Holiday Week

Hey students! We have already finished 3 weeks of the trimester. Check unfinished assignments on ICIVICS and Newsela and do not be afraid to ask for any missing work. Watch your attendance!

New Trimester

Welcome to 2nd Trimester. I will post updates on activities done in class throughout the trimester.
Good luck to all returning and new students.

Finals trimester 1

We will be reviewing for the final exams tommorrow in class. Final exams will begin on Monday 11/21 . Trimester 2 classes will start on Monday 11/28.

Students voting in mock election on Newsela. Trump 60% Clinton 30% Johnson 10%

Presidential Election

Government students will be voting on Newsela soon. Polls open today. I will post results after everyone votes. We will compare our results with other students across the country.

College Fair

There will be a college fair at Goodrich Academy on Tuesday October 4th at 12:45.  I will send classes during those time periods. Have a great week.

Presidential Debates

Watch debate tonight at 9:00 p.m.. We will analyze what happened and who you think won the debate. Be sure to go to icivics after debate to answer poll question.

Poll Results

So far Trump 65% Clinton 35%  in are ICIVICS poll done in Government class. More students need to vote. Also great responses to are first on-line discussion.

Discussion and Poll questions.

U.S. Government students should look at https://www.icivics.org/teachers and answer discussion and poll question. We will read  https://newsela.com/ article tomorrow in class and write review.

First full week of school.

Happy Monday! Check out ICIVICS discussion board and poll question. Have a great week.

First day of school is Thursday September 1st. Here are my syllabi for semester 1 .

Goodrich Academy

Course: U.S. Government

Teacher: Mr. McNamara

Course Overview:

U.S Government is a course that emphasizes the study of the American Constitution. The course will examine the U.S. Constitution from its infancy to current constitutional issues. The three federal branches and the Bill of Rights will also be studied in great detail.

The objective of the course is to give students a better understanding of their individual rights and responsibilities in our society. Hopefully, by providing a thorough understanding of our nation’s system of government, students will be motivated to participate fully in our democratic system.

Texts: 

1.     The Bill of Rights Institute. The Bill of Rights for Real Life:

www.BillofRightsInstitiute.org

2.    Fraga , Luis. United States Government. Holt McDougal,2012.

3.    ICIVICS.org

4.    Newsela.org

 

Course Requirements:

          Each student is required to prepare a written synopsis of a newspaper or newsela.org article that is political in nature. The article reviews will be worth ten points and due every Thursday. Students will also participate in an on-line current event quiz that will be corrected as a class. W.B.Z news clips will also be used to initiate class discussion.

          Students will also be exposed to an on-line learning tool ICIVICS.ORG. ICIVICS teaches students how government works by having them experience it directly. Through on-line games, students will step into any role – a judge, a member of Congress, and the President of the United States.

         

A project will be assigned called “Creating a Constitution” that requires students to create laws for a newly formed country that will be presented to the class using power point.

To accommodate student’s different learning styles, alternative assessments that include on-line discussions, portfolios, and student produced videos will be presented as viable options for students.

Grading:

Chapter tests, ICIVICS assignments, class work, Newsela reviews, and class discussion 50%

Attendance 20%

Portfolio      10%

Final Exam   20%

 

Goodrich Academy

Course: World History

Teacher: Mr. McNamara

Course Overview:

   This elective course will present a historical overview of World War I, the Holocaust, and World War II.   Students will study the attempt by the Nazis to systematically eliminate an entire group of people -the Jews. The root and causes of anti-Semitism will be explored as well as the tragic results.

Course Objectives:

Students will

1.       Understand how harmful prejudice, stereotyping, and intolerance can be.

2.       Have an in-depth knowledge about the holocaust.

3.        Be able to identify key places on a map of Europe.

4.       Demonstrate an understanding of the impact of WWI and WWII on the United States’ foreign and domestic policies.

5.        Create a multimedia project on the holocaust and WWII.

6.       Be able to identify and explain the motivations of perpetrators, victims, bystanders, and rescuers.

Course Requirements:

   Every student is expected to be actively involved in classroom discussions. Your involvement is evaluated through various kinds of assignments. Examples include interpreting primary sources, secondary sources, and through Internet research projects.

  To accommodate students’ different learning styles, alternative assessments that include peer assessment portfolios, and role playing will be presented as a viable options for students.

Grading:

   A student’s final grade will be determined on the basis of overall performance on tests, multimedia projects, class work, and attendance. The following percentages will be used in finalizing grades:

Multimedia projects, class work, tests, and class discussion                     50%

Attendance                                                                                                   20%

Portfolio                                                                                                      10%

Final Exam                                                                                                  20%                                          Goodrich Academy

Course: U.S History I

Teacher: Mr. McNamara

Course Overview:

          This course presents and introduction into early American history. United States History I covers a grand sweep of history-from the arrival of the first Americans after the last ice age through the settlement by diverse colonists, the gaining of independence, and the creation of the U.S. Constitution.

1.    Danzer, Gerald and Nancy Woloch. The Americans. Evanston, IL: Houghton Mifflin, 2012.

2.    Zinn, Howard. A People’s History of the United States . New York, N.Y. : The New York Press, 1980, 1995.

3.    Newsela.org

Course Requirements: 

          Students will be responsible for all assigned readings in class. Class work assigned during the instructional period will be due at the end of the period. Your knowledge of the material will lead to effective class discussions.

