Mr. Perse reserves the right to adjust any and all assignments based on various factors including scheduling issues, bad-weather cancellations, and student progress.
Thursday, August 19: Students should read text pages 6 - 10. This information is from Chapter 1 and is the Unit 1 / Section 1 reading assignment.
Friday, August 20: Students should also re-read text pages 6 - 10 prior to class on Monday, August 23.
Monday, August 23: Students should read text pages 10 - 12 before tomorrow's class. This material is a continuation of Unit 1 / Section 1.
Thursday, August 26: Students will work in class on the Unit 1 / Section 1 Vocabulary Builder worksheet. This worksheet is due at the end of class.
Wednesday, September 1: Students will work in class on the Unit 1 / Section 2 Vocabulary Builder Worksheet. This work sheet is due at the end of the period, or if students have not finished, as the beginning of class on Thursday, September 2.
Friday, September 10: The Unit 1 test, covering text pages 6 - 25 (Chapter 1) will be administered in class today.
Monday, September 13 / Tuesday, September 14: Students will engage in an in-class exercise dealing with writing descriptions of, and a narrative about their understanding of the American system of government. The work is to be submitted at the end of the class period on Tuesday, September 14. This work will mark the beginning of Unit 2, and the origins of America's system of government.
Friday, September 17: Students will work during a portion of the class period on the Unit 2 / Section 1 Vocabulary Builder worksheet. The worksheet is due at the end of the period. If students do not finish by the end of the period, they should complete the worksheet and turn it on Monday, September 20.
Tuesday, September 21: Students will work during a portion of the class period on the Unit 2 / Section 2 Guided Reading Activity worksheet. This worksheet is due at the end of the period.
Thursday, September 23 / Friday, September 24: Students will be working on an in-class assignment detailing the features of the Declaration of Independence. The assignment is due at the end of class on Friday, September 24.
Monday, September 27: Students will watch a video in class about the Articles of Confederation. They will make a list of what they think the problems were with the new American government. That list is due at the end of class.
Tuesday, September 28: Students will begin working on a more in-depth assignment regarding the shortcomings of the Articles of Confederation. The assignment will be based on information from Unit 2 power points 26 - 38. This assignment is due at the end of class on Thursday, September 30.
Tuesday, October 5: Students will begin work in class on a worksheet about the Federalists and the Anti-federalists. This worksheet is due at the end of this class period. If students do not finish by the end of the class period, the worksheet is due on Wednesday, October 6.
Friday, October 8: The Unit 2 Test will be administered today.
Monday, October 25: Students will submit written impressions of the film "Iron Jawed Angels" which was shown in class last week. Students should write about what they learned from watching the film and how that might relate to issues today. Students should also comment on what they liked and did not like about the film. This assignment is due at the end of class.
Friday, October 29: The Unit 3 test is scheduled for today.
Thursday, Friday, November 4 and 5: Students will work in class on an AIR test readiness pre-assessment. The purpose of this work is to assess what the students have learned thus far and what needs to be reiterated prior to the semester exam in December.
Monday, November 8: A worksheet of important definitions for Unit 4 will be handed out and assigned to the students. This worksheet is due on Monday, November 29. A worksheet covering Chapter 8 / Section 1 of the text (pages 221-225) will also be assigned and this worksheet is due tomorrow, Tuesday, November 9.
Friday, December 3: The Unit 4 test will be administered in class today. Prior to taking the test, students will need to turn in the test review packet. This packet will be graded.
The Week of December 13: Students will be taking their semester exams this week. Before taking the exam, students will need to turn in their semester exam review packet. This packet will be graded.
Friday, January 7: Students will work on the Chapter 5 / Section 1 Guided Reading Strategy worksheet in class. The worksheet, which covers pages 122- 126 in the text, is due at the end of the class period.
Monday, January 10: Students will work on the Chapter 5 / Section 2 Guided Reading Strategy worksheet in class. The worksheet, which covers pages 128- 136 in the text, is due at the end of the class period.
Thursday, January 13: Students will research a newspaper or magazine article on the topic of gerrymandering in Ohio and summarize the issues discussed in the article. Their summary should include a basic description of what gerrymandering is, why it is a problem, and why gerrymandering isn't being eliminated. It is very important that students choose an in-depth article that covers these topics. Students will turn in their summary AND a copy of the article on Thursday, January 20.
