S+Glidden,+Elizabeth

Office Hours:** **E-mail:** elizabeth.glidden@maine.edu
 * Teacher:** Ms. Elizabeth Glidden
 * Office:**
 * Office Phone:

=Summary of Unit= This unit was developed for students to gain an understanding of the United States Constitution, the reason behind its creation, and the adjustments that have followed its creation. It is also developed in the hopes that students will explore the modern political atmosphere and gain awareness of the political world. Students will work in groups to complete a video to inform the American Public about the Constition and the American Government. The video will be a modern presentation. Students will have various chances to explore other venues prior to the final movie such as a blog or a radio show. It aligns with MLR Standard B: Civics and Governments B1: Knowledge, Concepts, Themes, and Patterns of Civic/Government Part d: being able to describe the purpose, structures, and processes of the American Political System.

=Establish Goals= Maine Learning Results: Social Studies: B :Civics and Governments B1 Knowledge, Concepts, Themes, and Patterns of Civic/Government Grade 9-Diploma Students understand the ideals, purposes, principles, structures, and processes of constitutional government in the United States system, as well as examples of other forms of government and political systems in the world. d. Describe the purpose, structures, and processes of the //American political system//

= = =Students will understand that= •The fears that lead the Founding Fathers to set up the government we have. •The three branches of the U.S. Government have specific purposes and focuses. •The U.S. Constitution sets up ways for the branches to be regulated.

= = =Essential Questions= •Why did the Founding Fathers set up the government we have? •How does our government work? •How is our government regulated?

= = =Students will know= •Vocabulary: judiciary, executive, legislative, amendments, impeachment, Bill of Rights •Critical Details: At least 9 checks and balances, interaction between branches, key differences in political parties, Third Party influences •Important Events and People: Marbury v. Madison, Roe v. Wade, George Washington, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Henry Clay, John Marshall

= = =Students will be able to= •d. Describe the purpose, structures, and processes of the American Political System •Make meaning of how our government is set up. •Solve the problems of the Articles of Confederation using the Constitution •Analyze the ways to modify the American Constitution/ Government •Consider reasons for impeachment •Be aware of the specific purposes and focuses of the branches of government

**Performance Task Overview** Dear Tim Russert, Bob Scheiffer, Chris Wallace, and YOU, I have selected you from the top of the top. You are the leading political talk show hosts from NBC, CBS, FOX, and the Maine Broadcasting Network and I'm counting on you to solve the situation. I have come to a recent realization that the American public lacks an understanding of the American Government. I'm counting on you four to produce an non-bias alert to be sent to schools across our great nation to help educate the communities around them about the American Constitution and its accompanying documents. I'm hoping you all will put a modern twist on to our historic document and make it really POP for the American Public. Your first viewing will be a select group of Senators who are really anticipating this video as they feel their constituents really need to understand the mumble jumble the Senators fling out there sometimes. You'll have the opportunity to discuss your process before the Senators view this so be prepared!

I'm counting on you, President Obama

=Expectations= If a student is absent for any reason you must contact the teacher regarding this absence within two days of your absence. A student who is absence is required to make up their work in a time set by the teacher. Homework that was due the day of your absence __will be due__ the day you next come to class. Graded material, such as a test, must be made up within __one week__ of the missed test. That excludes students who missed more than a week. I do wish to thank you for you absence if you are ill because you have done myself and your class a favor!
 * Attendance**

Participation is key to learning and is therefore key in the classroom. Students are expected to not only attend class but be prepared for the class which includes classroom materials (textbooks, notebooks, paper, pencils, and ect.) and completed homework (including any assigned readings or tasks) so you can participate. This class includes a large amount of discussion and students are expected to be curteous to their peers and teachers during these discussions. Some discussions will have a participation grade (Check minus, check, and check plus) and an absent student will receive a check for the discussion.
 * Participation**

**Plagiarism** Plagiarism is an extremely serious violation of trust in this classroom, as well as federal law. It will not be accepted. Any projects turned in that are in violation will not be graded and you will be reported to the Administration regarding your violation. This class will accept most forms of citation: Chicago, MLA, or APA are preffered. If you are not sure if you should cite something cite it any ways as you will most likely be doing yourself a favor.

=Benchmarks= In this unit there are **250 possible points** to be earned. These are earned though the completion and grading of assignments as well as class participation. The points earned by the student will be added up and the final grade for the unit will be the precentage of points earned towards 250 points.

Students are expected to participate in the classroom activities. The learning environment is one to included group learning. Students should talk during class discussion as well as be respectful to their classmates. 15points
 * •Class Parcipitation: 25** points

During several assignments students are asked to post to their blog. They will earn the full 10 points if each post is made. The 10 points will be divided up amongst the requested posts to earn portions of the 10 points.

The students will create a blog, discuss what they have learned, and then pose a new question to my blog. The students must also comment about other students' blogs. The blogs will be graded using a check list. The check list will detail each part to be included in the blog and how many points it will be.
 * •Blog:** 20 points

The Students will make a poster, using Globster, to advertise an impeachment of one of the three presidents that have been tried. This is an individual project. It is expected to be digitally created using Globster. It is expected to contain correct information and be a reflection of the time during which the president was tried.
 * •Poster:** 30 points

Students will explore how the government is **currently** set up and illustrate it in a ComicLife creation that will be printed off and brought to class. The Comic Life will be a booklet of the current government and who they people are. It should include the ways each office is selected, who's there currently, their view points, and pictures. Students are encouraged to be creative in their wording.
 * •ComicLife:** 40 points

The students will create a radio show to discuss how they were asked by President Obama to create a modern way to introduce the United States Goverment as well as a little sample of their film. This sample will be over specific purposes of the branches of government and how they interact. This is a chance for the group to build some thoughts towards their imovie presenation. This should be formated simmilar to a radio interview.
 * •GarageBand Radioshow:** 40 points

[] The students will complete this web quest with their group focusing on the ways the Constitution corrects errors made in the Articles of Confederation. It will result in a class debate. The points will come in a form of notes about your groups information. You will be in your group for your imovie.
 * •Webquest:** 30 points

The students will create an imovie to explain the U.S. Constitution and Government to the modern public. This will include a presentation as the famous political talkshow hosts that you acted as to a small group of United States Senators. This will be the completion of your assignment from President Obama. It should catch the American publics eye.
 * •iMovie:** 65 points

=Grading Scale= **A** (93 -100), **A-** (90 - 92), **B+** (87 - 89), **B** (83 - 86), **B-** (80 - 82), **C+**(77 - 79), **C** (73-76), **C-** (70 - 72), **D+**(67 - 69), **D** (63 - 66), **D-** (60 - 62), **F** (0 - 59)