Unit V FRQ Make-Up Assignment

If you scored low on the Unit V FRQs and would like to make them up here's what you need to do:

Write two 3-5 page essays on the following:
Essay Question on p. 409
Essay Question on p. 535

You may research the answers using your textbook, the Internet, or other sources, but you must cite them. Your papers must be double-spaced, written in 12-point Times New Roman font, and have 1-inch margins.

Email me if you have any questions.

Judicial Activism

Here is one expert's opinion on why judicial activism might be a good thing.

Bill Clinton Impeachment

Bill Clinton, our 42nd President was impeached by the House and acquitted of the charges by the Senate.  For some background on the case, please read this timeline about the events that led up to the impeachment and the results of it.

Also, watch these video releases that President Clinton made regarding the case.

January 28, 1998 - Bill Clinton's Remarks about the Monica Lewinsky Scandal

August 17, 1998 - Bill Clinton Admits to Having an Inappropriate Relationship with Monica Lewinsky

Incumbent Advantage

Here are the lyrics to "Incumbent Advantage," the awesome chart topper that will be stuck in your head forever, just like incumbents are in their elected offices.

Verse 1 - Safe Seats
I’m in D.C., I make the laws.
I’m a Congressman and I got no flaws.
I’m trying hard to keep my job.
I got my seat, it’s really safe.
Ain’t no one else gonna kick me out.
My victory is…predictable.
Whoa.

Chorus:
Our Congressmen…It’s hard to get them out.
They sure have a lot of clout.
They’ll be there forever…forever
They’ll be there forever…forever
Whoa, whoa, incumbent advantage, incumbent advantage (x2)

Verse 2 - Franking Privilege
With tax dollars, I send the mail
Gotta tell all how great I am
I use the franking privilege
Whoa.
Whatever I do
The camera’s come
Journalists love to print my name
My face covers…the TV screen.
Whoa.

Chorus

You hate Congress, but you love me.
There are advantages to incumbency

Chorus

Verse 3 - Experience/Franking Privilege
Been here before
Know where I am
Everyone here knows my name
I’m an old dog with old tricks
Able to go anywhere
People can’t resist my fame
I know for sure I’ll get your vote.
Whoa.

Verse 4 - Influence legislation/Earmarks
Incumbents give us benefits
Like social security and internships.
They care for us to get our votes.
We ask for things like repaired roads.
Our incumbents stumble over themselves.
They use their spending on earmarks.
Whoa.

Verse 5 - Experience, media
I got my seat
It’s really safe
My constituents have got my back
The media is watching me
I’m experienced
In campaigning
And in the office as well.
My victory is…predictable.
Whoa.

Verse 6 - Staffs
I’ve got the seat
I’m riding my fame
No stress or worries can bring me down
My staff insures all my claims

This is all to the tune of "Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons.  The music video can be found below:

We the People, and the Republic We Must Reclaim

Here is the TED talk we watched in class today.  I think it deserves revisiting from time to time.

11 Excellent Reasons Not to Vote?

Some good reasons why you should vote.

Obama's Speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention (DNC)

Watch this video in connection to the article we read in class (available here).

Weekly Current Events Quiz

Here's a fun challenge: beat Mr. Stoddard on the current events quiz!

Here's what you need to do:

1. Click on the following link and then click on the link to the most current quiz (this week's is titled Weekly News Quiz | Sept. 9-15, 2014): http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/category/news-quiz/weekly-news-quiz/
2. Take the quiz.
3. When you are finished, take a screenshot of your score and email it to me at gstoddard@apamail.org.**  If you're not sure how to take a screenshot, click here.

Remember that the screenshot needs to be emailed to me by 11:59 tonight!  Good luck!

**Please write "Weekly News Quiz - [the week of the quiz] in the subject line of your email.  This week's will be "Weekly News Quiz - Sept. 9-15, 2014."  Also, make sure that you identify yourself in some way in the email (if you're using your apastudents.org account, your email address will be enough).

News Sources

Below are some links to great, fairly balanced political news sources:

PBS NewsHour: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/

NPR's 7AM Summary: http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_detail.php?siteId=4819388

The first link is viewed by many political scientists as the most unbiased news program out there.  It's also great because it goes in depth into stories instead of simply reviewing the day's events.

The second link is one of my favorites for when I don't have a lot of time, but want to hear what's going on.


You can also check out the following radio stations:
These are also great:

90.1 - KUER
102.7 - KSL
105.7 - KNRS

Any major newspaper (Salt Lake Tribune, NY Times, Washington Post, etc.)...Of course, the quiz is written by the New York Times, so check it out.
cnn.com
cbsnews.com
abcnews.com
msnbc.com
Google News
Yahoo News
BBC
Fox News
The Associated Press
The Guardian
NPR

And if you are looking for a more comedic approach to the news, check out Politico Playback, which features the best of last night's late night TV talk show hosts sharing the news and making fun of it.

Cornell Note-Taking

In my AP class, you will be required to take notes using Cornell formatting.  This video is a great introduction to Cornell notes, and will give you some practical instruction on how to do them.

Welcome to AP Government

Welcome to the AP government section of my website.  Here you will find important tools and resources that will help you be successful in this class, including the course calendar, and an online repository of any handouts or assignments that I give to you throughout the year.

