HW 2/4

Homework tonight:

Read Chapter 11 in the book.  Pages 322-350 and do the key terms.

HW for 12/18

The Final Countdown... T-minus 3 school days to the Holiday Break...

You might want to flip through your new textbook to help you - the index will be particular helpful - or just use the Internet.

Define:
1.  elastic/necessary and proper clause
2.  commerce clause
3.  supremacy clause
4.  reserved powers
5.  enumerated powers
6.  implied powers
7.  bicameral legislature
8.  judicial review

Now, take a look at the Bill of Rights (first 10 amendments to the Constitution) and write a sentence for each amendment summarizing what it means in your own words.

That's it for now!  See you guys on Thursday.

HW and Test

Hey guys, I'll have copies of this for you tomorrow along with the sources, but this is the next two homework assignments (reading and questions) and then your first test assignment. 

 

 

Part 1:  Federalist No. 10, James Madison (attached) – Please complete for 11/26

 

Read Federalist No. 10 and then answer the following questions.  Please complete each response in a paragraph or two.

 

 

·        What is a faction?  Why are factions a problem in government?  What are the two methods for curing the mischiefs of faction?  What are the two methods for removing the causes of faction?

 

·        To what extent will enlightened leadership solve the problems of factions?  Why does Madison put more trust in the leaders than the people?  

 

·        Why does a republic do a better job of controlling the effects of faction than a pure democracy?  Why does a large republic do a better job of controlling the effects of faction than a small republic?

 

·        If you were an anti-federalist, what are some arguments that you might make against Federalist 10?

 

 

Part 2:  Excerpts from Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville (attached) – Please complete for 11/28

 

Read the excerpts from Democracy in America and then answer the following questions.  Please complete each response in a paragraph or two.

 

·        What does Tocqueville mean when says that “everyone is the best and sole judge of his own private and that society has no right to control a man's actions unless they are prejudicial to the common welfare”?  What do you think the term common welfare means?

 

·        What is the “Spirit of New England” and what values does that represent?

 

·        What does Tocqueville mean by the term “Centralization”?  What are its pros and cons?

 

 

 

Test:  Response Paper – Due on 11/30

 

You should prepare a paper in which you answer the questions below having read both of the above sources.  You should use evidence from each of these documents to justify your answers (because it is good practice and sound writing).  Your paper should be 2-3 pages.  When citing from the documents, please use your MHS Style Guide for guidelines and help.  Feel free to include additional articles or resources to help you to prepare your paper.

 

Questions for paper assignment –

 

1.     What is Madison’s view of human nature? Does he think human beings are essentially good or bad? How does his answer to this question influence his approach to government?

 

2.     Is Madison arguing in favor of majority rule or against it? Does he trust the masses to make enlightened choices or not? How does his answer to this question influence his approach to government?

 

3.     There was much debate about whether the United States need a strong federal government (federalists) or strong local governments and autonomy (anti-federalists).  Do you think Tocqueville would be a federalist or anti-federalist?  Why?

 

4.     This debate about the role, power and authority that the federal government should have continues today.  What contemporary political issues demonstrate this tension?  Why?

HW for 4/29

Due Tuesday, 5/3:  Read the last chapter and do the terms.  We are going to go over it briefly in class on Tuesday and then work through practice questions.  Also, make sure you get the Review Assignment done for Tuesday.

HW for 4/25 and 4/27 - Amended

HOMEWORK CALENDAR – as of 4/25

For Wednesday 4/27: 
-  Finish class assignment – see me with questions.
-  Read pgs. 564-585 and do the terms on Pg. 585


For Friday 4/29:
-  Read pgs. 588-612 and do the terms on Pg. 612.
-  Read pgs. 615-651 and do the terms on Pg. 651. 

Optional Review Session:

Sunday, May 1^st – 10:30am to 12:30pm – MHS Teacher’s Lounge

HW for April Vacation

•  Reading: Pgs. 540-561, do the terms on Pg. 561. 

•  Prepare flashcards/study guide for Bill of Rights, Constitutional Amendments, and Must Know Cases.

•  Purchase, if you haven’t already, a review guide and start studying.

An apology and a new calendar

Two of your fine classmates stopped by yesterday afternoon to chit-chat and brought up the fact that I've been remiss in updating the blog.  They were absolutely correct.  Sorry.  I'm glad that some of you are using it to check in on assignments, etc., and I know that it's easier for some of you to get homework calendars and reminders on here versus in class.  I'll redouble my efforts now that we are into Quarter 3.

