American Government

Fall 2015

Instructor: Mrs. Roma

Contact Information:

770-222-3710

Remind! (Text reminders) – Text message @romagov to 81010

Description:

American Government is a one-semester course, required for graduation, which studies the creation and development of United States Government. Citizenship rights and responsibilities are emphasized throughout the course. Topics to be covered will include foundations of government; political participation; civil rights and liberties as well as the legislative, executive and judicial branches.

Textbook:

U.S. Government: Democracy in Action (Glencoe McGraw Hill), Replacement Cost: approximately $70.00

Course Content:

Unit / Formative / Summative / Total
Weight
Ideology & Foundations / 5% / 10% / 15%
The Constitution:
  • Civil Liberties & Rights
  • State and Local Governments
/ 10% / 15% / 25%
Elections and Powers of Government
  • Campaigns, Elections & Political Parties
  • The Executive Branch
/ 7% / 13% / 20%
Legislative & Judicial Branch
  • Interest Groups
  • Criminal Justice
/ 7% / 13% / 20%
Final Exam
SLO / 10%
10%

Course Materials:

Each student will need a 1½” binder, dividers, notebook paper, pens, pencils, highlighter, 6 AAA batteries (give to teacher for I-Respond use) & flash drive access

Course Expectations:

Students must accept responsibility for their own academic progress and participate in instructional activities both in and out of the classroom.

A student may make up all work missed for EXCUSED absences according to the county policy. Obtaining and completing makeup work is the responsibility of the student.

All students will take the assessment on the scheduled date, regardless of having been absent for instructional days leading up to the assessment. Students absent for an assessment may be required to participate in the assessment immediately upon returning to class.

If a student is caught cheating, a zero will be given for the assessment, parents will be notified and a referral given to the appropriate administrator. Students who have cell phones or other electronic devices out during evaluations, such as quizzes and tests, will be considered to be cheating. Cheating occurs any time a student solicits, receives or offers unauthorized help on any assessment. This includes class work, homework, projects and tests.

Course Resources

Mrs. Roma’s government blog:

Sign up for Remind! with me for frequent updates and reminders: Text @romagov to 81010

 Online flash card site with review sets geared to this course

 Choose American Government to get an index of videos reviewing the course content.

Reassessment

Students will be allowed to reassess standards if the original assessment was taken, all formative assessments for the unit have been completed and remediation is completed at the direction of the teacher.

All reassessments must be scheduled outside of class time.

Students wishing to reassess will to be asked to complete one or more of the following tasks: standards-based test corrections; a teacher-prescribed remediation activity; attendance at a minimum of one tutorial

Upon satisfaction of these requirements, and by appointment only, you will be permitted to retake any summative assessment one time.

Please note that there are deadlines. October 1 is the reassessment deadline for the first half of the semester. November 19 is the reassessment deadline for the second half of the semester. No work or summative exams completed in the first half of the semester can be reassessed after the October 1 deadline

Common Core Literacy Standards for Social Studies

A portion of the new English Common Core Literacy standards include reading and writing skills that are targeted at teaching students how to interpret and analyze primary and secondary sources in Social Studies and then use those documents to make and justify claims in their writing.

The new standards push students into higher Lexile ranges than they may be accustomed to. (A Lexile measure is a valuable piece of information about either an individual's reading ability or the difficulty of a text, like a book or magazine article.)

Students will see greater use of primary and secondary sources in all of their Social Studies courses this year and more practice with this new writing style in select formative assessments and all summative assessments.

BYOD – Bring Your Own Device

We will be participating in McEachern’s Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) initiative.

Students will use their personal technology devices to enrich and expand learning experiences in the classroom. Your student is not required to have or use a mobile device for class.

If you decide you want to participate in BYOD, parents and students MUST complete and electronically sign the permission form provided at

When in use for BYOD, all devices must be on the desk and in the teacher’s view. All county policies regarding student technology use apply while using a personal device on the BYOD network.

Devices will not be used for texting/messaging or social media

Devices will only be used at times and for purposes directed by the teacher. School rules regarding cell phones will apply during all non-BYOD instruction.

When participating in discussion forums and other student response activities, students will use school appropriate language, text abbreviations and slang.

Abuse of the rules and expectations will result in the loss of BYOD privileges in the classroom.

**This syllabus is subject to adjustments as needed for the benefit of students