Advanced Placement US Government & Politics that only through an educated populace can democracy really work Thomas Jefferson

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1 Advanced Placement US Government & Politics that only through an educated populace can democracy really work Thomas Jefferson Instructor: Dan Telgenhof This will be my 18 th year teaching in Holland Public Schools with the last 10 coming at Holland High. I am a graduate of Holland High School and the University of Michigan with a degree in History and Social Sciences. I am married with three daughters and coach basketball for HPS. Phone Number: (fifth hour planning period 1:00 2:00pm) dtelgenh@hollandpublicschools.org Textbook: George C. Edwards III, Martin P. Wattenberg, and Robert L. Lineberry, Government in America: People, Politics, and Policy, Pearson Longman. Twelfth Edition, A.P. Edition Copyright 2006 Reader: Peter Woll, Editor, American Government, Readings and Cases, Pearson Longman. Sixteenth Edition Copyright 2006 Textbook companion website: AP Gov National website: united states government and politics Google Classroom our daily activities and assignments will be posted on this site. It will be our way to check our daily lessons, calendar, and receive and turn in assignments. Google Site Files will be stored here as well as helpful links and more. This is a great place for studying and for parents to be involved and see what we are doing. I will even post student work here for parents and students to view. A kind of virtual bulletin board. telgenhof hhs/home Twitter follow me on Twitter for class updates and photos no worries I will not follow you Prototype classroom: A few years ago I was chosen by the district to pilot a prototype 21 st Century Learning classroom. This room will not be a sit and get classroom. You will be engaged! We will be focusing on 21 st Century Learning skills of critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, and communication. We will be using a variety of new technologies and strategies as well as seating and grouping flexibility to meet these goals as we learn our curriculum. In AP Government it specifically means we will be working to answer the driving question IS OUR DEMOCRACY DOOMED? This will be accomplished by answering

2 several smaller driving questions that are unit specific but lead us back to our main question. Each unit will help lead us through attributes of project based instruction to our ultimate goal of answering our question and publishing our findings and results. Outside of tests (and even some of those) we are as paperless as possible. Please refer to edmodo, and parent/student portal to keep up to date. All of our work will be posted along with powerpoints, presentations, and more when applicable. General Syllabus Notes: The purpose of this syllabus is to provide a basic framework for the AP Government and Politics Course for the school year. Grading Policy Grading will occur through a point system. Every activity or assessment you complete will be worth a certain amount of points. Assessments will be worth 90% of your marking period grade and homework or activities will constitute 10% of said grade. Furthermore, your final grade is a combination of 80% marking period and 20% final exam. As I enter the grades into Infinite Campus (our computing program) it will automatically calculate your current grade. You can keep up with your progress through parent portal. If you ever have any questions feel free to ask. As always grades are earned and not given. Each assignment will have a rubric or clearly stated expectation as to what helps you earn all of the points possible. There should be no surprises as a student can check their grade at any time. As is school policy there is no extra credit available. Our grading scale is as follows. 94% = A 90 93% = A 87 89% = B % = B 80 82% = B Down to 60% being the lowest passing grade. The percents will be rounded based on conventional rounding rules. So, for example, a 79.5% would be considered a B, not a C+. On assessments students will be able to retake during the first semester only. Retakes will be allowed for students who have a 79.9% or lower grade on a particular assessment. The best score will be given to the students up to 80%. During the second semester there will be no retakes as we get closer to the AP exam. Tests will also become Progressive meaning they will take information from past units and apply them to current tests. Rules and Expectations Be responsible with assignments, tardies, absences, school policy, and behavior. Show respect we do a lot of discussion so you must learn to respect (not always agree with) each other. Try you will never regret working hard and seeing what you can achieve. Have fun stay engaged and participate and you will find the class much more enjoyable Show HHS PRIDE remember the rubric and practice it daily.

3 September Week 1 (3.5 days) Getting to know HHS and AP Gov Introduce Course spill over from week one syllabus, expectations, books, etc. AP reminders test dates, costs, expectations, reviews, college board website, etc. Why do we govern? Unit 1 How Should We Govern? (Edwards, Ch. 1) Theories of Democracy Is Compromise a Dirty Word? Unit 2 Constitution (Edwards, Ch. 2) (Woll Ch. 1 Locke) Historical Background Parliament, Magna Carta, Dec. of Ind., Revolution, Art. Of Conf., Const. Conv. John Locke and Madison comparisons Agenda in Philly Ratifying Current Events and Vocab Week 4 (5days) Is the Constitution still working? Constitution Day check national website for Constitutional Quiz compare answers with the rest of the national statistics discuss power and longevity of Constitution. Bill of Rights examples and violations Amendments real world examples Process for Change Amend., National Conv., etc. Constitution Test How to FRQ and study for MC tests! Two part tests FRQ 2 3 Day One/ MC 60 Day Two October What level of government should do what? Unit 3 Federalism (Edwards, Ch. 3) (Woll, Ch. 2) Separation of Powers Recipe Analogy Supremacy Clause Current Events and Vocab What food is federalism most like? Federalism Continued

