HoA - How your quizzes were graded

As I read your essays from the most recent quiz, I assigned your work a grade based on this 2005 I.B. Paper 3 Markscheme:

[0 to 7 marks] for unsupported general comments.
[8 to 10 marks] for denial or agreement supported by limited material.
[11 to 13 marks] for narrative framework with explicit focus on the question.
[14 to 16 marks] for well-focused arguent showing sound knowledge of causes.
[17+ marks] for thorough evaluation of claims to be the primary cause of the chosen war.

I then used the following conversion to determine your grade:
E = 0-4 marks
D = 5-7 marks
C = 8-11 marks
B = 12-14 marks
A = 15-20 marks

Period 1 - Current Events Day!

Post links to your current events articles in the comments section.

APGov Homework

There is no APGov homework this week except to prepare for the Chapter 18 (Economic Policy) Exam.  Dates of exam:
Period 3 - Friday, December 17th
Period 5 - Friday, December 17th
Period 6 - Monday, December 20th

HoA - Homework

Week of December 13 - December 17

PERIOD 1
Monday: A.H. pp. 183-192; Quiz on Friday
Wednesday: Submit Current Event; Prepare for Friday Quiz
Friday: No  Homework

PERIOD 4
Tuesday: A.H. pp. 183-192; Quiz on Monday
Thursday: Prepare for Monday Quiz

T.A.R.P. and the Subprime Mortgage Crisis

This episode of the PBS series Frontline explores one of the main effects of the Subprime Crisis: the failure of the banking sector in 2008.  It includes lots of great interviews and explains how the U.S. Treasury, Federal Reserve, White House, and Congress acted together (although not always effectively) to try to keep the American financial system from collapse.  Notice that many of the people interviewed have regrets about some of their actions.

APGov: Chapter 18 Exam

The Chapter 18 exam will be held on December 17th and 20th.  An exam review will be held in Room 3011 on the afternoon of the 16th.

Period 4 - Current Events Day!

Post links to your current event in the comment section.

HoA - Homework

Week of December 6 - December 10

PERIOD 4
Monday: America's History pp. 151-167
Wednesday: America's History pp. 169-177; Quiz Friday; Current Events Day Friday
Friday:  America's History pp. 177-183

PERIOD 1
Tuesday: America's History pp. 169-177; Quiz Thursday
Thursday: America's History pp. 177-183

Crisis of Credit - Visualized

You've learned about how the Fed buys and sells Treasury bills to effect the money supply.  Back in 2008/09 the Fed also began to buy Collateralized Debt Obligations.  What are those?  Watch this video to find out!

The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

APGov: Resources for Using the Turabian Style of Citation

• Turabian Guide published by the University of California Library
• The Turabian Quick Guide by the University of Chicago Press

I.B. Info from Mr. DeMagistris

Mr. Demagistris is coming to our classes this week and next to describe the I.B. Diploma Programme application process.  I.B. applications are due on Friday, January 21st.  You application must be turned in to Room 1305 (Mr. DeMagistris's room).

APGov Homework

Week of December 6 - December 10

PERIOD 3
Monday: Sabato pp. 662-666
Tuesday: No Homework
Wednesday
Thursday:
Friday:

PERIOD 5
Tuesday: No Homework
Thursday:

PERIOD 6
Monday: Sabato pp. 662-669
Wednesday: No Homework
Friday:

APGov - Ben Bernanke on 60 Minutes

The Chairman of the Federal Reserve was on 60 Minutes last night.

Ranking the Pre-Revolution Events

APGov Homework [UPDATED 12/2]

Week of November 29 - December 3

PERIOD 3
Monday: Sabato pp. 652-655
Tuesday: No Homework
Wednesday: Sabato pp. 655-659
Thursday: No Homework
Friday: Sabato pp. 659-662

PERIOD 5
Monday:No Homework
Wednesday: Sabato pp. 655-662
Friday: Sabato pp. 663-669

PERIOD 6
Tuesday: No Homework
Thursday: Sabato pp. 655-662

Period 1 - Current Events Day!

Post a link to your current events article in the comment section.  I'm especially interested to see if anyone can post a wikileaks story with a Latin America angle.

APGov: Chapter 18 Vocab Worksheet

The Chapter 18 vocabulary worksheet can be downloaded here.  It is due on the day of the Chapter 18 Exam.

APGov: Ten Trillion and Counting

If you missed the viewing of Frontline: Ten Trillion and Counting in class, you'll need to download the worksheet and watch the video on your own.  Make sure that you watch the entire video and not just part 1.  When you complete the worksheet, turn it in to me for a participation grade.

HoA - Homework

Week of November 29 - December 3

PERIOD 1
Monday: America's History pp. 137-143
Wednesday: America's History pp. 143-151
Friday: America's History pp. 151-167
Next Week: Quiz on Dec. 9th

PERIOD 4
Tuesday: America's History pp. 137-143
Thursday: America's History pp. 143-151
Next Week: Quiz on Dec. 10th

Period 3 - Our Final Count

641 Items for the Food Drive!!!


A great job!  We'll do donuts after the Thanksgiving break.

Period 3 - Canned Food Update

Our Current Count: 385!!!

Period 3 - Canned Food Update

Our current count: 347!

Period 3 - Canned Food Update

Our current count: 294!!!!!

Period 4 - Current Events Day!

Post your current event in the comments section of this post.

HoA - Homework

Week of Nov. 15 - Nov. 19

PERIOD 1
Tuesday: America's History pp. 93-101; prepare for Thursday's quiz
Thursday: America's History pp. 116-127

PERIOD 4
Monday: America's History pp. 93-101
Wednesday: Prepare for Friday's quiz
Friday: America's History pp. 116-127

APGov Homework

Week of Nov. 15 - Nov. 19

PERIOD 3
Monday: No homework, Sophomore class meeting tomorrow
Tuesday: Sabato pp. 637-642
Wednesday: Study for tomorrow's Ch. 16 exam; Ch. 16 Vocab due
Thursday: Sabato pp. 642-648
Friday: No Homework

PERIOD 5
Tuesday: Sabato pp. 637-642; Ch. 16 Exam Thursday; Ch. 16 Vocab due Thursday
Thursday: Sabato pp. 642-648

PERIOD 6
Monday: Sabato pp. 637-642
Wednesday: Study for Ch. 16 Exam; Ch. 16 Vocab due Friday
Friday: Sabato pp. 642-648

APGov - Interest Group Assignments

I'm looking forward to these presentations.  You all picked some really interesting groups!

Go Generals!!!

Dc.HighSchoolSports.net (http://dc.highschoolsports.net),  a website based out of CBS affiliate WUSA TV-9 in Washington, DC has picked our game this Friday as one of 5 of the biggest football match-ups in the District, Maryland and Virginia. They will send a photographer to whichever game gets the most votes, and the winning team will be featured during our broadcast THIS Friday night, Nov. 19, 2010 at 11:15 p.m. Help us be the game of the week by voting at:

http://dc.highschoolsports.net (click on the first story, “Viewers’ Choice Game of the Week.”)  

