Students will wrap up their Constitution In Plain English Projects this week.
Project Timeline for Group & Individual Projects:
WEDNESDAY
Groups: Each student in each group is responsible to create images for their section of the storyboard – All IMAGES are COMPLETED, COLORED, CUT & EMPHASIZE THE MAIN IDEA
Individuals: At LEAST 3 PAGES OF PICTURE BOOK COMPLETED with TEXT AND IMAGES.
THURSDAY
Groups: Dress Rehearsal + Film your final movie – Schedule for Filming
Individual: FINISH LAST 3 PAGES OF PICTURE BOOK
FRIDAY
ALL STUDENTS – PRESENTATIONS
Click on Tim and Moby’s picture to watch the video on “Checks and Balances.”
We will play the review quiz and complete the Graphic Organizer during class as an introductory activity. Students, you have access to brainpop.com until 5:30 pm to watch the short movie clips, play the review games, and extend your learning.
FACT FIND using the slideshow below. Strive for Accuracy and check your work. Your handout should match the FACT FIND SLIDESHOW. You will use this slideshow for an assignment using the iPad apps. ON A MOBILE DEVICE? CLICK HERE FOR THE GOOGLE DOC!
EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITIES: Share pop culture connections by posting a stickie below or add to the discussion by watching and commenting on previously stickies.
I have learned so much with the Constitution packet and videos. But one thing that stood out to me was that they hide one cabinet member during the speech in DC. They do this because if there is terrorists attack then that cabinet member will run the country.
Hey Ms D,
All of these handouts given to us in class has really helped me understand this unit better. However, what i was most suprised about is how there is a secret cabinet member hidden. that to me is very interesting and i would definitely want to learn more about this!
Dear Ms. D,
By doing the project and the packet, it made me actually understand the information more. Over the years of school, we would always breifly talk about the Constitution and everything included in it, but not to the degree that we are learning about it now. All of these information has closed a gap that I have had, one that was full of information about Congress and the House, etc. I honestly like learning about this stuff, because it makes me realize how I didn’t know some simple things about how our government is run, or the requirements you need to have a certain job (30 years to be in Senate, 25 years old to be in House, etc.) I remember one time in class we were talking about how one of the cabinet members goes underground when there is a State of the Union address, and I thought that this was honestly pretty cool. How no matter if anything bad happens, we always have a back-up plan to help us out with. This is my connection and comment on the Constitution packet.
Dear Ms.D
The current president pro tempore is Patrick Leathy. Leathy is a senator from the state Vermont. He took over when Daniel Inouye died. Daniel Inouye, the senator of Hawaii died at the age of 88, on December 17,2012. Inouye also is a world war 2 veteran. Leathy took over December 18,2012.This is where I found the current president pro tempore:http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/senators/a_three_sections_with_teasers/leadership.htm
This is where I got the fact about Vermont: http://www.leahy.senate.gov/
This is where I got when Inouye died where he was senator and what age he died at and that he is a world war 2 veteran: http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/17/politics/obit-inouye/index.html
Thank you Ms. D.
During the past few days in class, the packet that we were working on really helped me. Watching the videos and filling out the packet helped me understand more about each article. I asked my dad some of the questions that I found on the packet and it reminded me of the video that we watched in class today because my he barely knew any of the answers like the people in the video.
Ms. D,
I believe that doing the project and filling out the packet with the aid of all the videos has been very eye-opening. For example, I didn’t know that the vice president was the president of the senate. I previously wasn’t aware of any of the jobs of the vice president, and always saw his position as simply a fill-in if something happened to the president. I also hadn’t been aware that the constitution was a document which could ever change. In learning this, I was thinking about why the constitution has remained the same for so long without ever being amended. Are their currently philosophers who philosophize about government? Even if not, if someone were to come up with a better way of government that completely changed the way we have it set up now, do you think the USA would ever consider it? With this idea I also wondered if we would ever scrap the constitution for another way of government. In conclusion, as well as teaching me things I didn’t know about our government, this lesson also brought me to thinking the above questions about what would happen if a suggestion to change the dynamics of how the USA was run was ever seriously suggested.
I’ve learned a lot of information from this packet. One of the things that I have learned is the the Vice President, is also the President of the Senate. The other thing that I learned is that the Pro Tempore takes charge when the VP is absent.
Hi Mrs.D,
I really liked this video making unit. It helped me understand the Constitution a lot more. I specifically liked watching other people’s videos to understand more about what other people did there project on.
During this lesson in social studies we have been learning a lot about the constitution. We have learned all about the three branches and they are legislative, executive, and judicial. I have learned a lot about the constitution and it will really help me out in the future!
I have learned a lot form the packets and videos. I knew some of the information before hand but not a lot of it. Doing the video of an article helped me understand that part really good. You said that after president Nixon resign his Vice President took over. The Vice President is Gerald Ford.