IMPORTANT - SAVE THE DATE!  We will be having our CAPT morning review session on Friday, March 18th.  We're still working out where this will take place, but I'll be bringing coffee, juice and some other breakfast items for you.  We've got from 7:30 to 10:30am, which is a long stretch of time, but we will take a few breaks and some time to enjoy breakfast.  Please mark the date in your calendars/planners/cell phones now.

AP Government – Course Calendar
2/28-3/4

M	Tu	W	Th	F
	State of the Union and setting policy agendas.  EQ:  How go political goals mesh with the national interest? HW:  Read Pgs. 434-463, and do the terms on Pg. 463.		The Budget. EQ:  How does the budget reflect our national goals and mood? HW due:  Terms from Pg. 463. HW:  Read Pgs. 466-500, and do the terms on Pg. 500.  I might have some additional reading questions for you too.

Note:  Next week’s calendar is going to be a little weird because of CAPT.  I’ll keep you appraised of what’s going on.  We are starting to get to crunch time, we’ve got to finish the Judiciary and then personal rights before the test.  If you are going to get a review guide to use, now might be the time to buy one if you haven’t already.  I would suggest going up through all of the stuff that we’ve done already.

Okay, that's all.  See you bright and early tomorrow morning!

Calendar 12/20-12/24

Monday

Tuesday Economics, Unions, and the Presidency; running for Congress HW due – past assignments.   HW – Start Review Guide for unit.  Finish any outstanding assignments from the past week.

Wednesday

Thursday Finish documentary HW due – past assignments – last break.   HW – Finish Review Guide for unit.  We will have a quiz on terms, concepts and ideas on 1/3.

Friday Enjoy your WINTER BREAK! J

Winter Break HW

I'm going to handout a homework assignment that many of you will choose to work on over the Winter Break.  For some reason, I can't figure out how to post it here.  Please shoot me an e-mail if you miss class and need a copy.  I can send it to you in Word or PDF format.

Revision to HW Calendar for 12/17

Hey guys, my bad about forgetting the handouts this morning, along with my socks, but I will make sure to have them for you on Friday.  We're going to finish the Frontline special about the health care debate, read through some articles about the debate going on right now, and then stage a class discussion about PACs, moving a bill through Congress, coalition building, etc.  We will still do a quiz on Tuesday, but it will be a short one and I will scale back the information on there.  I'll give you a good idea of what will be on it at the end of Friday's class.  I'll also have print copies of the calendar for next week. 

Thanks and see you on Friday.  :)

Mr. Jones

Homework for 12/13-12/17

M	Tu	W	Th	F
Continue political parties and elections.   HW due - Reading question from article.   HW - Read pages 269-294, and do the terms on Pg. 294.		Continue political parties and elections.   HW due – Pg. 294 terms.   HW – Read pages 296-320, and do the terms on Pg. 320.		Elections and voting behavior.   HW due - Pg. 320 terms.   HW – Study for quiz on Tuesday.

Homework for 12/1

Read pages 210-237 in the text, complete the terms on Pg. 237 and then answer the following questions:

1.  How does the government regulate the media?  How does that affect political reporting?
2.  How has narrowcasting affected the manner in which Americans get their news and, by extension, how that news is reported to them?  Has that change been net positive or negative?  Why?
3.  What is the impact of private ownership of the media?  What are the advantages to having the media in private hands?  What are the drawbacks?
4.  How does the media dictate the policy discussion for the government?

Calendar 11/29-12/3

AP Government – Course Calendar
11/29-12/3

M	Tu	W	Th	F
Media and politics.  We might start in on material about political parties. HW due – Terms from Pg. 208 (if you hadn’t handed them in yet) HW – Study for Quiz – Bill of Rights, Polling, and media.		Quiz – Bill of Rights, Polling, and media HW due – none. HW – Readings and questions will be provided in class.		PARTY TIME – Political parties.  Review Wednesday’s quiz. HW – Study for Culmulative Test on Tuesday.

No extra reading questions for tomorrow

Hi guys, I got an e-mail tonight from a student about the extra reading questions, and I realized then and there that I hadn't posted any of them, so don't worry about them for tomorrow.  If you are reading this before class, you would be one of the few that might be worried.  We actually kind of ended at a weird spot on Friday - we didn't finish all of the material for Friday's class and we are going to have to finish that first before starting on the material I've got ready for tomorrow - so we might end up adding those reading questions and making them due next week. 

