IR Weekly Reading Assignments

You should read your book every day. If you read 10 pages a day, you should have no problem finishing your book by the October 29th due date.

Every Monday until you finish the book, you will turn in a 1-2 page assignment based on one of the following options:

1. Quote: Find a significant passage from the book and respond to it. Be sure to copy the passage (use quotation marks!) and include the page number. Explain briefly the context of the quote, and then describe its significance. Why did you choose it? What does it mean to you? How is it important in the book?

2. Personal Connection: Write about something in the book that relates to something you’ve experienced or felt. Describe the moment in the book. Then, discuss how you can relate to it.

3. The Curious Mind: Research something that catches your attention in the book that you want to understand a little better. Explain what you find out, and be sure cite where you found it.

4. Bias: Discuss whether the author of your book lets his/her personal opinions affect the way they write about their subject. Where do you think they fit on the political spectrum? Use specific examples from the book to support your ideas.

5. Vocabulary: Find at least 5 challenging vocabulary words in your book. For each word, quote the sentence from the book that contains that word (include the page number), and write the dictionary definition. After you have defined your words, write a summary of the week’s reading using all five words.

In the header for your weekly assignment, be sure to include the following:

• Author's name
• Title of the book
• Date the assignment is due
• Pages read that week

NOTE: You must finish your book by Monday, October 29^th. During that week, we’ll meet with you individually to discuss your book and help plan the Final Book Report.

IR Book Suggestions

In no particular order, here are some suggestions for those of you looking for books that will satisfy the requirements for your independent reading assignment.

I will have hard copies of this list available in class on Monday, but this weekend I strongly encourage you to write down some titles that seem interesting to you, head down to a bookstore, and browse through them in person to get a better sense of what you may want to read.

THE WAR ON TERROR

Wright, Lawrence. The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11

Anderson, Jon Lee. The Lion's Grave: Dispatches from Afghanistan

Mortenson, Greg and Relin, David Oliver. Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time.

Darwish, Nonie. Now They Call Me Infidel: Why I Renounced Jihad for America, Israel, and the War on Terror

Ratner, Michael. Guantanamo: What the World Should Know

Baer, Robert. See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA's War on Terrorism

Weiner, Tim. Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA

Kaplan, Robert D. Soldiers of God: With Islamic Warriors in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

IRAQ

Riverbend. Baghdad Burning: Girl Blog From Iraq.

Karpinski, Janis. ONE WOMAN'S ARMY: THE COMMANDING GENERAL OF ABU GHRAIB TELLS HER STORY

Clarke, Richard A. Against All Enemies

RACE RELATIONS

Haley, Alex. The Autobiography of Malcolm X.

Obama, Barack. Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance.

Browne, Claude. Manchild in the Promised Land

McCall, Nathan. Makes Me Wanna Holler: A Young Black Man in America

Souljah, Sister. No Disrespect.

Shakur, Assata. Assata: An Autobiography.

Cleaver, Eldridge. Soul on Ice.

Brown, Elaine. A Taste of Power: A Black Woman's Story

Jackson, George. Blood in My Eye

Seale, Bobby. Seize the Time: The Story of the Black Panther Party and Huey P. Newton

OUR POLITICAL SYSTEM / THE POLITICAL SPECTRUM

Obama, Barack. The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream.

Stewart, Jon. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America

Humes, Edward. Monkey Girl: Evolution, Education, Religion, and the Battle for America's Soul

Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation.Clinton, Bill. Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World

Moore, Michael. Stupid White Men

Moore, Michael. Dude, Where's My Country?

Franken, Al. Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right

Franken, Al. Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot

Glassner, Barry. The Culture of Fear: Why Americans Are Afraid of the Wrong Things

Hightower, Jim. Thieves in High Places: They've Stolen Our Country and It's Time to Take It Back

Hightower, Jim. If the Gods Had Meant Us to Vote, They'd Have Given Us Candidates

Coulter, Ann. Godless: The Church of Liberalism

Huff, Darrell. How to Lie with Statistics.

O’Reilly, Bill. Culture Warrior

Buchanan, Patrick. State of Emergency: The Third World Invasion and Conquest of America

Dobbs, Lou. War on the Middle Class: How the Government, Big Business, and Special Interest Groups Are Waging War on the American Dream and How to Fight Back

Ivins, Molly. Bushwhacked: Life in George W. Bush's America

Boortz, Neal. Somebody's Gotta Say It

Giuliani, Rudolph. Leadership.

McCain, John. Why Courage Matters: The Way to a Braver Life

McCain, John. Character Is Destiny: Inspiring Stories Every Young Person Should Know and Every Adult Should Remember

McCain, John. Worth the Fighting For: A Memoir

Brownell, Kelly and Horgen, Katherine Battle. Food Fight: The Inside Story of the Food Industry, America's Obesity Crisis, and What We Can Do About It.

