Read Carefully and take notes on pp. 457-462. Notes will be graded at or near the beginning of next class. Court Case flashcards due:
April 8, 2014 -Day 62
30 minute warm up with vocabulary flashcards review. Federal Courts Lecture. Assignment: The Supreme Court Reading on the Syllabus. Quiz Next class over the federal courts. Supreme Court cases: Korematsu v. U.S. 1944, Dennis v. U.S. 1951, Mapp v. Ohio 1961, Engle v. Vitale 1962, Gibbons v. Ogden 1824.
March 26, 2014 - Day 61
Reviewed Federal Court System Fundamentals, Analyzed Federalist #78. Assignment: Read carefully and understand pp. 446-452. Complete five court case note cards (Brown v. Board of Education 1954, Plessy v. Ferguson 1896, Roe v. Wade 1973, Gitlow v. New York 1925, and Palko v. Connecticut 1937) Quiz over fundamentals and some of the assigned court cases.
March 24, 2014 - Day 60
Introduction to the Federal Court System, Federalist #78 summary questions, Assignment: five court case note cards (Baker v. Carr, Wesberry v. Sanders, Shaw v. Reno, Bush v. Gore, Fletcher v. Peck, and Dartmouth College v. Woodward), read pp. 446-452, quiz next class.
March 20, 2014 - Day 59
(Vernal Equinox)
Presentation on United States Dept. of Agriculture, 20 minute open review of bureaucracy concepts. Test over bureaucracy. Assignment: Read Federalist 78. Be prepared to cover the material on pages 438-446 in the textbook.
March 18, 2014 - Day 58
Bureaucracy presentations on National Labor Relations Board, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, Federal Home Finance Administration, and National Mediation Board. Lecture notes on Controlling the Bureaucracy. Test next class on the Bureaucracy.
March 14, 2014 - Day 57
Bureaucracy presentations: Food and Drug Administration, Postal Regulatory Commission, Peace Corps, National Park Service, Department of Veterans Affairs, Farm Credit Association.
March 10, 2014 - Day 56
Bureaucracy presentations: National Endowment for the Humanities, Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, National Weather Service, Office of Management and Budget, Central Intelligence Agency.
March 6, 2014 - Day 55
Open question session over Structure of the American Democracy, Influences on Bureaucratic Behavior, and Growth of Bureaucracy. Sorting out the Bureaucracy presentations on: EPA, EEOC, and USOGE. Assignment: be prepared to present your bureaucratic agency next class. Remember that classes will be short next week due to the OGT testing schedule. Read carefully: pp. 414-432 in your text.
March 4, 2014 - Day 54
Bureaucracy Presentation Assignment List
Open question session over the reading assignment. Viewed and broke down Bureaucracy Max Weber s Theory of Impersonal Management. Covered Structure of the American Democracy. Assignment: Hand copy the notes on the following topics: Influences on Bureaucratic Behavior and Growth of Bureaucracy.
February 26, 2014 - Day 52
Test over the Executive Branch - Assignment: Read carefully and take notes over pp. 408-414 - We are now on Day 46 of the syllabus. (Which isn't bad considering that we have missed nine full days of school and had five two hour delays to this point in the school year!)
February 24, 2014 - Day 51
Ten minute open questioning session to begin class over previous notes and topics. The Executive Branch summary question exercise with Google Drive. Lecture notes to be copied into notebooks prior to next class: Making the Presidency Safe and Effective, Congress vs. the President, The Imperial Presidency, Congress vs. the Imperial Presidency. Assignment: Test over the Executive Branch next class. 40 to 50 multiple choice questions and 1 Free Response Question.
February 28, 2014 - Day 53
(Good-Bye February)
Reviewed most commonly missed test questions over the executive branch. Round Robin Quiz over bureaucracy reading assignment. Assigned Bureaucracy report. Current Events - It’s still too unacceptably hard to staff the government - Current Event template is shared on Google Drive.