Voting has already begun and doesn’t close until Thursday at 10:00 p.m.  9 Sports Now will announce the winner on AIR during Thursday night’s 11 o’clock newscast.  We will also post the winner on our site Friday afternoon.

Period 3 - Canned Food Update

188 CANS!!!

Period 3 - Canned Food Drive Update!

As of Monday, November 15th our total amount of non-perishable food items is 98.  Tomorrow we cross into triple digits!

Mexican Independence PPT

From class on 11/15 and 11/16

Period 3 - Canned Food Drive

Our current count is 26 items.

Our goal for Monday is 100+

Period 1 - Current Events Day!

Sorry for the delay! Post a link to your current event in the comments section. Because I was late in making this post, current events can be posted by midnight Sunday to be considered on-time.

Period 4 - South American Battles

Battle of Chacabuco

APGov - Interest Group Project

A description of the second quarter Interest Group Project can be downloaded by clicking here.  The rubric for the project can be downloaded by clicking here.

HoA - Homework

Week of Nov. 8 - Nov. 12

PERIOD 1
Tuesday: Read The Plan of Iguala, Current Event Day is Friday
Friday:

PERIOD 4
Monday: Prepare South American Battle Presentation
Wednesday: Read The Plan of Iguala

Period 1 - S.A. Battle Presentations

HoA - Period 4 Assignment

APGov - Chapter 16 Vocab

The Chapter 16 Vocabulary Worksheet can be downloaded by clicking here.  The worksheet will be due the day of the Chapter 16 Exam.

HoA - Another Instance of Brazil in the News

Chana Joff-Walt/NPR

NPR's Planet Money podcast recently had a great episode about the international cotton market (it's part of an ongoing mission to manufacture a t-shirt that you can read more about here) and the battle that Brazil has waged for the better part of a decade against the United States in the courts of the World Trade Organization.  It seems like we've discussed many news events related to the growing economic and political power of Brazil and this podcast certainly fits into that theme.  To listen to the podcast or read the accompanying article, click on this link.

The Easiest 100% You'll Ever Get

Post a link to your GoogleDocs presentation (completed or otherwise) between 1:09pm and 1:19pm to receive a 10/10 Participation grade.  It doesn't get any easier than this.

Current Events Day!!! - Period 1

Post your current event in the comments section below.  Period 1 only.

Current Events Day!!! - Period 4

Post your current events in the comments section.  Period 4 only.

APGov Period 6: Important Elections

These elections MAY appear on your quiz:

Which party won a majority of the House of Representatives seats?
Which party won a majority of the Senate seats?
VA 8th District: Jim Moran (D) vs. Patrick Murray (R)
NV Senate: Sharon Angle (R) vs. Harry Reid (D)
DE Senate: Chris Coons (D) vs. Christine O'Donnell (R)
AK Senate: Joe Miller (R) vs. Scott McAdams (D) vs. Lisa Murkowski (Write-In)
CT Senate: Linda McMahon (R) vs. Richard Blumenthal (D)
Bonus: Jimmy McMillan (RI2DH) percentage of NY governor vote

Room 3011 Prediction Contest!

Anyone can enter, but you must post your entry before noon on Election Day for your predictive powers to be celebrated on Room3011! Top three entries will be tweeted.

APGov: First Quarter Project

In case you lost your description of the first quarter project, you can download a copy here.

The President Visits the Daily Show

Barack Obama Pt. 1

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Rally to Restore Sanity

APGov Period 5: Important Elections

Period 5 labeled these elections as "important elections":

ND Senate: John Hogan (R) vs. Tracy Potter (D)
RI Governor: Lincoln Chafee (I) vs.Frank Caprio (D) vs. John Robitaille (R)
NY Governor: Jimmy McMillan (RITDH) vs. Andrew Cuomo (D) vs. Paladino (R)
AL House: Martha Roby (R) vs. Bobby Bright (D)
NV Senate: Sharon Angle (R) vs. Harry Reid (D)
DE Senate: Christine O'Donnell (R) vs. Chris Coons (D)
AK Senate: Joe Miller (R) vs. Scott McAdams (D) vs. Lisa Murkowski (Write-In)
VA 8th: Jim Moran (D) vs. Patrick Murray (R)
IL Senate: Alexi Giannoulias (D) vs. Mark Kirk (R)

More to come on Friday!

APGov Period 3: Important Elections

Period 3 labeled these elections as "important elections":

Rhode Island Governor: Lincoln Chafee (Ind.)
VA Congress: Jim Moran (D) vs. Patrick Murray (R)
NY Governor: Jimmy McMillan (RTDH) vs. Paladino (R) vs. Andrew Cuomo (D)
DE Senate: O'Donnell (R) vs. Coons (D)
NV Senate: Reid (D) vs. Angle (R)
IL Senate: Alexi Giannoulias (D) vs. Mark Steven Kirk (R)
CO Senate: Michael Bennet (D) vs. Ken Buck (R)
CT Senate: Linda McMahon (R) vs. Blumenthal (D)
WA Senate: Patty Murray (D) vs. Dino Russi (R)
CA Governor: Meg Whitman (R) vs. Jerry Brown (D)

These elections are likely to show up on your quiz on Wednesday, November 3rd.

Current Events Day!!!

Please post links to your current event in the comments section!

HoA - Homework

Week of October 25 - October 29

PERIOD 1
Monday: Read "Simón Bolívar: The Life" and prepare for quarter exam
Wednesday: Prepare for Friday Current Event Day, Work on Battle Presentation
Friday: Work on Battle Presentation, Keen 169-175

PERIOD 4
Tuesday: Read "Simón Bolívar: The Life" and prepare for quarter exam
Thursday: Work on Battle Presentation, Keen 169-175


Battles for Independence Assignment

Your group must prepare a 5-10 minute presentation that summarizes one major battle during the South American independence movements.  The presentation should minimally include the following information: date, location, participants, circumstances surrounding the battle, victors, and the battle's effect on the independence movement.  The final slide of your presentation should be a complete bibliography of all sources consulted in your research.

This assignment must be shared with Mr. McCarthy on GoogleDocs before class on Friday, November 5th (Period 1) or Monday, November 8th (Period 4).  This assignment will be included in the gradebook as a homework assignment.

APGov Homework

Week of October 25 - October 29

PERIOD 3
Monday: Study for Ch. 12 Exam, Ch. 12 Vocab due
Tuesday: Sabato pp. 566-571
Wednesday: No Homework
Thursday: 1st Quarter Project due tomorrow
Friday: Sabato pp. 572-578

PERIOD 5
Monday: Study for Ch. 12 Exam, Ch. 12 Vocab due
Wednesday: Sabato pp. 566-571, 1st Quarter Project due Friday
Friday: Sabato pp. 572-578

PERIOD 6
Tuesday: Sabato pp. 566-571, 1st Quarter Project due Thursday
Thursday: Sabato pp. 572-578

Sharron Angle Ad

Ms. Angle is running against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in Nevada. Current polls show Angle with a slight lead.

