AP U.S. Government and Politics Mr. Deegan Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives. James Madison Course Overview DO NOT LOSE THIS PACKET This course provides students with a comprehensive understanding of the operation of the U.S. national government. You will develop analytic perspectives for interpreting, understanding, and explaining political ideas and events in this country. This course will also prepare you for the AP U.S. Government and Politics exam held in May 2016. The various subjects included in this course are listed below along with weekly due dates of major group work projects, writing assignments, quizzes, and unit tests. In addition, you will receive weekly online calendars that detail the topics to be discussed and specific due dates for the assignments listed below. (Please note that these dates are subject to change.) The format of the tests and quizzes will be as follows: Unit exams will contain: - AP-style multiple choice questions - Free response question(s) (written responses) - Any information presented previously during the semester. Most quizzes will contain AP-style multiple choice questions and/or specific questions (for example, fill in the blank questions) from the reading. All quizzes will expect students to have knowledge of current events and current office holders of significant national offices. Textbook: Syllabus Wilson, James Q. and John J. DiIulio, Jr. American Government, 13 th edition (Houghton Mifflin Company: Boston), 2013. Supplementary Reading: Bose, Meena, and John J. DiIulio, Jr. Classic Ideas and Current Issues in American Government, (Houghton Mifflin Company: Boston), 2007. Lasser, William. Perspectives on American Politics, 4 th edition (Houghton Mifflin Company: Boston), 2004.
Unit 1: Introduction to U.S. Government Week 1 2 (Aug. 17 26) : Political Theory, Constitution, Federalism, Political Culture Assignments: Community Building Plato: Allegory of the Cave The Declaration of Independence, Federalist Papers, the Constitution First Free Response and Debate: Robert A. Dahl, How Democratic is the American Constitution? Review by Hendrik Hertzberg Public Policy Matrix Quiz on Chap. 3 Unit 1 Test: Chap. 1 4, Constitution Unit 2: U.S. Political Culture Week 3 4 (Aug. 29 Sept. 9): Civil Liberties and Civil Rights Assignments: Quiz on 27 Amendments Read Chap. 5 and 6 Civil Liberties vs. Civil Rights Read Assigned Supreme Court Cases and Briefs Sharing of Key Court Cases Bowling for Columbine and response Quiz: Chap. 5 and 6 Week 5 (Sept. 12 16): Public Opinion, Political Participation Assignments: Read Chap. 7, 8 Public Opinion What if We re to Blame? by Robert J. Samuelson Political Spectrum Quiz: www.politicalcompass.org Week 6 (Sept. 19 23): Political Parties, Elections Assignments: Read Chap. 9, 10 Political Parties, Elections Second Response: On Sale: Your Government. Why Lobbying is Washington s Best Bargain, by Steven Brill Quiz: Chap. 9 Week 7 (Sept. 26 30): Interest Groups, the Media Assignments: Read Chap. 11, 12 Second Response Debate: Lobbying Effects on Washington Data Analysis Basics Data in Rich Noyes Media Research Center Report: The Liberal Media (Bose) Third Reponse: Is the Media Liberal? Compilation of sources, including Bernard Goldberg: Bias (Lasser) Review and unit 3 test: Chap. 7 12 Unit 3: Institutions of Government Week 8 10 (Oct. 4 21): Congress Assignments: Read Chap. 13 Congress: History, Organization, How a Bill Becomes a Law Charlie Wilson s War and response Quiz: Vocabulary Chap. 13 Weeks 11 12 (Oct. 24 Nov. 4): The Presidency and the Bureaucracy Assignments: Charlie Wilson s War paper due Read Chap. 14, 15 The Presidency, Bureaucracy Quiz: Vocabulary Chap. 14 Quiz: Chap. 13, 14
Weeks 13 14 (Nov. 7 18): The Judiciary Assignments: Read Chap. 16 The Judiciary Judicial Activism vs. Judicial Restraint Fourth Free Response: Fighting for the Supreme Court, by Cass Sunstein PBS Documentary: The Supreme Court Review Congress, Presidency, Bureaucracy, Judiciary Weeks 15 16 (Nov. 21 Dec. 2): Public Policies Assignments: Unit 3 exam (chap. 13 16) Read Chap. 18, 20 Economic Policy Foreign Policy Unit 4: Public Policies Week 17-18 (Dec. 5 16): Review and Good Luck! Assignments: Review, review, review A.P. Exam: Thurs. May 4 at 8 a.m. Notes: A.P. U.S. Government and Politics Exam: Thursday, May 4, 2017 at 8 am Before-school (Tuesdays and Thursdays) review sessions for the will begin in April 2017. I will post online the schedule and the topics for each day. All sessions are voluntary and you are welcome to bring food and drink. Review packets will be available for pick-up in April 2017. If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be. Thomas Jefferson Class Policies for 2016-17 Mr. Deegan gdeegan@beachwoodschools.org 831.2080 X161 Politics should be the part-time profession of every citizen. Dwight D. Eisenhower Rationale A democracy s strength is an educated citizenry. During the course, students will learn about government from a variety of media and experiences. In addition to the textbook, students will study news articles, additional reading materials, maps, and data tables. Student writing is a focus of this course. Writing tasks will emphasize clarity and effective use of thesis statements. Finally, the A.P. Government class will emphasize skills appropriate to a democracy. Many assignments contain group components. This course encourages students to play positive roles in the democratic process.