February 20, 2014 - Day 50
"When Technology Addiction Takes Over Your Life", Using Tables and Graphs to support or refute statements, Roles of the President, Executive Office of the President, Executive Office of the President Diagram. - Assignment for Next Class: Hand copied notes from the Roles of the President and Executive Office of the President links above.
February 14, 2014 - Day 49
Reviewed Evolution of the Presidency, Quiz over Executive Branch Part 1, Lecture over Roles of the President. Assigned Qualifications of the President.
February 12, 2014 - Day 48
Open question period about the executive branch, round robin 4x8, Notes over Evolution of the Presidency. Assignment- Prepare for quiz.
February 10, 2014 - Day 47
Graded free response questions from 2006, 2008, and 2009 using the College Board rubric. Extensive discussion about "answering FRQ's and not being a minimalist. Notes for homework
February 6, 2014 - Day 46
There was a two hour delay due to road conditions today. Class was shortened to about one hour. We read and carefully analyzed Article II of the United States Constitution. We previewed Chapter 14. Assignment: Quiz over Article II for next class and read carefully, pp. 364-378.
February 3, 2014 - Day 45
Warm Up with review lists on Congress Notes, The Structure and Powers on Congress, Leadership in Congress, The Committee System. Test on Congress next class. If there is no school on Wednesday February 5, 2014, there will be a test given on MY BIG CAMPUS that will be available beginning at 9 a.m. and closing at 11 p.m. The test will be timed. Once you begin the test, you will have a set amount of time to answer the questions.
January 29, 2014 - Day 44
January 22, 2014 - Day 43
Congressional Vocabulary Quiz #3, Overview of Congress review, specific work on the differences between House and Senate, Discussed gerrymandering. Ten Most Gerrymandered Districts.
Profile of 113th Congress - examined the make up of the current congress
Read and answered questions about Article I in the United States Constitution.
Examined internet resources associated with the legislative branch.
January 16, 2014 - Day 42
A visit with Mr. Saygers about FAFSA and scholarship opportunities, Work session on "What is Congress", A vocabulary quiz on Congressional terms. A Better Vocabulary List for the Legislative Branch
January 14, 2014 - Day 41
How Congress Works Vocabulary, Vocabulary Quiz, What is Congress? Understanding Congress: A Citizen's Guide, How Congress Works. For Next Class - Complete the notes and begin to think about how congress works. Vocabulary terms 11-20 with a few from 1-10 thrown in.
January 10, 2014 - Day 40
First Day of Second Semester / 3rd Qtr.
End of First Semster
December 18 - Day 39
Semester Exam
December 16 - Day 38
2 hour delay to heavy snowfall - Review session on all topics covered in the first semester. Vocabulary specific items related to the first three units.
December 12 - Day 37
Open questioning about any topic. Spent 10 minutes looking at the argument of whether or not media impacts public opinion. Test #3 - 67 objective questions with three short answer questions. Assignment: Current Political Events from Washington Post, Wall Street Journal or New York Times.
December 10 - Day 36
Open questioning about third parties and political parties in general. Ten Question quiz over third parties. Introduction to Mass Media and its impact on politics. 33 true/false questions on mass media. Assignment: Test over unit 3 next class period.
December 5 - Day 35
Current events Newscast from NPR - Current Events Quiz - Review of political parties - Political Parties, Political Affiliation, Political Polarization quiz- Read carefully pp. 220-225 in the Wilson text. - Notes on Political parties. Assignment: Read very carefully in the text about third parties, check the class web page for links and readings to be completed.
December 3 - Day 34
(A) Reviewed PAC's, Special Interest Groups, and Lobbying. (B) Quiz over PAC's Special Interest Groups, and Lobbying. (C) Introduction to Political Parties.
Assignments: for 1% extra credit send via Google Docs the members of the Democratic National Committee, Republican National Committee, and asterisks should be next to the names of each of the Chairmen. To receive the extra credit, this information should be received by 10 p.m. tonight.