AP United States Government & Politics is an amazing class.  This course explores the political theory and everyday practice that direct the daily operation of our government and shape our public policies.  The express purpose of this course is to prepare you to take the AP Exam for U.S Government and Politics, but we will certainly have fun along the way.  

The course is for all intents and purposes taught on a college level and it requires a substantial amount of reading and preparation for every class.  You should expect to take copious notes and review them daily just like you will in college.  If you do, you ought to have no problem performing well on daily quizzes and unit tests.  If you don't, you are going to struggle.

The objectives of this course go beyond a basic analysis of how our government “works.”  You will develop a critical understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the American political system, as well as your rights and responsibilities as citizens.

Feel free to explore the links on the right, my Twitter feed, and/or past posts.  If you have any suggestions regarding how I can improve this site, please email me.  I'd love to hear from you!

We the People Notes

Here are the notes that I put up on the whiteboard on the days we discussed the We the People units.

Units I, II, & III

Units IV & V

Unit VI:

Unit VI - Challenges for the future

1. Citizenship
1. Good citizenship vs. self-interest
2. Naturalization
3. Losing citizenship
4. Rights & responsibilities of citizens
2. Civic engagement
1. Voluntary associations
2. Local & state governments
3. National government
4. Voter turnout
5. Civic engagement & self-interest, common good
3. Civil Rights Movement, social change
1. Segregation
2. Civil Rights Act (1964)
3. Voting Rights Act (1965)
4. Influencing other nations
1. U.S. ideas —> influences other parts of the world
1. Presidential government
2. Federalism
3. Judicial power, human rights
2. U.N. Declaration of Human Rights
5. Major challenges
1. Diversity
2. Technology
3. Expectations of government - changing?
4. Civil discourse - how to address problems
5. Pressing constitutional change?
1. Life & death
2. Term limits
3. Property rights
4. Campaign finance
5. Challenges in world affairs
6. Constitution - U.S. and world affairs
1. International law
2. International organizations - international order
3. How do we influence international affairs?
1. Vote
2. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)
3. Travel
4. Participate in international education
5. Make informed consumer decisions
4. Globalization (economy)
7. Back to fundamental principles
1. Liberty vs. order
2. Unity vs. diversity
3. Majority rule vs. minority rights
4. Positive vs. negative rights

Letter to Member of Congress Assignment

Here are the instructions I wrote on the board for your letter to your Member of Congress.

Gift Card Survey

You must be signed in to your APA account to participate in the survey below.

Redemption Lab

Good news!  There is a way that you can improve your grade in the government class.  All you have to do is:

1. Print out a learning lab referral sheet.  You can find these in the Assignments and Resources tab.
2. Take it to learning lab (after school until 6pm)
3. While working with a tutor, complete or redo any assignment that is missing or that you got a low grade on.
4. Have have one of the tutors fill it out and sign it at the bottom.
5. Staple it to the front of your homework assignment as a cover sheet.
6. Turn your completed assignment in to the tray at the back of my classroom.

Washington, D.C. Trip

I have an exciting announcement to make.  Mr. Peterson has approved my request to take AP government students to Washington, D.C.!  To make this happen, we will need to do some serious fundraising, but I'm confident that we can do it.  There will be a meeting at 5 p.m. on August 6 at TAS to discuss this information more and answer any questions that you or your parents might have.  Please e-mail me if you have any questions.

Twitter?! Is He For Real?

Many of you have probably been wondering why I would require you to follow me on Twitter.  Contrary to what many eighth graders might tell you, it's not so that I can become "Twitter famous" or because I have any sort of self-esteem issues that having friends in cyberspace might solve.  It's simply because Twitter is an amazing way for me to improve communication with you and provide you with supplemental learning.

Believe it or not, there will be times in class when we cannot cover everything that you need to know about the U.S. government and political system (in fact, that will pretty much be the case everyday).  Twitter, I have found, is a perfect venue to quickly and effectively share a myriad of information that is pertinent to what we are talking about in class.  For example, let's say that in class we're discussing the Supreme Court and how it rules certain parts of laws unconstitutional.  As I am preparing the lesson, I might come across a story like the one here and want to share it.  With Twitter, I can copy the address, tweet it, and you immediately have access to it when you go home and check your Twitter account.

Now, you may be asking yourself: "Do I really have to check it everyday?"

The answer is: I highly recommend it.  If you want to do well on the AP exam in May, you'll want to know as much as you can about how our government and political system work.  Since I'll be mostly sharing links to real life applications of the concepts we learn in class, reviewing the articles that I share may help solidify in your brains how that concept works.  And, if you can manage to get your brain to retain those concepts, the free response (essay) sections of the exam will be a lot easier to manage.

So please, utilize this tool the way it was intended.  Don't just limit it to what I see most people your age using it for: another means of texting back and forth.  Follow people and institutions that will share enlightening information and then share that information with each other.  Share it with me; I am still learning, too, and love the way that Twitter allows me to access fresh, reliable educational material.

If you or your parents have any questions about why you are suddenly spending more time on Twitter each day, please e-mail me.  I'd love to explain the reason I use Twitter as an educational tool in greater detail.

New Website

Welcome to my new website.  It is dedicated to the AP U.S. government class that I will be teaching next year.  My hope is that it will become a great resource to students who are motivated to succeed.  Please explore and give any feedback that you have - are there any elements or features that would be useful?  E-mail me at gstoddard@apamail.org, or just leave a comment.