Because I Love Attack Ads...

And here's the finished product:

HoA - Homework

Week of Oct. 18 - Oct. 22

PERIOD 1
Tuesday: Keen pp. 157-161
Thursday: Keen pp. 161-169, The Revolution by Tulio Halperin Donghi

PERIOD 4
Monday: Keen pp. 157-161
Wednesday: Keen pp. 161-169, The Revolution by Tulio Healperin Donghi
Friday: No class today due to assembly

Period 1 Quarter Exam: October 27th
Period 4 Quarter Exam: October 28th

Interesting Third Party Candidate

From earlier this week at the New York Governor debate:

APGov - Chapter 12 Vocab

The Chapter 12 Vocab worksheet can be downloaded here.  It will be due on the day of the Chapter 12 Exam.

APGov Homework

Week of Oct. 18 - Oct. 22

PERIOD 3
Monday: No Homework (Thanks to Nora W.)
Tuesday: Sabato pp. 421-429
Wednesday: Sabato pp. 429-433
Thursday: Sabato pp. 433-439
Friday: Sabato pp. 440-443

PERIOD 5
Tuesday: Sabato pp. 429-441
Thursday: Sabato pp. 440-443

PERIOD 6
Monday: Sabato pp. 416-429
Wednesday: Sabato pp. 429-433
Friday: Sabato pp. 433-443

HoA - Homework

Week of Oct. 12 - Oct. 15

PERIOD 1
Wednesday: No class today (PSATs)
Friday: Read Keen 149-156

PERIOD 4
Tuesday: Read Keen 149-156 for Monday
Thursday:

NYTimes Article on the Obama Presidency

Ashley Gilbertson/VII Network, for The New York Times

I just started reading this NYTimes article about the Obama presidency.  Read it yourself if you've got time!

HoA: Take-Home Quiz

Answer the following question using details from your assigned readings:

"Without the efforts of Spanish priests and missionaries, the indigenous population of the Americas would have been completely exterminated."  To what degree do you agree with this statement?

Your answer should be footnoted and include a bibliography (Turabian style only).  It must be posted on GoogleDocs and shared with Mr. McCarthy before your first class of next week.  This essay will be given the first quiz grade of the school year.

Due date:
Period 1 - Tuesday, Oct. 19th
Period 4 - Monday. Oct. 18th

APGov Homework

Week of Oct. 12 - Oct. 15

PERIOD 3
Tuesday: Study for Ch. 14 Exam, Vocab Sheet due Thursday
Wednesday: No class - PSATs
Thursday: Sabato pp. 406-415 (Chapter 12)
Friday: Sabato pp. 416-421

PERIOD 5
Wednesday: Sabato pp. 406-415
Friday: Sabato pp. 416-429

PERIOD 6
Tuesday: Study for Ch. 14 Exam, Vocab Sheet due Thursday, Sabato pp. 404-406
Thursday: Sabato pp. 406-415

NYTimes Video on Campaign Ads and 501(c) Groups

Debating Our Destiny

We'll be watching some short clips from the News Hour's documentary on presidential debates, Debating Our Destiny.  It's a great film and if you'd like to watch the full documentary (it's slightly under an hour) you can click here to watch it on the News Hour's website.

HoA - Current Events Day! (Period 1)

Post your current events in the comment section!

HoA: Great Story about Brazilian Currency

AFP/Getty Images

You can check it out by clicking here.  Kudos to Maddy B. for mentioning this NPR story in class!

APGov Homework

Week of Oct. 5 - Oct. 9

PERIOD 3
Monday: No Homework
Tuesday: No Homework
Wednesday: No Homework
Thursday: Read "Robert Gibbs, Unplugged...", Ch. 14 Exam will be on Thursday
Friday: Sabato 404-406; Ch. 14 Vocab due Thursday

PERIOD 5
Monday:  Sabato 515-524
Wednesday: Sabato 525-529
Friday:

PERIOD 6
Tuesday: Sabato 515-529
Thursday: Sabato 525-529

Can Mr. Smith get to Washington Anymore?

After watching the film, read these two articles about Jeff Smith.  Do these articles change your opinion of Smith.

Article 1

Article 2

HoA - Homework

Week of Oct. 4 - Oct. 8

PERIOD 1
Monday: Read Keen pp. 106-117 and "Why the Indians are Dying"
Wednesday: Read Keen pp. 131-143; "Baroque Archbishop-Viceroy"; Friday is Current Event Day
Friday: Read Keen pp. 148-156

PERIOD 4
Tuesday: Read Keen pp. 106-117 and "Why the Indians are Dying"
Thursday: Read Keen pp. 131-143; "Baroque Archbishop-Viceroy"

From the White House...

APGov - Chapter 14 Vocab

The Chapter 14 Vocab worksheet can be downloaded herehttp://www.box.net/shared/dhhj8kxi67.  As always, it will be due on the day of the Chapter 14 exam.

Why do I like Mike Huckabee?

Because he made cool commercials like this one:

Back-to-School Night Syllabi

Period 4 - Current Events Day!

Post a URL link to your current events story in the comment section.  It must be posted before the beginning of class on Friday.

APGov Homework

Week of Sept. 27 - Oct. 1

PERIOD 3
Monday:  Ch. 15 Exam tomorrow, Vocab due
Tuesday: Sabato pp. 508-515
Wednesday: Sabato pp. 515-524
Thursday: No Homework
Friday: Sabato pp. 525-529

PERIOD 5
Tuesday: Sabato pp. 508-515
Thursday: No Homework

PERIOD 6
Monday: Ch. 15 Exam Wednesday, Vocab due, Sabato pp. 502-508
Wednesday: No Homework
Friday: Sabato 508-515

HoA - Homework

Week of Sept. 27 - Oct. 1

PERIOD 1
Tuesday: Keen pp. 90-95
Thursday: Keen pp. 95-106

PERIOD 4
Monday: Keen pp. 90-95
Wednesday: Keen pp. 95-106; post current event on Room3011 before Friday's class
Friday: No Homework, bring Keen to class on Tuesday

Obama's in my Backyard!

Drew Angerer/ The New York Times

Read the article from the NYTimes about Obama's "backyard strategy".  Do you think this strategy will help the Democrats win elections this November?  Why or why not?  Include your reasoning (referring to content in the article) when you answer these questions in the comment section.

Dump your L.A. Current Events Here!

Add the link to the comment section!

HoA - Homework

Week of Sept. 20 - Sept. 24

PERIOD 1
Monday: Keen 67-69, 70-72, 75-82
Wednesday: Keen 82-90; post current event on Room3011 Blog before Friday's class
Friday:

PERIOD 4
Tuesday: Keen 67-69, 70-72, 75-82
Thursday: Keen 82-90

How the White House Tries to Shape the News

The Obama White House has tried new methods to shape how the news is reported.  Each week, they post a video describing the President's week.