Read and understand (1) Party Affliation: What it is and what it is not, Trends in Party Affiliation, and Partisan Polarization Surges in Bush, Obama Years (pp. 17-25 only) . (2) be prepared for a quiz on this material next class.
November 26 - Day 33
Reviewed Interest groups. Key vocabulary terms. Took detailed notes over Strength of Interest Groups, Lobbying, and PAC's.
November 22 - Day 32
National Public Radio News Broadcast for current events. Current events quiz. Student presentation of Special Interest Groups from the Special Interest Group Report. Notes on advantages and disadvantages of joining interest groups.
November 20 - Day 31
Reviewed Special Interest Group Report assignment, took notes over "Tactics of Special Interest Groups", Viewed video clips of SIG advertisements. Made a special attempt to emphasize that SIGs can promote or target both candidates and issues. Assignment: Be prepared for SIG presentation, and a vocabulary quiz.
November 15 - Day 30
Reviewed "Reasons for Interest Group Growth", Graded bulleted notes pp. 280-293, Small group work on Federalist #10, Lecture/Power Point on "Types of Interest Groups". ASSIGNMENT: Special Interest Group Report will be due 11/22/13 at 10:00 p.m.
November 13 - Day 29
Power Point "Interest Groups", Took Bulleted Notes in class on pp. 280-293.
November 11 - Day 28
Veterans' Day Observance, Unit 2 Test.
November 5 - Day 27
Round Robin with 10 multiple choice questions (topics for questions should come from campaign finance notes and lecture, Current Events reading and reporting (use the Current Event Template that is located in the Google Drive). REMEMBER THAT THERE IS A UNIT #2 TEST NEXT CLASS.
November 1 - Day 26
Quick Write on an advantage and a disadvantage of the Electoral College
Campaign Finance and campaign finance reform (lecture/recitation)
October 30 - Day 25
Fifteen minute open question period regarding reading assignments and other government and politics topics.
Quiz over reading on pp. 243-249 - 17 True/False statements
Silent reading over "How the Electoral College Works.
Power Point over Electoral College
Guided lecture notes over Electoral College
October 28 - Day 24
Reading period pp. 243-249. Open question period over reading and any previous notes.
Role play caucuses. (used ice cream to determine the best ice cream there is)
Path to the presidency lecture / notes.
October 24 - Day 23
Vocabulary Quiz and comprehension for primary elections and factors that influence the outcomes of congressional elections.
October 22, 2013 - Day 22
Congressional Elections, primary elections, factors affecting outcomes of elections, invisible primary, nomination phase, fall campaign, election day, meeting of electors, formal election, inauguration day.
October 18, 2013 - Day 21
Worked on translating FRQ #2 from the 2009 AP Government and Politics Exam.
Actually answered the question and shared the answer with Mr. Cox and a classmate for peer review. (tip... the question is worth 7 points)
Current Events from NPR radio with a five question quiz.
End of the first quarter...... only three to go!!!!!!!!!!!
October 16, 2013 - Day 20**
Voter Turnout and Factors Affecting Voter Behavior Lecture - Notes
Statistical Analysis of Voter Turnout and Voter Behavior
October 14, 2013 - Day 19
Reading period on current events regarding the "partial government shutdown".
Warm Up question and answer period over the reading assignment
Review Political Socialization concepts
Quiz over Political Socialization
Begin lecture / discussion over Voter Turnout.
October 10, 2013 - Day 18
Carefully read as a big group pp. 166-170 in the Wilson text.
Lecture on Political Socialization
Gallup.com - Current Events Discussion
October 8, 2013 - Day 17
Critical analysis of Article One sections 1, 2, and 3.
Lecture on public opinion
Assessment of knowledge of types of political polling and specifically abuses of political polls.
October 4, 2013 - Day 16
Review concepts related to political polling
Round Robin from lecture notes (5 correctable true/false statements)
Political Polling Research. The lesson assessment has been shared with you at: https://docs.google.com/a/rossfordschools.org/document/d/1LwmcSnyGAWbR4Z3L56W_n25bc7lcydalX1e_51BqrE0/edit?usp=sharing
Homework assignment is to be prepared for day 17 on the class syllabus.
