AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 12TH GRADE
Student Name:
Course:
Semester and Year:
Your portfolio should:
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reflect a variety of evidence and skills.
be organized and professional.
include all unit vocabulary throughout the evidence examples, in bold or highlighted text.
rubrics and teacher-feedback for all four performance tasks.
Unit 1: Origins of a New Nation
Vocabulary:
Objective
Evidence of Learning
Analyze the culture of the
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following groups during the
 Test
pre-colonization era:
 Presentation
American Indians,
 Debate
Europeans, and West
 Socratic Seminar
Africans.
 Writing (SA, LE, or DBQ)
 Annotated Document
 Group Collaboration
 Other: ______________________
Analyze the expedition of
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Christopher Columbus and
 Test
his encounters with western
 Presentation
life.
 Debate
 Socratic Seminar
 Writing (SA, LE, or DBQ)
 Annotated Document
 Group Collaboration
 Other: ______________________
Analyze the growth of
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Spanish expansion in the
 Test
Americas and how the
 Presentation
colonizers will govern the
 Debate
new territory.
 Socratic Seminar
 Writing (SA, LE, or DBQ)
 Annotated Document
 Group Collaboration
 Other: ______________________
Analyze why the economy
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of the French was
 Test
dependent upon a good
 Presentation
Page
AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 12TH GRADE
relationship with Native
Americans.
 Debate
 Socratic Seminar
 Writing (SA, LE, or DBQ)
 Annotated Document
 Group Collaboration
 Other: ______________________
Analyze the development of
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the colonial era and the
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challenges faced concerning
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politics, religions, and
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social structure.
 Socratic Seminar
 Writing (SA, LE, or DBQ)
 Annotated Document
 Group Collaboration
 Other: ______________________
Analyze how English ideas
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about the government and
 Test
the economy influenced life
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in the thirteen colonies.
 Debate
 Socratic Seminar
 Writing (SA, LE, or DBQ)
 Annotated Document
 Group Collaboration
 Other: ______________________
Analyze how Great British
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wars with France affected
 Test
the American colonies.
 Presentation
 Debate
 Socratic Seminar
 Writing (SA, LE, or DBQ)
 Annotated Document
 Group Collaboration
 Other: ______________________
Unit 2: Creating the American Republic
Vocabulary:
Stamp Act
Committee of Correspondence
Sons of Liberty
Intolerable Act
Loyalist
Declaration of Independence
Treaty of Paris
manumission
Northwest Territory
Great Compromise
Three-Fifths Compromise
popular sovereignty
Analyze the events that
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increased tension between
 Test
Britain and its colonies.
 Presentation
 Debate
 Socratic Seminar
 Writing (SA, LE, or DBQ)
 Annotated Document
AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 12TH GRADE
Synthesize the main ideas
within the Declaration of
Independence.
Prove that equality and selfgovernment were
contributing factors to the
outbreak of the American
Revolution.
Create a graphic organizer
on the strengths and
weaknesses of the British
and American forces during
the American Revolution.
Analyze key turning points
within the American
Revolution.
Analyze the
accomplishments of the
American Revolution and
the effects on society.
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Group Collaboration
Other: ______________________
Graphic Organizer
Test
Presentation
Debate
Socratic Seminar
Writing (SA, LE, or DBQ)
Annotated Document
Group Collaboration
Other: ______________________
Graphic Organizer
Test
Presentation
Debate
Socratic Seminar
Writing (SA, LE, or DBQ)
Annotated Document
Group Collaboration
Other: ______________________
Graphic Organizer
Test
Presentation
Debate
Socratic Seminar
Writing (SA, LE, or DBQ)
Annotated Document
Group Collaboration
Other: ______________________
Graphic Organizer
Test
Presentation
Debate
Socratic Seminar
Writing (SA, LE, or DBQ)
Annotated Document
Group Collaboration
Other: ______________________
Graphic Organizer
Test
Presentation
Debate
Socratic Seminar
Writing (SA, LE, or DBQ)
Annotated Document
AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 12TH GRADE
 Group Collaboration
 Other: ______________________
Analyze the weaknesses and
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the effects of the Articles of
 Test
Confederation.
 Presentation
 Debate
 Socratic Seminar
 Writing (SA, LE, or DBQ)
 Annotated Document
 Group Collaboration
 Other: ______________________
Compare and contrast the
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different plans proposed at
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the Constitutional
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Convention.
 Debate
 Socratic Seminar
 Writing (SA, LE, or DBQ)
 Annotated Document
 Group Collaboration
 Other: ______________________
Compare and contrast the
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different views of
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Federalists and Anti Presentation
Federalists.
 Debate
 Socratic Seminar
 Writing (SA, LE, or DBQ)
 Annotated Document
 Group Collaboration
 Other: ______________________
Describe and explain the
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steps taken to ratify the
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Constitution.
 Presentation
 Debate
 Socratic Seminar
 Writing (SA, LE, or DBQ)
 Annotated Document
 Group Collaboration
 Other: ______________________
Unit 3: Government of the New Republic
Vocabulary:
precedent
Cabinet
loose construction
strict construction
impressment
judicial review
Analyze the Preamble and
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the Articles of the
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Constitution
 Presentation
AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 12TH GRADE
Analyze the three main
principles of a limited
government: federalism,
separation of powers, and
checks and balances.
Explain the amendment
process.
