HONORS AMERICAN GOVERNMENT SYLLABUS
SARASOTA HIGH SCHOOL
DR. SANDRA B CRIHFIELD
sandy_crihfield@sarasota.k12.fl.us – personal communications
dr_crihfield@yahoo.com – assignments
http://shshistory.com – website
2006-2007
COURSE DESCRIPTION: A semester course in American Government to fulfill the senior year history requirement. The course surveys comparative political systems, foundations of the American system, the Constitution, the three branches of government, civil liberties, and the electoral process. Emphasis will be placed on how the individual and government interact and the rights and privileges of citizenship. Current events will be utilized to analyze how these components affect each individual’s life.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
The student will be able to:
EMPLOYABLITY SKILLS: In addition to the above objectives the county requires the addition of the following skills be observed and recognized by each course taught. The skills are: attendance, punctuality, brings required materials to class, appropriate on task behavior, task completion, and an attitude of cooperation.
TEXT: American Government, William A. McClenaghan, 2004. Additional materials will be presented throughout the course. Supplemental readings, computer research, videos, television news, newspapers, periodicals, maps, and lecturers will be utilized to present a balanced and varied approach to the study of government.
GRADES: Grades are based on the SHS scale of 90-100 A, 80-89 B, 70-79 C, 60-69 D, and 59 and below failing. The student’s grade will be made up of 20% employability skills and 80% political science knowledge. The 80% will be composed of tests, projects, and units of class and home assignments. Each of these components counts equally. These grades will be available to the student and the parent when requests are made. All assignments the student produces will be graded and returned with a grade. All students will take a semester exam that will count 20% of the semester grade.
STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES:
RESPECT-The student is responsible to follow all SHS and county rules and guidelines. The student is responsible to articulate his/her needs for a successful semester and behave in a respectable manner to all students and the instructor. There will be zero tolerance to disrespectful language, gestures, or written material as regards to race, sex, or cultural heritage. Tolerance of other people's ideas is important to the understanding and development of the American experience.
ON TIME- Being tardy is unacceptable, if you have to be late place the note on my desk and then sit and start note taking or the assignment without disturbing the class or instructor. Changes to the schedule and important announcements will be made at the beginning of the class period.
PREPARED - be ready for the class assignments. No late assignments will be accepted without a school excused admit for the absence. Reading the text and supplemental readings is a minimum requirement.
RESPONSIBLE- be responsible for the time you are in class. NO CELL PHONES! Cell phones disrupting class in unacceptable, if I see it or hear it, it is gone for the day. If this happens again, half of the employability points will be deducted. If you need to use the restroom, take the pass and go. We will be moving on without you. If you choose to take on the responsibility of computer treat it as school property not your personal computer.
ATTENTION AND NOTETAKING - This is not a time to do homework, sleep, talk on the phone, or run errands. Playing on the computer during class will cause the privilege to be revoked. If you choose the use a computer, follow all class computer rules.
HONESTY-Plagiarism and cheating is unacceptable, check your student handbook.
PRIVACY PROTECTION AND PARENT CONTACT: Due to laws regarding student privacy I cannot respond to e-mails about individual students. When using the telephone to confer with a parent/guardian, I am obligated first to verify the caller, so please call from a phone whose number is listed with the school system.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR PAPERS
Due Dates for all papers:
The student should be ready for all class assignments. No late assignments will be accepted without a school excused admit for the absence. All papers must be submitted toTurnitin.com no later than class time the day it is due. Absence from school does not change this rule. Turnitin.com will be open a week before the paper is due. If the student is absent from school the day a paper is due the paper must be submitted via e-mail no later than class time the date the paper is due. When the student returns to school with a valid admit a hard copy of the paper must be given to the instructor. Monitor the website calendar to check due dates for assignments.
Turnitin.com rules and regulations:
Turnitin.com is a website that all papers must be submitted to before the paper is accepted. The site helps the instructor check the paper for plagiarism. The student needs to register on the site and if the student is registered for another class they do not need to re-register. After the student registers the student does not need to do anything else till the paper is submitted. The student needs to get the class name and password from the instructor to submit their paper for this class. The document can only be submitted once so be sure that all parts of your paper are in ONE document, written in word, and are submitted during the open week that the paper is due. After the student submits the document it will take from a few minutes to a few hours to complete the process. The student can check the submission but the determination of plagiarism is made by the instructor. If the student sees that they have made an error in citation and it is not past the due date the student can make the corrections on the hard copy of the paper and note the changes made by placing a note on the title page as to the corrections.
THEME PAPER
Select ten themes that represent this time period. Each theme needs to be represented by a photo, artwork, song lyrics, or poetry. The student will write a paragraph about why this illustrates the theme the student has chosen. A second paragraph will discuss the political concept or institution for each theme.
Elements of the paper are as follows:
Title page – name, paper title, date due
The theme, including the time period (dates)
The photo, artwork, song lyrics, or poetry need to be attached and properly cited.
Write a paragraph explaining the reason why the student has chosen the photo, art work, song lyrics, or poetry to represent the theme. A second paragraph is then written to explain the historical political context (relate or define the political institution or political concept to the theme).
Grading Criteria:
The paper must be word-processed, turned in to turnitin.com, and be turned in on the appropriate date to be accepted. These are minimum requirements for the paper to be accepted for consideration for a grade. Failure to complete the above will result in the grade of 0%.
Title page, clean presentation, and organization – 5%
Citation (must be cited or the paper is a 0%)–15%
10 Themes and their photos or words – 20%
10 Paragraphs – 50%
Unique Quality – 10%
TOPICAL RESEARCH PAPER
Select a topic to research from the appropriate time period. Research topics need to be fully researched and correctly documented. Appropriate topics are: civil rights, the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, states rights, federalism, political parties, electoral college, interest groups, PACs, third parties, foreign policy making, immigration policies, domestic policies, Presidential Doctrines, media and politics, specific elections, candidates and the political process, minority rights, and women rights.