Dear Ms. D,
Through out this week, i have learned a lot from the Constitutions Packet. I never knew how much the President negotiates with other countries, how he is the commander in chief of the armed forces and how he has to grant pardons in all federal criminal offenses and reprieves. (Ms. D note: The president does not have to grant pardons and reprieves. He has the power and may choose to use it or not.) The more we go over the constitution packet in class helps me fully grasp the concept of each branch in the government .
Dear Mrs. D,
In class this week I learned a lot. Watching the videos from each group made it easier to know what was going on. One thing I did not know about was the ratification and how that works. Now that we reviewed that it was easier to know how it works.
I learned a lot from the Branches of Government project. The project helped me learn a lot about all the branches of government. It was interesting to learn how old you had to be to be in congress. The project was a lot of fun to work on.
Today in class, we were talking about the jobs Congress does and one of them was to approve patents. In my old school, we had a program for the students who earned A’s and B’s since third grade went to work on projects. We had to do a skit and make a robot for one competition and the theme was Heart and Body. My Quest group came up with the idea to make a portable AED Machine that coaches would have at sports games and it would be worn around your waist. The Quest teacher sent the idea for it to be patented but I don’t know if it ever was. It’s been two years since I’ve seen my Quest teacher. The discussion today in class made me think of the portable AED.
Hi Sierra,
Thank you for posting your positive feedback and sharing your learning about Congressional Powers!
Hi Carel,
You are welcome! Thank you for conducting research and sharing your findings. 🙂
Hi Stephen,
Learning history is always fun. 🙂 You have a very positive attitude. Thank you for your feedback and we loved observing students learning while having fun!
Hi Brendan,
Were you surprised that there are no educational requirements? 🙂
Hi Cristina,
I think it is a pretty cool connection too! Thank you for sharing a pop culture connection and conducting research. This demonstrates initiative! Huzzah!
Hi Will,
History is so much fun and your interest and enthusiasm are appreciated! 😀
Dear Michelle,
Which cabinet member do you think they will choose this time? 🙂
Hi Jacque,
Thank you for expanding your learning and researching for extra credit connections to Presidential Succession. 🙂
Hi Michael,
Anytime! Thank you! 🙂
Hi Tommy,
You posed a great question about Presidential Succession! I am wondering if one of your peers would like to respond. I will give them a chance to respond for extra credit. 🙂
Hi David,
Thank you for sharing your research of Congressional Officers! That demonstrated initiative and interest in furthering your learning. 🙂 Huzzah!
Hi Taylor,
Thank you for sharing your research. You demonstrated the Habit of Mind, Questioning by expanding your learning by researching Presidential Succession and visiting the House and Senate’s websites!:)
Dear Mrs.D,
During class today we worked on a packet about the Constitution. I learned about each article and its importance to the constitution. I also learned about all 3 branches and what they do and how they work. This packet really helped me understand everything about the Constitution.
Hi Haaris,
Sharing your learning with your family is a wonderful way to demonstrate your knowledge!:)
Hi Nick,
Yes. This is the correct place to leave a comment. If you want extra credit post your contribution from today’s discussion. Your enthusiasm for Civics is always evident! 🙂
Hi Jordan,
You demonstrated initiative by researching the question you asked in class. Well done! To clarify, James K. Polk did not become president according to PRESIDENTIAL SUCCESSION. Polk ran for president on the Democratic ticket and won in the Election of 1844. He served as the 11th president from 1845-1849. An interesting fact: The WHIGS, Polk’s political opponents, used the following campaign slogan against him, “Who is James K. Polk?” A very intelligent man, Polk devoted his life to public service. He served as Speaker of the House from 1835-1839 and left the House of Representatives to become the Governor of Tennessee. Here is another extra credit opportunity: Which popular band wrote a song about Polk? Find the YouTube link and post it here. 🙂
I think that the project we just finished was a good way to help us learn what each branch in government dose thats important. From this i learned that anyone can run for house of representatives as long as they have lived in the USA for seven years (Ms. D note: Candidates must be a US citizen for at least 7 years) and must live in the state they want to represent. I also learned how the legislative branch(congress) helps the government and the jobs that they encounter such as “punishing pirates”,”declaring war and supporting the arm and navy”,& ” establishing post offices”. Over all i learned alot from this project and it helped me understand the three branches more.
To Mrs D,
During our time studying the Us Constitution,I’ve learned several things that are improtant. I learned the order if something was to happen to the president. The order is: VPotus, Speaker of the house, and President Pro Tempore. All of the requirements to become part of Congress have surprised me too. You don’t even realize what has to be done
Dear Mrs. D,
I’ve been learning great new things from the constitution packet. I never knew the difference between the senate and the house of reps requirements. Who knew the surprise on my dads face when he saw how many reps were in the US compared to the amount of senators in the US. It was great to learn these new things about the government and hope to learn more this year.