APGov Homework

Week of Sept. 20 - Sept. 24

PERIOD 3
Monday: Sabato pp. 555-563 ("Toward Reform...")
Tuesday: No Homework
Wednesday: Sabato pp. 492-498 (Intro and "Roots of Modern...")
Thursday: Sabato pp. 498-502 ("The Key Players...")
Friday: Sabato pp. 502-508 ("Coverage of the Game...")

PERIOD 5
Monday: Sabato pp. 555-563 ("Toward Reform...")
Wednesday: Sabato pp. 492-502 (Intro and "Roots of Modern..." and "The Key Players...")
Friday: Sabato pp. 502-508 ("Coverage of the Game..."); study for exam

PERIOD 6
Tuesday: Sabato pp. 555-563 ("Toward Reform...")
Thursday: Sabato pp. 492-502 (Intro and "Roots of Modern..." and "The Key Players...")

"Who is the Tea Party?" - NPR Report

Since it was mentioned in Sabato...

we may as well take a look at the "Better Know a District" feature on the Colbert Report.  The one below stars your Congressman, Jim Moran (D).  Do features like this one serve to inform voters, or are they just comedy sketches?  Is it a little bit of both?  Would you have recommended to Congressman Moran that he should participate in this segment of the Colbert Report?


'Better Know a District - Virginia's 8th - Jim Moran

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes 2010 Election Fox News

HoA - Homework

Week of Sept. 13 - Sept. 17

PERIOD 1
Tuesday: Read and take notes on Keen 35-45
Thursday: Read and take notes on Keen 54-65; Read Economist articles "Two Centuries of Hopes and Fears" and "It's Only Natural"

PERIOD 4
Monday: Read and take notes on Keen 15-34, Mini seminar groups will present next class, Read the Economist article "So Near and Yet So Far"
Wednesday: Read and take notes on Keen 35-45
Friday: Read and take notes on Keen 54-65; Read Economist articles "Two Centuries of Hopes and Fears" and "It's Only Natural"

APGov - Chapter 15 Vocab

Click this link to download the Ch. 15 Vocab worksheet.  It will be due next week.

APGov Homework

Week of Sept. 13 - Sept. 17

PERIOD 3
Monday: Read and take notes on Sabato pp. 530-541 (Intro and "Roots of News Media...")
Tuesday: No Homework?!
Wednesday: Sabato pp. 542-547 ("Current Media Trends")
Thursday: Sabato pp. 547-551 ("Rules Governing the Media")
Friday: Sabato pp. 551-555 ("How the Media Covers Politics")

PERIOD 5
Tuesday: No Homework
Thursday: Sabato pp. 547-555 ("Rules Governing the Media" and "How the Media Covers Politics")

PERIOD 6
Monday: Read and take notes on Sabato pp. 530-547 ("Roots of News Media" and Current Media Trends")
Wednesday: No Homework
Friday: Sabato pp. 547-555 ("Rules Governing the Media" and "How the Media Covers Politics")

HoA Homework [UPDATED]

Week of Sept. 7 - Sept. 10

Tuesday: Read and take notes on Keen preface
Wed/Thur: Read and take brief notes on Keen pp. 5-15
Fri./Mon: Read (do not take notes) on Keen pp. 15-34; Mini Seminar groups must be prepared to present at next class; Read the Economist's "So Near and Yet So Far"

APGov Homework [UPDATED]

Week of Sept. 7 - Sept. 10

Period 3
Tuesday: Return completed first day packets, Ch. 5&7 Exam Monday, confirm access to online textbook on Blackboard
Wednesday: Return completed first day packets, Ch. 5&7 Exam Monday
Thursday: Ch. 5&7 Exam Monday, Safety Assembly during 3rd period tomorrow, Ch. 5&7 vocab due Monday
Friday: Ch. 5&7 Exam Monday

Periods 5&7
Tuesday:Ch. 5&7 Exam Friday/Monday, confirm access to online textbook on Blackboard
Wed/Thurs: Ch. 5&7 Exam Monday, Ch. 5&7 vocab due next class
Fri/Mon: Read and take notes on Sabato pp. 530-547 ("Roots of News Media..." and "Current Media Trends"

September Means Attack Ads!

As Election Day approaches, candidates become more likely to use attack ads to smear their opponents.  This ad from Delaware Senator Mike Castle (Dem.) is pretty typical:

APGov: Accessing the Online Textbook

If you are having difficulty accessing our online textbook on Blackboard, click here to download instructions on how to access the textbook online.

HoA - Final Exams

Dates of HoA Final Exams:

• Period 2 - Friday, June 18th (8:19-10:19)
• Period 4 - Tuesday, June 22nd (8:19-10:19)

Final Exam Assignment:

Create a GoogleDocs presentation summarizing your research, findings, and conclusions from your HoA internal assessment.  This presentation should include:

1. a description of your I.A. research question (5 pts. out of 20)
2. an explanation of how you conducted your research (5 pts. out of 20)
3. a description of interesting findings in the course of your research (5 pts. out of 20)
4. an explanation of your thesis statement (5 pts. out of 20)

The presentation should be between 3 and 4 minutes in length.  Your GoogleDoc should be shared with myself (mccarthyroom3011@gmail.com) as a viewer.  We don't have time for 20+ students to log in and log out of their Google accounts, so sharing your presentation with me is mandatory.  On the day of the final exam, each student will give their presentation to the class.

Your grade on the presentation will be one third of your final exam grade.  Your Internal Assessment score will count as two thirds of your final exam grade.  Any extra credit awarded for SOL results will be added to your final exam grade.

*SOL -related extra credit will be added to your final exam grade.

I.A. Deadlines

There will be two different deadlines for the final draft of the Internal Assessment.

Period 2 - I.A. Final Draft is due on Monday, June 14th

Period 4 - I.A. Final Draft is due on Friday, June 18th

The different due dates is to ensure that both classes have about the same amount of time to complete their final draft after receiving their graded first draft.

Mr. McCarthy Wonders about his Twin

Last Minute I.A. Info

Spacing - Make sure that your first draft is double spaced!

Cover Page - A sample cover page can be downloaded here.

Internal Assessment: First Draft due Monday, May 24

Any student who wishes to sit down and go over their outline with me should plan to meet with me early next week.  Don't leave it until the last minute!

Mock Congress Begins!!!

Finally, what you've been waiting for all year: Mock Congress!!

• All relevant documents are posted on my Box.net account.
• Your ID badge should have your name and state clearly indicated (you'll only get one ID badge, so keep it somewhere safe).
  
• Your bills must be posted on GoogleDocs. You must also share your GoogleDoc with me (mccarthyroom3011@gmail.com) and the Clerk of the Congress.  This will enable the clerk and committee chairs to mark up your bill.
• Your first bill is due in the hopper on Wednesday, May 12th
• Bills submitted earlier will probably reach the House floor before bills submitted on the 12th.
• Information about your particular Congress can be found on wikispaces.
• If you'd like to see a bill log from last year's Mock Congress click this link.

I'll be on the road this weekend with little access to email, but you can tweet me with questions!

