summer assignment summary - … · bashar al-asaad special advisor to potus jared kushner special...
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Summer Assignment 2018-19 AP US Government & Politics
Mr. Carmichael [email protected]
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SUMMER ASSIGNMENT SUMMARY
# ASSIGNMENT DUE DATE ESTIMATED TIME TO
COMPLETE
1. Follow national news & political events 1ST Day 15 minutes daily
2. Provide a 5 x 8 index card with info and picture 1ST Day 20 minutes total
3. Bill of Rights summary 1st Day 2-3 hours
Welcome to Advance Placement United States Government! Congratulations on your willingness to take on the
challenges of this course.
General Overview of A.P. U.S. Government & Politics
is designed as a freshman level political science course which requires an analytical approach to the study of
government.
the College Board curriculum is designed to give students a critical perspective on politics and government.
this course involves both the study of general concepts used to interpret United States politics and the analysis of
specific case studies. It also requires familiarity with the various institutions, groups, beliefs and current events
which comprise the American political scene.
What is Political Science?
● Political Science is the attempt to study politics and government in a systematic way in order to learn how power works.
● Political Scientists study systems of government, as well as how political systems change over time.
● Political Scientists study the systemic way in which governmental decisions are made. The process of who gets what,
where, when and how is of great interest.
● A Political Scientist should be an objective observer who asks questions and studies the effects of different systems of
government.
The rewards of the course will vary based upon the individual efforts of each student. Each student will have the
opportunity to work towards the following goals:
1.) Students will have the opportunity to satisfy their intellectual curiosity
2.) Students have the opportunity to improve their writing, reasoning and analytical skills.
3.) Students will become more familiar with current events in the US and abroad.
4.) Students have the opportunity to receive college credit by earning a qualifying score on the College Board exam.
SUMMER ASSIGNMENT #1 BECOME FAMILIAR WITH NATIONAL POLITICAL NEWS
Students are required to follow the national political news throughout the summer. Students should be familiar with
relevant executive & legislative branch members and leaders, and developments related to the workings of the Supreme
Court. Upon our return in the fall, we will discuss current events in general and discuss how these happenings can be
applied to the theory we will be studying throughout the year.
WHY SHOULD I PAY ATTENTION TO THE NEWS? There are three primary reasons-
● It will improve your understanding of theoretical concepts through the application to real life events
● Building a basic understanding of current events will allow us to discuss and debate issues as a class
●A summative evaluation testing your familiarity of government leaders and events will occur on day 1
■The assessment will cover major news stories and will include identifying political leaders (by picture).
Learning Target- This assignment will aid you in applying the theoretical concepts of the course to actual events.
Specific Expectations
A. Monitor the major and minor political stories throughout the summer. This includes:
◘ Read the home pages of major newspapers or media outlets which contain the national & political news
◘ Read the op-ed columns in newspapers & viewing political cartoons
◘ In general, become familiar with national & political news as well as world events ◘ Local news is NOT relevant to our curriculum
◘ Facebook & Twitter are NOT legitimate news sources!
◘ Legitimate news sources would be media outlets such as CNN, Fox, MSNBC, Politico.com, Bloomberg News,
Real Clear Politics.com, Washington Post, Washington Times, Wall St Journal, ABC, CBS, CSPAN, NY Times
B . Be able to identify the enclosed pictures of members of government.
