Hey there,
I am scoring the Bill of Rights quizzes and it seems like you guys had a strong performance overall - what a great way to go out to break!!!
Remember your WHITE garments tomorrow for SPIRIT DAY!!! And your face paint, your deelybobbers, your rowdy pep rally voice and your readiness to GET LOUD!
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Using What We Know: February 17, 2015
Today, we had fun discussing how the Bill of Rights has been used in different situations in our nation. We are not quite done, so we will finish up tomorrow.
You also passed in (or should have passed in) your REVISED Constitution Review-O-Rama for quiz scoring, and the Bill of Rights interview with the Amendment # column completed.
HOMEWORK: Please review your Bill of Rights notes one last time - make sure your notes are thorough, complete the cue column and summaries for Cornell notes, and clarify anything you don't know. Look at the previous few days' posts for resources and explanations.
ASSESSMENT: You are going to be using your Bill of Rights notes to analyze a situation on Thursday in the same way we've been doing in class. Be ready for this!
You also passed in (or should have passed in) your REVISED Constitution Review-O-Rama for quiz scoring, and the Bill of Rights interview with the Amendment # column completed.
HOMEWORK: Please review your Bill of Rights notes one last time - make sure your notes are thorough, complete the cue column and summaries for Cornell notes, and clarify anything you don't know. Look at the previous few days' posts for resources and explanations.
ASSESSMENT: You are going to be using your Bill of Rights notes to analyze a situation on Thursday in the same way we've been doing in class. Be ready for this!
Sunday, February 15, 2015
Did You Get All That? Double-Check Your BoR Notes...
Hi everyone,
Having finished our review of the first 10 amendments to the Constitution (the Bill of Rights), I'm going to go over some of the details I gave you that you may or may not have noted down. Double-check your notes to see what you missed!
Why the Bill of Rights exists - I went over this at the very beginning of the lecture, and noticed a lot of you did not take any notes on it. The BoR (Bill of Rights) was created to reassure people who were concerned that the switch from a confederation to a federation would create a government that was big enough and powerful enough to take away the individual rights they had fought so hard to have. As the states argued over ratifying (agreeing to) the Constitution, the BoR was written so that people who were on the fence about the new central government would feel reassured that their liberties and privileges as citizens would not be overlooked by their government.
Limited versus absolute rights: All of the rights given to us and to the states in the Constitution are limited, meaning they have boundaries. Absolute rights mean that there are no boundaries. For example, if we had an absolute right to free speech, anything we said - no matter how mean, damaging, or untrue - would be considered legally protected as free speech. Instead, we have laws against saying things that endanger or damage others just for the sake of harming them (laws against hate crimes and anti-bullying laws).
The rights of minors - People under the age of 18 do not have all the privileges OR burdens of full citizenship. In public schools, for example, your locker is technically the property of the school, and school personnel can search it at any time. Your parents have the right to go through your room, your cell phone, and your possessions because they are legally responsible for you. Some of you may remember the term I used, "implied consent" - when you bring your belongings into school and put them in your locker, you have given the administration "implied" (unstated) consent to look through those things if they feel they need to do so for the greater wellbeing of the school population.
Distributive powers - This is the fancy name for the 10th Amendment (also called "distribution of powers") - basically, it means that any issues NOT covered in the Constitution should be handled by the states or the people. This is why neighboring states can have different laws about car seats, for example. As I mentioned in class, this is where a lot of the social issues that people feel strongly about - abortion, school choice, legalization of certain drugs, etc. - fall under the umbrella of distribution of powers.
So there they are - hope this helps!
Having finished our review of the first 10 amendments to the Constitution (the Bill of Rights), I'm going to go over some of the details I gave you that you may or may not have noted down. Double-check your notes to see what you missed!
Why the Bill of Rights exists - I went over this at the very beginning of the lecture, and noticed a lot of you did not take any notes on it. The BoR (Bill of Rights) was created to reassure people who were concerned that the switch from a confederation to a federation would create a government that was big enough and powerful enough to take away the individual rights they had fought so hard to have. As the states argued over ratifying (agreeing to) the Constitution, the BoR was written so that people who were on the fence about the new central government would feel reassured that their liberties and privileges as citizens would not be overlooked by their government.
Limited versus absolute rights: All of the rights given to us and to the states in the Constitution are limited, meaning they have boundaries. Absolute rights mean that there are no boundaries. For example, if we had an absolute right to free speech, anything we said - no matter how mean, damaging, or untrue - would be considered legally protected as free speech. Instead, we have laws against saying things that endanger or damage others just for the sake of harming them (laws against hate crimes and anti-bullying laws).