APGov: Wednesday's Assignment

Periods 5 & 7

1.  Please send an email to me at my gmail address: mccarthyroom3011@gmail.com.  Make sure that the email is sent from the email address that you use for GoogleDocs.  I'll be using your email for two purposes: to assemble a contact list for Mock Congress, and to invite you to the Mock Congress wiki.

2.  Today you must watch at least the first 65 minutes of "Advise and Consent" and complete the accompanying worksheet.  Turn in the worksheet to the substitute teacher before the end of the period.  Make sure you allow enough time to place your iPod and headphones away properly - you won't be dismissed until everything is properly put away.

3.  If you'd like to check out the beginnings of the class wiki, here are the links for periods 5 and 7:

• Period 5 Mock Congress wiki
• Period 7 Mock Congress wiki

4.  Republicans and Democrats will need to select their leaders.  You will be representing the same party as the Member of Congress from the 3rd quarter project.  Start thinking about who you'd like to lead your party.  I'll also be looking for a volunteer to be the Clerk of the Congress.  This volunteer must be a Democrat.

5.  We'll be having a class briefing about Mock Congress on Friday.  This year we will be using GoogleDocs to track legislation, mark-up, and the Bill Log.  We're going to use wikispaces.com to track the actual participation and the nature of participation of all the members of the Congress (this will be self-reported and make up the majority of your project grade).  I'm also wondering whether we should use twitter during class itself to record communication.  What are your ideas about what to include?  If we use twitter, what should our hashtags be?  What questions do you have right now about the project that I should address on Friday?

See you Friday!

HoA - This Week's Quiz

Here are your essay questions for this week's quiz.  When you turn in your essay on Friday, be sure that your paper is double-spaced, includes your name, and has your quiz question written on the top of page 1 of your essay.Please include the honor code at the top of your paper as well.

Period 2, Last Names A-D
“The Great Depression changed governments’ views of their role and responsibility.”
With reference to one countryof the region, to what extent do you agree with this statement? (2008)

Period 2, Last Names E-L
To what extent was the Wall Street Crash a cause of the Great Depression of 1929? Support your argument with specific examples from one country of the region. (2007)

Period 2, Last Names M-Z
Analyse the causes of the Great Depression in one country in the Americas. (2006)

Period 4, Last Names A-H
With reference to one country of the region, analyse the causes of the Great Depression
and assess the political impact of the Great Depression on that country.(2005)

Period 4, Last Names I-P
How, and with what success, did the government of any one country in the Americas try
to solve the problems caused by the Great Depression? (2004)

Period 4, Last Names Q-Z
How successful were government programmes in solving problems caused by the Great
Depression, in one country of the region? (2003)

Cram for the Exam on C-SPAN!

Our friends at C-Span encourage your students to call-in to C-SPAN's "Cram for the Exam on C-SPAN" this Saturday! This program is to help students prepare for Monday's AP U.S. Government and Politics exam. Two AP U.S. Government teachers from Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois, Andrew Conneen and Dan Larsen, will go over vocabulary, give test taking pointers, and answer any of your students' last minute questions during the Washington Journal this Saturday, May 1 from 9-10am ET. The teachers will also discuss questions that have appeared on previous exams and explain what students could expect to see on the 2010 AP U.S. Government and Politics exam.

For an additional cram session, have your students take a look at C-SPAN's "Cram for the Exam on C-SPAN" 2009 program: http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/id/205049

Your students can call-in to (202) 737-0001 ET/CT or (202) 737-0002 MT/PT, email to journal@c-span.org, or send questions via Twitter to @cspanwj during the one hour program. We hope that you and your students can join us for one last cram session before Monday's test!

FYI - You can now follow C-SPAN Classroom on Twitter for daily programming updates and C-SPAN Classroom related announcements: http://twitter.com/cspan_classroom

Mary T. McCullagh
Christopher Columbus High, Miami

Additional Supreme Court Cases

Korematsu v. U.S.

Buckley v. Valeo

Baker v. Carr

Key Concepts on Past APGov Exams

This link will take you to a list of 193 key concepts that were addressed in questions on the multiple choice sections of the 1994, 1999, 2002, and 2009 APGov exams.  Use this list to determine the most common topics addressed in the AP exam.

Thanks to Frank Franz of Madison HS (FCPS) for compiling this list.

New Deal Programs - from your peers!

An End to Filibusters?

Other Assorted AP Knowledge

AP Questions - Period 7

For a full-screen survey click here.

AP Questions - Period 5

Survey available here.

HoA - Bonus Army

Click this link to read an account of General Douglas MacArthur's removal of the "Bonus Army" from Washington, DC.

APGov Periods 5 & 7 - Homework

Week of April 19 - April 23
MONDAY: Complete reading Chapter 16
WEDNESDAY: Bring AP Review book to class on Friday, be prepared to share one challenging multiple choice question about either the Presidency, Congress, SCOTUS, or the Bureaucracy.
FRIDAY:

HoA: Causes of the Depression

NPR Story: Christian Legal Society v. Martinez

Great discussion today about this interesting case about the Christian Legal Society at UC Hastings.  Here's the story from yesterday's All Things Considered.

HoA - Homework

Week of April 19 - April 23
TUESDAY: Read and take notes on E.V. pp. 749-762
THURSDAY:

You should also be continuing to do necessary research for your internal assessment.

APGov - Period 3 - Homework

Week of April 19 - April 23
MONDAY: Janda pp. 526-532
TUESDAY: Janda pp. 532-537
WEDNESDAY: Janda pp. 537-546
THURSDAY:
FRIDAY: Ch. 15+16 take-home exam due at the beginning of class.

AP's Description of Free Response Tasks

Last year I posted these descriptions of the various free response tasks that appear on the AP Government exam.  With two weeks to go before the AP Exam, it's important that you know what these words mean to the AP.


List/Identify.Listing or identifying is a task that requires no more than a simple enumeration of some factors or characteristics. A list does not require any causal explanations. For example, a student might be asked to list or identify three characteristics presidents consider when making appointments.
Such a list, which could be bulleted or numbered, might include party, race, gender, etc.
Define.
A definition requires a student to provide a meaning for a word or concept. Examples may help to demonstrate understanding of the definition. Students may be instructed to note the term’s significance as part of the definition.
Describe.
A description involves providing a depiction or portrayal of a phenomenon or its most significant characteristics. Descriptions most often address “what” questions. For example, if students are asked to describe reasons for the decline in voter turnout, they must do more than simply list facts—they must actually describe the reasons. Students may explain that the expansion of suffrage led to a decline in overall voter turnout because once voting was made available to more individuals, the overall percentage of those voting declined.
Discuss.Discussions generally require that students explore relationships between different concepts or phenomena. Identifying, describing, and explaining could be required tasks involved in writing a satisfactory discussion.
Explain.
An explanation involves the exploration of possible causal relationships. When providing explanations, students should identify and discuss logical connections or causal patterns that exist between or among various political phenomena.
Compare/Contrast.
This task requires students to make specific links between two or more concepts.
Evaluate/Assess.
An evaluation or assessment involves considering how well something meets a certain standard and as such generally requires a thesis. It is important to identify the criteria used in the evaluation. If no criteria are explicitly given in the question, students should take care to clearly identify the ones that they choose to employ. Specific examples may be applied to the criteria to support the student’s thesis. Evaluation or assessment requires explicit connections between the thesis or argument and the supporting evidence.
Analyze.
This task usually requires separating a phenomenon into its component parts or characteristics as a way of understanding the whole. An analysis should yield explicit conclusions that are explained or supported by specific evidence or well-reasoned arguments.

