Embedded in this post you will find the Cristo Rey Benchmarks for the Senior Year Government Class. Some will become recognizable as Learning Goals, but all of these will be assessed on your End of Course Assessment.
United States Government
Social Studies Standard: Grade 12
Government/Civics for the 21st
Century is a semester social studies course that focuses on the foundations of
government and responsible participatory citizenship. A deeper understanding of
government will be achieved through analyzing the political process, political
ideologies, the Constitution and Bill of Rights, the three branches of
government, as well as the rights and responsibilities of individuals in our
government system. Throughout this course, students will consistently be asked
to analyze the various roles of individual citizens and groups in the
political process as well as how America's founding ideals
(Democracy, Opportunity, Liberty, Equality and Rights) as outlined by the
framers have shaped and continue to shape American government. As with the other social studies courses this
course will include learning essential content, fostering the ability to think
analytically including identifying themes, patterns, and trends of change, and
finally, developing and finally, developing and refining essential reading,
writing, speaking, and research abilities to competently convey this
knowledge.
1.
Reading
for Research
1.12.1 Conduct more sustained; extensive
multi-media research projects that include multiple sources (ENG 5.12a.1)
1.12.2 Synthesize multiple sources (print and
electronic media) on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject
under investigation with sources of increasing complexity and difficulty (ENG 5.12a.2)
1.12.3 Assess the strengths and limitations of each source and apply strategies to draw conclusions from information to relate
knowledge to curricular areas, real-world situations, and further
investigations (ENG 5.12a.3)
1.12.4 Evaluate primary source documents to use
as a resource for supporting an argument, taking into consideration the
political, historical, social, and cultural influences of the period (ENG 5.12a.4)
2.
Reading Informational Texts
2.12.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of
what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text,
including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain (ENG 8.12a.1)
2.12.2 Evaluate the relevance of information
presented in charts and graphs from multiple sources to address a question or
solve a problem (ENG 8.12a.3)
2.12.3 Identify two or more major ideas of a text and analyze their
development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build
on one another to produce a complex analysis (ENG 8.12a.4)
2.12.4 Evaluate the effectiveness of an
author’s efforts to achieve his or her purpose in a text in which the rhetoric
is particularly effective, analyzing how style and content contribute to the
power, persuasiveness or eloquence of the text (ENG 8.12a.8)
2.12.5 Analyze motivation behind bias in texts
and infer what information was added or omitted as a result (ENG 8.12a.11)
3.
Writing for Research
3.12.1 Create a concise thesis for research
that introduces a complex topic and multiple claims (ENG 6.12a.1)
3.12.2 Choose the most effective system of
organization to sequence complex ideas, concepts, and information to make
important connections and distinctions (ENG 6.12a.2)
3.12.3 Develop each paragraph thoroughly by
selecting the most significant and relevant facts, extended definitions,
concrete details, quotation, paraphrase, or other information and examples
appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic (ENG 6.12a.4)
3.12.4 Connect evidence to topic sentences with
commentary to clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts (ENG 6.12a.5)
3.12.5 Use varied transitions in conjunction with topic sentences to link
the major sections of the text to achieve cohesion (ENG 6.12a.6)
3.12.6 Compose a concluding section that
synthesizes claims and evidence to support the thesis and presents implications
of the findings (ENG 6.12a.9)
3.12.7 Independently develop and strengthen
writing by revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach focusing on
addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose or audience (ENG 6.12a.10)
4.
Listening and Speaking Skills
4.12.1 Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks to deliver
effective formal and informal presentations engaging the audience (encouraging
participation when appropriate) and using eye contact, gestures, direct
address, and direct reference to specific audience members (ENG 4.12.1)
4.12.2 Present information, findings, and supporting evidence, conveying
a clear and distinct perspective such that listeners can follow the line of
reasoning, alternative or opposing perspectives are addressed, and the organization,
development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and a
range of formal and informal tasks (e.g. the Aristotelian triad of ethos,
logos, and pathos) (ENG 4.12.2)
4.12.3 Facilitate a formal discussion among peers that requires use of
evidence to support positions and to respond to other opinions (ENG 4.12.3)
5.
Historical Periodization and Perspective
5.12a.1 Compare competing
models of periodization (the American Government course could also be organized
by other essential themes, by the progressive study of separate institutions of
government, etc.)
5.12a.2 Analyze and
explain the differences between the thoughts and actions of figures in history
and those of contemporary figures, as influenced by our different cultural
perspectives and time periods
5.12a.3 Explain how and
why historical significance varies over time and from group to group
6.
Historical Analysis
6.12a.1 Evaluate the evidence used to support competing historical
interpretations
6.12a.2 Analyze patterns of continuity and change in the
development of significant themes across several eras
6.12a.3 Evaluate the relative validity of competing historical
narratives
6.12a.4 Differentiate
between primary and secondary causes, and between single and multiple effects
6.12a.5 Evaluate alternative historical decisions and courses of
action
7.
