It must go back to my experience as a fifth grade teacher. My curriculum totally lended itself to playing educational games... (I feel the same way to putting concepts to song.) Over the weekend, I picked up a sweet little game with the intention of adding it to my classroom library. Keep your "Clue" and "Game of Life" at home, we are blending educational with academic here! So, the sweet little game I picked up, Constitutional Quest, comes with great reviews on amazon. (Although one of the reviews had to have been written by a troll.) I can't wait to use my mandatory study hall time to get kids involved in board games instead of texting or doing other people's homework. I also have the game Power Grid chilling in my class, which I use during my comparative econ unit. I will admit, this class is not as intuitive as CQ, and I have modified the instructions so that we can get a few rounds in within the 80 minute block. However, kids do get to apply basic economic concepts to the game, and I have them do a written summary at the conclusion. I quickly thought, what else is out there? Well, here are my top three picks for games to purchase in the future. 1. Parli-Cards U.S. Senate Game: This game has been on the market for about four years, but gets some pretty cool reviews. There are also games that teach kids the alphabet soup of DC, and a Founding Fathers and Presidents pack. 2. Founding Fathers Game: There is nothing like an RPG that sends kids back to that hot, stinky, smelly summer of 1787. While the major critique of this game is that it is highly textual and reliant upon your knowledge of the convention. Well, I think my kids may be able to handle it. 3. The Presidential: Another great example of a well-reviewed RPG, here kids work through the nomination and election of the presidency. Even has a great review from a teacher! If you are looking for ways to review or use dead class time in fun and exciting ways, here is a way to start. Doesn't matter the skill level of your kids; all can benefit from friendly competition and application of content! I also have to give a shout out to my PTSA. They have been super supportive of purchasing some of these games for my classroom, to really extend and enrich learning. That is what an awesome PTSA does!
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This came my way today... a great resource that not only allows you to view Constitutions of the world, but to compare what they say on different key issues, like government construction, legislature, principals, rights and responsibilities, and other super fun constitutional stuff.
I stumbled on this resource, which tracks presidential popularity going back to the Truman administration. It's pretty detailed, and has a lot of demographic breakdowns. You can also compare different presidencies, and look at general trends.
Enjoy! Clicking through Netflix the other day, I stumbled upon a documentary that I had favorited a while ago. I had yet to watch it. Too many things on my plate. I figured it was time... time to see what is up with the documentary, Mitt. This Netflix original sought to show the wear and tear of campaigning on those who choose to run. Whether you are a Romney fan or not, there is value in this film. (The Huffington Post totally slayed this film and Mitt Romney as a whiney flip-flopper that would have ruined the Presidency... a pretty bold statement.) You see the consideration that goes into every campaign appearance, every debate, every dinner. You see the intense political positioning and internal discussion as to how to work every comment, every gaffe, every victory into more votes. And you see how it wears down those who would never want us to see that. It is a great way to insert access to a candidate that spans two presidential elections. I am sure that the images and situations are chosen carefully by Mitt himself to preserve his image, but is still a great behind-the-scenes access. You won't see this from the Obama camp, even though he is a master of media access. (Think of his guest apperances on Zach Galifianakis's Between Two Ferns.) After all, Obama has more image and office to preserve. So I would recommend it as a viewing, either in part or in whole. This week in Congress, legislation was passed to fund research to end childhood cancer. The money for this bill ($126 million) was taken from the public funding of nominating conventions. Seems like a no-brainer, for sure. Yet, there are some out there who would argue that despite the fact that campaign finance outside of the public funding is way more effective, it is also rife with corruption... Lawrence Lessig maybe one of those guys. His TED Talk was re-broadcast on Saturday on NPR, and merits a good listen. He has some pretty radical ideas about how to publicly fund campaigns that may do more good for all of us and our pet political projects... and make our democracy... well... more democratic. Maybe you watch John Stossel on Fox Business Network. Perhaps you've come across Stossel in some of your school resources. Maybe, "Is America Number 1?" or "What's Good About America?"