Richardson, Bill. Between Worlds: The Making of an American Life

Edwards, John and Auchard, John. Four Trials

Clinton, Hillary Rodham. Living History

Huckabee, Mike. From Hope to Higher Ground: 12 STOPS to Restoring America's Greatness

Biden, Joe. Promises to Keep: On Life and Politics

HUMAN RIGHTS

Beah, Ishmael. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier

Cheadle, Don and Prendergast, John. NOT ON OUR WATCH: THE MISSION TO END GENOCIDE IN DARFUR AND BEYOND

Steidle, Brian and Wallace, Gratchen Steidle. The Devil Came on Horseback: Bearing Witness to the Genocide in Darfur

Flint, Julie, and de Waal, Alexis. Darfur: A Short History of a Long War

Jean Hatzfeld, Susan Sontag, and Linda Coverdale. Machete Season: The Killers in Rwanda Speak

Dallaire, Romeo. Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda

Gourevitch, Philip. We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda

Kidder, Tracy. Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World

U.S. FOREIGN POLICY

Steyn, Mark. America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It

Ansari, Ali. Confronting Iran: The Failure of American Foreign Policy And the Next Great Crisis in the Middle East

Ritter, Scott. Target Iran: The Truth About the White House's Plans for Regime Change

Jafarzadeh, Alireza. The Iran Threat: President Ahmadinejad and the Coming Nuclear Crisis

Carter, Jimmy. Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid

GENDER RELATIONS

Wolf, Naomi. The Beauty Myth

Friedan, Betty. The Feminine Mystique

De Beauvoir, Simone. The Second Sex.

Faludi, Susan. Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women

Kilbourne, Jean. Can't Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel

hooks, bell. Feminism Is for Everybody: Passionate Politics

Rosen, Ruth. The World Split Open: How the Modern Women's Movement Changed America.

Page, Christina. How the Pro-choice Movement Saved America: Freedom, Politics, And the War on Sex

Pollitt, Katha. Virginity or Death!: And Other Social and Political Issues of Our Time

Press, Eyal. Absolute Convictions: My Father, a City, and the Conflict That Divided America

Brumberg, Joan Jacobs. Fasting Girls: The History of Anorexia Nervosa

SEXUAL ORIENTATION

Smith, Jennifer (editor). The Gay Rights Movement

Eisenbach, David. Gay Power: An American Revolution

Bull, Chris and Gallagher, John. Perfect Enemies: The Religious Right, the Gay Movement, and the Politics of the 1990s

Duberman, Martin. Stonewall.

Carter, David. Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution

THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

Davis, Angela Y. Are Prisons Obsolete?

Parenti, Christian. Lockdown America: Police and Prisons in the Age of Crisis.

Dyer, Michael. The Perpetual Prisoner Machine: How America Profits from Crime

Humes, Edward. NO MATTER HOW LOUD I SHOUT: A Year in the Life of Juvenile Court

Fire Hyrdrents

Visa/ Mastercards

Lisence Plates

mail

this is for carrying the mail to different houses/places

School Bus

a school bus which is part of public transportation

cleaning

this shows a sign to clean the streets

security

this shows security, the law enforcement uses these to "protect and to serve"

Fire House

The government requires a certain amount of fire stations in different districts of NYC. The government she be involved with his because it keeps people and the city safe from fires that break out

Evan and Miranda's Government Pic's

The government sets up Fire Departments to protect people, buildings, environment, and more by preventing fires from spreading. This is helpful because it saves lives, and lessens any damage that could be caused.



These are organization that the government sets up so that the people of America can be safe. This is useful because any criminal acts that people do, others will be protected.



This sign shows that the government is trying to keep school areas safe from drug abusers, and drugs in general. This is helpful because people under the influence of drugs could possibly be dangerous.



Pay phones are for any type of emergencies. This shows that the government places these phones for safety reasons if anyone is in need of help. Having these phones protects citizens in they are ever in danger and no body is around they can call for help.



ATM’s show that government is thinking about the peoples needs. This indicates that because if someone is in need of cash and isn’t near a bank they always have a way to get money.

Abstract Sanitation

Dido to the picture of the trash can
enjoy the artistic photography of josh and ross

A Trash Can

This is an image of a trash can that is marked with the sanitation department insignia. The image shows goverenment involvment because the government provides for all of the sanitation in the city which is a very large job!

A School

In public schools, the government pays for the education of the students. This is important because many people cannot afford a expensive education so this enables people to learn for free. The government should be involved with the education of our country because it gives financially disabled people the chance to learn.

These people stand in the middle of the cross walk when the light is red; usually at the corners of school to make sure the kids crossing wont get hit by a car.  The government created this to keep students at school safe when they leave the building, or around school grounds.

NYPD

The NYPD's job is to protect the streets of the city and make sure that all the laws are followed and that the citizens are safe.  This is the way the government makes sure that their city is protected.

Health Department

This shows that the government wants the stores to be kept clean and sanitary.  Department of Health put this up to make sure that no dogs come in so none of the products can get ruined.

Health Inspection

This shows the governments involvement by showing how they don't want stores to be unsanitary, but clean.  It's important to have health inspections to keep people from getting sick or hurt from stores.

Stop Signs

The department of transportation put these signs to let people able to cross the street without getting hit by a car if one is approaching.  The government wanted to keep the people on the city blocks safe when crossing without a traffic light.

