Current Issues Project (5/21-6/1)

1.  Monday May 21st:  Discuss directions...choose topic and partner.  Start reading and taking notes on the articles for your topic.

2.  Tuesday May 22nd:  Finish reading the articles...and find an article for "Step 4" on the project packet.

3.  Wednesday May 23rd:  NYS STATE SCIENCE EXAM.  Regular classes will not be in session, but students may work on Steps 1-4, if they are behind.

4.  Thursday May 24th:  Complete Steps 4-5.  Start considering Steps 7-8...with remaining time.  Plan out what supplies you will need for TUESDAY'S class.  I'll supply markers, colored pencils, and straight edges.

5.  Tuesday May 29th - Wednesday May 30th:  In-class work days (Steps 7-8).

6.  Thursday May 31:  PROJECT DUE DATE.  Presentations begin...

Class Agenda

1. Bellringer:  Watch Brainpop on "Political Party Origins"... discuss.
2. Use a laptop to complete the "Modern Politics" handout
3. With the remaining time in class go to www.icivics.org/games....and on the back of your class work sheet...identify which game you played and explain what you learned from that game.

 HW - none

Class Agenda

1.  Bellringer:  What determination can you make about the chart?  Does this mean that Obama will lose his bid for re-election?  Explain.

2.  View clip.
3.  "Obama:  Pass or Fail?" Read article and complete the handout.
4.  Discuss results...

HW - finish Obama assignment

Class Agenda

1.  Bellringer:  Does a president's personal choices affect your opinion of him?  What if he is doing a good job running the nation?  Explain.
2.  Bill Clinton and George W. Bush's Presidencies.

• Bill Clinton Biography
• George W. Bush Biography and 9/11 clip

3.  How will history remember George W. Bush? As a good president, bad president, both?


HW - none

Class Agenda

1.  Bellringer:  Watch clip...What was Reagan's legacy as our nation's president?  What is meant by the title..."The Great Communicator?"
2.  Discuss the rise of Conservatism and the presidencies of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

HW - none

Class Agenda

1.  Bellringer:  Does the president have to play by the same rules as the rest of us?  Or should he have the power to do whatever he wants (if it helps keep us safe)?  Brain-pop...Richard Nixon.
2.  Presidents Nixon thru Carter

• Watergate and Nixon's pardon
• Iran Hostage Crisis

HW -

Class Agenda

1.  Bellringer:  Pass back old materials...review for Assessment
2.  Civil Rights Assessment
3.  Cesar Chavez Brain-pop

HW - none

Class Agenda

1.  Bellringer:  pg. 21-22
2.  Discuss the issues AFTER the Civil Rights legislation.  Civil Rights today?  Discuss President Obama's statement...

HW - Quiz tomorrow

Class Agenda

1.  Bellringer:  What type of roles does TV play in our society today?  List.  Bridge discussion to the importance of TV during the Civil Rights Era...
2.  View Civil Rights Highlights Clips (pg. 23).

• Clip 1
• Clip 2
• Clip 3
• Clip 4 & 5

3.  Based on the footage you saw in the clips...Why do you think TV was so important in the successes of the Civil Rights movement?  How was this similar to what we discussed about the TV and the Vietnam War?  How does Social Media play a similar role today?

HW -

Class Agenda

1.  Bellringer:  Contrast philosophies...how was Malcolm X different from Martin Luther King, Jr?
2.  Civil Rights Overview:  1.e - 1.k

HW - finish overview

Class Agenda

1.  Bellringer:  Martin Luther King, Jr Brain-pop.  What technique to MLK, Jr use to try to change our nation?
2.  Class Activity:  pg. 2.  View Clip.
3.  Why was Jackie Robinson important to the Civil Rights Era?


HW -

Class Agenda

1.  Bellringer:  Brain-pop...Brown v. Board of Education Topeka.
2.  "Black and White Together" (pg. 13-19).  Do pg. 20 questions 1-3 at bottom.
3.  Central High clip.  What problem still remained after Brown v. Board?

HW -

Class Agenda

1.  Bellringer:  Read pg. 1d...What is segregation?  View Clip...Jim Crow South
2.  Roots of Segregation (pg. 1c)
3.  Brown v. Board of Education (pg. 11-12)  View Clip

HW - finish pg. 11-12

Class Agenda

1.  Bellringer:  In 3 words or less...describe your reaction to watching "The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till"

2.  Answer the question:   Why was Emmett Till so important to the Civil Rights Era? 

3.  Create a tombstone for Emmett Till.  Include an epitaph (definition - a concise phrase or statement written in memory of a person who has died).  Your epitaph MUST be 30 words or less...4 lines max...AND MUST relate to the question in #2 above.  Bonus for additional poem, haiku, or cinquain.  

HW - finish tombstone

Class Agenda

1.  Bellringer:  ESSENTIAL QUESTION - Why was Emmett Till so important to the Civil Rights Era? 

2.  Complete "The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till"

HW -