Friday, January 21: Students will research 1 or 2 newspaper or magazine articles on the topic of the Senate filibuster and summarize the issues discussed in the articles. Their summary should include a basic description of what the filibuster is and BOTH the pros and cons of keeping the filibuster as a part of Senate practices. It is very important that students choose an article that covers a positive aspect of the filibuster and an article that covers a negative aspect of the filibuster. Students will turn in their summary AND a copy of the articles on Thursday, January 27.
Friday, January 28: The Unit 5 test is scheduled to be administered in class today.
Tuesday, February 8: Students will write a short opinion paper in class on whether or not the 22nd Amendment is a good or bad thing. Students will be able to utilize in-class time to read about the 22nd amendment to formulate an opinion. The short paper is due at the end of class.
Wednesday, February 9: Students will be assigned to find an article which discusses the pros and cons of the electoral college. Students are to summarize the main points regarding both the positives and negatives of keeping the electoral college. This summary is due Friday, February 11.
Tuesday, February 22: The Unit 6 test is scheduled for today.
Wednesday, February 23: We will begin Unit 7 today. Students will read text pages and complete the Chapter 7 / Section 1 Guided Reading Activity worksheet. This work sheet is due Friday, February 25.
Friday, February 25: Students will read text pages 196 to 205 and complete the Chapter 7 / Section 2 Guided Reading Activity worksheet. This worksheet is due Monday, February 28.
Monday, March 7: Students will be assigned a vocabulary worksheet related to power point #s 41 to 56. This worksheet is due Friday, March 11.
Monday, March 14: The Unit 7 Test will be given in class today.
Wednesday, March 23: The Unit 8 Test will be given in class today.
April 5, 2020: Students will be given an extensive End-of-Year Test Review packet, which will help them prepare for the Government AIR tests on April 21 and 22. The packet will be collected and graded. The packet is due Monday, April 25.
Thursday, April 28 to Thursday, May 19: Students will be working on an end-of-the-year project based on the podcast "Serial-Season 1." This podcast depicts the trial of Adnan Syed, a Baltimore-area high school student who was accused and convicted of murdering his former girlfriend, Hae Min Lee. There will be periodic assignments during this three week period, which will be explained to the students as we move forward.
Thursday, April 28: Students will be assigned the first several "stations" of the "Serial" project. These "station" assignments will be explained in class. Students will also have a chance to work in class on Friday to finish this part of the overall project. I will be collecting this work at the end of class on Friday, April 29.
Tuesday, May 3: Students will work on the Episode 1 worksheet during class and turn it in at the end of class.
Wednesday, May 4: Students should begin working on the "Serial People Map" following the playing of Episode 2 in class.
Thursday, May 5: Students will work on the Episode 3 worksheet during class and turn it in at the end of class.
Friday, May 6: Students will complete the "Jay's Story Worksheet" for homework and turn it in on Monday, May 9.
Monday, May 9: Students will listen to Episode 5 in class today and will complete the Episode 5 worksheet. This worksheet should be turned in at the end of class.
Tuesday, May 10: Students will listen to Episode 6 in class today and will complete the "Evidence Chart" for homework. This chart will be turned in on Wednesday, May 11.
Wednesday, May 11: Students will listen to Episode 7 in class today. There is not a graded assignment associated with this episode.
Thursday, May 12: Students will listen to Episode 8 in class today. There is not a graded assignment associated with this episode.
Friday, May 13: Students will listen to Episode 9 in class today and complete the Episode 9 worksheet by the end of class, time permitting. If we do not complete the episode during the class period, students have the option of turning in the Episode 9 worksheet on Monday, May 16.
Monday, May 16: Students will listen to Episode 10 in class and work on an exercise regarding the issue of potential racial bias in the cases against Adnan Syed. This assignment is due at the end of class on Tuesday, May 17.
Tuesday, May 17: The students will finish Episode 10 and begin Episode 11 in class. The Episode 11 worksheet will be due at the end of class on Wednesday, May 18.
Wednesday, May 18 and Thursday, May 19: Students will complete the Serial Podcast by listening to Episode 12 in class.
Tuesday, May 31: Students in the 4/5th period Government class will arrive at 10:40 to 12:20 to work on the last assignment for the "Serial" end of the year project.
Thursday, June 2: Students in the 3rd period Government class will arrive at 8:40 to 10:20 to work on the last assignment for the "Serial" end of the year project.