home

=Welcome to AndrewsEdu!=

Mrs. Andrews E-mail: jandrews@mckasd.net
Room 140 Text: Magruder’s American Government – 2009 Text Website: Teacher Website: andrewsedu.wikispaces.com

Description: In Honors Government you will study the institutions, groups, beliefs, ideas and practices of our government and political system. This is a course designed for the self-motivated student that wants a challenging class and is willing to put in the necessary work. This class will help you to gain a better understanding of how our governmental system works and the role that politics plays in it.

Expectations: Since this is an Honors Course, you will be held to a higher standard of performance. **Expect a great deal of reading, writing and thinking**. You are expected to have your reading assignments completed **BEFORE** the topic is discussed in class. Considerable time will be devoted to writing essays, projects, presentations, and the Socratic Seminar.

Teacher Website and Nicenet Nicenet is a very basic and free class communication program that will be used for the Honors Government Course. It is an easy system that allows students to communicate with others as well as myself. Nicenet Website will be very helpful when working on group assignments. It also has a message board feature that we will use for online discussions. The only way a person gets onto our site is with a code so you don’t have to worry about strangers using it.

Current Events: We will discuss current events in class on a daily basis. It is essential that you have knowledge of the events shaping our world and the current workings of our government. Students are expected to read newspapers and watch the news at home in order to be informed on events and issues that affect all of us. Students are expected to participate in class discussions and voice opinions. It is okay to voice opinions that classmates may disagree with. This is after all a course about politics. **This is not optional**, **it is required** and you will be quizzed on current events. Here are some other suggested sources for you to watch and read: q Newspapers: Washington Post, NY Times, USA Today, Cleveland Plain Dealer, any other that you have access to q Magazines: Newsweek, Time, U.S. News, The Nation, National Review q TV: CBS, ABC, or NBC Evening news, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, Meet the Press, Face the Nation, C-Span, etc. q Internet: Virtually limitless sources

Requirements: 1. Daily attendance is important! If you are frequently absent this class is not for you. 2. You will have numerous reading assignments from the text and other sources. 3. Students are expected to take notes from readings and lectures 4. Tests and Quizzes will account for over 50% of your grade. Some quizzes will be unannounced. 5. Essays, research assignments, projects, Socratic Seminars and other activities will also account for a major portion of your grade 6. Class participation is required. Students will be graded on class participation.

Required Daily Supplies: Textbook Three ring binder notebook for notes and handouts Pen or pencil Failure to bring required materials will adversely affect your participation grade.

Progress Book: Grades can be checked on Edline by parents and students. I input grades as assignments are graded. However, realize that tests and major assignments take a longer time to grade than other assignments so don’t expect them to be online the next day. I encourage students and parents to check grades weekly. Please contact me with any questions.

Grades: Approximate grade breakdown of Content Mastery q Tests and Quizzes Tests will be a combination of objective and essay. q Projects/Papers Projects will vary each semester depending on National Events, but will be in depth and require both research and analysis q Homework graded for completion q Nicenet posts q Class Participation <span style="display: block; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msobidifontsize: 10.0pt; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msolist: Ignore;">q Limited Extra-credit