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
President (Trump)
Vice President (Pence)
Secretary of Defense (Mattis)
Attorney General (Sessions)
Sec. of State (Pompeo)
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
Speaker, US House of Representatives - Paul Ryan R-WI
Minority Leader US House of Rep.- Nancy Pelosi D-CA
Ohio 12th District Election- Aug 7th (hint- know the winner)
Senate Majority Leader – Mitch McConnell R-KY
Senate Minority Leader - Chuck Schumer D-NY
JUDICIAL BRANCH
Chief Justice John Roberts
Assoc. Justice Anthony Kennedy
Possible retirements of
Assoc. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg
Assoc. Justice Anthony Kennedy
or death of an Associate Justice
OHIOIANS in CONGRESS
Senator Sharrod Brown D-OH
Senator Rob Portman R-OH
POLITICAL FIGURES
former P.O.T.U.S Barack Obama (D)
Former Sec. of State Hillary Clinton (D)
Senator Elizabeth Warren D- MA
Senator Bernie Sanders D-VT
Senator Ted Cruz R-TX
Gov. John Kasich
Robert Mueller (General Counsel investigating Trump)
WORLD LEADERS
Kim Jung Un - North Korea
Vladimir Putin - Russia
Bashar al-Asaad - Syria
If you have never followed the news, consider following these major stories this web site:
●Developments related to major political events, Supreme Court rulings or policy changes which might unfold
over the summer…Trump/Russia investigation, several Supreme Court justices are rumored to be retiring or
death of an Associate Justice
● General developments related to monetary policy and fiscal policy
● Foreign policy & military developments throughout the world including, but not limited to North
Korea, Russia, Iran, Israel or Syria Pg. 2 TRY: www.allsides.com/unbiased-balanced-news
Examples of Summative Assessment questions
1. Select the correct description of political party control
overthe respective branches of government or chamber.
A.The Republicans control both the Senate and House
chambers, the Democrats control the White House
B. The Republicans control the Senate while the Democrats
control both the House of Rep. and White House
C. The Republicans control the House of Reps and the
Democrats control the Senate and White House
D. The Republicans control the White House and both
chambers of Congress
E. The Democrats control the White House and both
chambers of Congress
2. Identify the individual listed in the picture
A. Governor Chris Christie from New Jersey
B. Senator Rob Portman from Ohio
C. Senator Marco Rubio from Florida
D. Speaker of the US House - Paul Ryan
E. Supreme Court Assoc. Justice Clarence Thomas
3. Identify which statement is CORRECT
A. Kim Jung Un is the leader of China
B. Barack Obama is considering running for the US Senate
C. President Trump & Kim Jung-un are scheduled to meet
this summer
D. The Secretary of Defense is Mike Pompeo
E. Syria has been testing Intercontinental ballistic missiles
4. The current federal debt is approximately
A. 7 Trillion
B. 9 Trillion
C. 12 Trillion
D. 14 Trillion
E. 20 Trillion
5. Identify this person
A. POTUS Advisor Kellyanne
Conway
B. Sen. Elizabeth Waren
C. Assoc. Justice Ruth Bader
Ginsburg
D. former Gov. Sarah Palin
E. None of these
6. Which statement is INCORRECT?
A. Syria is in the middle of a civil war
B. US combat troops are stationed in
Afghanistan
C. Robert Mueller is the general counsel
investigating Pres. Trump & Russia
D. The Russian hacked into the US & French
Elections
E. North Korea recently traded missile attacks
with Japan
Key- #1/D #2/D #3/C #4/E #5/E #6/ E
What should I understand? 1) basic facts of the story 2) observations related to political or media bias
NOTE
● As your understanding of current events develops, your ability to synthesize the news will improve and the process will become
easier.
● Also, endeavor to vary your sources in terms of both print vs. electronic media and political bias.
Pg. 3
SUMMER ASSIGNMENT # 2
STUDENT INFORMATION CARD
on a 5 x 8 index card
Notes-
*The picture may be printed out on regular printer-paper
Rubric
FULL CREDIT PARTIAL CREDIT ZERO CREDIT
Used 5 x 8 Card
Taped picture
All info enclosed
Late Submission
Used card other than 5x8
Used staple instead of tape
Partial info enclosed
No picture
No submission or submitted
past day # 2
Incorrect size card
Picture stapled
No picture
Missing information
Point Value
1st Day 100% of points possible
2nd Day 50% point deduction
3rd Day or later 25% points available
Pg. 4
picture
of you
print FIRST NAME print LAST NAME
cell #
parent/guardian email
● a favorite quote which represents you
● Describe a funny/silly fact about you or describe a unique skill
● List someone you admire or is a hero to you
Due 1st
day!
tape a picture
(color or
black/white) of you
into this corner
using clear tape. A
Xerox pic is ok!