Fire Department

The picture shows that the government plays a role of keeping the city safe from fires.  It is important to have because fires can burn down whole city blocks and damage peoples lives.

Churchill Civics & Economics Photography

A Traffic Light

This Shows government involvement by preventing accidents and/or organizing the roads.

Street alarms

Checks Cashed

Department of Transportation

Business Licensing

Ready, Willing, and Able

Photography Assignment #1: Sample Post

This picture shows that government plays a big role in our lives in terms of keeping us safe from fires. I think it is important for government to provide fire departments, because fires can burn down whole city blocks if they are not dealt with quickly and efficiently.


In this photo, we can see the government's role in helping to organize society. This is an important role because without traffic lights, there would be a lot of deaths and injuries from accidents.

Current Events #2: Katrina

Assignment: Find and read an article related to current events. After reading the article, download and complete a response chart.

For today's assignment, you can earn extra credit by reading an article about Katrina or its aftermath. The following websites may help you get started:

USA Today – Katrina Coverage
http://www.usatoday.com/news/hurricane.htm

New York Times – Katrina Coverage
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/national/nationalspecial/

The Times Picayune (New Orleans) - Katrina Coverage
http://www.nola.com/katrina/

The Houston Chronicle - Katrina Coverage
http://www.chron.com/content/chronicle/special/05/katrina/index.html

CNN – Katrina Coverage
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2007/news/katrina/

Identify Key Politicians

Directions: Identify the people who currently hold these key political offices. For each person listed below…

• Provide the person’s name
• Indicate what political office they hold
• Indicate their political party (R) or (D)
• Provide a photograph of the person

For example:

George W. Bush (R)
President of the United States

NOTE: You may wish to use http://www.vote-smart.org to help you find these politicians, but you need your 9-digit zip code to find your US Representative. If you don’t know it, enter your street address at http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/welcome.jsp.

1. The President of the United States
2. The Vice-President of the United States
3. The Senior United States Senator for your home state
4. The Junior United States Senator for your home state
5. The United States Representative for your home congressional district
6. The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
7. The Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court
8. The United States Secretary of Defense
9. The United States Secretary of State
10. The United States Attorney General
11. The Governor of your state
12. The Mayor of your home city

Photography Assignment #1: How is the Government Involved in our Lives?

In this assignment, students took pictures of the cityscape in the streets surrounding the Churchill School in order to reveal ways in which the government is involved in our everyday lives.

In the posts that follow, each pair of students added captions to 7-10 of their photographs in order to answer the following questions:

1. How does it show government involvement?

2. Do you think that government should be involved in this way? Why or why not?

Current Events Response Chart

Click here to download the Response Chart

Civics Syllabus

MR. HAMILTON / MS. CHUMLEY
CHURCHILL GRADE 12 CIVICS
COURSE SYLLABUS

EMAIL: mhamilton@churchillschool.com
achumley@churchillschool.com
BLOG: http://misterhamilton.blogspot.com/

COURSE THEMES:

CURIOSITY: Encouraging students to become curious about their world through independent research and reading

EXPRESSION: Helping students express themselves in writing and speaking

RESPONSIBILITY: Entering voting age, students have a responsibility to grapple with the pressing issues facing our nation; to weigh different perspectives and form their own opinions; and to take action on the basis of informed opinions.

REQUIRED MATERIALS:

1 Notebook: Must have blank paper for notes and somewhere to put class handouts.
Pencil/Pen
Assignment Notebook

PARTICIPATION (30%):

• Students will begin the course with a B+ (88%) for participation, but will have opportunities to gain (or lose) points over the course of the year.
• Class work: actively participating in class activities, discussions, and group projects.
• Behaving respectfully at all times towards classmates and teachers.
• Coming to class on time and with required materials
• Absences: whenever you miss class, it is your responsibility to check in with us and set up a timetable for completing any missed work.

HOMEWORK (35%):

• Homework will be given regularly including weekly current events assignments
• Students’ 2 lowest grades will be dropped at the end of each quarter
• All assignments must be typed, 12” font, and double-spaced
• Assignments turned in 1 day late receive 25% deduction
• Assignments turned in later than 1 day will receive no credit

TESTS, ESSAYS, AND PROJECTS (35%):

• Independent Reading – 1 book/semester
• Unit Tests and Quizzes
• Final Research Project (5-7 page paper and presentation)

BASIC WEEKLY SCHEDULE: (subject to change)

MOVIE MONDAYS: Viewing films related to the course material

VOCABULARY TUESDAYS: Reviewing and learning new terms/vocabulary

CAFÉ WEDNESDAYS: In-class reading assignments (with light refreshments)

CURRENT EVENTS FRIDAYS: Discussions of current events. Twice a month, these discussions will focus on the 2008 presidential election.

SEMESTER SCHEDULE:

Unit I: Our Political System
1. Citizenship
2. The Political Spectrum / Political Parties
3. Forms of Political Action

Unit 2: Domestic Policy
1. Race Relations
2. Gender Relations
3. Sexual Orientation
4. Civil Liberties

Unit 3: Foreign Policy
1. The War on Terror
2. Iraq
3. Human Rights
4. The United Nations