John has a lot of resources that you can use in your classroom. A lot of it is free, like this 2014 Edition of Stossel in the Classroom, as well as a bunch of DVDs on Economics, streaming resources, (I like this one on the Federal Reserve) and Teacher's Guides that go along with the free DVDs. There are a lot of easy to implement video clips that are fully supported. And a great outside resource page. Enjoy clicking! I am going to splitting this post up between three different entities: a major publisher, two Illinois teachers who have gained mainstream media popularity, and a start-up cottage industry of AP review goodness. Barron's AP U.S. Government and Politics flashcards We start with some flash cards. Kids love flash cards. I am not as big a fan, because they tend to emphasize rote memorization, but we have to start somewhere, right? I asked my PTSA to fund a mini-library of Barron's latest edition. There are 400 flash cards in the set, which are nicely organized by theme, and give great detailed answers to the concept on the front. To help my organizationally challenged kids, there is a nice ring included to keep the cards in one place. Nice! Conneen & Larsen's review sessions on Politico AND C-Span C-Span has a yearly nation-wide jam session for all AP students, which is always accessible on C-Span's amazing streaming video library. (I so love C-Span.) The below clip was on May 11, 2013... and C-Span sets it up so your kids can use electronic communications to pose and answer questions, as well as critique video along side these two veteran teachers from Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, IL. If that isn't enough, Politico occasionally runs blogs (called Politico Prep) written by these two for high school students who are trying to keep up with the test. Advanced Placement Prep's Practice Test Bonanza! This website, created by experienced AP teachers, offers students a chance to purchase access to practice AP tests in a wide variety of disciplines. Ranging between $1.89 to $3.79, students can take an online, multiple choice test that simulates the kinds of questions on the AP exams. At the end of the test, you get your results and projected AP exam score (on the multiple choice only, or course.) as well as an explanation to the correct answer for each question. Schools and teachers can also purchase multiple licenses for entire classes to take the exam. For more information on licenses, email [email protected]. Triple H's AP Government channel There are a lot of historical questions about Presidents, Congress, and the Courts on APGoPo exams. Who has time? I do have my students do a Grade-a-President collaborative assignment, but it's not always enough to get a feel for the presidency. I rely on Keith Hughes of EdYouTube fame to help me help kids fill in the blanks. He does a great job of the Presidents, hyperpluralism, political realignment... Whatever! The kids find him amusing, and a great way to review. Finally, many teachers spend time at work reviewing content with their students. I have limited time to make that work, so my students and I used Google plus to make a virtual hangout study session using webcams, etc. Just a suggestion to make your life easier, and comfy-er.
Good luck, lubgubbers! Ryan, this image is for you. Enjoy gazing into this masterful rendering of our federal expenditures.
OMG. You're never going to believe this. NEVER... Some protesters rolled a video camera during a SCOTUS hearing to protest Citizens United and McCutcheon. **Boom.** Happy Friday. I think it may be almost a sin that I live in the DC Metropolitan area and I'd never been to the Library of Congress... (one of eleven bureaucratic agencies that directly responds to the Legislative branch, only.) Until today. I took a day to be a tourist and see what the LOC had to offer. The primary reason is, well... primary... sources, that is. I have used the LOC for many different assignments over the years, but I have noticed that the user interface hasn't updated since like 2006. And I find the website difficult to use. So I figured I needed something to motivate my use of the LOC resources There is a retired colleague of mine who works with the LOC in some capacity to connect educators with the thousands and thousands of references within the LOC's catalogs. At her (open) invitation, I arrived to a Capitol vicinity in the midst midst a snow squall that made DC and the Capitol almost... pastoral. Anyways, I was among students, educators, and researchers for the day. And it was fun. First of all... I gots me my own LOC library card so I can hold TJ's very own library. No joke. I just have to ask. Me. Holding something that TJ held (just make sure I find the books with the green ribbons in them; 1/3rd of his original library is all that remains due to a tragic chimney fire.) makes the trip worth the effort. And, the library card is free! Yippy! Just stop off at the Madison building first in Room 140. The building is the most gorgeous building in DC. It is filled to the brim with amazing mosaics, murals, stained glass, architecture, and statutes. Like these... A government mural and an amazing mosaic of Minerva to the main reading room. Gorgeous. If you're far away and ready to plan your trip, take a virtual tour. Other than my excitement over seeing all of these amazing historical finds, I went up to the Children's Literature Room to see what they had by way of primary resources. While not all of it is completely applicable to my content... (some of it took a stretch... but I was struck by the fact that much of the readers that were published to teach young children to read were reflective of truly American concepts... like religious themes, (interesting there because it has been said that the reformation influenced democracy in religion, and in turn called for democratization in secular affairs)... which were the literate masses new religious alter screens and moral plays... or a pastoral life as I witnessed in a reader published in South Carolina, 1863, and not about war and strife) I was totally into a little book that is not a digitized item for its totally amazing insight into what civic virtues were back in the early 1800s. Enjoy this little treat. So, this summer I intend on going back with my little kids and by myself to do some more digging... with my new library card!!! I really want to find out what political philosophy books Jefferson had in his library... specifically if he read Xenophon's Cyropeadia... one of my favorites. And dig around in some of the drafts of the Declaration and maybe the Constitution... :) Oh, and don't think me strange for taking pictures... you can bring your camera and take pictures of whatever your heart desires. Straight from a librarian's mouth! |
Photo via Flickr/Ted Eytan
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