American Affairs Midterm Project
Introduction: The first half of American Affairs focuses
on developing an understanding of basic American values, the rights, responsibilities
and duties of Americans, and the origins of American government. All of these ideas are purposely grouped
together to reinforce the ideas and principles of citizenship.
Purpose: The Midterm project is designed to allow you
the opportunity to demonstrate that you understand these basic principles. This, combined with the actual exam will
provide a foundation for the second half of the class, the organization and
administration of American Government.
What
You Will Do: You will
create a brief PowerPoint presentation to show that you understand the basics
of what it means to be an American citizen.
Your project should also show an understanding of American values,
rights, duties and responsibilities of American citizens and how the origins of
our government play an important role in establishing and maintaining those
same ideas.
How
You Will Do It:
First you must review what it means to be a good citizen, and then
figure out how the basic American values and rights, duties and responsibilities
of citizens are part of being a good citizen.
Next you will complete a graphic
organizer that pulls these ideas together.
It will be similar to the one used to plan
for your PowerPoint presentation.
Then you will be introduced or reintroduced to Microsoft PowerPoint and
see how to first create your presentation in an outline form. Finally, you will add all of the colors, text editing, images and transitions
to make your presentation great!
How
You Will Be Evaluated:
Although you will be allowed to work with a partner during the planning
stages of your project (to share ideas), you will present individual
projects. The project will be evaluated
based on its inclusion of the important details, it will also be evaluated on
its accuracy and on whether or not you have successfully shown what it means to
be an American citizen, based on the values, rights, duties and responsibilities.
A Basic PowerPoint Outline
A PowerPoint Outline with a
Slide Design and Images Inserted
To see this presentation run, click here.
Your Basic Graphic Organizer is Next
Where
do Americans live?
What
kinds of jobs to Americans do?
Why
is America’s diversity special?
Why
do people move to America?
What
are the basic American values?
How
do those values attract immigrants?
What is American Society Like?
What
are the 5 major social institutions?
Why
do people form and join groups?
What does Citizenship Really Mean?
Who
can be an American citizen?
What
is the office of citizen?
What
are some rights of citizens?
What
are some duties of citizens?
What
are some responsibilities of citizens?
What
are social roles? How are they a part
of citizenship?
America’s Political Heritage
What
rights and responsibilities did the colonists have?
Where
did they get those rights and responsibilities?
How
is American government similar to the government of ancient Greece?
How
is American government similar to the government of ancient Rome?
How
did the traditional English government influence American government?
What
were some of the philosophies that influenced American government?
The Declaration of Independence
What
message was contained in the Declaration of Independence?
What
arguments for independence were the most important?
Why
did the colonists feel independence was necessary?
How
has the Declaration of Independence been important to American Citizens?
Create your own outline on separate paper, as this is a guide.
Finding answers to all of these questions will provide you with a solid base of information, facts and ideas for your project. You probably won’t use every piece of information, and you probably shouldn’t (to keep your presentation from getting too long). You can combine many facts and ideas into a single piece of information.
For example: People move to America for the
freedom to choose their occupation, and so make the most of their education. Eventually, they will become voters and make
decisions that will change the course of government.