Tennenbaum Family Technology High School
2013-2014
US Government
Mr. Bartlett jbartlett@laalliance.org
Mr. Johnson rjohnson@laalliance.org
Office/Tutoring Hours: Tuesdays 3:30-4:30pm
Content: US Government is a Course A required semester-long course required for graduation. You must pass this
course to meet the graduation requirements established by Alliance for College-Ready Public Schools, and for admission
to a UC or CSU college.
The course will include units on the foundations of American government, political behavior: government by the people,
the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government, comparative political and economic systems and
participating in state and local government. Current events and discussions will be an important part of the class.
Course Objectives:
 Students will identify their roles in civic life, politics, and government.
 Students will identify the foundations of the American political system.
 Students will understand how the government established by the Constitution embodies the purposes, values,
and principles of American democracy.
 Students will understand the relationship of the United States to other nations and to world affairs.
 Students will identify their roles in American democracy.
 Students will become familiar with current events at the local, state, national and international levels as they relate
to government and how it functions.
 Students will register to vote and participate in local elections.
Textbook and Resources
United States Government: Democracy in Action
McGraw Hill
Other resources that will be utilized in this class include: Edmodo.com, Achieve3000, icivics.org, CNN Student News,
and many others at teacher discretion.
Materials:
Students are required to bring to class everyday:
● One Notebook (8.5x11 spiral or composition)
● Blue or Black ink Pen
● Pencil
Course Outline:
Unit 1: Foundations of American Government
Unit 2: Three Branches of Government
Unit 3: Supreme Court Decisions
Unit 4: Politics, Media, Participation
Unit 5: State and Local Government
Unit 6: Comparative Governments
Grades: In compliance with Tenn Tech’s school-wide grading policies, grades will be based on student mastery of
standards:
4= Advanced, 3= Proficient, 2= Basic, NP= Not Proficient
Class discussions: Discussions of current events and other topics relevant to public policy will be regular occurrences in
class. There will be natural differences of opinion that occur during discussions. Students MUST respect the discussion
process and concede that people WILL disagree. Disagreement is OK. We must learn how to respectfully disagree
with one another.
Projects and Assignments:
Students will complete a variety of assignments for this course, they will include but are not limited to
● Final Project: Students will be required to turn in a Portfolio assignment which is based on heightening their
level of community awareness, in the packet the students will include: (a) an issue analysis paper, (b) civic event
attendance, (c) and submit two letters to the editor.
● Current Events Wednesday: Students are required to participate and contribute heavily on a current issue
published within the week in a newspaper or online publication based on a political issue. Every Wednesday
beginning the third week of school students will be required to submit to Edmodo a summary of a current event,
and answer questions relating to its connections to US government policies and principles. A link to the article
and/or copy of the article is required along with the written summary.
● Exams, Tests and Quizzes: Students will complete the 1st quarter benchmark which will be considered the
Midterm, and the 2nd quarter benchmark will be considered the Final exam. Formative Quizzes and Tests, both
open and closed book, will be administered throughout the semester.
● Classwork: Students will be asked to complete short essays, power-points, graphic organizers, and other
assignments.
● Notebook: Students are required to take notes each day. Periodic Notebook Checks for an academic grade will
be assigned at random. Students may use their notebooks for open note exams and essays. It is the students
responsibility to update their notebook. All PowerPoints and lecture notes will be available online.
All students will be provided clear instructions and rubrics for all assessments.
Attendance
It is crucial that you are in class, on time every day. If you are absent, it is your responsibility to obtain any work, notes,
assignments you missed while you were absent. All classwork, assignments, PowerPoints, are available on Edmodo.
Late Work and Make Ups:
All assignments must be turned in in by the due date. If a student is absent, the student will receive one additional day to
turn in the assignment. All make up exams must be completed the day students return to class. Late work will lose one
letter grade per day.
BLAST Model and Routines
At Tennenbaum Tech, we will use the BLAST Model during instruction. Due to the shortness of day, Wednesdays will
not have rotations, but will consist of an activity students will do as a group such as a written reflection, debate, Socratic
seminar, or project time. The following list is a sample of tasks that we will do in each station
Whole Group (Beginning of Class)
Do Now/Warm Up/Attendance
Whole Group Lecture: Students take notes on themes, facts, and ideas that will be essential for BLAST
Rotations. Students will have the opportunity to question, pair share, and discuss at appropriate times the
teacher decides.
Direct
Collaborative
Independent
(Teacher Led)
(Groups of 2-3)
(By Yourself)
Analyze Primary Sources
Analyze Political Cartoons
Independent Reading
Discuss Political Issues
Vocabulary Building
Independent Writing
Writers Workshop
Document Based Questions
Achieve3000
Group Readings
Vocabulary Tic-Tac-Toe
Group Projects
Peer Editing
Conclusion: Whole Group
Reconnect, Exit Slip, Dismissal.
Class Expectations:
Students are expected to follow all classroom and school wide policies and behaviors. Students are expected to be
respectful, on time, prepared, responsible.
● No Food is allowed in class because it makes the classroom dirty. All Food must be put away and out of sight, or
it will be confiscated.
● Water bottles are okay. Soda is not because it can stain.
● Gum is not allowed in class because it sticks to the floor and makes our janitors job tough.
● Bathroom: Students are expected to use the restroom before or after class and during lunch or nutrition. The last
page of the (agenda or notebook) will be checked off each time the student uses the bathroom.
Consequences:
Students who do not follow appropriate guidelines for behavior and do not meet classroom expectations will incur the
following consequences:
● Verbal Warning
● Intervention (Seat Change, or Temporary Removal from the classroom)
● Detention after school to clean room/Phone Call Home and/or Conference
● Severe Cases: Office Referral and Parent Teacher Conference
CHEATING AND PLAGARISM:
Students need to use class study time wisely and complete their own work. Students are encouraged to have a “study
buddy”, but are NOT permitted to copy another student’s work without the teacher’s permission. Students are not allowed
to copy anyone’s work from printed material or online and turn it in as his or her own. Students will be required to
resubmit any assignment that has been plagiarized.
Cheating will not be tolerated and will result in an immediate FAIL on the assignment(s) for ALL Students involved, a
referral for academic dishonesty, and parents will be notified.
***The teacher reserves the right to change this or make modifications to this syllabus. The student is responsible
for making the adjustment.