4 Intergovernmental Relations Today Federalist Papers Comparison Test MC Test and FRQ Test Who do you represent? How do you want to be represented? Unit 4 Congress (Edwards, Ch. 12) (Woll, Ch. 8 and Political Zoo Reading) Representatives and Senators typical rep and senator day Political Zoo activity/my Congress Game Vocab and Current Events Week 4 (5 days) Is Congress Working for us? Why all of the complaints? Congress Contined Congressional elections PAC s, media incumbents Organization of Congress for making laws committees, leadership, etc. Week 5 (5 days) How a bill becomes a law simulation music video Congress simulation Political Zoo excerpts November Finish up Congress and Unit Test Day 1 MC Day 2 FRQ PT Conferences Unit 5 Presidency (Edwards, Ch 13) Intro How do you like your presidents? Strong or weak? bully pulpit, veto, signing statements,etc. What does the President do and what powers does the office hold? Comparing presidents and the office over time research project! What should a president look like and what should they do? Continue Presidency Research Project Historical relevance typical president? Advisors and Cabinet Vocab and Current Events Week 4 (3 days) Thanksgiving Week Executive Branch Wrap up and Test

5 Day One MC 60 points Day Two FRQ 2 3 December Is your budget balanced? Unit 6 Budget (Edwards Ch. 14) Roles of OMB, president, CBO, etc Journal on current budget/personal budget Budget simulation balance the budget What stays and what goes? Balanced Budget presentations and Unit Tests Two Days MC and FRQ How do we cut through the red tape? Unit 7 Bureaucracy (Edwards Ch. 15) Civil Service Exam Cut through the red tape activity Public vs. private bureaucracies Quiz Bureucracy January Courts are like pizza several sizes leading up to Supreme! Unit 8 The Courts (Edwards, Ch. 16) Nature and Structure of the Judicial System from District to Supreme Judicial Selection Judges and justices Is the court system democratic/representative? Judicial Review and Influences on the SC Famous cases and begin Moot court Exam Week review and take exams Week 4 (5 days) Finish Moot Court simulationa Unit Test Two Days, FRQ and MC

6 February What are my rights? Unit 9 Civil Liberties and Public Policy (Edwards, Ch. 4) (Woll, Ch. 3) (see list of 30 important supreme court cases to be handed out and assigned on Day 1 this week) Bill of Rights Then and Now Fourteenth Amendment Freedom of Religion first Amendment, establishment clause, wall of seperation, TJ Freedom of Expression symbolic speech, prior restraint, free press vs. free trial, obscenity, libel, slander Commercial Speech FTC, FCC, assembly Review Current cases with past cases you be the judge activity Vocab and Current Events Week 2 Defendants Rights Fifth Amend., Miranda, Sixth Amend., Eighth Amend. 14 th Amend, Due Process Right to Privacy Roe v. Wade, 4 th amend., Due Process Understanding Civil Liberties and the ACLU Unit Test Day 1 Multiple Choice Unit Test Day 2 Free Response Unit 10 Civil Rights and Public Policy (Edwards, Ch. 5) (Woll, Ch. 3) (See list of Supreme Court Cases and presentation project for this unit similar setup to last unit Childrens Book) Race, The Constitution, and Public Policy 13 th Amend., Affirmative Action Women, the Constitution, and Public Policy 19 th Amend., comparable worth, ACLU Locke and the Federalists revisited Mini Unit Test Free Response Only Vocab and Current Events Week 4 (5 days) Unit Test Day 1 MC Unit Test Day 2 FRQ Vocab and Current Events March Week 1, 2, and 3 (15 days) plus PT Conferences this month Why do more people vote in American Idol than our elections? How can we have a say in politics and government? Is anyone listening? Unit 11 Media, Political Parties, and Public Opinion

7 Mini lessons filled with work time for Is Democracy Doomed large project Mass Media Today Socialization Project This unit we will begin work on our main project which is the creation of a group either political party or interest group which helps us answer our main driving question of whether or not our democracy is doomed? Either group you begin creating will help add to or fix our nation based on your answer. April and last week of March Week 1, 2, 3 and 4 (20 25days) Unit 12 Interest Groups (Edwards Ch 11) Pick Groups Research Develop your groups and invite guests for presentations IS DEMOCRACY DOOMED? May All of May is spent on Review for National Exam After the Test we will decide upon a group project of our choosing. Think community service or mock trial or community current event etc. Please note: The AP Test for this course will be Tuesday May 10, I will begin a series of review sessions beginning three weeks after the completion of this course. We will discuss as a group what works best and will set up a schedule accordingly. These sessions are by no means mandatory and will not affect your grade in the course in any way.