AP Mock Exam Tomorrow

It's almost here!  If you plan on attending the AP mock exam make sure that you bring two #2 pencils and about 10 sheets of lined paper.  We should be out of the building before noon.

See you there!

HoA - Homework [UPDATED 4/16]

Week of April 12 - April 16
MONDAY: Read E.V. pp. 712-726
WEDNESDAY: Complete I.A. outline
FRIDAY: I.A. outline due today!!  Read and take notes on E.V. pp. 743-749

APGov Periods 5&7 - Homework

Week of April 12 - April 16
TUESDAY: Janda pp. 511-520 and complete SCOTUS case summary
THURSDAY: Janda pp. 520-537

HoA - Internal Assessment Info Sheet

A copy of the Internal Assessment information document that I distributed at the introduction of the assignment can be downloaded here.

APGov - 3rd Period Homework

Week of April 12 - April 16
MONDAY: Janda pp. 501-506
TUESDAY: Janda pp. 506-509, SCOTUS case summary due Thursday
WEDNESDAY: Janda pp. 511-516
THURSDAY: Janda pp. 516-520
FRIDAY: Janda pp. 520-526

APGov Reading Assignments - Period 3

Week of April 5th - April 9th
MONDAY: Janda pp. 470-472
TUESDAY: Janda pp. 473-480
WEDNESDAY: Janda pp. 480-490
THURSDAY: Janda pp. 490-495
FRIDAY: Janda pp. 495-501

APGov Reading Assignments - Periods 5 & 7

Week of April 5 - April 9
MONDAY: Janda pp. 470-480
WEDNESDAY: Janda pp. 480-495
FRIDAY: Janda pp. 495-508

Internal Assessment Deadlines

Tuesday, April 6th
A hard copy of your working bibliography with eight sources must be turned in at the beginning of class.  The bibliography must be in Turabian format.  If it is not properly formatted, it will be returned without a grade.  The assignment will then be marked down one letter grade per day until a properly formatted bibliography is turned in.  This assignment will be entered in the gradebook as one participation grade.


Friday, April 16th
A printed copy of an outline of your internal assessment must be turned in at the beginning of class.  This outline should reflect that your research has been completed or is close to being completed.  Chapter 6 of Turabian's 7th edition contains instructions for how to properly format an outline.  Your outline must be in the same format as the internal assessment (Plan of Investigation, Summary of Evidence, etc.).  If it is not properly formatted, it will be returned without a grade.  The assignment will then be marked down one letter grade per day until a properly formatted bibliography is turned in.  This assignment will be entered in the gradebook as one quiz grade.


Friday, April 30th
A printed copy of the first draft of your internal assessment must be turned in at the beginning of class.  This draft must include a cover page, each section should begin on a new page, the paper should be properly footnoted and a bibliography included.  If the draft is not properly formatted, it will be returned without a grade.  The assignment will then be marked down one letter grade per day until a properly formatted first draft is turned in.  Consult this checklist before turning in your paper on the 30th.  This assignment will be entered in the gradebook as three quiz grades.

APGov Exam Review Sessions!!

Beginning Wednesday, April 7th Ms. Root will be holding review sessions from 7am to 8am on W days for the entire month of April!  In past years, many of my students have attended these sessions and said they were more prepared for the AP exam as a result (last year more than 30 of my students earned scores of 4 or 5 on the exam).  Please take advantage of these review sessions.  A schedule of session dates and locations will be posted on the Room3011 door after spring break.

APGov Periods 5&7 - Homework

Week of March 22 - March 26
MONDAY: Janda pp. 448-457
WEDNESDAY: Janda pp. 457-467
FRIDAY: Complete Ch. 14 Exam over the break.  Turn in your completed Scantron on April 5.

Have a great spring break!

APGov - Period 3 - Homework

Week of March 22 - March 26
MONDAY: Janda pp. 448-457
TUESDAY: Janda pp. 457-461
WEDNESDAY: Janda pp. 461-464
THURSDAY: Janda pp. 464-467
FRIDAY: Complete Ch. 14 Exam over the break and turn in your completed Scantron on Monday, April 5

Effects of Health Care Overhaul

The NYTimes has an interactive graphic that explains how various Americans will be affected by the recently-passed health care reform bill.

Daniel, C-SPAN Superstar

Daniel W., current HoA student and Room3011 APGov alum, was on CSPAN Sunday night shortly after the historic healthcare reform vote.

Period 7 - A Clue on my Political Leanings?

From my trip today to the Capitol:

HoA Reminder - Bring Turabian to Class Tomorrow!

Don't forget to bring your copy of Turabian to class tomorrow!

APGov - Periods 5&7 - In-Class Activity

You have two items to complete today while I'm gone:

1.  Complete the Bureaucracy review sheet using your textbook.  The worksheet emphasizes information that will be on the Bureaucracy Exam on Monday.  Make sure you turn in this worksheet to the teacher before you leave.

2.  Read this article on the prospects for healthcare reform on Politico.com.  In the comments section of this post (on Room3011) add a comment predicting whether a healthcare bill will be passed by the Congress or not.  Include with your description the reason why you think the bill will or will not pass.  Include one of the reasons listed in the Politico.com article in your comment.  The most accurate predictions will get some extra credit on the Bureaucracy exam.

APGov - Period 3 - Homework

Week of March 15 - March 19
MONDAY: Janda pp. 427-433
TUESDAY: Janda pp. 435-438
WEDNESDAY: Janda pp. 442-448
THURSDAY: Janda pp. 442-448
FRIDAY: Bureaucracy Exam Monday; Member of Congress PPT due Monday (must be shared with me on GoogleDocs

The Postal Service on 60 Minutes

This weekend's episode of 60 Minutes featured this editorial about the U.S. Postal Service from Andy Rooney.  It may be of interest as we finish our unit on government bureaucracy.

Thanks to Shane M. for pointing this out to me.

The Latest on the Healthcare Bill...

APGov - Periods 5&7 - Homework

Week of March 15 - March 19
TUESDAY: Janda pp. 435-442
THURSDAY: Janda pp. 442-448, Bureaucracy Exam on Monday, Member of Congress PPT due on Monday (share it with me through GoogleDocs)

There will be an exam review on Wednesday after school in Room 3011.  The Bureaucracy Exam will be the last exam of the third quarter.