Quiz Fun

I'm still finishing correcting the short answer questions - don't worry though, you will get the quizzes back tomorrow - but I finished all of the multiple choice questions.  The class average on the multiple choice is just under 80%, which is good given the fact that some of you said that they were difficult.  Also, some redemption for your lowly teacher: that question about being "popularly elected" was one of the reading questions and they talked about the evolution of the federal government to allow more input from popular election in the chapter.  So I wasn't crazy (about that), after all.  Whew. 

We are going to review some quizzing tips and strategies next time.  I'll have handouts for you in addition to the class notes.  If you missed the quiz or want a retake, see me.  Thanks and hope you are enjoying the only full week of school in November.  :)

Mr. Jones

Course Calendar, 11/15-11/26

AP Government – Course Calendar
11/15-11/27

M	Tu	W	Th	F
Quiz today – Federalism and other underpinnings of the constitution. HW due – Terms and reading questions HW – Read pages 68-96 but just do the terms on Pg. 96.  Note:  the first 10-15 pages of the chapter are kind of a review of what we have already gone over – so just skim there – and focus more on the new material.		Finish federalism and underpinnings.  Start Political Beliefs and Behaviors HW due – Terms HW – Read pages 98-104.  Make sure your Constitutional Fun handout is complete from the Quarter 1 work.		Political Beliefs and Behaviors HW  due – Constitutional Fun worksheet HW – Read pages 176-208.  Reading questions will be provided on the course blog.  Make sure to do the terms.
	Political Beliefs and Behaviors HW due – Pg. 208 terms and reading questions. HW – Start flashcards for the Bill of Rights and Federalism unit.	Half Day of School	Thanksgiving Day ENJOY THE TIME OFF!	No School DITTO!

Quiz on Monday

Study tips:  Review the all of the HW terms and cross check your definitions with those in the Powerpoint notes.  Some particularly important things to review...
-  Checks & Balances, how Madison perceived it, and how one branch of government works with another branch.
-  The need for the Constitution versus the Articles of Confederation
-  Federalists versus Antifederalists - how did they perceive a government should be organized?  Why?

Don't freak out!  You should know this stuff pretty well by now and you've got plenty of time to review.

Reading Questions for 11/10 HW

Okay, new experiment, we are going to try to save the school some green and be more green by having you utilize the blog to get tonight's reading questions.  The key terms on Pg. 66 also need to be completed.

Reading Questions (due on Monday, 11/15)
1.  What was Madison's original plan for the electorial process in the Constitution?  How has it changed over the years?
2.  Why was the Bill of Rights enacted?  What's in the Bill of Rights - what liberties do they seek to protect?

Also, DON'T FORGET TO STUDY FOR YOUR QUIZ ON MONDAY!  Have a great day off tomorrow and a good weekend.  Make sure to fit it sometime to go over the text, notes, and assignments.  - Jones

Revised Calendar for 11/1 - 11/12

AP Government – Course Calendar
11/1-11/12 (Revised on 11/6)

M	Tu	W	Th	F
First class – review grading rationale, class notes, and homework. HW – Election Assignment	Election Day – No School for you J		Constitutionalism and the founding of the American Republic.  Textbooks will be distributed HW due – Election Assignment; be prepared to talk about Q1 readings. HW – Reading and questions from text.
Continue federalism topic.  Review Federalist Papers 1, 47, 48, 51 as in class assignment. HW – Read pages 2-26 and answer the first two questions for Parts 1, 2 and 3 on Pg. 25.  Then, define the terms under the heading “Key Terms” on the bottom of Pg. 26.		Notes and review for quiz. HW due – Reading and questions from text. HW – Read pages 30-67 and do the key terms on Pg. 66.  You will be getting reading questions in class. Quiz on readings and notes on Monday 11/14.  STUDY!	Veterans’ Day – No school for us. J Today would be a good day to work on the homework and to study for your quiz on Monday!

Veterans Day

I forgot that Thursday, November 11th is Veterans Day, and thus we won't have school.  I will give you a revised homework and class calendar on Monday.  Please bring your books to class and make sure to get them covered.  I'll also post that calendar here on the blog for the curious over the weekend.

Also, make sure that you get any missing work into me as soon as possible.  REMINDER:  Monday, 11/8 is the last day to turn in the Quarter 1 Assignment.

Thanks!  Mr. Jones