Week of 5/3

Here are this week's plans:

5/3 (Monday)--Review of Campaign Finance; Nominations. After a brief quiz on Friday's topic of campaign finance, today we will discuss nominating procedures. Like the electorate itself, which has grown tremendously throughout U.S. history, the methods we use to nominate candidates for political office have also changed and evolved. Today's nominating processes are (on the whole) far more democratic, particularly in the use of direct primaries instead of caucuses and conventions.

5/4 (Tuesday)--IDEAlog wrap-up; Presidential Primaries and National Conventions. We'll begin class by conducting a quick review of the results from the IDEAlog political ideology quiz we conducted at the beginning of the unit. Next, we will look at presidential primaries in more detail. Yesterday, we looked at several methods of nominating candidates for political office. We learned that primaries have come to be the dominant method. We will seek to deepen our understanding of the importance of primaries by looking more closely at the process by which we choose presidential candidates. Although there is a good deal of variation among the states, and between the Republican and Democratic parties, the principles which underlie the processes are very similar and share a common purpose: to select the best and most electable candidates for the White House.

5/5 (Wednesday)--Short Subject Films--(1) American Political Parties, (2) Primaries and Caucuses, and (3) Political Conventions. I will be out today to attend a professional development program. Since several students will be out for IB testing, today's lesson will focus on review rather than new material. Mr. Wilson will show a series of short subject films produced by C-Span. For each film, write down three bits of knowledge you did not previously know, and answer the three discussion questions on the board. Turn these in to Mr. Wilson at the end of class.

5/6 (Thursday)--Party Structure and Organization. Today we'll examine the structure and organization of the major political parties. The key characteristic is de-centralization--the central party organization (such as the national committee and national chairperson) do not closely manage or regulate state and local party organizations. Local party structure and organization may vary considerably from place to place. We will consider some of the reasons for (and advantages/disadvantages) for this decentralized structure in class.

5/7 (Friday)--Vocabulary Practice; Political Cartoons. Today's lesson will be a "Fun Friday" package of vocabulary review and application of learning through political cartoons. First, we will pair up and work on mastering the unit vocabulary terms by playing "Talk a Mile a Minute." When you are done with the vocabulary review, you and your partner should complete the two political cartoon activities.

Next week, plan for an exam review on Monday and a test on Unit IV on Tuesday. Then, it's on to your final unit of American Government--Political Media and Interest Groups!

Graduation is just around the corner. Let's bear down and finish strong!

Have a great week!