This blog is for the 2014-2015 freshmen citizenship class at Bay View High School in Mr. Dunbeck's sections. Here you will find updates on home work assignments, copies of homework assignments, practice tests, links to videos shown in class, hints for tests and occasional extra credit assignments. Be sure to check this site regularly in order to make sure you are up-to-date on all assignments for this class, especially if you are absent.
While checking this site is optional, though highly recommended, you are REQUIRED to have a copy of the Citizenship textbook. It is also important that you regularly attend class to keep up with lectures, notes, discussion, videos, etc. Find out why you are here.
What are the 5 basic steps you go through when arrested?
Learning Objective: Students will understand the goal of the juvenile justice system.
Success Criteria: Students can explain the preferred outcome of the juvenile justice system and defend their opinion regarding if kids should ever be charged as adults.
To be on target you should complete pages 10 & 11 of your packet using Chapter 16 Section 3 of your textbook by the end of today. Take your packets home with you today, complete pages 12 & 13 at home and any remaining pages. Due on test day, will not be accepted late unless you are absent, then due next day you are in class.
For extra credit analyze the following political cartoon and answer the questions below.
Note: Wall Street is the place in New York City where most of the country's stocks are bought & sold. This is where wealthy people take their money to make A LOT more money, sometimes illegally.
1. Identify where the two men are.
2. Identify the crime committed by each of them and what their sentence is.
3. Identify which person got more time? Which got less?
4. Critical Thinking: What is the message the artist is trying to send?
5. Critical Thinking: Which crime do you believe deserves more time in prison, explain your answer in as much detail as you can.
Click the image below to read a comic based on true events and answers the questions below for extra credit. Remember, the more complete your answers, the better your grade.
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Note: Litigation is taking legal action, as in a lawsuit.
Critical Thinking: What does the artist mean by "we have entered the age of litigation?"
Describe in detail what happened to Stella Liebeck.
What action did Stella take as a result? How much was she asking for?
What was McDonald's counter offer?
How did Stella and her family respond to the counter offer?
Who did Stella claim was negligent? Why?
Who did McDonald's claim was negligent? Why?
What are two reasons McDonald's offered for why they did not owe Stella as much as she was asking for?
Defend your opinion. Who do you believe was actually negligent in this case? Explain your answer in detail. The better your explanation, the better your grade.
Learning Objective: Students will understand their rights if ever accused of a crime.
SuccessCriteria: Students can explain why the accused have so many protections & the importance of due process of law.
Today we will be looking at the rights of people accused of crimes. Let's take a closer look at the 8th Amendment, something extremely important if you're ever put on trial or found guilty.
To be on target to finish you should complete through pages 4 & 5 by the end of today.
I am offering extra credit for students who attend community events that I am at and approach me to get their name added to the list. Throughout the semester I will be announcing community events that I will be attending. Simply by attending the event and supplying me with adequate evidence that you were there will earn you AD on the Citizenship Standards C.12.14 Explain how political and social movements move public opinion & government support and C.12.10 Identify ways people participate in community affairs & the political process.
The first such event that I will attend will be as follows:
Save Public Schools
Community Strategy Session
Saturday, February 7th
9am - 12:30pm
MATC Downtown Campus
7th & State
Bring your parents and let them know if they RSVP (let the organizers know they will be there ahead of time) free childcare and pizza lunch will be provided.
RSVP by clicking the link below and filling out the electronic form, or call Lori Gall @ 414.861.8423.
Note: Students are encouraged to come to their own opinions on all issues and are encourage to come to me with different community events they would like to attend to show me they have meet these standards. Possible events could include: School Board Meetings, Common Council Meetings, Town Hall Meetings, Political Rallies (for any political party), volunteering for a community in some way. As long as it is run by me first and you are able to prove you were there I will give you credit for going above and beyond the curriculum.
Looking to know more about drones and your right to due process? Watch the video below to hear our former Attorney General explain our President's philosophy.
All grades have been posted for the semester. You can check you grades online on Infinite Campus, or you check your grades when you return to class on the front board. All grades are posted in the class period you had me last semester.
New semester starts Monday. No grades from Semester 1 carry over to Semester 2 so everyone starts fresh in my grade book. Many of you did not pass Semester 1, let's start over and focus on the new semester!
Oh, and you may have noticed the countdown timer to the right of this post. It is counting down to you next unit test. We're hitting the ground running!
Welcome to your Semester 1 final exam for Citizenship. Silence your phones now!!!
Please turn in your Federal Courts Packet & Take Home Exam Questions into my basket now.
You may have 2 note cards front and back or 1 sheet of paper with notes 1 side only on your desk.
Do not write on the question packet, only write on your answer sheet.
Phones must remain away until your exam is in my hand.
Phones out, any talking, etc will be treated as cheating.
You will have 1 hour and 15 minutes to complete this exam.
When you are finished double & triple check your answers. When you are satisfied that is is the best you can possibly raise your hand and quietly wait until it is collected. You may then QUIETLY play on your phone and/or work on a word search I will provide you.
A quick reminder to you all, exams start this week. Make sure that you complete and turn in both the federal courts system packet we have been working on for the last 2 weeks as well as you take-home portion of the exam. They are due when you come in for your exam. They will not be accepted late.
Learning Objective: Students will understand the far reaching effects Supreme Court decisions can have on our country.
Success Criteria: Students can defend their opinion regarding the Court's decision in Plessy v. Ferguson.
Legal concepts to know about
Innocent until proven guilty
Equal protection under the law
Warning: there are some disturbing historical pictures in this video. Remember that much of it become legalized due to in large part to the majority opinion in the Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson which set a dangerous precedent.
