AP US Government & Politics
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AP US Government & Politics Summer Assignment Welcome to AP US Government & Politics Course. To prepare for class, you are required to do the following things over the summer: I) Follow a reputable news source over the summer to keep current on political issues. We will frequently be making connections to current events. Some news sources you may wish to utilize are: C-Span, Roll Call, CNN, NY Times, Washington Post or The Hill. Many students have added one of these sources as apps to their phone to stay current. AND II) Read a politically related book and do a summary and reflection. A. Choose any book from the list on the reverse side! B. Check to see if the book listed below is available in a library before buying them. C. Refer to the instructions for directions. Book Review Instructions Your book review should be typed, and include detailed responses and citations for the Reflection & Evaluation part. Your overall summary should be no longer than 3 pages double spaced and answer all the questions listed below. Include at the top of the first page a basic bibliographical citation: Author, title, place and date of publication along with your name and teacher’s name. *Make sure you include detailed examples and cite the book (using page numbers when necessary) as you respond to the questions listed below. 1. REFLECTION based on 5 separate quotes from the book. After reading you should have 5 statements/quotes you would like to respond to. The reflection should include an interpretation of what the author is saying as well as your personal response. Each reflection should include the exact quote and page number before your typed response. 2. CRITICAL EVALUATION - Summary of book which should include: a) What did the book teach you about how the "game" of politics is played? b) Strengths and weaknesses of the book. c) Was the author balanced, objective or biased? Explain. d) Would you recommend this book to a peer? Why or why not? ***DUE DATE*** - Second day of Class - You will be asked to turn it in on Canvas for similarity check. Be sure NOT to plagiarize or copy someone else’s work. See rubric below for grading 4 3 2 1/0 E LEMENTS COMMENDABLE SATISFACTORY DEVELOPING UNSATISFACTORY ACQUIRES INFORMATION •Effectively identifies •Adequately identifies •Identifies limited •Identifies very •Identifies key appropriate information. some key information. appropriate information. minimal or (no) information. information. INTEGRATES INFORMATION •Effectively analyzes, •Adequately analyzes, •Partially analyzes, • No analysis or •Analyzes & evaluates and evaluates and summarizes evaluates and summarizes summarization Summarizes summarizes information information information. provided. information APPLIES INFORMATION •Presents a creative and •Presents an informative Presents a review that Review is significantly informative review that review that incorporates incorporates some of the lacking or no review incorporates all required almost all of the required required information. Too is provided.. information. Author is information. Presenter is many details omitted. knowledgeable of somewhat knowledgeable Presenter is not sure of material. of material. material. READING LIST 1. Man of the House: The Life and Political Memoirs of Speaker Tip O'Neill - Thomas P. O’Neill and William Novak (1987) 2. All too Human - George Stephanopoulos (1999) 3. Front Row at the White House - Helen Thomas (2000) 4. Plan of Attack: The Definitive Account of the Decision to Invade Iraq – Bob Woodward (2004) 5. Lies and the Lying Liars That Tell Them - Al Franken (2004) 6. Closed Chambers - Edward Lazarus (2005) 7. The Nine – Jeffrey Toobin (2008) 8. Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Change - Jonah Goldberg (2009) 9. End the Fed - Ron Paul (2009) 10. The Complete Guide to Running for a Political Position: Everything You Need to Know to Get Elected As a Local Official - Melanie Williamson (2011) 11. The Victims' Revolution: The Rise of Identity Studies and the Closing of the Liberal Mind - Bruce Bawer (2012) 12. The Fox Effect: How Roger Ailes Turned a Network into a Propaganda Machine - David Brock & Ari Rabin-Havt (2012) 13. The Price of Politics - Bob Woodward (2013) 14. Things That Matter: Three Decades of Passions, Pastimes and Politics - Charles Krauthammer (2013) 15. Wingnuts: Extremism in the Age of Obama - John Avlon (2014) 16. Unlock Congress: Reform the Rules - Restore the System - Michael Golden (2015) 17. All the Truth Is Out: The Week Politics Went Tabloid - Matt Bai (2015) 18. Plunder and Deceit: Big Government's Exploitation of Young People and the Future - Mark Levin (2015) 19. End the IRS Before It Ends Us: How to Restore a Low Tax, High Growth, Wealthy America - Grover Norquist (2015) 20. Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg - Irin Carmon & Shana Knizhnik (2015) 21. The Worst President in History: The Legacy of Barack Obama - Matt Margolis (2016) 22. Adios, America: The Left's Plan to Turn Our Country into a Third World Hellhole - by Ann Coulter (2016) 23. The Best Democracy Money Can Buy: A Tale of Billionaires & Ballot Bandits - Greg Palast (2016) 24. The Plot to Hack America: How Putin’s Cyberspies and WikiLeaks Tried to Steal the 2016 Election - Malcolm Nance (2016) 25. Why the Right Went Wrong: Conservatism--From Goldwater to Trump and Beyond- E.J. Dionne (2016) 26. Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In - Bernie Sanders (2016) 27. Big Agenda: President Trump’s Plan to Save America - David Horowitz (2017) 28. A Consequential President: The Legacy of Barack Obama – Michael D’Antonio (2017) 29. Insane Clown President: Dispatches from the 2016 Circus - by Matt Taibbi (2017) 30. Listen, Liberal: Or, What Ever Happened to the Party of the People? - Thomas Frank (2017) 31. Any Presidential Biography from FDR to Obama. .