“We the People…” Summer Assignment 2015
What is “We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution?”
“The primary goal of ‘We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution is to promote civic competence and responsibility among the nation’s elementary and secondary students…The instructional program enhances students understanding of the institutions of American constitutional democracy. At the same time, students discover the contemporary relevance of the Constitution and Bill of Rights.”
What is the “Competition” all about?
“Participants hold a simulated congressional hearing as the culminating activity for the We the People program. The entire class, working in cooperative teams, prepares and presents statements before a panel of community representatives who act as congressional committee members. Students then answer questions posed by the committee members. The format provides students an opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of constitutional principles...”
When & where is this year’s competition?
We will be competing in the state-wide WTP competition in December 2015 at Central Connecticut State University. Winners of each State’s competition compete in the finals in Washington, D.C. I have confidence that with hard-work and dedication, our team will be very successful in Hartford. However, the course covers a great deal of information in a relatively short window of time. Therefore, it is imperative that we get a jump start over the summer on this fast-paced curriculum.
Part I
I cannot overstate the importance of Units 1 and 2. In short, they represent the foundation of which the rest of the curriculum is built. Therefore, take your time familiarizing yourself with the text, questions, and online resources. Your assignment is as follows:
1. Log in to the eBook. For the first half of this course, we will be using a textbook published by The Center for Civic Education that is designed specifically for the “We the People” competition. This is in an eBook format. To access it you should go to the following site: Your username is your first initial and last name (as one word) and the password is WTP2015. If you have trouble accessing, please let me know. Once you login you should take some time to explore – you will be using this book throughout the first semester so you will want to become familiar with how it is setup and the features that it offers.
2. Read the Introduction, Unit 1 (Lessons 1-7) and Unit 2 (Lessons 8-14).
3. Complete all section exercises -- type your answers into the designated boxes and submit. I will be able to see your answers the questions that you submit. There is no reason to print anything out.
4. Your answers to the questions will be worth a total of 40 points.
Part 2
There will be a quiz on Units 1 and 2 in the first weeks of school. We will spend some time reviewing the content, however, I will be making the assumption that you have thoroughly read the material in the book already.
Part 3
Skim the remainder of the book. By the end of October you will have read the book in its entirety, so if you have time this summer, you can certainly start reading additional units. But, even if you do not do this, I would spend some time looking at the other 4 units. For the competition, we will be dividing the class into 6 teams that correspond to each of the units. You will become an expert on your unit and will be representing the class at the competition for that unit. While I will not make those groups until the end of September, you should start thinking about which unit(s) you find most interesting.
Part 4
If you do not do so already, start following U.S. government and politics-related news stories. Look for daily news stories that portray the national government in action and highlight the issues/crises it must deal with everyday. Especially focus on stories that discuss Congress, the Presidency, Federal agencies, and the Supreme Court. You can also follow stories that involve national elections, politics, and politicians. Do not limit your newly-formed current events habit to just one publication or even type of media -- vary your sources. This will benefit you significantly when it comes time for the competition -- it is not uncommon for the judges to ask the students to make connections between their unit of study and current events.
Feel free to contact me over the summer if you have any questions or concerns! Enjoy your summer!
Mrs. Kammerman