(do not staple!!!!!)
Names & Faces 2017 Edition PRESIDENT
Donald J. Trump
VICE PRESIDENT
Mike Pence
SECRETARY OF STATE
Mike Pompeo
ATTORNEY GENERAL
Sen. Jeff Session R-AL
SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
Ret. Gen. James Mattis
TREASURY SECRETARY
Steven Mnuchin
CHIEF OF STAFF
John Kelly
Presidential Advisor
Kellyann Conway
W. H. PRESS SECRETARY
Sarah Huckabee Sanders
US HOUSE 12TH DIST. SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE
Honorable Paul Ryan R-WI
HOUSE MINORITY LEADER
Honorable Nancy Pelosi D-CA
Vacant
Special Election on
August 7th
(know winner for quiz)
SENATE MAJORITY LEADER
Hon. Mitch McConnell R-KY
SENATE MINORITY LEADER
Hon Chuck Schumer D-NY
US SENATE PRO TEMPORE
Honorable Orin Hatch R-UT
US Senator
Elizabeth Warren D-MA
US Senator
Lindsey Graham R-SC
US Senator
Bernie Sanders V-I
Supreme leader Democratic People's
Republic of Korea Kim Jung-un President of Russian Federation
Vladimir Putin
President of Syria
Bashar al-Asaad
Special Advisor to POTUS
Jared Kushner
Special Counselor
Robert Mueller
US Supreme Ct. Chief Justice
John Roberts
US Senator
Sherrod Brown D-OH
US Senator
Rob Portman R-OH
Associate Justice
Anthony Kennedy
SUMMER ASSIGNMENT # 3
Bill of Rights review & rewrite
We will be studying the Constitution extensively throughout the year and this assignment is designed to give
you an advantage as we move through the various units of study.
Learning Target: Students will interpret the US Bill of Rights and then create a working copy of the document
in plain, modern and understandable language. Note- The difficulty of this assignment lies in making the
Constitution understandable without altering its meaning.
STEPS
1. Read the entire Bill of Rights (Amendment #1-#10)
http://www.senate.gov/civics/constitution_item/constitution.htm
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html
2. Synthesize and then re-write each amendment in the Bill of Rights onto a note card using the
enclosed rubric. Students may utilize the front & back of each note card. 5 x 8
are recommended, but 4 x 6 or 5 x 3 acceptable. Use more than 1 card for 5x3 if necessary.
●You will have a total of 10 cards when completed- 1 card per Amendment. An example is below.
DUE DATE
1st Day of School-Wed, Aug 15
1ST AMENDMENT (print)
Congress cannot make a law which establishes an official religion. This is known as the
Establishment Clause.
►The Wall of Separation is the constitutional principle of keeping church-state separate associated
with the Establishment Clause
Congress cannot make a law which prohibits the free exercise of my religion. This is known as the
Exercise Clause
Congress cannot make laws which change fundamental freedoms of:
●Speech
●freedom of the press
●Which prohibit citizens from meeting or protesting if it is done so in a peaceful manner
■ It also protects the right of citizens to send protest petitions to their government. The right to speak
out about government’s abuse of power or its failure to act is at the crux of the First Amendment’s
protections.
Pg. 8
To receive full credit: Each amendment must be: 1. Label Each Card in capital letters at the top left with the Article or Amendment
2. Each civil liberty protection must be summarized and put into plain, understandable language
3. All protections in each amendment must be summarized. Some Amendments like the 5th will
protect up to five civil liberties.
4. The assignment must be submitted on time- each day 25% will be deducted. Due 1st Day.