Politics and Government - Curriculum Map/Syllabus

SCHOOL OF THE FUTURE SOCIAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT
SENIOR INSTITUTE
POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT
J. Copeland 2011-2012

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE STATE?

Introduction to Mr. Copeland’s History Class

• Political Systems
• Economic Systems
• Political and Economic Ideological Spectrum
• World and U. S. Geography/Current Events


Skills: Note taking, analysis of primary sources, basic social studies content vocabulary, basic geography
Texts: Party Platforms of selected political parties, quotations from selected historic figures
Films: Excerpts from political roundtable discussions on various cable and PBS programs
Assessments: Quizzes, personal political/economic framework essay

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER – How Democratic is the Constitution?

• Articles of Confederation
• Shay’s Rebellion
• Constitutional Convention
• Constitution
• Federalism/Anti-Federalism
• Current Events

Skills: Note taking, reading comprehension, content vocabulary, vocabulary, verbal argumentation/discussion
Texts: Invention a Nation by Gore Vidal, A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn
Films: excerpts from political roundtable discussions on various cable and PBS programs
Assessments: Quizzes, informal writing, current event report, track participation in discussions, response essay: How Democratic is the Constitution, creative short film project

DECEMBER/JANUARY -- What are the “Privileges and Immunities of U. S. Citizenship?”

• Due Process Clause
• Bill of Rights (over-view, initial applicability to the states)
• Baron v. Baltimore (1833)
• Dred Scott Case (1857)
• Fourteenth Amendment, applicability to states (1868)
• Slaughter-House Cases (1873)
• Kelo v. City of New London (2005)

Skills: Note taking, reading comprehension, content vocabulary, vocabulary, verbal argumentation/discussion, written argumentation, evidence gathering to support arguments
Texts: A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn, The Supreme’s Greatest Hits, The Supreme Court, Various Supreme Court Opinions (primary sources)
Films: excerpts from political roundtable discussions on various cable and PBS programs
Assessments: quizzes, exams track participation in discussions

FEB/MARCH – How has the Supreme Court been used to Expand and Inhibit Liberty in the United States?

• Freedom of Speech
• Freedom of Religion
• Rights of the Accused
• Reproductive Rights
• Civil Rights
• Current Events

Skills: Note taking, reading comprehension, content vocabulary, vocabulary, verbal argumentation/discussion, evidence gathering to support arguments
Texts: A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn, The Supreme’s Greatest Hits, The Supreme Court, various Supreme Court opinions (primary sources), handouts—analysis of Supreme Court opinions
Films: excerpts from political roundtable discussions on various cable and PBS programs, Assessments: Quizzes, Lincoln-Douglas debates (build upon verbal and written argumentation skills), current event report, track participation in discussions


APRIL – The “Culture Wars” - The New Left

• Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal
• Lyndon Johnson and the Great Society
• The Counter Culture of the 1960s
• Current Events

Skills: Note taking, reading comprehension, content vocabulary, vocabulary, verbal argumentation/discussion, evidence gathering to support arguments
Texts: A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn, selected handouts—
Films: excerpts from political roundtable discussions on various cable and PBS programs, Assessments: Quizzes, Exams, response essay, current event report, track participation in discussions







MAY – The “Culture Wars” - Rise of Movement Conservatism

• Barry Goldwater and the Conservative Backlash Against the 1960s Counter-culture
• Ronald Reagan, Trickledown Economics and the Conservative 1980s
• Current Events

Skills: Note taking, reading comprehension, content vocabulary, vocabulary, verbal argumentation/discussion, evidence gathering to support arguments
Texts: A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn, The Rise of Southern Republicans, What’s the Matter w Kansas, selected handouts
Films: excerpts from political roundtable discussions on various cable and PBS programs, Mr. Conservative, Reagan
Assessments: Quizzes, Exams, response essay, current event report, track participation in discussions


JUNE – Final Exams/Presentations