Last Day Before Break

Reminder:  You should check back during break for extra credit assignments during break.  Many of you are in serious need of the extra work to get your grades up.  I will be offering extra assignments on this site over the next two weeks for you to do.

When we get back we will be closing out the semester with a look at the Supreme Court and then will quickly transition into review for the final exam.

For today we will be watching the remainder of the documentary "Rise of the Drones."

Test Today

Reminder there is a test Thursday for periods 3, 4, 5, & 7 and Friday for period 2. 

Packets are due at the start of the test.  You may chose the multiple choice test for a maximum grade of a PROFICIENT.  If you chose the short answer test you could receive a maximum grade of an ADVANCED. 

You may use a pre-prepared note card or your completed practice test if you wish on the test. 

Site Upgrade!

You can now check your grades online and access your student email via the Infinite Campus and Student Email images on the right-hand side of the page!

Don't forget you can also enter your email into the box above to receive automatic updates regarding when this site is updated.  A free answer to the upcoming test has been added to an update of a post from earlier this week.  Re-read the earlier posts to discover it!

Remember, you can also email me your questions at dunbecka @ milwaukee.k12.wi.us (without the spaces)

Review Day

By this point your group should have completed through page 12 of your packets and completed our lessons on the Executive Branch.  You were required to complete the remaining review pages of the packet on your own at home last night.  Today we will spend the period allowing you to complete of the following options:

1. Complete the fill-in-the-blank practice test provided to you today in class.  You will be allowed to use this practice test on the test as well as a note card with any notes you believe to be important.
2. Complete any pages you have left in your packet.
3. Prepare a note card for tomorrow's test on the Presidency.

Reminder: packets are due tomorrow and will not be accepted late unless you were absent the day of the test.  If you were absent you will be required to take the test on you own time after school AND the packet will be due the next day you are in class.  It will not be accepted after that.

If you need a copy of the practice test it can be found here, or on the right-hand side of this blog under Homework.

The Federal Bureaucracy

Learning Objective:  Students will understand the role of the federal bureaucracy in our government and our lives.

Success Criteria: Students can DEFINE and EXPLAIN the roles of both civil service workers and political appointees in the federal bureaucracy.

As part of our study of the Presidency we going to take a look at the federal bureaucracy which is run by the President as the Executive Leader of the government.

The federal bureaucracy is in charge of carrying out the laws that Congress (our Legislative Branch) creates.  This includes everything from making sure the air we breathe and water we drink is reasonably clean to making sure food stamps are paid out every month for those living in poverty.  We hardly notice the federal bureaucracy, that is until it stops working properly.

The test will ask you to explain the difference between a civil service worker and a political appointee.  For a PROFICIENT answer you will need to explain that while both work for the federal bureaucracy and help execute the laws passed by Congress under the President's direction, civil service workers are hired based on merit (i.e. their skill, knowledge and overall ability to do the job) whereas political appointees are appointed by the President and approved by the Senate.  They are given their high level jobs generally due to their support of the President and not necessarily because they are capable of the job to which they were appointed.

Test Reminder

Reminder to all sections of Citizenship, we are coming to the end of our unit on the Presidency.  With the end of the unit also comes packets being due as well as the test.

Period 2 will have their test & packets due on Friday of this week. 

All other periods will have their test and packets due on Thursday of this week.

Late packets will not be accepted!  Copies of the President packet can be found to the right under homework or here.

Rise of the Drones

Learning Objective: Students will under what drones are and why they are used as a tool of foreign policy.

Success Criteria: Students can EXPLAIN and DEFEND their own OPINION regarding if the use of drones meets the goals of US foreign policy.

Monday we will analyze the President's role as both Command in Chief and Chief Diplomat of the United States.  Specifically we will be analyzing the President's policy on the use of "drones" to kill terrorist suspects without trial and to form an opinion on whether or not this policy meets the four goals of US foreign policy that we learned about on Friday.

Those goals are:

1. Promote national security of the United States.
2. Promote trade with the United States.
3. Promote the spread of democracy around the world.
4. Promote world peace.

In order to do this analysis we will be watching part of the NOVA special "Rise of the Drones" that aired on PBS to introduce the topic.  The full video can be found here:

We will be doing a close reading of an abridged version of the President's policy on the use of lethal force that can be found in our group packets for this unit.  The unabridged version of it can be found here.  We will also be reading an abridged version of "A Drone Victim's Message to the United States" that was published on the news site The Huffington Post that can also be found in our group packets for this unit.  The unabridged version of the article can be found here.

Students will need to analyze the material provided and come to their own conclusion regarding which of the four goals of foreign policy (if any) the use of "drones" meets.

US Foreign Policy

Friday we will be introducing the concept of the President as the Chief Diplomat of the country.  As part of this we will be introducing the topic of trade embargoes, a powerful diplomatic tool.  To illustrate this tool and the effect it can have on countries we will be watching this short video reporting on the US embargo on Cuba, a small island nation 90 miles south of Florida.  

The video can be found below.

Executive Orders

Today in class we reviewed what executive orders are (a rule or order issued by the President that carries the force of law).  We also discussed how this can be seen as the President stepping on the toes of the Congress.

Below is a link to a video on the story we watch regarding a current controversy over a recent executive order issued by the President.

Executive Order on Illegal Immigrants

President Unit

This week we began our unit on the President of the United States or POTUS.  In this unit we will be exploring questions such as

• What are the qualifications for becoming President?
• What role does the President play in our system?
• What is the federal bureaucracy and how does it work? 
• What is the real power of the presidency and why are so many people upset with the President?
• What is foreign policy and what are America's foreign policy goals?
• What are drones and does our use of them meet the goals of US foreign policy as laid out by our textbook?

The review sheet for this unit is built into our group work packet that is to be completed in class with your partners.  However, the review sheet can be found individually here, or on the right side of your screen under the "Unit Review Sheets" section.

The practice test for the unit can be found here, or under the "Homework" section of the blog to the right as well.

The group work packet must remain in the classroom and you should have your ambassador check the group's answers after each page to ensure you have the correct answers.  We will be completing approximately one page of the packet a day with only one or two exceptions.  The final two pages of the packet are review and must be completed on your own either on our review day or at home once the packets are released at the end of the unit.  

The packet is worth roughly as much as the test for this unit so it is in your best interest to do well on every page of the packet and work closely with your group to ensure you get every answer correct.  The packet is due the day of the test and WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED LATE.  The test for this unit will be held on Thursday, December 18th for period 2 and Wednesday, December 17th for all other sections.  

Packets must remain in the classroom, but a digital copy of the packet will be uploaded tomorrow in case you want to work on it at home or need to print up another copy.  You will need Chapter 7 of the textbook to complete most pages of this packet.

In the meantime, enjoy these videos that were shown in class this week to introduce the topics we were discussing.  

How the President and Congress are selected.

Does the President really matter (link to Huffington Post for the Video)

Why the President isn't as powerful as you think.

 

Congress Packet

The group work packet for the unit on Congress has now been uploaded and can be found by clicking here, or by going clicking on "Congress Packet" under assignments to your right.  This packet should have been done in class with your group and is weighted equally to your test.  It is due Friday, December  12th at the latest.  If not turned in by that date it will be consider a ZERO for all standards measured.