Year End Survey/Evaluation

Please thoughtfully complete BOTH surveys linked below. Your honest, reflective and detailed answers will help me to assess my performance, the course curriculum and make the third year of AP Government at Impact an even better course.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HZ6JDHH

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/H5QYC3K


If you finish before the end of the class period, please check out the following data on the death penalty and email me your thoughts on whether or not you believe in capital punishment:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2011/sep/21/death-penalty-statistics-us

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2011/mar/29/death-penalty-countries-world


HW: Please return your AP Gov book by June 1st and work hard to do your very best on Grad Portfolio! :)

It's AP Bootcamp Time!

Between Thursday April 26th and Tuesday May 14th we will be spending all of our class time preparing for the AP Exam. Here is what we have covered in our last 3 days of Boot Camp:

Wed/Thurs 5/9-10: Sample MC Section & FRQs #3&4 (take, score and discuss)
Saturday 5/12: FINAL EXAM (9:30-12:30)
Friday 5/11: Full Length MC Section (take, score and discuss)
Monday 5/14: Tips & Jeopardy
Tuesday 5/15: AP EXAM!

HW:
1) Study & Review
2) Sleep 8-9 hours
3) Eat Breakfast
4) Bring #2 pencils and blue/black pens
5) Arrive to school by 7:55 so you can be calm and relaxed for the exam.

Good Luck!! :)

Lesson 110: Tuesday May 8th

Today's Objectives:

By the end of today's class, students will practice calibration using FRQ essays written by peers in order to understand the scoring process and improve their AP results.

Agenda:

1) Entrance Ticket & HW Check: Study progress and plans
2) Review Study Schedule and Resources on Blog
3) FRQ calibration in table groups
-share out results
-calibrate/defend scores where there is greatest discrepancy

HW:
1) Review Packet Part 2 Due Friday 5/11
2) Study for AP Gov final and exam!! Follow your plan and get together with your study groups/partners and use all your resources!
3) AP deposit is overdue: bring to Tucci

Lesson 109: Friday May 4th

Today's Objective: Students will use quiet, focused, study time to prepare individually, in pairs or small groups for success on the AP Gov exam.

Agenda:

1) Attendance + Review Expectations
2) Get into groups/pairs
3) Focused study time
4) Check-out with Bruce using yellow sheets

HW:
1) Review Packet Part 1 Due Tuesday May 8th
2) AP Deposit ($20) Overdue
3) Study for the APES exam!! Good luck!! :)

Lesson 108: Wednesday May 2nd & Thursday May 3rd

Today's Objectives:
By the end of class today, students will demonstrate their knowledge of Supreme Court cases. In addition, they will apply specific strategies from an AP reader to write Free Response essays in class thoughtfully. Finally, they will form and begin to implement study plans for the AP exam.

Agenda:

1) Supreme Court Case Quiz #2
2) Practice FRQs in assigned pairs: apply knowledge of essay and content
3) Form study groups and plans & work time

FRQ Tips: 
1) Read prompt carefully
2) Include an intro paragraph based on the prompt
3) Label parts of your answer clearly (a, b, c, d, etc.)
4) Look at verbs carefully to understand what you are being asked to do (list, define, explain, compare, evaluate, analyze, etc.)
5) Use all of the time you are given--25 minutes per FRQ--to think, read, outline, write and review

HW:
1) Review Packet part 1 (Qs #1-12) Due Tuesday May 8th (preferrably typed/google doc)
2) Bring ALL AP Gov materials to class on Friday
3) Your $20 AP Exam deposit is past due!!!

Lesson 107: Tuesday May 1st (LABOR DAY)

Today's Objectives:
By the end of class today, students will outline their AP Gov review schedule and assignments and begin working on analyzing key concepts in government in order to be prepared for success on the AP exam.

Agenda:

1) Review Schedule and Assignments
*start studying and form in-class and outside study groups

Review Schedule:
Packet Part 1 (#s1-12) Due: Tuesday May 8th
Packet Part 2 (#s13-24) Due: Friday May 11th
Packet Part 3 (#s25-34) Due: Monday May 14th (*the day before the AP Gov Exam)



Suggested Chapter Review Schedule (*use flashcards, notes/outlines, textbook etc.):
Tuesday 5/1: Founders' Intent--> Chapters 1-3
Friday 5/4: Elections--> Chapters 6-11
Tuesday 5/8: Congress--> Chapters 12&14
Wednesday 5/9: GIA (Gov in Action/Bureaucracy)--> Chapters 13 & 15
Friday 5/11: SCOTUS--> Chapters 4, 5, 16


2) Quiet work time on review packet & to prepare for Supreme Court case quiz #2

HW:
1) Start working on Part 1 of Review assignment (Due 5/8) and review chapters 1-3
2) Study for Supreme Court case Quiz #2
3) Bring in $20 deposit for AP Exams ASAP or talk to Tucci if you have an issue.

Some helpful sites for your studying

Supreme Court research sites:
streetlaw.org
Oyez.org
SCOTUSblog.com
important case summaries
Cornell law school case site organized by topic
USCourts.gov  
 
Released FRQ questions from the past ten years (and the answers to them!) on the College Board website:

http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/usgov/samp.html?usgovpol

Still have questions about specific topics? Try this website (it's a while AP Gov course created by the University of California):

http://www.ucopenaccess.org/course/view.php?id=81

If you'd prefer to learn/review by watching videos, try Hippocampus or the Cram for the Exam Teachers' site (MyCitizenU):

http://government.hippocampus.org/

http://www.youtube.com/user/MyCitizenU

Here's a site with close to 300 digital flashcards you can use to review for the exam:


http://quizlet.com/2227445/ap-government-exam-flash-cards/

If you find other good sites, send me an e-mail with a link and I'll post it here.