The paper should be five to ten pages in length. The paper must be correctly documented. The must have at least five sources. One of the sources must be a book. The topic must be approved by the instructor. Be careful of Internet sources, many are not historically or politically reliable and are not sufficiently researched and documented. Anyone can post information on the Internet!
Grading Criteria:
The paper must be word-processed, turned in to turnitin.com, and be turned in on the appropriate date to be accepted. These are minimum requirements for the paper to be accepted for consideration for a grade. Failure to complete the above will result in the grade of 0%.
Options for presentation of this may be discussed.
Title page, clean presentation, and organization – 5%
Grammar and structure – 10%
Citation (must be cited or the paper is a 0%) – 10%
Research material – 25%
Written thesis and support material – 40 %
Uniqueness – 10%
CURRENT EVENTS PAPER
Select five topics from current events that the student sees as relevant to a political science topic being studied. The student will then collect five current articles on the topic. The student will research a political science source for an appropriate topic to use as a comparison for the current article. The article must be copied into the paper and be correctly cited. The student will then write a one-page essay on how the past and present tie together on each event. The essay must be cited.
Grading Criteria:
The paper must be word-processed, turned in to turnitin.com, and be turned in on the appropriate date to be accepted. These are minimum requirements for the paper to be accepted for consideration for a grade. Failure to complete the above will result in the grade of 0%.
Title page, clean presentation, and organization – 5%
Grammar and structure – 10%
Selection of articles and historical sources – 25%
Essays – 50%
Uniqueness – 10%
BOOK or MOVIE REVIEW PAPER
The student will select a book or movie from the list or another book or movie approved by the instructor. The student will answer the following questions after reading the book.
Questions to be answered:
Discuss the possible options associated with this paper.
Grading Criteria:
The paper must be word-processed, turned in to turnitin.com, and be turned in on the appropriate date to be accepted. These are minimum requirements for the paper to be accepted for consideration for a grade. Failure to complete the above will result in the grade of 0%.
Title page, clean presentation, and organization – 5%
Grammar, structure and correct citations – 15%
Book questions – 40%
Author’s biography – 20%
Reading the book – 10%
Uniqueness – 10%
Citations to the text can be noted by page number for all answers 6, 7, and 8 except for outside the text references which should follow standard APA form and style.
ORAL POLITICAL HISTORY PAPER
This paper is creating an oral political history of an individual.
Elements of the paper are as follows:
The student will select a subject to interview. The student needs to explain the assignment to the subject and their right to privacy. The subject can request to stay anonymous or use their names. The student needs to create a waiver for the subject to sign (as to privacy and who will read).
Select a topic or a time period to create questions. The student will create fifty questions to ask and have these approved by the instructor.
The interview, questions and answers can be word processed. Questions and answers can be submitted by word-processing the questions and taping the answers from the interview, on video, on CD, or on an audio tape. Tapes will not be returned.
The student will write a one-page overview of the experience.
Grading Criteria:
The paper must be word-processed, turned in to turnitin.com, and be turned in on the appropriate date to be accepted. These are minimum requirements for the paper to be accepted for consideration for a grade. Failure to complete the above will result in the grade of 0%.
Title page and waiver – 5%
Fifty questions and approval – 40%
Fifty answers – 20%
Interview style – 10 %
Evaluation – 15%
Uniqueness – 10%
MOVIE LIST
Hotel Rwanda Glory
Amistad The Patriot
Revolution The Nuremberg Trial
I Will Fight No More Forever All Quiet On the Western Front
Hearts and Minds Saving Private Ryan
Eyes On the Prize Malcolm X
Radio Bikini Geronimo
The Civil War The Wave
The Killing Fields Fail Safe
The Missiles of October The 13 Days
Nixon The Great Gatsby
Citizen Cane All the Presidents Men
Of Mice and Men The Grapes of Wrath
The Color Purple October Sky
Forrest Gump (1994) The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman
Philadelphia (1993) Dances With Wolves
The Crossing The Joy Luck Club
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn The Best Years of Our Lives
To Kill Mockingbird Born on the 4th July
The Constant Gardner (2006) The Deer Hunter
Mississippi Burning (1988) Roots
Apollo 13 Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)
Rosewood (1997) Traffic (2000)
Twelve Angry Men (1957) Good Night and Good Luck (2006)
1776 Silkwood
Norma Rae Apocalypse Now
Absence of Malice All the Kings Men (1949)
Armageddon (1998) Being There (1979)
China Syndrome (1981) Clockwork Orange
Catch 22
The Catcher in the Rye My Antonia
Their Eyes Were Watching God Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
The Autobiography of Frederick Douglass Dandelion Wine
The Wave I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
A Boy’s Life The Bluest Eye
The Amistad Anthem
Uncle Tom’s Cabin Roots
Black Boy Of Mice and Men
Silent Spring The Third Life of Grange
Copeland
Of Love and Dust The Jungle
The Color Purple Native Son
Beloved One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Women’s Diaries of the Westward Journey The Black Rose
Interpreter of Maladies Uncle Tom’s Children
Love The Gathering of Old Men
The Bean Trees Snow Falling on Cedars
Fahrenheit 451 To Kill A Mockingbird
Gap Creek The House of Sand and Fog
A Lesson Before Dying On the Road
The Secret Lives of Bees The Education of Little Tree
Rocket Boys Angela’s Ashes
How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents Sky of Stone