2016/17 SCHOOL YEAR

US GOVERNMENT
KATY JOHNSON
Mskatejohnson@gmail.com
615.692.9224
http://governmentattheridge.blogspot.com
OVERVIEW
Welcome to Government! As soon-to-be adults, this class is meant to give you the
tools to become positive contributors to our society. We will try to discover why we
need governmental structure, learn about the different branches of government,
determine how we individually feel about certain issues, and establish ways we can
be proactive in our government. As you know, in democracies, the power lies in the
people- if this government runs on the power you give it; you need to know the
basics about it!
METHODS
In order for students to grasp the information they will need to know for this
course, they will be required to do outside reading (textbook, newspaper and other
selected works), complete group and individual projects and complete community

service hours. Students will be expected to reason, observe, listen and evalutate
as well as identify bias and identify cause and effect.
GRADING
Grades are important, they measure how much a student is improving and
understanding the materialthey are not a measure of how smart a person is, but
they are helpful for me to know if I need to provide further support. Students will
be given grades for the following:
HOMEWORK & CLASSWORK:
Worth 15% of your grade
Homework is due at the beginning of the class period. If you are absent, it
is your responsibility to email me your assignment by the beginning of
class.
If you have a question regarding the homework, it is your responsibility to
contact me by the Monday before class to get help.
Class work is due at the end of the class period (unless otherwise specified)
MINI-PROJECTS & QUIZZES:
Worth 25% of your grade
Newscasts: you will be required to listen to a newscast each day and take
brief notes over the informationnote any unfamiliar vocab, any topics you
need more information on as well as any important news. (search NPR
Hourly News Summary in itunes). These notes will be due each week when
we meet and we will have time to go over any questions from the past week.
Jello Projects: these are mini-projects that you will accompany each unit
of study to help the information to come together better.
Periodically, we will have quizzes so I can verify you understand a concept
before we move on. These will be in-class and you will have at least a
weeks notice of what material will be covered.

NOTEBOOK/TESTS/PROJECTS:
Worth 30% of your grade
Notebook
o You will need four dividers dedicated to Government
Information:
Calendar (I will give you copies)
Syllabus
Handouts
Notes
Returned Assignments
o We will have periodic checks of your notebook to make sure youre
keeping organized
Tests: We will have a test for each unit we cover. We will use the class
period before the test to review the material. Tests may be made up of
multiple choice, true/false, matching, short answer or essay questions. A
student may retake any test they are not happy with (one time per test)they will receive the highest grade earned as their official grade.
Community Service: You will be required to do some community service each
semester. You must turn in your community service chart signed by the
person over-seeing your community service by the day of the midterm (fall)
or final (spring). Grading will be as follows:
o 10 hours: 100%
o 9 hours: 90%
o 8 hours: 80%
o 7 hours: 70%
o 6 hours: 60%
o 5 hours: 50%
o 4 hours: 40%
o 3 hours: 30%
o 2 hours: 20%

o 1 hour: 10%
President Projects (fall): You will become the campaign manager for a
candidate running for President of the United States. You will choose a
candidate, create a logo, slogan, two ads, and a piece of merchandise, and
write a small paper explaining your campaign. DUE: November, 2016
Create-Your-Own-Country (Spring): You will utilize your knowledge from this
last year to create your own country. You will decide which economic and
government systems your country will operate under, create some type of
Constitutional document,
MIDTERM/FINAL:
Worth 30% of your grade
These larger tests will demonstrate your understanding of ALL units leading
up to the end of each semester (Fall & Spring). We will use at least one
class periods to review for each. These tests may include multiple choice,
true/false, matching, short answer and essay questions.

(APPROXIMATE) SCHEDULE OF AWESOMENESS

WE WILL NOT COMPLETE CHAPTERS AND UNITS IN BOOK ORDER- UNIT NUMBERS
WRITTEN BELOW CORRESPOND TO THEIR NUMBER IN THE BOOK. AT THE
BEGINNING OF EACH UNIT, I WILL HANDOUT THE SPECIFIC ASSISNGMENTS FOR
EACH MEETING.
8/9

CLASS OVERVIEW & FOUNDATION

ASSIGNMENT DUE 8/16: LEARNING STYLES INVENTORY (LINK
ON BLOG), HOW TO TAKE NOTES ASSIGNMENT (COVERS CHAPTER 2 &
WEBSITE), DAILY NEWSCAST NOTES

8/16

THE HISTORY & PHILOSOPHY BEHIND AMERICA

ASSIGNMENT DUE 8/23: READ OVER THE U.S. CONSITUTION (ARTICLES 1, 2, 3,
4, 5, 6, 7 NO AMENDMENTS PP.55-69)- FOR EACH RED
HEADING, WRITE A 1-2 SENTENCE SUMMARY, DAILY NEWSCAST NOTES

8/23

THE US CONSTITUTION (ON CALL)

ASSIGNMENT DUE 8/30: READ AND TAKE NOTES OVER CHAPTER FOUR, DAILY
NEWSCAST NOTES

8/30

RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITES

ASSIGNMENT DUE 9/6: DAILY NEWSCAST NOTES
REVIEW OVER NOTES

9/6

REVIEW
ASSIGNMENT DUE 9/13: DAILY NEWSCAST NOTES

9/13

UNIT ONE TEST

9/20

UNIT ONE JELLO PROJECTS DUE

LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

9/27

EXECUTIVE BRANCH

10/4

JUDICIAL BRANCH

10/11

FALL BREAK (REVIEW)

10/18

UNIT TWO TEST

10/25

UNIT TWO JELLO PROJECTS DUE

ELECTING LEADERS

11/1

THE POLITICAL SYSTEM

11/8

PRESIDENT PROJECTS DUE/PRESENTATIONS

11/15

PAYING FOR GOVERNMENT

11/22

REVIEW

11/29

UNIT 4 TEST

12/6

UNIT 4 JELLO PROJECTS DUE

REVIEW

12/13

MIDTERM