Cool Video about a Day in the White House

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Events of the Civil War

From Mr. McCarthy:

Period 4 - African Americans

Presented March 9th

Period 4 - Reconstruction

Presented on March 5

Period 4 - North vs. South: Advantages and Disadvantages

Presented on March 1st

Period 4 - Crises of the 1850s

Presented on February 25th

Period 2 - African-Americans

Presented March 11th

Period 2 - Abolitionists

Presented on February 23rd

Period 2 - North vs. South: Advantages and Disadvantages

Presented on March 1st

Period 2 - Crises of the 1850s

Presented on February 25th

Period 2 - Origins of the Civil War Seminar

Presented on February 19th

APGov - Periods 5&7 - Homework

Week of March 8 - March 10
MONDAY: Janda pp. 414-425
WEDNESDAY: Janda pp. 425-433
FRIDAY:

APGov - Period 3 - Homework

Week of March 8 - March 12
MONDAY: Janda pp. 406-411
TUESDAY: Janda pp. 412-417
WEDNESDAY: Janda pp. 417-422
THURSDAY: Janda pp. 422-427
FRIDAY: Heritage Assembly, no homework over the weekend

APGov PowerPoint Template

APGov Periods 5&7 - Homework

Week of March 1 - March 5

TUESDAY: No Reading Assignment

THURSDAY: Congress Exam on Monday.  Read Janda pp. 406-414.

Citizen Redistricting

Now that you've played the redistricting game and learned the different ways that district boundaries are manipulated to achieve particular political outcomes, check out this article from the New York Times about California's radical new idea of how to draw the boundaries of state legislature districts.  Do you think this plan is a good idea?  What might be some of the advantages and disadvantages to such a plan?  The article mentions that the plan may be applied to the redistricting of congressional districts as well: good idea or bad idea?

Thoughtful comments will be awarded a +1 (out of 40 questions) on this Monday's Congress Exam.  Deadline for comments is midnight Sunday.

HoA Reading Assignments

Week of March 1 - March 5
Complete reading Chapter 16, "The Crises of Reconstruction" for class on Friday

APGov Periods 5&7 - Homework [UPDATED 2/26]

Week of February 22 - February 26
MONDAY: Janda pp. 340-354
WEDNESDAY: Janda pp. 355-368
FRIDAY: Janda pp. 406-414; Congress Exam on Tuesday (March 2) Thursday (March 4)

Period 2 - Cotton, Slavery and Resistance Seminar

APGov - Gerrymandering Hall of Fame

Check out Slate's great article on gerrymandering and check out their slideshow of gerrymandered districts.

Period 4 - Abolitionist Debate Seminar

Period 4 - Cotton and Slavery Seminar

APGov - Period 3 - Homework

Week of February 22 - February 26
MONDAY: Janda pp. 334-340
TUESDAY: Janda pp. 340-347
WEDNESDAY: Janda pp. 347-354
THURSDAY: Janda pp. 355-364
FRIDAY: Janda pp. 365-369; Congress Exam on Tuesday

HoA Reading Assignments

Complete the following reading assignments by February 26th.
Enduring Vision Ch. 14 "From Compromise to Secession"
Enduring Vision Ch. 15 "Crucible of Freedom: Civil War"

APGov - 3rd Period Homework

Week of February 16 - February 19
TUESDAY: Janda pp. 109-115, Congressional research sheet submitted to GoogleDocs by 11:59pm on Wednesday
WEDNESDAY: Janda pp. 115-118, Congressional research sheet submitted to GoogleDocs by 11:59pm on Wednesday
THURSDAY: Janda pp. 118-123
FRIDAY: Ch. 4 Exam on Monday

Due to lost school days, Member of Congress presentations will not be held in March.  The presentation will either be transformed to an online presentation or will be be rescheduled to early May.  A final decision will be made by the end of this week.

APGov - Periods 5&7 - Homework

Week of February 16 - February 19
TUESDAY: Congressional research worksheet must be submitted to GoogleDocs by 11:59pm Wednesday and read Janda pp. 115-123
THURSDAY: Chapter 4 Exam Monday and Read Janda pp. 334-340

Due to lost school days, Member of Congress presentations will not be held in March.  The presentation will either be transformed to an online presentation or will be be rescheduled to early May.  A final decision will be made by the end of this week.

Homework Over the Break

Hi everyone! I hope you're enjoying Snowmageddon! Some important pieces of info for you:

1. HOA - Civil War seminars will proceed as normal when we return to school. Use some of your time out of school to continue research. There's a good chance that Central Library will re-open before W-L.

2. APGov - we will not be taking a trip to the computer lab for you to do research for your Congress project. I've posted instructions on how to conduct your research on thus blog, a few entries below this one. You are responsible to have completed the Member of Congress worksheet by the second day of school. It must be completed through GoogleDocs with footnotes and the document must be shared with me on GoogleDocs (detailed instructions are in the assignment blog post).

I'm heading north this morning and will have limited access to the Internet. If you need to reach me with a question, contact me through Twitter. My ID is Room3011. Haven't used Twitter before? Consider this an opportunity to enter the 21st century. To tweet me, just include @Room3011 in your tweet.

Enjoy and I hope to see you all soon!

Mr. M

Why I Use Delicious.com

Earlier today I made a brief presentation on a few web2.0 tools, including the social bookmarking tool delicious.com.  There are several reasons why I've been using delicious.com, first for personal use then for professional use, since April 2006.  Let me show you a few of the features that make Delicious useful to me.

First, as seen in the picture below, delicious uses a simple and aesthetically pleasing presentation of your bookmarks.  The screen isn't cluttered and the shades of blue and gray make it easy to look at (yes, I actually care about this stuff.  I'm a Mac).  When you first open your delicious page your bookmarks are arranged chronologically with most recently added bookmarks at the top.  You can sort your bookmarks in various ways that I'll explain later.  As you look at the screen below, notice the bar between my address bar and my tabs.  This is a Firefox add-on that displays my most visited delicious bookmarks, making it easy for me to navigate to the websites I use most often.

click on picture to enlarge

When I find a new website that I find useful, I'm able to bookmark it in delicious by clicking on the "Tag" button to the left of my address bar (yes, this is also a Firefox add-on - it also may be available on Google Chrome).  This opens a new window which allows me to add tags to my new bookmark.  Tags are descriptors that will help me to find this bookmark again in the future.  In this case, I've navigated to the White House webpage and I've tagged this new bookmark with the tags "government", "politics", "president", "whitehouse", "apgov", and "apgovch12".  The last two tags help me connect a class and unit label to my bookmark.  Delicious will even suggest tags for me to use.

click on picture to enlarge

Tags are especially useful because I won't have to remember what folder I've saved my bookmark to, I can just look it up by its tag.  Below, you can see all of the tags I've used in delicious.  The larger ones are the tags I've used most often.  By clicking on one of the tags listed I'll be able to see all of the websites I applied that tag to.

click on picture to enlarge

If I click on my "Congress" tag, I've now pulled up all websites that I thought related to Congress.  This is great for users who often remember a website that they once used, but can't remember the name of it.  All I have to do is remember what the website was about, click on that tag, and find the website on that list of bookmarks.