Geographic Thinking
7.12a.1 Use maps and other geographical tools to predict historical
events and change
7.12a.2 Evaluate the relative role of
geography among other factors in a historical event or in the development of a
civilization
7.12a.3 Evaluate the characteristics of major global environmental
changes and assess whether the changes are a result of human action, natural
causes, or a combination of both
8.
Content Measurement Topic
Principles of American Government
8.12a.1 Analyze the influence of Greek, Roman, English, and
leading European political thinkers such as John Locke, Charles-Louis
Montesquieu, Niccolo Machiavelli, and William Blackstone on the development of
American government
8.12a.2 Compare and contrast democratic and non-democratic forms
of government (e.g. oligarchy, monarchy, democracy, dictatorship, republic,
aristocracy, autocracy, confederation, presidential government, parliamentary
government)
8.12a.3 Analyze the political theories and arguments contained
within the Declaration of Independence
9.
Content Measurement Topic
The Constitution and
Bill of Rights
9.12a.1 Identify the weaknesses of the Articles of the
Confederation, which led to the Constitutional Convention and how the
Constitution was intended to address those weaknesses
9.12a.2 Explain how the US Constitution reflects the balance
between individual rights and the common good.
Discuss how the basic principles of democracy are expressed in the
Declaration of Independence as “self-evident” truths
9.12a.3 Describe the six basic principles of the American
Constitution: individual rights, popular sovereignty, limited government,
separation of powers, checks and balances, and federalism
9.12a.4 Discuss the meaning and importance of each of the rights
guaranteed under the Bill of Rights and how they have been interpreted over
time (e.g. Freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, privacy)
9.12a.5 Explain how the Founding Fathers’ view of human nature led
to the establishment of a constitutional system that limited the power of those
that govern and the governed as articulated in the Federalist
9.12a.6 Analyze the systems of separated and shared powers, the
role of factions (Federalist #10),
checks and balances (Federalist #51),
the importance of an independent judiciary (Federalist
#78), enumerated powers, rule of law, federalism, and civilian control of
the military
10. Content Measurement Topic
The Three Branches of Government: Legislative, Executive and Judicial
10.12a.1 Analyze Article I of the
Constitution as it relates to the legislative branch, including eligibility for
office and length of terms of representatives and senators; election to office,
the roles of the House and Senate; impeachment proceedings; the role of the
vice president; the enumerated legislative powers; and the process by which a
bill becomes a law
10.12a.2 Explain the processes by
which the Constitution can be amended
10.12a.3 Analyze Article II of the
Constitution as it relates to the executive branch, including the eligibility
for office and length of term, election to and removal from office, the oath of
office, and the enumerated executive powers
10.12a.4 Analyze Article III of
the Constitution as it relates to the judicial branch, including the length of
terms of judges, the jurisdiction of the federal courts and the processes of
selection and the confirmation of Supreme Court justices
11. Content Measurement Topic
Landmark Supreme Court Interpretations of the Constitution
11.12a.1 Analyze the changing
interpretations of the Constitution over time, including interpretation of the
basic freedoms (religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition) articulated in
the First Amendment and the due process
and equal protection of the law
clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment
11.12a.2 Analyze judicial activism
and judicial restraint and the effects of each policy over the decades (e.g.
Warren and Rehnquist courts)
11.12a.3 Evaluate the effects of
the Court’s interpretations of the Constitution in Marbury v Madison (judicial review), McCulloch v Maryland (federal supremacy), and the United States v
Nixon (executive privilege) with emphasis on the arguments espoused in
these cases
11.12a.4 Analyze the shift in
interpretations of civil rights and the controversies resulting from cases such
as Plessey v. Ferguson, Brown v. Bd. of
Education, Miranda v. Arizona, and Regents
of the University of California v. Bakke
12. Content Measurement Topic
Politics
12.12a.1 Analyze the origin, development, and role of political
parties
12.12a.2 Compare and contrast the
party platforms of the two major parties over time including conservative and
liberal positions on common issues
12.12a.3 Discuss the history of
the nomination process for presidential candidates and the increasing
importance of primaries in general elections
12.12a.4 Evaluate the roles of
polls, interest groups, media, and campaign funding on the electoral process
13. Content Measurement Topic
Rights and
Obligations of Citizens
13.12a.1 Define citizenship,
process of naturalization, and the controversies surrounding this issue
throughout America’s history
13.12a.2 Describe the
opportunities that citizens have to participate in the political process (e.g.
voting, campaigning, lobbying, demonstrating, petitioning, picketing, running
for political office)
13.12a.3 Analyze the individual’s
legal obligations including obeying the law, serving as a juror, and paying
taxes
13.12a.4 Analyze the reciprocity
between rights and responsibilities.
Examine how enjoyment of one’s rights entails respect for the rights of
others
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