The rights of minors - People under the age of 18 do not have all the privileges OR burdens of full citizenship. In public schools, for example, your locker is technically the property of the school, and school personnel can search it at any time. Your parents have the right to go through your room, your cell phone, and your possessions because they are legally responsible for you. Some of you may remember the term I used, "implied consent" - when you bring your belongings into school and put them in your locker, you have given the administration "implied" (unstated) consent to look through those things if they feel they need to do so for the greater wellbeing of the school population.
Distributive powers - This is the fancy name for the 10th Amendment (also called "distribution of powers") - basically, it means that any issues NOT covered in the Constitution should be handled by the states or the people. This is why neighboring states can have different laws about car seats, for example. As I mentioned in class, this is where a lot of the social issues that people feel strongly about - abortion, school choice, legalization of certain drugs, etc. - fall under the umbrella of distribution of powers.
So there they are - hope this helps!
Friday, February 13, 2015
Constitution Resources
Hi everyone,
Here are some resources for your Bill of Rights notes and Constitution review:
Playlist of Bill of Rights videos
Explanation of the slavery solution in the Constitution
Another explanation of the slavery solution.
Explanation of the Great Compromise in the Constitution
Later this weekend, I'm going to be adding some info to the Bill of Rights lecture notes - be sure to check back!
Here are some resources for your Bill of Rights notes and Constitution review:
Playlist of Bill of Rights videos
Explanation of the slavery solution in the Constitution
Another explanation of the slavery solution.
Explanation of the Great Compromise in the Constitution
Later this weekend, I'm going to be adding some info to the Bill of Rights lecture notes - be sure to check back!
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Bill of Rights cont'd: February 12, 2015
We continued with our work on the Bill of Rights today. Continue to take notes! Make sure you jot down key ideas as we go along, not just what the slides say.
HOMEWORK: If you were in class today, you got a blank search warrant to complete. You can make up a crime, evidence, etc., but you have to accuse a specific person and search for specific evidence. See how close you can come to getting it right!
If you need a copy of the handout, you will need to get it tomorrow. It is not available electronically.
Here is the PowerPoint of the lecture.
HOMEWORK: If you were in class today, you got a blank search warrant to complete. You can make up a crime, evidence, etc., but you have to accuse a specific person and search for specific evidence. See how close you can come to getting it right!
If you need a copy of the handout, you will need to get it tomorrow. It is not available electronically.
Here is the PowerPoint of the lecture.
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
You Have Rights: February 11, 2015
Hi everyone! We're getting ourselves back on track, but it is not easy.
Today in class, I reviewed note taking strategies and what the high school will expect you to know and be able to do at the different levels. Then, we began taking notes on the Bill of Rights. If you need to fill in anything that you missed from the PowerPoint, it is included below. If you need information from the discussion in class, make sure you see a friend or email me with questions.
HOMEWORK: If you are taking Cornell notes, your job is to double-check your notes, and if we got far enough, add in your cue column and summary. If you are using the guided notes template, please review your notes, make sure you understand what we discussed, and clarify anything you don't understand. Don't forget to fix your Constitution Review handout for Friday!!
Today in class, I reviewed note taking strategies and what the high school will expect you to know and be able to do at the different levels. Then, we began taking notes on the Bill of Rights. If you need to fill in anything that you missed from the PowerPoint, it is included below. If you need information from the discussion in class, make sure you see a friend or email me with questions.
HOMEWORK: If you are taking Cornell notes, your job is to double-check your notes, and if we got far enough, add in your cue column and summary. If you are using the guided notes template, please review your notes, make sure you understand what we discussed, and clarify anything you don't understand. Don't forget to fix your Constitution Review handout for Friday!!
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Back to Work (For Now): February 10, 2015
Welcome back for now…I am not going to say the "s word", but there is some in the forecast. Please bear with us, review what you need to get done, and be ready for anything!
Today, you took your quiz on the Constitution, constitutional concepts and government vocabulary. If you did not do so well, you will get a chance to revisit that assessment later.
HOMEWORK: You have an interview assignment to complete. Complete the INTERVIEW, but do not identify the AMENDMENTS!!! You don't know them yet!!!
Also, you have a review assignment that I scored and returned to you (those of you who had it done on time, that is). It is now an open-source QUIZ. It is due FRIDAY. You are free to use course materials, textbooks, handouts, and one another for resources. I will point you in the direction of resources if you need them. WHAT I WILL NOT DO IS HOUND YOU TO GET THIS DONE. You are more than halfway through your 8th grade year, and it is time to start monitoring your own workload. If you need a copy of the questions because you lost yours, see me. If you did not get yours back yet, see me. Don't wait til it's due to figure this out!!!
Here is the link to the interview handout, if you need one.
Today, you took your quiz on the Constitution, constitutional concepts and government vocabulary. If you did not do so well, you will get a chance to revisit that assessment later.