Late Assignments: Late work will generally not be accepted. Under an unusual circumstance that I choose to accept late work it will be marked down 50%.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; msobidifontsize: 10.0pt;">Make Up Policy: __Homework__ - Attendance is very important so makeup work should be rare. Any work assigned before an absence is due on the 1st day back. If you are absent it is YOUR responsibility to ask for your makeup work upon your return. Make-up work due to absence will be accepted without penalty up to the number of days a student was absent (maximum 3 days). Work missed due to class cuts or suspension CANNOT be made up. __Tests and Quizzes__ - Tests are announced at least several days in advance. **Any student that is absent on the day of a test will make up the test the day they return to class. The test will be taken at a time specified by the teacher. A student who is absent the day before a test will still be required to take the test on the assigned day**. The only exception to this will be if a student missed 3 consecutive days leading up to a test; only then will a student be offered the option of taking a makeup test at a later date.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; msobidifontsize: 10.0pt;">Classroom Rules: <span style="display: block; font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· The fundamental rule is that I expect everyone in the classroom to treat each other with respect. In this class you are encouraged to **participate in discussions and share opinions**. You don't have to agree with all actions or statements made by fellow students or myself, but if you disagree, you must do so respectfully. <span style="display: block; font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· The school policy on tardies, dress code, hall passes, etc. will be enforced. <span style="display: block; font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· Come prepared for class everyday. Repeated failure to bring your necessary materials will adversely affect your grade and may result in disciplinary measures.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; msobidifontsize: 10.0pt;">Academic Honesty: All academic work is expected to be the legitimate, truthful work of each student. Cheating and Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Students that allow others to copy their work are equally guilty. If you violate this policy you will receive a **0** on the assignment, your parents will be contacted and you may be referred to the office. You will also lose my respect. **Do not plagiarize!** Always give credit where it is due.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; msobidifontsize: 10.0pt;">Very Active Student Rule: Many of you are very active in a variety of school activities and I applaud you for your involvement. However you signed up for this course and are expected to be in attendance. If you need to miss this class for a required school activity, I require advance notification. You will also be responsible for anything missed and be prepared for class the following day.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; msobidifontsize: 10.0pt;">Assistance: If you need extra assistance to succeed in this class, **ASK !!!** If you don't ask for help, I won’t know that you are having difficulty until your grades begin to show it. I will be available before and after school by appointment. You can also e-mail me at: jandrews@mckasd.net


 * Unit Outline **

In this unit you will study the documents and political theories that led to the development of the United States Constitution. We will look at the period leading up to the Constitutional Convention both from a historical and political perspective. You will read and analyze core documents to gain an understanding of the political climate in which the Constitution was written.
 * 1. Foundations of American Government **

This unit will be composed of an in depth study of our nation’s most important document. We will study the Constitutional Convention and the framers of the document. You will then complete a detailed set of worksheets that will require you to read every word. By the time you take your test over this unit you will be clear on what is in this document, what is not and why. We will explore the principles contained in the document such as popular sovereignty, separation of powers and federalism.
 * 2. **** U.S. **** Constitution **

3. Political Culture and Political Parties This will be a complex unit that delves into subjects including political attitudes, political opinions, ideology, political parties and elections. You will learn about the factors that influence your political attitudes. We will explore political ideology and study political parties both from a historical and practical perspective. You will learn how campaigns and elections are conducted and your role in them. The topic of campaign finance will also be discussed.

4. Interest Groups and Media You will study how Interest Groups and the Media impact the policy and the political climate in this country. We will explore the role that Interest Groups play and look at the different types of groups that exist. We will also study the role of the Media today and how it has evolved as an influential factor in the political arena.


 * This will be a major assignment that you will be working on during the 1st Quarter. You will be required to observe, compare and analyze either 2 newspapers or 2 television news channels over a month long period. You will produce a paper compiling your observations, address a series of questions and form conclusions (which you will support!).

5. Congress In this unit you will learn about the United States Congress, its structure, operations and the legislative process. We will look at the power structure of the Congress and the role that political parties play in it. You will study the legislative process in detail. We will also study congressional agencies and the various powers of Congress.

6. Executive Branch The focus of this unit will be the Presidency. We will look at the evolving power of the office and the various roles the President plays in our government. We will also look at the vast bureaucracy by studying the Cabinet and other executive agencies.


 * You will survey a group of people representing different demographic groups and compare their views about U.S. Presidents from the last century. You will explore what factors people use to determine presidential greatness or failure. You will analyze the data and use it to support your conclusions.

7. Public Policy In this unit you will put together what you have learned about the Congress, the Executive Branch, Interest Groups and Political Parties to learn about how governmental policies are developed. We will study how these institutions together impact economic, military and social policy.

8. Judiciary, Civil Liberties and Rights We will complete the course by studying how the third branch of government functions with our focus being on the Supreme Court. We will study the process and learn about key cases. You will learn what your Supreme Court has ruled on numerous controversial and interesting topics and we will use these as the basis for class discourse.

rss url="http://www.usnews.com/rss/news/index.rss" link="true" description="true" number="10" date="true" enclosure="true"