Civics: Rother2016-17

Current Events Expectations

Each Friday the Class will devote some time to Current Events. In order to be an informed citizen it is important for you to be aware of major news stories which may well have an affect on your life or the lives of those around you.

Each student will be expected to complete 4 current event exercises before the end of the semester. Each CE is worth 20 pts.

The current event stories you use must pertain to important stories that deal with significant events relating to topic we are discussing.All stories must be related to Government and Public Policy. Inappropriate or unsuitable articles will not be accepted even if done well. i.e. no sports stories, no fluff. If you are not sure if a story will qualify be sure and check with the teacher. This is your responsibility!

There are two ways in which the student may carry out this assignment. To fulfill the requirement the student must use method #1 and/or #2 the necessary number of times (see above).

Method 1. The student gets up in front of the group, summarizes a news story and helps to lead a discussion about some of the major points involved in the story. You must come prepared with a list of three (3) critical questions about the article. The key here is that you demonstrate an understanding of the news story and help your classmates understand the story a little better. You may use notes but you may not read the article to the class. Your questions must be written in advance (neatly and legibly) and handed in with a copy of the article to receive credit.

Method 2. The student may find 3articles on the same news topic (from different days of the week) summarize each of the articles and then in your own words explain the major significance and/or importance of the stories. The articles, or copies, should be turned in with the summaries. These will need to be word-processed. The expectation here is a minimum one paragraph summary per article and 1/2 page overall summary. This will count as one Current Event.

FYI:

Your evaluation will be based on you demonstrating an understanding of the news story and how well you present the story to the class and lead the discussion. Simply asking "any questions?" does not constitute leading a discussion.