Man, alive are taxes confusing. I decided this year in looking at what I have done in years past that there has to be a better way to present this information to students so that I have lecture notes and video and infographics all tied up in one nice neat bow. Enter Blendspace. **Boom**. Added bonus, when I am done, I get to throw a cute quiz in there as exit questions. Added bonus bonus, I can even put my notes into the margins of the presentation so kids and folks can see 'em. Now, when I roll in tomorrow morning, I hook up the computer to the overhead, grab my lecture notes, and click away. I love technology, don't you? Feel free to use mine, or play on Blendspace all your own. It's sweet.
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It is late spring, and it's time to transition my students' excellent writing skills to shorter formats. In my neck of the woods, 120 or so seniors are wrapping up their major public policy project, which requires authentic, accurate research; selectivity and exercise of logic; and superior writing skills. In 10 pages. They are, believe it or not, rising to the occasion. I am proud of their hard work. But we have much shorter essays to write for the APGOPO exam. I am starting them off easier with a format most are familiar with... a DBQ. ('Cause APGOPO has FRQs... get 'em straight, people!) I turn to my friends at the DBQ Project for a ready to go, easy to administer and amend mini-DBQ on the Federal Budget.
It is a beautiful intro into the budgetary process, and offers some fantastic connections to the Constitution, as well as initiating thought about how to actually trim that federal budget. ("Let's nix NASA!" say students. "But wait, if it weren't for NASA's push for miniaturization of computer components to lighten payloads and spend less money on rocket fuel, we wouldn't have our smart phones! "Oh. Well, let's stop paying the national debt!" "And default? Good luck securing that federal loan next year... or ever again!" "Oh. How about Veteran's Benefits." "So, we're going to leave all those service men and women with PTSD, amputations, severe brain trauma, and paralysis under/unemployed without adequate medical care?" "Oh. This isn't fair!") Anyways, this really is a great review of writing for brevity as well as an intro to the budgetary process. I highly recommend it, and the kids enjoyed everything (but the writing.) When snow and ice limits class time, I have to get creative. The bureaucracy is normally two to three class periods, at least. This year I decided to make this unit something that is a bit more portable. So, I created a bureaucracy activity that can be done in the classroom or at home. Here is how we do it in two parts. Part One: Cookie ActivityI buy myself some THIN MINTS from my daughter's troop and get ready to cut. them. up.
The purpose of this activity is to show students the differences between the private sector and public sector. Before we start, the classroom is divided in half. One half is the private sector, and the other is the public sector. Public sector kids get an index card. If I have a class of 30, and 15 are public, then: 6 get a #1; 5 get a #3; 3 get a #5; and 1 get a #7. Here, in the nation's capitol, we're snoozing away under snow and ice.
For the eighth time. I think. I've honestly lost count. It's all good. I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, so I have mad snow skills. Just thought they wouldn't do me much good in VA. Well, time and technology has allowed for improvements in education, so I am doing my second snow-E day with my students. We've got tests to prep for, no time to delay. |
Jen's bookshelf: nerdcation
I want to start by thanking Mr. Snowden and Mr. Greenwald for their uncompromising dedication to giving the NSA violations air time and transparency.
I wanted to share some of the most important things I have learned from this book bef...
tagged:
nerdcation
tagged:
nerdcation and to-read
tagged:
nerdcation and to-read
tagged:
nerdcation and to-read
AuthorI lovgov. LOVE IT! I love teaching government, learning about it, debating, discussing, asking questions about government. And not the standard boiler plate questions, but the hard ones that are NOT in the books. Archives
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