My Self-Assessment – Grade of B
What made it better
I came into the week better than I left it. As you might remember I was dragging at the end of the second week, too tired and unable to really muster the strength to be positive and ready for the day.
This week was different. While I dragged a wee bit I was able to pull it together and get through the week.
As for Instruction, I took the time I thought I had missed the previous week to provide direct instruction to the students. I explained the pieces of the DBQ that they had worked on, tied together the loose ends that they might have missed the previous week and was able to ensure that they understood what the message of the documents were.
We had been asking, “What is the purpose of Government?”
The concept sounds simple, but it’s not.
Central Ideas Discussed:
- The Branches of Government (US)
- Federalist Papers (translated and adapted for the reading levels)
- Home life/Parent rule vs Government rule
- Influence of government
- Different types of government
We spent the first three weeks of school going over this, reviewing the answers of the various documents and explaining the aspects of how the founders organized the system so that the three branches of government were against each other (CHECKS AND BALANCES)
I stayed away from all of the goings on in Washington D.C. that are currently going on as I initially thought it would detract from the lesson and focus on the POLITICS of what is going on instead of the system. As this series of DBQ was focused more on the system of government, I left the politics of government until we were closer to the election.
ASSESSMENT:
Finally, the assessment requires the students to present to the students any part or all of the US Government, answering the question – WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF GOVERNMENT!
The students can use a game show format, google slides, podcast, video or some other format that is approved by me.
The teams have three minutes as a minimum to present and a maximum of five minutes. They can do it individually or in pairs. For each presentation there is to be an assessment given to the students (worksheet, google form or kahoot).
I plan on letting the student give themselves a grade which will count towards ten percent of their grade while I will provide the remaining 90% of their grade.
Other news 1:
In the coming weeks I will be establishing a video cast that I will be doing with my brother. As news comes together on that, I will post it here.
Other news 2:
I plan on putting out another portion of CORRUPTED TIME in the next couple of weeks, as well as a tease to another story that I hope to have published before Spring of 2019.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
James Baldini is an educator with over two decades of experience in the field of children. Mr. Baldini has worked as a adolescent counselor in a youth shelter, a disciplinarian within a High School, a Vice Principal, a Technology Coordinator, a Social Studies Teacher as well as a Humanities Teacher. Mr. Baldini holds a Standard Certificate in the following areas: School Leadership (Principal), Social Studies (K-12), and Elementary Education.
Mr. Baldini also blogs for his daughter. Derya Demirtas came down with Autoimmune Encephalitis at the last few months of 2014. Since then he and his valiant wife have been caring for Derya. Feel free to follow their story at www.FreeDerya.info – and learn more about Autoimmune Encephalitis and how to help others.
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