click on picture to enlarge

Finally, I can share my bookmarks with my colleagues and they can share their bookmarks with me.  All we have to do is add each other to our network.  As you can see below, I've already added several W-L teachers to my network and I can see what Sandy and Paul have bookmarked recently.  I'd especially like to see what some of my social studies colleagues are bookmarking, so I'll try to encourage them to use delicious.com, too.

click on picture to enlarge

Besides just exploring my network, I can see what all delicious.com users are tagging.  For example, I'm curious what websites have been popular with people interested in the Supreme Court.  I've got a unit on the court system coming up and I'm looking to see what websites people have found worthy of bookmarking.  All I need to do is use the search box and type in "Supreme Court".  As you can see below, delicious suggest some ways to improve my search and then lists popular tagged websites below.  I'll probably find some sites that would be helpful when I teach the judiciary unit!

click on picture to enlarge

Delicious's integration with Firefox and its use of tagging makes it a perfect web2.0 tool for an organizationally-challenged teacher like myself.  If you'd like any help setting up your own account, I'm happy to help!

APGov - Member of Congress Assignments [UPDATED 2/3/10]

All member of Congress assignments have been recorded on this Google Spreadsheet.

UPDATE - Feb. 3rd
If you have not been assigned a Representative, you have until Feb. 4th to request one.  If you fail to do so, you will be assigned a Representative by me.  Remaining 5th period Representatives must be Democrats.  Remaining 7th period Representatives must be Republicans.

Great Budget Infographic

 

The New York Times has a great visual representation of President Obama's proposed FY11 budget.  Check it out and play around with some of the details.  What areas of spending will be increased and what will be decreased in Obama's budget.

Obama's Spending "Freeze"

In the past week, you've read articles that have described President Obama's plan to freeze many types of discretionary spending in the federal budget.  This video tries to visualize how significant this spending freeze will really be.  Many conservative news sources and think tanks have linked to this video, believing it supports their opposition to the President's proposed FY11 budget.



Thanks to Meredith R. for sending me the link!

HoA Civil War Reading Assignments

The following assignments should be completed by February 12th.  This is nearly 100 pages of reading, do not leave it until the last minute!

pp. 256-262: westward expansion
pp. 274-277: equality and inequality
pp. 318-326: technology and economic growth
pp. 320-321: guns and gun culture (special inset)
pp. 346-351: king cotton
pp. 351-356: the social groups of the south
pp. 356-362: social relations in the white south
pp. 362-369: life under slavery
pp. 369-375: the emergence of african-american culture
pp. 377-384: newcomers and natives
pp. 384-389: the west and beyond
pp. 389-394: the politics of expansion
pp. 394-405: the mexican-american war and its aftermath, 1846-1848

APGov - Periods 5&7 - Homework

Week of February 1 - February 5
MONDAY: Janda pp. 103-115
WEDNESDAY: Janda pp. 115-123
FRIDAY: No Homework

Ch. 4 Exam is currently scheduled for Tuesday, February 9th

APGov - 3rd Period Homework

Week of February 1 - February 5
MONDAY: Janda pp. 103-109
TUESDAY: Janda pp. 109-115
WEDNESDAY: Janda pp. 109-115 (no new assignment; we're spending today in the computer lab)
THURSDAY: Janda pp. 115-118
FRIDAY: Janda pp. 118-123

Ch. 4 Exam is currently scheduled for Tuesday, February 9th

HoA - Civil War Seminar Documents

Documents that are relevant to the Civil War seminar assignment will be posted to box.net.

APGov 3rd Quarter Project

A .pdf file of the third quarter project can be downloaded here.

The President's State of the Union Address

The NYTimes has a great interactive feature on speech that you can find by clicking here.

APGov - Periods 5&7 - Homework

Week of January 25 - January 29
TUESDAY: Study for Ch. 3 Exam and watch the State of the Union address
THURSDAY: Janda pp. 95-103

HoA - Period 4 Assignments

Civil War seminar assignments

February 17 - Annie, Parita, Lan-Anh, David
February 23 - Daniel G., Beccca, Clem, Ryan
February 25 - Teddy, Jeremy, Max and Lexi
March 1 - Brandon, Jessica, Daniel W., and Hardino
March 5 - Sara, Scarlet, Katherine, and Liz
March 9 - Imane, Halima, Courtney, Eileen

HoA - Period 2 Assignments

Civil War Seminar Assignments

February 17 - Sabrina, Andrew, Shahenda
February 19 - Ben, Lucas
February 23 - Jen, Clare, Rachael
February 25 - Spencer, Christy, TaChelle
March 1 -Megan, Lina
March 5 - Marvin, Jack, Chad
March 9 - Hannah, Katri, Katie

APGov - 3rd Period Homework

Week of January 25 - January 29
MONDAY: Janda pp. 91-92
TUESDAY: Study for Thursday's Ch. 3 Exam
WEDNESDAY: Study for Thursday's Ch. 3 Exam
THURSDAY: Janda pp. 95-97
FRIDAY: Janda pp. 97-103

HoA Assignments

Week of January 20 - January 22 (only one class this week?!!)
THURSDAY: Study for Monday's quiz and bring E.V. to class.

APGov Homework - Period 3

Week of January 20 - January 22
WEDNESDAY: Janda pp. 79-82
THURSDAY: Janda pp. 82-87
FRIDAY: Janda pp. 87-91

Ch. 3 Exam will be Thursday, January 28!

APGov Homework - Periods 5&7

Week of January 20 - January 22 (that's a short week!)
WEDNESDAY: Janda pp. 79-87
FRIDAY: Janda pp. 87-92

The Ch. 3 Exam will be held on Thursday, January 28!

DIRECT COMPETITION!!!!!!!!! (18th Century Style)

HoA - Colonial Unrest!!

After gathering information on 9 events that preceded the American Revolution, evaluate each event based on how significantly it affected colonial unrest and tension between the colonies and Britain. Give each event an "Unrest Rating" between 1 (Contributed little to colonial unrest and tension between colonies and Britain) and 8 (Greatly contributed to colonial unrest and tension between colonies and Britain). Include a rationale for your rating in the far-right column of your worksheet. One more thing - the ratings of the nine events must add up to 36.

After completing the worksheet. Add your group's ratings to this Google Survey. We'll look at the data together to see if there was relative agreement or disagreement between groups.

HoA Assignments

Week of January 11 - January 15
MONDAY: E.V. pp. 123-145
WEDNESDAY: E.V. pp. 145-164
FRIDAY: E.V. pp. 164-185

APGov - Periods 5&7 - Homework

Week of January 11 - January 15
TUESDAY: Janda pp. 65-69
THURSDAY: Janda pp. 69-79

APGov - 3rd Period Homework

Week of January 11 - January 15
MONDAY: Janda pp. 65-69
TUESDAY: No homework, presentations tomorrow
WEDNESDAY: No homework, presentations tomorrow
THURSDAY: Janda pp. 69-79
FRIDAY: Janda pp. 69-79