Reminder: Packets due day of the exam. Take home exam questions due day of exam.
Today: To be on target for finishing you should read page 11, answer questions on page 12
Learning Objective: Students will understand the purpose of the Supreme Court.
Success Criteria: Students can explain the concept and importance of judicial review.
Marbury v. Madison
Principals of Judicial Review
The Constitution is the supreme law of the land.
If a law contradicts the Constitution, the Constitution wins.
The judicial branch gets to decide what does and does not contradict the Constitution.
Take Home Portion of Final Exam
Will be handed out during work time in class and will be due the day of your final exam. Reminder: It will be worth 25% of your final exam grade. Answers should be your own and in complete sentences. Any copying will result in a 0 for the entire take home portion of the exam.
You asked for it, so here it is: Games with completely no educational value to them whatsoever! The catch you ask? In order to keep playing you have to answer review questions for the final exam. Give them a try and see how you do!
Like flappy bird? Try this!
How about this?
Other games can be found here!
(Warning: the first game you'll see is not a review game. It is an advertisement)
As you are aware there is no school tomorrow Thursday, January 7th (YAY!!!!!!!). However, that doesn't mean you can't study for the final exam!
Feel free to play the Who Wants to be a Millionaire game and create your own flash cards out of the questions and answers (the link is on the right hand side of the website), or create flash cards out of the questions and answers from today's practice test.
What's that? You weren't here today (you had good reason due to the cold). The practice test can be found by clicking the image below!
Flash cards can be made by taking squares of paper or index card (note cards) and writing the question on one side and the answer on the other. Once you have made a set of them (about 20 is good to start) quiz yourself, read the questions and see if you can answer it. If you can successfully answer it multiple times, odds are you got the answer memorized and you can put the card aside. If you can't then keep it in your stack until you can.
Once you've completed this create a new set of cards with new questions and answers and repeat until you no longer need any cards. If there are questions that you can't remember the answer to no matter what, that's a good sign you should put it on a note card to use on the final exam!
The first review game to help you prepare for your final exam is now live. Click on the image below to test your knowledge of vocabulary words we learned this semester.
The in-class portion of the final will consist of 106 multiple choice questions, 38 of them will be vocabulary words.
In my travels across the internet I've discovered a site with lots of games to play that will help you review many of the ideas we've been learning about this past semester. Check out the site by clicking the image below and give it a try and enjoy!
Greetings 9th grade civics students! With the end of winter break approaching we'll soon see each other again on January 5th. Hopefully you've been enjoying your time away from school and are re-charging your batteries as we head into the end of the semester. With finals fast approaching many of you are still badly in need of getting your grades up. Remember to check your grades on Infinite Campus which you can now access from the Infinite Campus button to the right side of this page.
Keeping this in mind I am now offering several extra credit assignments for you to choose from. These assignments will offer you extra opportunities to show me you have meet some of the standards I have been assessing all semester. Depending on how you are currently doing on those standards, how many of these assignments you do, and HOW WELL YOU DO THEM, these extra opportunities COULD boost your grade.
If you choose to do these make sure you actually do your best on them. This is one of your last chances to get your grades up.
Directions: You may do only 5 of these assignments, I will not accept more than 5. You will have until Monday, January 12th, 2015 to email me your answers or turn them in in person.
Here are your assessment options:
Watch the movie 13 Days based on true events and answer the questions that can be found here. Sadly it is no longer streaming on Youtube or Netflix, but you can still find it at your local library (or if you're creative online).
Read the adapted article "Why Millennials Love the Federal Government, But Loathe President Obama" and answer the attached questions. The handout can be found here.
Read any of the following articles and fill out a question sheet for each one. The questions sheet can be found here. These articles have been adapted to be at an 8th grade reading level or below. You may pick up to 5 of these articles, each article will count as 1 extra assignment.
As we return to school we will be studying the Supreme Court. As part of our group packet we will taking a look at the landmark Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson from 1830 CE. In class we will only be looking briefly at it in our group packets. However, if you are looking for extra credit you might want to consider doing this packet that closely analyzes the decision. Directions are included on the first page of this packet.
This will count as one of the five extra credit assignments I will accept from you before the cut-off date. If done properly it can really help your grade.
The free speech through music assignment posted on this page. You may do that assignment only once.
This assignment will count as 1 of the 5 extra credit assignments you are allowed to turn in. You may only do this assignment once.
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The 1st Amendment grants us all the right to free speech, even if what you have to say is something others don't like. Speech is not just spoken words, it can also be music.
Music is a powerful force in our lives, but far too often the music we hear on the radio is only about superficial things or send negative messages to us. Music can and should be about more than just money, cars, drugs, and sex.
Love songs send a more positive message, but let's explore how music can be used to express your opinions as well.
Directions: Pick at least three (3) videos on this page and listen/read the lyrics. Fill out the worksheet provide for you to help you show your analysis of the messages of these songs.
Rap/Hip Hop
Flobots – Stand
Up
Flobots - Mayday
Flobots - Anne Braden
Flobots - Superhero
Flobots - Circle in the Square
Macklemore - Same Love
Arrested Development - Mr. Wendell
Michael
Franti and Spearhead - Light Up Ya Lighter
Lowkey - Obama Nation
Lowkey - Terrorist?
Lowkey - Keep Your Hand on Your Gun
The Coup - Ride the Fench
Public Enemy - Fight the Power
Public Enemy featuring Brother Ali - Get Up, Stand Up