Explore the Bill of Rights
and apply concepts to
Supreme Court Cases.
Examine adaptations made
to the Constitution to meet
societal changes throughout
the years.
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Debate
Socratic Seminar
Writing (SA, LE, or DBQ)
Annotated Document
Group Collaboration
Other: ______________________
Graphic Organizer
Test
Presentation
Debate
Socratic Seminar
Writing (SA, LE, or DBQ)
Annotated Document
Group Collaboration
Other: ______________________
Graphic Organizer
Test
Presentation
Debate
Socratic Seminar
Writing (SA, LE, or DBQ)
Annotated Document
Group Collaboration
Other: ______________________
Graphic Organizer
Test
Presentation
Debate
Socratic Seminar
Writing (SA, LE, or DBQ)
Annotated Document
Group Collaboration
Other: ______________________
Graphic Organizer
Test
Presentation
Debate
Socratic Seminar
Writing (SA, LE, or DBQ)
Annotated Document
Group Collaboration
Other: ______________________
AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 12TH GRADE
Analyze Hamilton’s
programs for dealing with
national and state debt.
Connect specific issues that
led to the emergence of
political parties.
Critique the actions of John
Adams as president.
Compare and contrast the
beliefs of John Adams and
Thomas Jefferson.
Prove why the election of
1800 was pivotal in
America politics.
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Graphic Organizer
Test
Presentation
Debate
Socratic Seminar
Writing (SA, LE, or DBQ)
Annotated Document
Group Collaboration
Other: ______________________
Graphic Organizer
Test
Presentation
Debate
Socratic Seminar
Writing (SA, LE, or DBQ)
Annotated Document
Group Collaboration
Other: ______________________
Graphic Organizer
Test
Presentation
Debate
Socratic Seminar
Writing (SA, LE, or DBQ)
Annotated Document
Group Collaboration
Other: ______________________
Graphic Organizer
Test
Presentation
Debate
Socratic Seminar
Writing (SA, LE, or DBQ)
Annotated Document
Group Collaboration
Other: ______________________
Graphic Organizer
Test
Presentation
Debate
Socratic Seminar
Writing (SA, LE, or DBQ)
AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 12TH GRADE
Critique the successes and
failures of the Jefferson
administration.
Explain how judicial review
shaped the role of the
federal courts.
Investigate the different
ways in which Native
American leaders reacted to
U.S. expansion.
Analyze the causes and
effects of the War of 1812.
Analyze key people that
played an integral role in
the War of 1812.
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Annotated Document
Group Collaboration
Other: ______________________
Graphic Organizer
Test
Presentation
Debate
Socratic Seminar
Writing (SA, LE, or DBQ)
Annotated Document
Group Collaboration
Other: ______________________
Graphic Organizer
Test
Presentation
Debate
Socratic Seminar
Writing (SA, LE, or DBQ)
Annotated Document
Group Collaboration
Other: ______________________
Graphic Organizer
Test
Presentation
Debate
Socratic Seminar
Writing (SA, LE, or DBQ)
Annotated Document
Group Collaboration
Other: ______________________
Graphic Organizer
Test
Presentation
Debate
Socratic Seminar
Writing (SA, LE, or DBQ)
Annotated Document
Group Collaboration
Other: ______________________
Graphic Organizer
Test
Presentation
AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 12TH GRADE
 Debate
 Socratic Seminar
 Writing (SA, LE, or DBQ)
 Annotated Document
 Group Collaboration
 Other: ______________________
Unit 4: Expansion and Reforms
Vocabulary:
labor union
American System
Indian Removal Act
Jacksonian Democracy
Tariff of Abominations
nullification
revivalist
evangelical
abolition movement
Gag Rule
Manifest Destiny
autonomy
popular sovereignty
personal liberty laws
Underground Railroad
Know-Nothings
Confederate States of America
Connect how improvements
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in transportation and
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communication changed
 Presentation
American society.
 Debate
 Socratic Seminar
 Writing (SA, LE, or DBQ)
 Annotated Document
 Group Collaboration
 Other: ______________________
Examine how the Industrial
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Revolution arrived and how
 Test
it led to sectionalism.
 Presentation
 Debate
 Socratic Seminar
 Writing (SA, LE, or DBQ)
 Annotated Document
 Group Collaboration
 Other: ______________________
Explore the effects of
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nationalism on domestic
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and foreign affairs.
 Presentation
 Debate
 Socratic Seminar
 Writing (SA, LE, or DBQ)
 Annotated Document
 Group Collaboration
 Other: ______________________
Cite evidence of how
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American government and
 Test
democracy changed with
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Jackson as President and
AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 12TH GRADE
after.
Critique reform and social
movements such as:
religious reforms, antislavery movement, and
women’s suffrage
movement.
Connect the ideas of
Manifest Destiny, war for
Texas independence, and
war with Mexico, with how
they led to the expansion of
the United States.
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Debate
Socratic Seminar
Writing (SA, LE, or DBQ)
Annotated Document
Group Collaboration
Other: ______________________
Graphic Organizer
Test
Presentation
Debate
Socratic Seminar
Writing (SA, LE, or DBQ)
Annotated Document
Group Collaboration
Other: ______________________
Graphic Organizer
Test
Presentation
Debate
Socratic Seminar
Writing (SA, LE, or DBQ)
Annotated Document
Group Collaboration
Other: ______________________