HOMEWORK: You have an interview assignment to complete. Complete the INTERVIEW, but do not identify the AMENDMENTS!!! You don't know them yet!!!
Also, you have a review assignment that I scored and returned to you (those of you who had it done on time, that is). It is now an open-source QUIZ. It is due FRIDAY. You are free to use course materials, textbooks, handouts, and one another for resources. I will point you in the direction of resources if you need them. WHAT I WILL NOT DO IS HOUND YOU TO GET THIS DONE. You are more than halfway through your 8th grade year, and it is time to start monitoring your own workload. If you need a copy of the questions because you lost yours, see me. If you did not get yours back yet, see me. Don't wait til it's due to figure this out!!!
Here is the link to the interview handout, if you need one.
Sunday, February 8, 2015
Get Ready for Our Quiz!
Okay, I have a few minutes to sit down and write out some thoughts for you guys to help you get ready for our quiz Monday…or the next day we meet. Sorry I can't be any more specific than that, but that's where we are right now.
Here are some of the resources I promised to help you study:
Here is the PowerPoint on government vocabulary.
Here is the handout on Concepts Related to the Constitution.
Here is a handout to practice my definition of the Constitution.
Here is a handout with my definition written out.
Good luck! Remember, even if we have a delay, you will take the quiz. Happy shoveling!
Here are some of the resources I promised to help you study:
Here is the PowerPoint on government vocabulary.
Here is the handout on Concepts Related to the Constitution.
Here is a handout to practice my definition of the Constitution.
Here is a handout with my definition written out.
Good luck! Remember, even if we have a delay, you will take the quiz. Happy shoveling!
Friday, February 6, 2015
You Snow It: February 6, 2015
Hi all,
You have a quiz on Monday over the Constitution! More to come later about resources, topics, etc., but I have to run right now. Check back soon….
You have a quiz on Monday over the Constitution! More to come later about resources, topics, etc., but I have to run right now. Check back soon….
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Three Branches of Government: February 4, 2015
Today in class, you guys got a chance to see separation of powers and checks and balances in action. These are critical concepts that you need to know and understand for Friday, so I hope you were paying attention!!!!
HOMEWORK: Study for your quiz on Friday. You need to know:
HOMEWORK: Study for your quiz on Friday. You need to know:
- Government vocabulary (branch, central government, federation, confederation, etc.)
- My definition of the Constitution that I gave you in class recently
- Concepts related to the Constitution - handout given in class
Tomorrow you will have a chance to review these ideas with some classmates, so the better you know them, the better off you'll be!
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Back on Track: February 3, 2015
Hi everyone! It's been a wild couple of weeks, with viruses running amok through the crowd and, of course, epic amounts of SNOW. We are WAY behind, and I'm hoping that we will be able to pick up where we left off, wrap up our work with the Constitution quickly, and move ON.
Today in class, I collected missing assignments (Scavenger Hunt, Ch 8 Sec 3 notes, and EHS Recommendation Requests). If ANY of those are missing, PLEASE get them done for tomorrow!!! I also announced that we are having a quiz on Friday on some key vocab terms and concepts related to government and the Constitution. Please make sure you review those and are ready!!!
Also, I touched briefly on your note-taking skills in class. Many of you showed me that you can take notes in a way that shows sense - you used headers and sub headers, organized your work with bullet lists, highlighting, and so forth, and otherwise demonstrated your ability to gather information in a way that makes logical sense. However, many of you just wrote random lists of ideas that are NOT helpful to you, so we need to work on this.
HOMEWORK: Unless you were told you did not have to do this assignment, you need to REVISE your chapter 8, sec 3 notes (or do them for the first time), using one of the methods of note-taking from the handout I gave you (but NOT the sentence method).
Chapter 8, Section 3
Today in class, I collected missing assignments (Scavenger Hunt, Ch 8 Sec 3 notes, and EHS Recommendation Requests). If ANY of those are missing, PLEASE get them done for tomorrow!!! I also announced that we are having a quiz on Friday on some key vocab terms and concepts related to government and the Constitution. Please make sure you review those and are ready!!!
Also, I touched briefly on your note-taking skills in class. Many of you showed me that you can take notes in a way that shows sense - you used headers and sub headers, organized your work with bullet lists, highlighting, and so forth, and otherwise demonstrated your ability to gather information in a way that makes logical sense. However, many of you just wrote random lists of ideas that are NOT helpful to you, so we need to work on this.
HOMEWORK: Unless you were told you did not have to do this assignment, you need to REVISE your chapter 8, sec 3 notes (or do them for the first time), using one of the methods of note-taking from the handout I gave you (but NOT the sentence method).
Chapter 8, Section 3
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