Dear Ms. D,
I’ve learned a lot from the packet tht we filled out when watching the videos. I never all the power that the president possess. Also I never knew all the qualifications it takes to become a member of the Senate and the House of Representatives.Lastly I had never heard if the term bicameral until now.
Dear Mrs D,
When President Nixon resigned, Vice President Gerald Ford took his place. Thank you for this extra credit opportunity!
Dear Mrs. D,
While doing these group projects for The Branches of Government I learned a lot. The jobs that each branch has creates a balanced government where each branch has an equal amount of power. I enjoyed learning about the branches because we were able to learn and also have fun with the projects as well. By doing this it taught me all about the requirements and jobs of the branches while having fun too.
Dear Mrs. D
(I believe this is the post for homework, correct?)
I learned a few things from our packet activity.I learned what alot of words meant, such as ratify amend,and federalism. Since many classes do not cover these topics we never really learn them. I also learned all of the requirements to be a part of our republic.
Hey Ms D,
I felt like I learned much from the packet. I was especially intrigued by the chart with all of the statistics about Congress (for example,you mush be a US citizen for at least 9 years to join the senate.) Also, the Speaker of the House is John Boehner, and the President pro tempore is now Patrick Leahy of Vermont. Have a nice night!
Today in class we were talking about New Jersey’s senators. I found out that Robert Menendez and Frank Lautenberg are our senators. I also found out that the only president that resigned was Richard Nixon. Nixon did this because he was apart of a scandal. The scandal was called the Watergate scandals that were about breaking into the Democratic National Committee and recording conversations. This article helped me learn more about Nixon’s resignation.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/watergate/articles/080974-3.htm
Dear Ms D
I found that making the videos in class made the articles of the constitution more clear. The discusion in class made jobs and roles of the congress easier to understand. I hope sharing my learning will help others understand and connect like I did.
Dear Ms. D
Today in class when we were doing the packet i asked if the Speaker of the House has ever taken over the presidental position. I recently researched the topic to find that James K. Polk was orignally the Speaker of the House who became president. James K. Polk is the only Speaker of the House to become a President in U.S. history.
during class we learned that one of the Presidents cabinet member’s are hidden during his public speeches so they can be his successor if anything were to go wrong. Last year, during the State of The Union Address, this hidden cabinet member was Tom Vilsak. This reminded me of a movie: Transformers. in Transformers, the ancient robots hid something called the Allspark. if anything went wrong, the Decepticons, or the bad robots, would not be able to find it and destroy the world. Its the same idea as hiding a cabinet member. I thought this was a cool connection!
Dear Ms.D,
i had no idea about the government.How you have to live in a district of a state in order to be that state’s represenative in the house of represenatives.I never knew you had to be 30 years old to be in the senate or 25 years old to be int he house of represenatives.I had no idea that there were more than one suucessor to the office of the president, other than the VPOTUS.What happens if the President Pro Tempore dies while in office before reelection?Does a supreme court justice take over our is there a emergency election?I has did not know how much power federal laws have over state laws.
What I learned in class about the constitution was:
President Nixon was the only president to resign
Dear ms. D
I’ve learned a lot from doing the Us constitution in Plain English. I’ve learned that you have to be 30 years old or older to be in the senate, that the president can grant pardons, what bicameral means, and what each branch does. The project was a big help to see what each article describes and also to see what each branch does by using cutouts. I’m glad we did this project, but it was a little confusing at first. Thank you for taking your time to clarify the misunderstandings. Overall the project helped me out a lot.
Dear ms. D
As we learned in class today, Richard Nixon is the only US president to resign. President Nixon resigned in his first year of his second term back in 1974. After Nixon resigned his Vice President Gerald Ford took over. President Nixon’s vice president was Gerald Ford. The link to where I found the information is below:
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/History/presidents/Presidents_38_Ford.htm
for the thing we learned today about when the president dies,resigns or is to suck to run the country the vice presidents takes his spot. this reminded me of the time when John.f.Kennedy got shot his vice president Lindon.B.Johnson took his spot as president.
I learned a lot from the packet and the project. One of the things I learned in class was the President Pro Tempore takes charge in the absence of the VP. The current President Pro Tempore is Patrick Leahy.
The last few days in class were interesting doing the project and filling out the packet. I thought it was cool how during meetings with all the important workers in the branches such as the president the keep one cabinet member under ground just in case a terrorist attack happens so we have someone to lead the united states.
Dear Mrs. D,
I learned a lot from the packet we made from watching the videos. I never knew all the qualifications needed to be a member of the congress. Also, I never knew about ratification or all the things that needed to be done to amend the constitution.