Summer Assignment 2018-19 AP US Government & Politics

Mr. Carmichael john_carmichael@olsd.us

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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

email

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.