Welcome Back!

I hope you all come back to school rested, reinvigorated, relaxed, and several other "R" words that escape my mind. We're going to jump quite a bit forward in the book, all the way to Chapter 18, which is a study of the Federal Court System. Appropriately enough, this chapter is called, "The Federal Court System." Who knew!

The reason we're skipping ahead is because we are going to start a series of in-depth discussions of the Bill of Rights and the struggles that we've overcome to gain and keep these rights. In doing so, we will be studying several Supreme Court Cases of major importance. Since the Supreme Court is the highest Federal Court in all the land, what a better place to start is there than Chapter 18?

Once we finish Chapter 18 and test over it, we will be skipping all around the book as we touch on several controversial issues (capital punishment, gun control, and...dare I say it....Abortion.) Use of the internet will become VITAL if you are to pass this course.

The new grade breakdown is as follows:

Portfolio: 5%
President Powerpoint and Paper: 5%
Quizzes: 15%
Internet/Blog topics: 10%
Tests: 10%
Participation: 10%
Homework: 10%
Senior Project: 25%
Final: 10%

Here is the schedule for the first week, plus big dates in the future:

Tuesday 1/3 and Wednesday 1/4: Begin Chapter 18 Section 1. Assignment: Learn the Supreme Court Justices. Here is a link to where you can find them. Please note that William Rehnquist recently passed away, and John Roberts took his place as Chief Justice.

Justices

Thursday 1/4 and Friday 1/5: Chapter 18 Section 1 Quiz. Notes over Chapter 18 Section 2. Current Events.

The due date for learning the Supreme Court Justices is Wednesday January 11 for Red Day and Thursday January 12 for Gold Day.

If you have any questions, email me at cfletcher@usd493.com.