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Saturday, January 30, 2010

SparkNotes

Happy Saturday, Class. This link: www.sparknotes.com has a cool feature. It allows you to take a diagnostic AP Government test (multiple choice only) and have your test scored. With the test scoring, it will tell you specifically which areas to re-study. You will have to register and the process is fairly straight-forward. As we get towards the end of the class (in April) I think I'll take you to the computer lab (ROP Center) and have you take it, then print out a report for you to "zero in" on your areas for re-study.

Please complete the Subato reading for Chapter 9 (covering pages 334-342). We will have the usual T/F Subato end-of-chapter test on Tuesday.

Please someone respond to this post in the "comments" section so that I know that some of you are receiving this. Otherwise, this blog is pointless to continue writing....

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Your AP Government Test Will Have to Be Changed...

Class,

The US Supreme Court ruled historically today on the extent to which private companies can support a political candidate. Their ruling today undoes much of the McCain-Feingold limits on political contributions. Read the article below:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/22/us/politics/22donate.html?hp

Citing the protections under the First Amendment, the Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision reversed limitations on corporate contributions to campaigns. This decision will likely benefit Republican candidates who traditionally ally themselves with Big Business. The AP Exam you take in May will have to be modified to exclude questions on McCain-Feingold or provide an asterisk with an explanation as to today's Supreme Court ruling...

Extra Credit: I will give you 15 extra-credit points if you read the article (and watch the short video) and provide an opinion either pro or con on the Supreme Court's decision citing some of the facts of the situation....

Subato reading for tomorrow, 321-329. That's less than the ten pages I told you to read ahead on....

Monday, January 18, 2010

MLK Holiday

Class. For tomorrow, you should have completed Chapter 8 in Subato (pages 279 to 312). You will take the 40 question True/False quiz. For your inf0, we will spend one more week on the Executive Branch and you will be reading through Chapter 9 in Subato (pages 315 to 344) which continues on with the Executive Branch and includes information on the Federal Bureaucracy.

After your quiz tomorrow, you will watch some video on the Executive Branch which will include a worksheet. This time around when I grade your binders, I will look at every assignment you have been asked to complete and assign points on everything. I will probably collect your binders towards the end of this week (p0ssibly the following Monday depending on your progress throughout the week) to grade assignments. Tomorrow, your binders should be in reasonable order (for ten points). I will do a quick walkaround. Your rewrites (2) are due from the midterm (for 20 points) which you will turn in-no late work will be accepted.

Possibly on Wednesday, I will have you work on the Executive Branch reading (Chapter 12 APGOPO-Unit 4.1)that I handed out to you a week ago answering the five or so questions. During the week there will also probably at least two lectures.

Just thought I would lay things out for you for the week.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Executive Branch

Welcome back class! Tomorrow, we will get back together and have a relatively easy session. We've go to get our synapses back in the game. I am assigning you Chapter 8 in Subato. You should have read pages 279 to 288. There will be our customary quiz for Tuesday on those pages. For the portion on the Executive Branch, we will read Chapters 8 and 9. This portion of the Institutions unit should take about two weeks. Cheers!