Why We Have Laws 📜

🎯 Learning Targets

• Explain how laws help bring order to society
• Describe how laws protect safety, property, and individual freedoms
• Explore ways that laws protect society as a whole
• Define the common purpose of laws
• Analyze the link between laws and morals

⏰ What We Did

• Watched and took notes on Lesson 1, Part 3: Why We Have Laws
• Using the notes from Lesson 1, Part 3, answered the following questions in complete sentences:

1. Define laws, morals, and civil disobedience.
2. Describe four of the main reasons we have laws.
3. Give one example of a law that protects both the individual and society as a whole.
4. Explain how laws are related to morals.
5. Synthesize Choose a law that you consider to be particularly important and predict what would happen if that law no longer existed.

⚙️ Resources

• Lesson 1, Part 3: Why We Have Laws

Forms of Government 🏛

🎯 Learning Targets

• Describe the classic forms of government
• Explain how national power is organized differently in unitary, federal, and confederal systems
• Contrast presidential and parliamentary systems

⏰ What We Did

• Watched and took notes on Lesson 1, Part 2: Forms of Government
• Using notes from Lesson 1, Part 2, answered the following questions in complete sentences:

1. Define direct democracy, republic, monarchy, and dictatorship.
2. How are democracies and republics similar and different?
3. How is power organized in a unitary system?
4. What are the potential disadvantages of a presidential system?
5. Critical Thinking If you were designing a plan of government for a new country, would you create a presidential or a parliamentary system? Explain your answer.

⚙️ Resources

• Lesson 1, Part 2: Forms of Government

9/11: America Remembers 🇺🇸

🎯 Learning Targets

• Students will interpret primary and secondary sources regarding the basic facts, perpetrators, victims, the history, timeline of events, and effects of the events of September 11, 2001

⏰ What We Did

• Finished watching a CNN-produced video on the response of the United States government to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001

9/11: America Remembers 🇺🇸

Today's class was led by a guest teacher.

🎯 Learning Targets

• Students will interpret primary and secondary sources regarding the basic facts, perpetrators, victims, the history, timeline of events, and effects of the events of September 11, 2001

⏰ What We Did

• Watched a CNN-produced video on the response of the United States government to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001

⚙️ Resources

• 9/11: America Remembers (CNN)

The Purposes of Government 🏛

🎯 Learning Targets

• Explain what government is
• Identify the major characteristics all states share
• Describe the major functions of government
• Summarize the three theories of rule

⏰ What We Did

• Distribute "Civics ✮ Lesson 1 Instructional Notes" packet
• Watch and take notes on Lesson 1, Part 1: The Purposes of Government
• Use the Lesson 1, Part 1 notes to answer the following questions in complete sentences

1. What is government?
2. What are the four characteristics of a state?
3. What are the major functions of government?
4. How is natural law related to natural rights?
5. Compare How do Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau understand the state of nature and the social contract differently?

⚙️ Resources

• Civics ✮ Lesson 1 Instructional Notes
• Lesson 1, Part 1: The Purposes of Government

Civics Binder Set-up 🗂

🎯 Learning Targets

• Students will become familiar with the organziation system of Civics

⏰ What We Did

• Assign students to desks, to assist the teacher in matching names to faces
• Distribute five-tab dividers and assign each tab with a specific Civics purpose
• Distribute and discuss the course syllabus

Civics Semestser Pre-Assessment ✏️

🎯 Learning Targets

• Gauge student prior knowledge on Civics concepts and set a measurable baseline

⏰ What We Did

• Complete an initial assessment of Civics standards and benchmarks

💻 Homework

• Purchase a 1"+ three-ring binder before class on M 9 September 2024

Website Tour 💻

🎯 Learning Targets

• Gain familiarity with the course website, identifying its layout and features
• Identify traits of individual strengths within both others and self

⏰ What We Did

• Introduce the class to their website and identify its key features
• Complete a strengths-spotting exercise

⚙️ Resources

• Three Good People

💻 Homework

• Purchase a 1"+ three-ring binder before class on M 9 September 2024

Team Building 👥

🎯 Learning Targets

• Encourage student engagement, promote social interaction, and create a welcoming atmosphere

⏰ What We Did

• In teams/groups, participate in a general trivia game to develop academic relationships

💻 Homework

• Purchase a 1"+ three-ring binder before class on M 9 September 2024

Welcome Back, Dragons! 🐲

🎯 Learning Targets

• Encourage student engagement, promote social interaction, and create a welcoming atmosphere

⏰ What We Did

• Provide a brief overview of Civics
• Guage student prior knowledge of American Government by answering civics questions found on the USCIS naturalization test

⚙️ Resources

• United States Citizenship

💻 Homework

• Purchase a 1"+ three-ring binder before class on M 9 September 2024