October 2, 2013 - Day 15
Current events discussion (emphasis on Government shut down ramifications)
Open question period over reading assignment
Review Political ideologies
Public Opinion basics (lecture)
Assignment: Public Opinion : Political Polling Assignment Questions
September 30, 2013 - Day 14
20 minute silent reading period over materials pp. 86-94
Reading quiz
Lecture / Power Point on Political Culture Liberalism
Current event article from the NY Times, Washington Post, or Wall Street Journal. Fill out the survey that was mailed to your school email address. Be certain to submit the survey.
September 26, 2013 - Day 13
Open questioning about the reading assignment
10 question quiz over the reading assignment on Political Culture pp. 79-85
You tube video I am an American
Assignments for Monday's Class: 1- Political Culture Characteristics display and read pp.
September 24, 2013 - Day 12
Open question period on Constitutional Underpinnings.
Constitutional Underpinnings Test
Prepare for Thursday's Political Culture lesson by reading pages 79-85 in the Wilson text.
Washington Post - Politics - News and Analysis 9/24/13 - One article is due 9/26/2013 by the start of class.
Current Events Template - MS Word - (click on CEvents MS Word Button at the top of this page a document that you can write on.)
Sept. 20, 2013 - Day 11
Voter Registration
Quiz on how to grade a free response (Utah and Oregon)
Federalism Questions - Open forum
Structure of American Federalism notes and diagram
First Major Test of the Quarter will be taken during our next class meeting. (60 multiple choice questions taken from notes, readings, videos, diagrams, and discussions)
Sept. 18, 2013 - Day 10
Government Shutdown Moves Closer to Reality. - Discussion of current dispute between political factions in the House of Representatives over government spending.
Finish grading free response question on formal and informally amending the Constitution.
Sept. 16, 2013 - Day 9
Review concepts of Federalism and answered any questions regarding the reading assignment.
Reviewed question #1 of the 2001 AP Gov't free response section. The question is about the formal and informal method of amending the U.S. Constitution. Spent a great deal of time covering the rubric and explaining how AP free responses are graded.
Practiced grading anonymous student answers to question number 1.
Sept. 11, 2013 - Day 8
Amendment process anonymous free response. (Learning to count points)
Federalism - The Constitution: That Delicate Balance (choose program #13)
Origins of American Federalism and Structure of American Federalism
Sept. 9, 2013 - Day 7
Review Principles of the Constitution with heavy emphasis on Judicial Review, Informal and Formal Amendment Process
Coverage of Federalist #51
Google Drive Collaboration on 5 key questions from Federalist 51.
Assignment: Prepare ahead of time for Day 8 on the syllabus.
Sept. 5, 2013
Day #6
How write a free response for AP Gov't (bulleted format)
Lecture over Principles of Constitution part 2. Federalist 51
Assignment: Graphic that demonstrates your understanding of how the Constitution can be amended
Sept. 3, 2013
Day #5 - Reading Check Up quiz, AP Government Blogging, Marbury v. Madison concepts
August 29, 2013
Day #4 - Video (Too Late to Apologize). Quick write over the Declaration of Independence. Power point lecture on the first three principles of the Constitution. Separation of Power, Checks and Balances, and Limited Government. In class assignment on Checks and Balances to be turned in by the end of class on MBC. Assignment for next class is day 5 on the Syllabus.
August 26, 2013
Day #3 - Open session of questions regarding reading assignment and notes, 10 question quiz over days 1 and 2, passed out lecture notes over the Origins of the American Republic, Read and analyzed the Declaration of Independence. Due for next class: Day four on the syllabus.
August 23, 2013
Day #2 - Power Point - Democracy in the U.S.
August 21, 2013
Day #1 - Powerpoint - Class organization, My Big Campus, and the political spectrum
http://www.gotoquiz.com/politics/political-spectrum-quiz.html