Required Materials Textbooks: 1. Wilson, James Q. and John J. DiIulio, Jr. American Government (13 th Edition), Houghton Mifflin Co. (Boston: 2013) 2. Kesselman, Mark and Joel Krieger. Introduction to Comparative Politics (Fourth Edition), Houghton Mifflin Co. (Boston: 2007) Current Events: You must choose from one of the following to regularly watch: Daily reading of The Plain Dealer or a national newspaper Daily viewing of a national evening news program (ABC, CNN, FOX, CBS, NBC, PBS) Daily listening to National Public Radio s All Things Considered (5-6 pm on FM 90.3) Daily Class Materials: Binder/notebook, black/blue pen, number two pencil, and notebook paper Online Posts To develop your thinking further and to encourage you to make more sophisticated connections between class concepts and current issues, you will be encouraged to respond to prompts on an online discussion board. All posts have the chance of earning extra credit and will be evaluated using the following questions: 1. Specificity: Does the post make accurate references to and explain specific concepts? 2. Thoughtfulness/originality: Does the post go beyond a basic treatment of a topic and introduce new ideas or reveal careful consideration? Attendance, Tardy, Make-up and Late Work Policies Unexcused Absences: The attendance policy follows the BHS policy of Excused and Unexcused absences. Please refer to the student handbook. Work missed on the day of an unexcused absence can not be made up. Tardies: Assignments are due at the beginning of class. If you are tardy, your assignment is considered a day late. If you are tardy on the day of a test or a quiz, you may be required to take the make-up test at a different time. Tardy penalties are given at my discretion and usually result in a reduced participation grade. Make-up Work for Excused and Anticipated Absences: Since many excused absences are anticipated, students need to turn in work early, before an absence (to visit a college, participate in a special event, etc.). Please have all anticipated absences approved by me at least 48 hours in advance. Alternative assignments may be given at this time. Missed tests and quizzes will be exams containing only essay questions which will be different questions (on the same subject) from the original test. All make-up work which is excused must be completed within 5 school days of your absence. Otherwise, you will receive a zero for the work. Sometimes there are extenuating circumstances; see me if such difficulties or problems arise. Once a unit is complete, no make-up work will be accepted. Late Work: All assignments are expected on the due date. Unexpectedly ill students need to take responsibility to send in a paper/assignment with someone, or send me the work via email. However, students who miss the due date receive half credit for the assignment, only if it is turned in on the next day. After that, no credit will be given. In the event of a personal emergency, late work will be considered on a case-by-case basis via a conference between the student and me. Homework: In addition to reading the textbook every day and taking notes on the reading, students will have homework assignments during the week. Students can expect one hour of homework per night, five days a week. Tests: Formal assessments are never allowed to be taken out of the classroom. By law they are not your property. Therefore you may be legally charged and/or disciplined by the school.
Participation Democracies require attitudes and behavior that support engaged, responsive, and respectful communities. Therefore, students are regularly evaluated on their behaviors and attitudes conducive to a positive learning environment. Grading Policy Generally, the distribution of grades will be as follows (all percentages approximate): Tests: 50% Responses and Writing: 20% Quizzes: 15% Group Projects: 15% Conferences If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to come and see me. I am here to help you succeed! I can usually be found in the office in my room after school. You may also schedule an appointment the day before to ensure that I will be there. Carpe Diem