          A short test will be given at the end of each textbook chapter. To accommodate student’s different learning styles, alternative assessments that include web quests, portfolios, and student produced videos will be presented as viable options.

          A project will be assigned called “A Colonization Tale”. Students will be required to create a story that focuses on discovering a new colony. A power point presentation will be utilized by students to present the project to the class.

Grading:

Chapter Tests, essays, projects, class work, and class discussion 50%

Attendance 20%

Portfolio      10%

Final Exam   20%

Goodrich Academy

Course: Geography & World Issues

Teacher: Mr. McNamara

Course Overview:

The study of Geography and World Issues gives students the opportunity to explore significant people, places, events, and concepts in the study of humankind.

This course includes the study of physical cultural characteristics of world regions, how they are similar and how they are different, economic patterns, and population dynamics. Emphasis on today’s world and major issues that impact on everyday life.

Texts :

Beck, Roger, and Linda Black. World History of Interaction, Evanston, IL : McDougal Little, INC., 2004.

Pahl, Ron. Breaking Away from the Textbook, Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2002.

Newsela.org

Course Requirements :

Every student is expected to be actively involved in classroom discussions. Your involvement is evaluated through various kinds of assignments. Examples include maintaining a portfolio folder, interpreting primary sources, secondary sources, participating in cooperative activities, and through internet research projects.

A map quiz will be given at the end of each unit. Make - up quizzes will be arranged between the teacher and student.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to perform the following tasks: 1). Demonstrate an awareness of the major regions of the world and significant places within those regions, where they are and what they are like by identifying them on a map and describing them in written exercises. 2). Locate and label on a printed map the important countries, cities, rivers, and land forms for the given world regions discussed in the course.

Grading :

Map memorization quizzes, class work, class discussion, and internet projects        50%

Attendance 20%

Portfolio      10%

Final Exam   20%            

Congratulations to the Goodrich Class of 2016!

Good job seniors! Underclassman will start their finals on Monday June 13th. Here is a link to some photos taken at graduation .


http://photos.sentinelandenterprise.com/2016/06/02/goodrich-academy-graduation-2016/#1

Last day for Seniors!

Seniors will be taking finals tomorrow. Good luck to all seniors. Here is a link for government students to read this week. This link can be used for current event article due this week.newsela.com/articles/obama-transgenderbathrooms/id/17685/

Class debate and senior finals

 I posted a link of a class debate in World History class. Students were presenting their Holocaust projects. Seniors will take finals on Monday May 23rd.

https://youtu.be/t_VcyuMA3FA

Final Stretch for Seniors

Seniors will take finals on May 23rd. Make sure to finish classwork that is missing before the finals.
Students in government will be working on https://www.icivics.org/teachers this week. World History students will be presenting Holocaust projects during the week.

1st week of May!

Progress notes will be sent home soon. Hopefully all classwork and tests are made up. I can provide extra help Mon - Thur at 3:30 and Friday from 12:30 - 3:00. Seniors only have a few weeks left .
World History just started their Holocaust projects. I will post some of the projects in the coming weeks.

Mayor Steve DiNatale visits government class.

I would like to thank Mayor Steve DiNatale for his visit to my government class. He answered questions from students that ranged from building a teen center to economic development.

Welcome Back!

I hope everybody had a great spring break. Progress notes will be coming soon. I posted article from newsela that students in government class can use to write current event article for Thursday. https://newsela.com/articles/20bill-harriettubman/id/16858/

Thursday April 14th Class Notes

Congratulations to the 1:20 World History class for recording 75 points playing the BBC "Would you make a great officer?" Western Front game. The students who participated will receive  15 points on their WW1 test today.

://newsela.com/articles/spain-siesta/id/16337/
I have posted a newsela article for my government students. Remember current event articles due today!

Thursday April 7th class assignments

U.S Government 12:15
Complete current event articles. I left templates in the class. Use newsela website to find news articles. Finish icivic assignments. I will check your progress. We will review icivic assignments on Monday.

World History 1:20
https://www.sps186.org/downloads/basic/430546/WWI-PBS_Webquest11-1.pdf
I left a World War 1 web quest for students to complete. Use this link to answer the questions. This will help you review WW1 material. It will also help students who missed class taking MCAS. We will review web quest on Monday.

Geography 2:25

Students will finish Canadian essay that we started yesterday. After finishing essay, work on Canadian web quest. http://www.asmsa.fr/upload/ValeriedeVibraye/webquestcanada.pdf?PHPSESSID=bbbb0f9315cbbf456b8d6e374f4ab248 Use this link to answer questions. We will review essays and web quest on Monday.
 The instructions for each class are also written on the white board.

Monday's class

No class because of the early April snow. Government students can log on to icivics and finish assignments.  If you haven't  done current event article, go to newsela.
See you all tommorrow.

Quiz and ICIVICS game

U.S. Government students will take Constitution quiz on Thursday March 31st. Government students should also complete ICIVIC web quests and BRANCHES OF POWER game by Friday April 1st.