American Government
(Required for 12th graders. This class must be passed for graduation)
This is a one semester class
AMERICAN GOVERNMENT
(Unit and daily lesson plans can be found on Infinite Campus)
Course Syllabus Mrs. Schumacher
In this one semester class we will explore American government as it has evolved through American history. During the semester we will study the roots of the American government system and the Constitution as a document and as it pertains to the Congress, President, and the federal judiciary. In addition, as a class we will explore the roles of the state and local governments, voting rights, civil rights, and citizenship responsibilities. Keeping abreast of current affairs will be of great benefit in this class
Unit 1 Basic Concepts of Government
Read Chapters 1, 25, & 26
Unit 2 The U.S. Constitution
Read Chapters 2, 3, & 4
Unit 3 Political Parties, Elections, & Voter Behavior &
Responsibilities Read Chapters 16, 17, 18, & 19
Unit 4 The Legislative Branch – The Congress
Read Chapters 5, 6, & 7
Unit 5 The Judicial Branch & Civil Liberties – The Supreme Court
Read Chapters 11, 12, 13, 14, & 15
Unit 6 The Executive Branch – The President
Read Chapters 8, 9, & 10 (skim chapters 20, 21, & 22)
Unit 7 State & Local Governments
Read Chapters 23 & 24
The textbook that will be used for this class is United States Government – Democracy in Action. AS you will notice, you have been given a reading assignment for each unit and 40% to 45% of test questions for each unit will be over the assigned material. Periodically, we will view videos and have guest speakers to enhance our study. You will be responsible for the material contained in these sources either through tests or other assignments. You will also be responsible for material provided by your instructor through class lecture and instruction. Approximately 55% to 60% of test items will deal with lecture notes and/or in-class activities.
Make-up Work and Homework Guidelines
There will be homework in this class. If you are absent on the day of a test you will have a maximum of five (5) school days to make up the test. Please speak with your instructor to set up a time to complete the missed exam. If the test is NOT made up in the allotted time and the student has NOT spoken with his/her instructor about needing more time, the test score will be recorded as a zero. If you are absent and miss assignments, you will have two (2) school days per day of school missed to complete make-up work. Please see your instructor of more time is needed. ANY work made up from an UNEXCUSED absence will have an automatic 50% deduction.
Grading
Grading will be based on participation in class activities (this includes paying attention!), assigned study guides, tests, and the major semester projects. Tests are written by the instructor and are a combination of fill-in-the-blank, multiple choice, matching, and essay. There WILL be a cumulative semester exam in this class that will count as 10% of your semester grade. All grades for daily work, projects, simulations, tests, etc. will be recorded by points and then letter grades figured on a total point basis following the percentages listed below. The grading scale will be as follows:
100% A+ 79% – 77% C+
99% – 95% A 76% – 74% C
94% – 90% A- 73% – 70% C-
89% – 87% B+ 69% – 67% D+
86% – 84% B 66% – 64% D
83% – 80% B- 63% – 60% D-
59% and lower F
Grades can be accessed daily on the school’s Infinite Campus portal.
Congressional Simulation
Each student is also required to participate in a simulation depicting Congress. Students will role-play specific members of Congress and will be required to complete research on topics chose for bills and the state that they will represent. Final bills will be passed on to our Congressional delegation in Washington, D.C. This project is worth 200 points and will count as a test.
Required Public Meeting Attendance
Each student will be required to attend at least one public meeting during the course of the semester. This assignment counts as a test grade. You may choose to attend either a city council meeting or a school board meeting. Meeting dates are announced to all students on the first day of each semester and are posted in the classroom. Meeting date and/or time changes are announced as needed. General meeting time information is listed below.
City Council Meetings - Generally held on the 1st and 3rd Monday of each month and are held at the council chambers in city hall. Meetings begin at 6:30. These meetings are also broadcast on CLVision (channel 1) on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays (7:00 p.m.), 1st and 3rd Wednesdays (6:00 p.m.), and 1st and 3rd Saturdays, (9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.)
Meeting Dates for the fall semester 2009 are:
August 17th, September 8th and 21st, October 5th and 19th, November 9th and 23rd and December 7th.
School Board Meetings - Generally held every three weeks once school begins and are held in the board room of the district office located on the west side of the Middle School. Meetings begin at 5:00.
Meeting dates for the fall semester of 2009 are:
August 24th, September 28th, October 26th and November 23rd.
The written assignment for attending the public meeting is due no later than Friday, December 11th. However, the students are encouraged to turn in the written assignment as soon as poosible after attending the meeting.
* Students may request to observe and report on a different public meeting once approval is obtained from the instructor.
