AP American Government and Politics

Global Issues AMHS Mrs. Osborne Rm. 301 Planning Per. 5 253-804-4539 [email protected] Twitter: @MrsOsborneAMHS https://sites.google.com/site/osborneslions/ Introduction Welcome seniors to Global Issues! This class is a required course for graduation and is worth one-half credit.

Textbook & Materials As this course studies current events, students will use newspapers, news magazines, the Internet, and other sources of up-to- date media, as well as teacher provided resources and lectures.

Course Study This course is divided this course into five units and will cover five regions seven main issues: geography, economics, religion, environment, conflict/war, disease, and government. Each unit will have an assessment and at the end of the semester, there will be a cumulative final. All appropriate EALRs and GLEs for history and Social Studies will all be covered in this class, as well as one Classroom Based Assessment (CBA) will be given at the end of the semester to check the students’ understanding of these state-selected benchmarks.

UNIT UNIT TITLE MAIN ISSUES (all addressed each unit)

Unit 1 The United Nations Geography/Environment Unit 2 Latin America Economics Unit 3 The Middle East Culture/Religion Unit 4 Asia Conflict/War Unit 5 Africa Health/Disease Government/Politics History & Current Issues

Power Standards Power standards are prioritized state standards that prepare students for the next level of learning. These standards identify what students should know and be guaranteed to do in the amount of teaching time available. The power standards for Global Issues, as chosen at the district level, are as follows:

Students will be able to: 1. Understand the purposes, organization, & function of governments, laws and politics. 2. Understand international relationships & US foreign policy. 3. Understand the importance of geography in global issues. 4. Use history to understand the past & plan for the future. 5. Use research and problem solving skills. 6. Use critical thinking skills to analyze and evaluate positions. 7. Create a product that uses social studies skills to support a thesis (opinion) and be able to meaningfully present the information. 8. Understand how economies work. 9. Understand the government’s role in the economy. 10. Understand economic issues & problems of society. 11. Understand how humans interact with the environment. And, if there is time and the standard applies to the lessons: 12. Understand that people have to choose between wants and needs and evaluate the outcomes of those choices.

Attendance  I strictly enforce the school’s absence and tardy policy.  Being absent will hurt your grade. Please pre-arrange absences if you know you will be gone so you do not fall behind.

Expectations Students are expected to:  Come to class prepared for the day’s activity.  Finish any homework, reading or research by the given deadline.  Participate in discussions, research, critical thinking, and group activities  Be responsible, mature, respectful and ethical students  Follow all classroom and school rules

Required Materials  A notebook or notebook paper  Writing utensils (pens and/or pencils)  Colored pencils  Highlighters

Late Work Late work is accepted through the date of the assessment of the next unit. For example, if you need to retake the unit 1 assessment, you must do so by the end of unit 2. You may retake a low scoring assessment for a 70%. You may only retake: If you earned lower than 70%, if you turn in all your late work, and during Core/Choice.

Grades The grading scale is as follows:

100-93 A 76-73 C 92-90 A- 72-70 C- 89-87 B+ 69-67 D+ 86-83 B 66-60 D 82-80 B- Below 60 F 79-77 C+ Your grades are weighted by the following categories: Assessments 100% *Note that all unit work must be turned in before you are able to do any retakes.

Movies and History

Occasionally, Hollywood does a good job contextualizing history & political concepts. When a film is appropriate, and we have time, I will show a video.

If a student misses a film due to an excused absence, he/she will be required to either come before/after school to watch the missed portion or complete the alternate assignment. For unexcused absences, please see the absence policy above.

We may watch several videos throughout this semester that Social Studies teachers have deemed beneficial for students. In order for a student to watch these videos, regardless of its rating or the student’s age, I must have a parent/guardian’s signature on file. Not signing indicates you do not give permission and your child will be given an alternative assignment. Some videos will be motion picture videos rated PG, PG 13 or professionally edited and others will be documentaries or TV specials. We will never watch a rated R video, edited or not. Please contact me with any questions. Thank you! It is important to note that less than 10% of classroom instructional time is video-related.

Dear Parent/Guardian:

Welcome to Global Issues. It will be my pleasure to teach your son or daughter in this class. I am excited to have this opportunity to be a part of your student’s learning experience.

A quick note about cell phones: Cell phones are a wonderful and exceedingly useful tool (I often wonder how we survived without them!). However, my job is to foster an open environment for learning, and cell phones are a major distraction to the students. I please ask that is you need to contact your child to call the office. The office will disseminate messages and will remove your student if there is an emergency. For non emergency situations, feel free to text your student, but realize that they cannot answer your text until after class. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation here!

I have gone over the syllabus with your student and encourage you to do the same. Once you have reviewed the syllabus, I would ask that you please indicate this by signing below.

Please feel free to contact me at (253) 804-4539 or by e-mail [email protected].

Thank you for taking the time with your student and helping them start the semester off successfully.

Sincerely,

Norene Osborne

I have read and understand all of the classroom expectations and policies outlined in the syllabus.

Student Signature: ______

Printed Last Name: ______Date: ______

Parent/Guardian Signature: ______

Phone Number: ______Email: ______

Date: ______